A Bit of This, That, and the Other

 Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you stopping by?  Well, I do!  Although today may not feel as though I've done much to prepare for our visit, because frankly... I haven't.  I couldn't.

I'm hoping we're good enough friends by now that you'll excuse the mess and clutter and come on in anyway.  Make yourself at home.

Unfortunately, this "whatever it is I have" went from bad to worse over the weekend.  I am not a pill taker, but you know I'm in bad shape when I'm calling a pharmacist to ensure that the medication mix I am wanting to take is safe.  Yep, it was that bad!

So, I hope you can understand a bit better why things are more in a bit of disarray this morning and not as well put together and prepared as I would have liked.

But then, it is what it is.  There are a couple of things I did want to mention:

Bible in 90 Days:
I realize I haven't recently given a shout out to those of you reading the Bible in 90 days.  I have not forgotten you or this amazing journey that you are on.  Some of you are even ahead.  I am so proud of each one of you and the time you are committing to get this done!  Many of you are now in week 9!

Jeremiah and Ezekial... this is where it got really difficult for me.  If you find these books to also be struggles for you, do not let yourself get bogged down here.  Just keep reading... one chapter, one verse at a time.

If you are behind in your reading, do not give up!  There is plenty of time to catch up.  Determine to do so.  Just read, read, read.  In fact, that is more important than what you are reading here, right now.  Believe me, I've got nothing over God's Word!  Now go... read!


How to Do a Bible Word Study
My friend, Mrs. Pear, has been doing an excellent series on how to do a word study from the Bible.  I have bookmarked each post and am eager to get my own in depth word study going.  It might be something you are also interested in learning more about.  Here is her series so far:   Introduction, Part II, & Part III


2011 Reader Survey
For those of you that have completed this survey, THANK YOU!

If you have not yet taken a minute to complete the survey, would you please do so?  I am thinking through and making decisions based on the information and feedback being given.  If you want to have a say in that, now is your chance.

