Bible in 90 Days--Day 88!

As all of you already know from hearing me say this numerous times over the past several months, reading through the Bible in 90 days has been an incrediable journey this year. You are able to gain an overall perspective of the Bible as a whole that I have never had before, with reading through at a slower pace. It is good that in the parts you do not find the most interesting, you are never bogged down for long because you are flying through those chapters! (I admit--I do not care much for Numbers because, well, too many numbers!)

On the down side, you are also often wishing that you could take more time to write and journal about different verses, and you barely have time to scribble a few notes to yourself with the promise that you will "come back later" and do more indepth journaling about that portion later. But on the whole, it has just been an amazing journey. And I truely hate to admit this, but I can't really avoid it forever, so might as well come out with it.

I am finished.

Yup. I just read the last four chapters of Revelation this morning. And I am both thrilled and sad, all at the same time.

How can I be done when I am only at Day 88? Well, it's like this. The whole "Bible in 90 Days" program schedule is really more accurately divided into "The Bible in 88 Days", but they have built into their reading schedule two grace days, which would bring the total up to 90 days. But I never used those grace days up, so here I am--finished. It wasn't that I couldn't have used those grace days, trust me. There were MANY days when it seemed next to impossible to go into my sewing room and read for an hour. But truely, I knew that if I gave myself too many "excuses", it would just end up working against me and would set me up for getting much more than two days behind in reading. And you know what happened? Well, kids still got dressed. Breakfast still got eaten. The house still got cleaned. Homeschool still got taught. And most important, the Bible was read.

I would highly encourage ANYONE even partly considering this program, to not be afraid to do it. No, it won't always be easy. Yes, it will take you one hour each day--if you read at an average pace, anyway. But it will change your life.

And now, you KNOW I cannot leave you for today without some treasures from today's reading. So here they are--things to hold close to your heart and think about as you go through your daily chores:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:1-4

Did you catch that? The old order of things has passed away. No more death, divorce, or disasters. No more babies born premature and not making it out of the hospital. No more saying good-by to Grandmas and Grandpas. No more hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes. No more tears. No more loneliness, for God HIMSELF will be with us. I can't wait!

And this new life will be available to all who want it.

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Revelation 22:17

Whoever is thirsty. Can you see me waving my hand up in the air and screaming "ME!" I am thirsty. And I can't wait.

But--in the meantime, I think I will start going back through some of my notes. And sometime, just sometime, I'm going to do it all over again. The Bible in 90 Days.

Bible in 90 Days--Day 80!

Time is passing by so fast! Spring is truely here in my corner of the world, and while I have not had much time lately to write about it--I have still been plugging away with my Bible reading. Yesterday I finished the book of Romans. I have found so MANY wonderful gems in this book. Way too many to share here, or I would simply be transcribing the entire book! But I still want to share some of the best of the best with you....

You know, it's kind of funny when you are reading all the way through the Bible, because whenever I run across a familiar verse I feel surprised! It is really neat to be finding it, and to have the complete context of that verse before you get to it. And I guess going through at a fast pace, you haven't forgotten what was just before that verse! Anyway, here are some of my very favorites from Romans:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38,39

Isn't that beautiful? What else could this message possibly have added to it to convince us of God's love for us? I suppose it could have been written as "Nothing can separate us from God's love." But I kind of like it the way it is--I like all the examples! And even death--which is probably the strongest thing here in our lives. I mean, we often will hear the expression that while there is life, there is hope. But this verse tells us that even when there ISN'T life, even that cannot keep God's love from us. That is pretty incredible!

And then how about this verse:

"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:15

Don't you want to have beautiful feet? I had a business person pay me a compliment last week, and I was shocked at how good it made me feel. It really ment a lot to have that little sincere comment of affirmation, and it wasn't even about anything of eternal value. How much more beautiful it is when we can share with others encouragement and good news about Jesus, and His eternal love for them which (as we have seen above!), NOTHING can separate us from!

Here's another wonderful passage:

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:4-8

How often do we find ourselves comparing our lives with others we see? And so often, in our own eyes anyway, we come out on the short end? Maybe we do not feel like we are doing all the same witnessing activities that someone we know is. Maybe we do not invite all the college students over to our house every weekend. Maybe we just end up feeling like we aren't doing anything of importance. But you know--as long as we are seeking God's will for OUR lives, asking Him what He wants US to do, we can rest in that. In knowing that our Creator created us especially for our special gifts, and that all we need to do is to use those gifts for Him. No matter if they are many gifts or few. They are His gifts. We are His children. And as long as we are willing to be used by Him, that's all we need to do.

