Are you looking ahead yet?

While I don't want to bypass anything about Christmas, I want to get you thinking about something...

If you're like me, you probably don't make many New Years Resolutions.  However, this past year, I chose to aim at reading the entire Bible through in a year.  I'll confess now that I often struggle with plans like this due to the sheer volume of reading and the lack of time I have to simply sit and read.  As a result, I often give up... like I did this year (Ahem.).

I want to let you in on what I'm going to do instead in 2011 to keep my mind fixed on Christ and on knowing Him through God's Word. 

In the mornings, I plan to read a short daily entry in the book I shared with you recently:  Parenting Moment by Moment.   I will reflect on it and the additional verse(s) for the rest of the day.

In the car line at Caleb's school, where I have about 30 min. to sit, I plan on reading a short daily entry in another book I'm excited about:  The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament, by Nancy Guthrie.  I get all excited when I see evidence of the meta-narrative (or Big Story / unfolding plan from the beginning) of God's plan of Salvation.  It helps me immensely to remember that all the individual characters and their life experiences/stories are united, not disjointed -- that, as my kids'  Jesus Storybook Bible reminds us, "Every story whispers His name."  It also reminds me that as a redeemed, adopted child of God, I also get to play a part in that grand story.

At another point in the day, probably bedtime, I will read a short New Testament passage in a Bible Reading Plan I adapted from a friend of ours, who copied it from a friend of a friend to use with his own church.  You can find and download it in PDF form here.

This way, with 3 brief readings, I'll get a chance to reflect on 1. The Gospel and its continuation in the New Testament,  2.  How God was planning to bring Jesus to give us a chance to be reconciled to Him from the beginning of sin's entry into the world,  and 3.  How I can better use Scripture that I'm encountering to train my own children God's Way.


I don't know about you, but that seems much less daunting to me than a daily reading plan with 4-5 lengthy passages.  Join me on January 4 (Gives you a few days to get into routine)?

Have another reading/study goal for the new year?  Share it in the comments below!