It is quick, painless and completely anonymous.  So, please be honest as I am taking each and every response seriously.
~~~~~
Okay friends, that's all I can muster for now.

What's going on with you?

The Goodness of God

Lately I've been challenged by thoughts on the goodness of God.

They really started to become consistent in the book of Job as I was doing my reading through the Bible in 90 days.  I just finished the book of Job again as I am now reading through the Bible chronologically.

So often I mention the goodness of God when things are going right. An answer to prayer, health restored, protection noticed... and the words "God is good" slip across my tongue.

Then I am challenged.

Should those same words not pass through my mouth when things don't seem to be going right? Answers to prayers seem silent or even opposed to what I had hoped for, continuing illness with no restoration in sight, tragedy strikes...

Do things and situations alter the goodness of God?

Does God simply just do good? or is He good?

In the classic by C.S. Lewis "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", Aslan represents Jesus. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver begin describing Aslan to the children, and this is part of their conversation:

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr Beaver...; Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.


Jack Modesett Jr. gives this definition of the goodness of God:

"Wise. Loving. Strong. Gracious.
Wise enough to know what's best for me.
Loving enough to want what's best for me.
Strong enough to do what's best for me.
Gracious enough to give me all that goodness would provide."

Ps. 34:8 (NLT) "Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!"

Ps. 145:9 (NLT) "The Lord is good to everyone. He showers compassion on all his creation."


Circumstances of sin and this fallen world do not change the goodness of God.

"The presence of sin means that sometimes we don't get the good that we deserve."           ~Andy Stanley

Being good is not something God does, rather something He is.

Good or bad, ecstatic or tragic... God is Good!

It is part of His character. Just plain who He is... all the time.

God IS Good.

Just this morning as I was preparing to post this, a situation came up that was far from ideal.  As I sensed my frustrations rising within me and the tears coming to my eyes... I knew this was a perfect time to put this truth to practice in my heart.

"Even now, in the middle of this...God, You are still good."

The situation still has not resolved itself.  There is a plan B, but it is not what we would have preferred. 

And yet, I wonder, if perhaps the events of this morning were part of the lesson?  The opportunity to state, in fact, that God is good regardless of the situations that find themselves in my days.

What about you?  Have you ever thought or been challenged to remember the goodness of God, even when it appears that things are not going so well?  Or especially when things aren't going so well?

When was the last time you were reminded and able to say that God is good?  Not finishing the sentence with "when"...  

Instead, just using these three words to sum it all up.  

God IS Good.

Bible in 90 Days: My Personal 10 Tips

I could never say before with 100% certainty that I had read the entire Bible.  I was pretty sure I had.  At some point.  In bits and pieces.

I knew I had read through many of the books of the Bible.  But all of them?

One thing I know for sure.  I had never done it in order or any type of organized fashion.

Mrs. Pear then read through it front to back in 87 days.  She introduced the 90 day challenge to my own heart.

I began the challenge the beginning of Oct.  I can't think of a better way to now end my year.  I can know for sure, I have read through the Bible.  And I did it in 89 days!


Why do I share this?  

This in no way makes me better, more spiritual or more holy.  Instead, I share this to say that I am one in desperate need of my God.  I also share this to say... if I can do this then you can too!

Just this last week I learned that Shawntele and Michelle, two of my blogging friends, have committed to begin this 90 day journey with this new year.  Having just come to the end of my own 90 day journey, I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for them!

I was asked to share a few tips I learned in my own personal journey and thought maybe some others might like to give the challenge a try and would like to read these as well.

So, here they are...

My personal 10 tips to make it through

1.  Read in story form, not study form:  This was a new approach for me.  Do not stop to study, compare or linger on any given section.  Instead, underline, highlight, or take quick notes of what you want to come back to.  

2.  Make it your book of choice:  I quickly realized that I would not get much other reading done during this time.  I had to be okay with that.  When there was time for reading, the Bible was my book of choice.

3.  Be determined:  I'll be honest, the amount of the reading was difficult some days.  It is a lot!  However, I believed that God would honor the time I was spending in His Word.

"You will never waste time in God's Word" - Beth Moore

4.  Keep reading:  If you get behind, do not quit!  To stop for even a few days may leave you feeling discouraged and that there's no way to catch up.  Just read, read, read.

"This is one of those things where the victory is not to the fast, the flashy or the fancy.  This is one of those things where the victory is to those who are faithful and persevere!"  -- Mrs. Pear