And here is one more--too good to be left out:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

God. Of. Hope. Not a idol who cannot see or hear or help. But THE God of hope. Filling us with ALL joy and peace. I like that. And what do you think it feels like to be "overflowing with hope?" Overflowing. Too much to hold. Over the top. More than what we need.

Enough to share.

May this day find YOU surrounded by God's joy and peace, and overflowing with hope.

Bible in 90 Days--Day 68!

Day 68--a very significant day in the Bible reading program, because this is the day that we transition from reading in the Old Testament into the New Testament. I am so very thrilled, excited, and blessed to be at this point in my reading. I have to confess--I didn't REALLY think I would make it this far, and I am estatic to be here. I know full well I never could have done it without the prayers that have supported me along the way.

I am already starting to miss the significant time spent in Bible reading each day--and I still have around 20 days left of reading! But it's starting to FEEL like we are almost done. One good thing, though, is I already know how this story ends--with Jesus coming back to take us to our forever homes! :) I am seriously considering becoming a volunteer mentor for when the next Bible in 90 Days program runs an on-line read-a-thon. I know in this program I am taking part in, they ended up having so many people participate that they did not have enough mentors for all the participants to be in a mentor group. I would love to be able to help others achieve their goal of reading the Bible through.

Two really neat verses that jumped out at me in this day's reading:

Malachi 3:10-12 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the Lord Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the Lord Almighty.

How many blessings are so many that we do not have room enough for them? And also to note is this is one time that God is specifically telling us to TEST Him! To prove Him at His word. To see if He will come through with His promise. If I were to write someone a check for a million dollars, it would not mean much because there is no way I can back up that promise. But do we think God is trustworthy enough to back up HIS promises? How much power do we think He has--CAN he come through with what He has promised??? Do we trust Him enough to test Him when He tells us to?

My second favorite text from this day's reading:

Matthew 4:23,24 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.

Perhaps this verse is precious to me in paticular because my child has a seizure disorder, and is also partially paralyzed. But I can just imagine only too well, what it would have been like to be the parent of a disabled child who was brought to Jesus and healed. How in your wildest dreams you had never even hoped that your child would ever be made well. With what kindness Jesus had reached out and touched your little one--the one whom you loved more than your own life, and Jesus made them well. I find it interesting that whenever Jesus was brought a sick person, He didn't appear to make them sit down and take Bible studies first and pass written quizzes before He would heal them if they scored high enough. He healed them first--taking care of their immediate needs, then spoke words of compassion and instruction to them, when they were open to receiving his words of life.

Well, here we go. Onto the New Testament. Happy Sabbath everyone! And don't forget to spend some time with Jesus today.

Would God Miss You?

This year has been a hard one for our family, in the pet department. Last October we lost our son's precious service dog Lauren--whom we had lived with and loved for eleven years. Then just last month we lost my husband's cat Felix. Felix used to follow my husband around like a dog would--VERY faithful and loyal. We had lived with and loved Felix for eighteen years, so you can see how it is going to take some time to realize and get used to him not being here.

We have been thinking about pets a lot lately, as we want to get a new kitten to add to our one remaining pet, a kitty named Pumpkin. Now Pumpkin will not appreciate a new addition, I'm sure, but the rest of us just feel like the house is too lonely with just one cat. We need more "furry friends" to share our love with.

I loved and lived with Lauren and Felix for so long, that I still can hardly believe that they are not with us any more. I knew their routines, their likes and dislikes. I can imagine perfectly where in the house they would be at different times of the day. I KNEW those animals so well!

The thought struck me yesterday, that I knew them so well because I spent time with them continually, not just once in a while. I was thinking about how much I miss them still--and all of a sudden, I thought about my relationship with God. Would God miss ME if I was gone? Would He be so used to spending time with me that He would not know what to do with that time that He used to spend with me? Would He know me so well, and have lived with me for so long, that He could close His eyes and imagine me perfectly?

When the Bible talks about the second coming, to the group of people who are lost Jesus says to them that He did not know them. Why didn't He? Because they did not spend time together. We know that was not Jesus' choice, but the peoples. He is waiting for us each day, wanting to spend time with us. Not just occasionally, once every weekend when we go to church. But daily.

Have you spent time with Jesus today?

The Value of Time

I ran across the following poem in a magazine this week. I thought it really had some good points to think about. I really do not know who the author is--in the place where I read it it listed the poem as being submitted by Diana Olson, but had no notation on who the original author was. But I hope you are blessed by it as I was. Good things to think about!

The Value of Time

To realize the value of a sister/brother:
Ask someone who doesn't have one.

To realize the value of ten years:
Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year:
Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a stillborn.

To realize the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one minute:
Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one second:
Ask a person who has survived an accident.

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.

To realize the value of a friend or family member:
Lose one.