Like for real. A total geek.
It's fine. Whatever. I've always been kind of a dork so at least this is a more purposeful use of my dorkiness.
Now hear me out. I'm not saying I'm super Holy. Nope. As much as I would like to say that I'm basically an angel on Earth, I think my family would all be willing to testify that is definitely not the case. I just really really like the Bible.
Maybe it's because it is the divine word of God or maybe it is just because I have only read a handful of books in my life (Sorry Mrs Jubb.) and this is the only one I have ever read more than once.
By the way... I have never understood people that read books multiple times. People like my husband and daughter. That seems like a lot of work when you already know how it is going to end. My daughter has read the entire Harry Potter series twice. She is 11. I'm fairly sure the only books that I had even read cover to cover at that age were Ramona Quimby Age 8 and a few Baby Sitters Club books. But I am not even completely confident that I read every page of those.
So the point is... I have never been a veracious reader.
However, that changed 4 years ago when I joined a Chronological Bible Study at a friend's house. As a group we read through the entire Bible in one year and met weekly to discuss it. This was a game changer for me.
I have spent my entire life in Church. Daughter of a deacon and Sunday school teacher. I attended children's church, children's choir, youth group, youth choir, youth leadership council (not sure really what this was but we met every month), and went on several mission trips. In college I was a part of BSU and attended a local church regularly. My background was pretty solid. I became a Christian at age 9 and new all of the popular Bible stories by heart. I even had a few verses memorized back in the day, but usually could only manage to pull out John 3:16 if ever put on the spot.
I was not a stranger to God's Word. But I NEVER had the expectation to read that thing as one gigantic story. No way. That was not the purpose of the Bible, I thought. You were just supposed to carry it around and pull out different topical verses and stories when they fit a certain situation. I honestly thought it was more of a collection of short stories that were used independently of each other.
I was pretty clear on Genesis and maybe Exodus and the Gospels, but everything else felt random. Especially the Minor Prophets. Who in the world ever read those? Nahum? Habakkuk? Haggai? I don't remember a single youth retreat sermon preached from those scriptures. Are they even in English?
I feel I need to point out here that I do not feel like it was a problem with my Christian role models or leaders that caused me to be so clueless about the Bible. It just happened. And if I am being honest it probably had more to do with my heart. You see, I was a classic goody goody and chronic rule follower. I would venture to say that I may have considered myself SO good that I didn't need the Bible. I felt like I had a pretty good handle on God's will for my life and didn't need to read Nahum to shed any more light on the subject.
So as I mentioned I joined a group that was studying the Bible chronologically using a reading plan and corresponding devotional written by Iva May. Her 365 day devotion helped me stick to the reading schedule necessary to finish the entire Bible in a year. Fast forward 4 years and I can't stop won't stop. Reading the Bible as the complete story that it is completely changed my faith. Or should I say strengthen it. I wasn't really able to truly believe in salvation through Jesus that is laid out in the New Testament until I understood the reason for atonement explained repeatedly in the Old Testament.
There is so much more I could say and probably will from time to time. This year I'm committing to leading a new group of women at our church that I am so excited about and challenging myself in some other ways that include journaling and speaking. It is going to be fun.... in a absolutely nerdy kind of way.
It really is an amazing story. One that never gets old and I never get tired of reading.
So if you haven't read it for yourself, consider this a 5 star book review on Amazon or Good Reads from someone who doesn't read books, and try if for yourself.
www.chronologicalbibleteaching.com
I got this beautiful She Reads Truth Bible for Christmas. I love it and I am serious when I say beautiful! Also it has lots of maps and extras for me to geek out about including a completely new font created just for this! So basically I get to obsess about Scripture and Typography which is as good as it gets in my book.
www.shopshereadstruth.com/collections/she-reads-truth-bible
Our church is also reading through the Bible in a year and has put out an online reading plan.
www.kwbc.org/rgwt/
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