5.  Make it your anytime priority: Use small snippets of your time.  I often used 5 minute chunks throughout my day to read a chapter or two.  Do not think it all has to be read in one setting.  (When I did read in one setting it would take an average of 45-60 minutes.)

6.  Get ahead:  If you can do it, read ahead!  I found there were days I was able to read more than the reading for that day, and was glad I did.  There were other days where life just happened and I couldn't get the full amount of reading in.  I was also shocked at how quickly my buffer from reading ahead disappeared.

7.  Don't predict the fast read:   Do not slow the reading in some areas assuming you will catch up and gain ground in a book to come.  I thought Leviticus and Numbers would be struggles for me.  I actually found them to be fairly quick reads.  My personal struggle to get through came in Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekial. 

8.  Find Accountability:  This was key for me.  Not only did I commit to myself to do this, but I facilitated a small group of 9 other adults reading it with me.  Knowing we would be meeting weekly kept me on top of my reading.  Tell someone you are doing it.  Ask them to hold you accountable.  Ask them to cheer and encourage you along the way.

9.  Enjoy the process:  Remember this is God's story of extending His very self to us, His creation.  Look for Him!

10.  Pray:  Ask God to help you.  Ask God to reveal Himself to you.  Ask God to make you hungry for Him.  Thank God for inviting you to know Him. Pray, Pray, Pray

BONUS TIP:  Recognize true success:  Even if you do not keep the pace to get through it in the 90 days, keep pushing forward!  The process will keep you very conscious to be in God's Word much more than you would have been otherwise, or maybe ever have been.

Spending an abundance of focused and intentional time with God... now that's true success!

  

Have you ever read through the Bible?  Have you done the 90 day challenge?  What tips would you offer?  Are you thinking you might like to give it a try?  What is keeping you from it?

(I will answer questions related to this post here in the comment section so that everyone can benefit from the dialogue.)

Fixing My Eyes in Uncertainty

I am still participating in reading through the Bible in 90 days with our small group. We will pass the half way mark through the Old Testament this week!

I am amazed that in the amount of reading I am doing on any given day, there are still details and phrases that stand out. These various things nestle deep into my thinking and my heart to ponder throughout the day.

Just yesterday in my reading, I discovered this one sentence. I have gone back to re-read it numerous times and have found great challenge and encouragement surrounding it.

In fact, I have even copied it to a 3x5 card and have placed it in my kitchen window personalizing and making this a prayer of my own heart as well.


II Chronicles 20:12b (NIV) "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”


This is how Jehoshaphat ended his prayer to the Lord as armies were approaching to make war.

There is currently a sense of battle and warring in my own heart. I can't seem to make sense of all that is taking place. I do not know what to do, but one thing I do know... I will keep my eyes on Him.

God's response to the prayer of Jehoshaphat is worth reading and personally clinging to as well. I know I am. You can find it in II Chronicles 20: 15-21.

What have you been reading? What words of challenge, promise and encouragement have you discovered lately?

Leviticus: Loud and Clear

Last week, our second week of reading through the Bible in 90 days, we encountered Leviticus.

When we had our small group DVD session, we were warned. Leviticus is often a difficult book to get through. Don't analyze it too much. Don't stop to study it. Just read it. Word for word, but get through it. Do not get discouraged. Do not quit.

It was outlined to read through it in three days. I read through it in two. I'll be honest. Part of that drive was to get to the other side.

However, I wanted more than that. I wanted to gain new understanding, fresh perspective and a take away from this book, the book of Leviticus.

John Walton, the speaker in the DVD session, encouraged us to remember that "every law written reveals something about the lawgiver."

I began Leviticus with a mission. I wanted to discover something about the Lawgiver. I wanted God to be revealed.

Leviticus now has so much more meaning to me than just the book of laws and sacrifices. I will forever view Leviticus in a more personal way because of two truths that came through loud and clear as I read through this book.

These two truths revealed about the Lawgiver were not new to me. However, God said them so many times that I couldn't help but notice and have them drilled deep into my head and heart.

1. I am the Lord your God...
2. I am Holy...

"The word 'holy' appears more times in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible. And in just nine chapters of the book, God states, 'I am the Lord' 47 times (NIV Study Bible, study note for Lev. 18:2)"

As I was reading through the details of this book, I was struck and saddened with the realization of how so very often I take God for granted. My human mind can only grasp a small glimpse of His Holiness... and I am humbled.

I've been listening to the following song repeatedly since. It will probably now affectionately be referred to by me as "my Leviticus song".

God Forbid
By Point of Grace
(Click on title to listen)

Fully Immersed for 90 Days

Do you have a friend, or friends, that don't just ask you how you are? They are interested in so much more than that. They, instead, tend to ask even more often, "How is your heart"?

