Making Plans

                I’ve been sticking to a theme of goals in my posts so far this month and I kind of like having an overall theme for the month, so I might try it again sometime. In this post, I will attempt to lay out a plan for the next few months on my blog. Disclaimer: Anything I assign here is subject to change or cancelation.

                I plan to continue participating in the Question of the Month on the first Monday and the Insecure Writers Support Group on the first Wednesday of each month. In April, I plan to participate in the A to Z Challenge for a second year. Besides April and the beginning of each month, my blog schedule is fairly open. As I stated last spring, the possibilities and directions I can go are endless! I do plan on mainly sticking to this blog’s roots of devotional content and life lessons God is teaching me. Since I am usually off work on Tuesdays, I plan to make Wednesday my regular post day each week after the QotM and IWSG. If my plans are hindered for some reason, I will most likely have a Throwback Thursday Photos post. I will probably include some extra Throwback Thursdays every once in a while. I may sign up for an occasional blog hop. I would also be open to guest posts or author tours. I’m not exactly sure how to conduct a guest post, so anyone who might be interested would be my guinea pig (or maybe I’m the guinea pig here, haha). 

                As for my ailment, I am still experiencing a bit of congestion, but the symptoms are becoming less severe. With that, my motivation seems to be increasing a little more. Thank you for your prayers! As I said in my last post, slowing down on the busyness for a couple weeks wasn’t too bad because I have been more diligently focused on my daily Bible reading and study. I have actually stayed caught up on a Bible reading in one year plan, but it has only been 20 days so far, we’ll see how the rest of the year goes :)

Knowledge

“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.” Proverbs 18:15 (NIV)

God wants us to have knowledge of His Word; to study and meditate on it. In 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) it says, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” My pastor often says that we know the Bible as well as we want to know the Bible. Studying God’s Word can be exciting, in fact, I’ve already written about a time when my enthusiasm was renewed in my post called The Greatest Story Ever Told. Not only should we seek out knowledge, but we should share that knowledge with others and pass it on to our children, teaching them also to study the Bible. If you want to read and study God’s Word but don’t know where to start, Proverbs is full of short sayings and advice. It even states in Prov. 1:1-7 that its purpose is to give knowledge and insight. Do you have a favorite passage or book in scripture that you have studied?

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I am currently participating in the Blogging from A to Z April 2015 Challenge. My theme is life lessons from the Bible. You can find more information about the challenge by clicking on the badge to the right or click here for a list of participants. It has been an interesting experience so far and I have enjoyed finding and visiting other blogs. If you are a fellow participant, thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment!

 

Challenge Accepted

          I have decided to participate in the 2015 Blogging From A to Z Challenge. So, for the month of April, skipping Sundays, I will be posting about a topic beginning with each letter of the alphabet. I have chosen to go with the theme of Life Lessons from the Bible, which is pretty much the theme of this entire blog! Most of what I post will be about verses or people of the Bible that have spoken to me personally. My posts will also be shorter than usual to keep things going. Even though this is not in depth, I hope those of you reading enjoy taking this trip with me. I will be mentioning passages of scripture in my posts, and my challenge to you is to read them and get your own deeper understanding of my topics. See you on April 1!

The Greatest Story Ever Told

            About a week ago, I finished reading a book that was set in Biblical times. More specifically, it is a fictional representation of the life of Jacob's daughter, Dinah. Even though it is fiction, that story made me want to compare it to the real story from the Bible. The next thing I knew, I was pouring through the pages of Genesis and looking at the maps in the back of my Bible tracking the locations and directions of the people. Isn't it funny how it takes a work of fiction to peak my interest in reading God's Word? When I read the Bible before, especially the Old Testament, it seemed like just a bunch of names and rules, and it was like a chore to get myself to read through those lists. Then, every once in a while I came across one of those stories that my Sunday school teacher used to put up on a flannel board. But, there is so much more to it than that. It's all a matter of perspective. You can find stories of victories and defeat, love and loss, good and evil. There are songs, poems, letters, and parables. Those study Bibles have a concordance, maps, and notes for a good reason, so maybe we should use them.

            What's interesting (but certainly not coincidental) is that the morning after I finished reading that book, I came across this devotional from Our Daily Bread. Basically, it expanded on what I had just come to realize. Like the writer of that day's devotion, I went through a process from reading out of duty to reading for enjoyment. The Bible isn't just a history book, it is a book about life with God. We can learn lessons from the people in the Bible. They may have looked different and used different customs and protocols, but their thoughts probably weren't so different from ours. They were real people with their own traits, doubts, fears, and struggles. Many of the Old Testament laws are still used to govern us. There are psalms that address joys and sorrows that modern-day Christians can relate to. The New Testament letters address issues among the first believers that churches still deal with today. And those are just a few examples of how relevant and alive God's Word is in our lives.

            So, if your scripture reading feels like more of an obligation than a delight, then maybe it's time to find a way to peak your interest. There are commentaries and dictionaries available that can help with words or concepts that are hard to understand. You can use maps or look up information on the background of those times to get a better perspective of how the people lived and where they were located. Most commentaries tell you who wrote the books and the audience they were addressing at that time. Just remember that the Bible is more than just a good story, it's more than just a record of laws and prophets,  it is God's Living Word to us.