I am beyond blessed that I do have a few of these people in my life. When I stop to consider the places of my soul at which they choose to venture with me, and don't run when we get to the reality of it...I recognize what a gift God has truly given me!

Not so very long ago one of them offered to venture there with me, yet again. The answer I gave was honest and not one of bliss and excitement.

In fact, this was my response: "I am feeling quite numb to life, even spiritually. I have been consistently having my quiet time but it just seems stagnant for the most part. I will admit that I haven't had the time I would have liked for quiet, and have been reasoning with myself that that has something to do with it. He's doing the silent thing, or I'm just not listening, or maybe even a little of both?"

She offered to share from her own experiences. I accepted. Her response caused me to do quite a bit of thinking. I thought perhaps her own personal experiences would also be of benefit to you. Rather than trying to re-create in my own words her challenging response, I asked her to stop by and share it with you today.

I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Mrs. Pear.

"Okay, what I am going to say pretty much flies in the face of much of the Bible reading/studying stuff we are taught now, and that is a shame.

There are certainly times for methodical study that takes you throughout the Bible as you chase down ideas, for plans and agendas.

This is not one of them.

The only way I have ever broken through this was to sit down with my Bible open, a pad of paper open, a pen uncapped, all just waiting to record what God says. There is something about the earnest expectation of the paper and uncapped pen that works for me. And then I read.

No agenda, no set time, no set amount, unless it is a substantial amount. I ask God to speak clearly to me, to show me something new, to teach me, to encourage me, to meet me. And then I start reading. And I read LARGE volumes. I don't record anything until it is a message from God, and I don't stop until I record something.

At first I will record things that are gentle reminders such as how much God loves us, how much God provides for us, how God will never abandon us. Then, slowly, we move into more specific things.

This is why I chose to do the Bible in 90 Days reading. I desperately needed to hear from God. The more I digest in volume, the more I actually hear from Him.

There is certainly an important place for in-depth study. Don't get me wrong.

But when you are desperate to hear from God you need to do what one of my seminary professors called, "wasting time with God" just like you would a good friend. It is rare that you sit down with a friend with a set agenda, although there are times. But that is often how we approach our time with God.

There is a difference between devotional reading and study reading. Sometimes we forget to do devotional reading, the wasting time with God reading.

As I did more and more reading this way with the 90 Days, I found that I was not only writing down things for me, and things for my husband, I was even calling friends up. It was like God was unleashing a gifting in me.

When I slowed down my reading with the girls being sick and my husband traveling, I could feel the revelation slowing down too.

Now, this is NOT to say that you might have been negligent in spending time with God or anything like that!

It is to encourage you try something new.

So instead of thinking of the Bible as we are mostly encouraged to now - thoroughly digest a small bit - think of it like a dessert buffet table where nothing has calories and you can never be full and every bite tastes better than the last. - I need to get through all that goodness!

I would also encourage you to take a Bible (and not your study one, one you don't mind getting beat up) and put it in your kitchen. Leave it out on your counter, open. And as you are in there a million times a day caring for your family grab the few verses you can. It makes a tremendous difference.

Now, this is what I do. Lots of experts will disagree with me, but the Expert meets me more often than not when I do this. He may have a different plan for you, but usually when we look in the Bible it is the people who have thirsted greatly and have drunk deeply that break through.

And if God continues to remain silent, keep pressing on, preaching the truth to yourself. The dark teatime of the soul is hard, I know, I have been through it, but the rewards are rich.

Mrs. Pear, mother to 2 young children, wife and living an everyday life, just finished her second time through the entire Bible this year. Just this last week she finished her second trip through in 87 days.

Every time I read these words of encouragement and challenge from Mrs. Pear's personal experience, I am once again inspired to think outside of the box in the time I spend with God.

And so, it was with excitement and a bit of nervousness that I began the challenge this past weekend to read through the entire Bible in 90 days.

Not because I think I'm super spiritual. Not because I think this will be easy. Not because I just want to be able to say that I've done it. But because I am desperate for even more of my God.

Not only am I taking the challenge, my husband has agreed to do it with me. To add even another layer of accountability and experience to it all, we are facilitating a weekly small group through the 90 day challenge as well.

I do not know what this experience will entail. I am quite sure it will be one like I've never had before. However, it is with great expectation and eagerness that I approach God's Word, to be fully immersed for the next 90 days.