A Challenge to you...

I have decided (as I do almost every year) to read the bible in its entirety. Of course, this is always easier said than done. I know that many of my readers have probably said the same...and like me, tried to read the bible from start to finish...eventually giving up either in Leviticus or Numbers (and usually it's Leviticus that hangs me up).

SO...after hearing about the "Bible Reading Guide" offered for free from my local Christian radio station, I decided I would get one. This guide gives you a list to read, but it's not in order...so you won't get hung up on things that you don't understand, and you won't give up so easily! Last year, they offered it for free, but you either had to go get it at one of several locations, or request one by mail. And I have one operational brain cell, so that tidbit of information was usually long gone by the time I got home.

This year, though, WMHK is not only offering these bible reading guides for FREE, but they also have a downloadable version available! (if that link doesn't work, go to HERE, scroll down below the image of the reading guide, and just below it, you'll see "to download the guide, click HERE).

Who is with me? Who is willing to commit with me, and help keep me accountable?

This year, First Baptist Church of Lexington has put out a challenge...to spend 20 minutes a day with God, 20 minutes a day in MEANINGFUL conversation with your spouse, and 20 minutes a day with your children. Seems easy enough, doesn't it? But often, we get caught up in the day-to-day things and forget.

"But I don't have 20 minutes a day to spend with God", you say. Do you sit down and read the paper daily? Do you have a news show you watch every day? If you can find the time for that, why don't you have the time for God? Believe me, I've used this excuse. I realized JUST THIS MORNING, that I tend to spend at least 20 minutes reading my paper...why can't I be reading the bible? I'm also going to take a page from my pastor's book...he reads a chapter, then he journals about it. He writes down what he thinks the writer of the chapter was trying to say...and how can that apply to life today? I've never been much for journaling (except here on a blog), so this will definitely be a challenge for me!

"I spend 20 minutes a day talking to my spouse", you say. Is it MEANINGFUL conversation? Are you talking about work, and kids? Or are you talking about little things that happened and how they made you feel...and how you missed your spouse when he/she was at work. And how you appreciate something, however little, he/she did that day? Meaningful isn't every day. Again, this is something that I know I don't do very well. But it's also something that I know *I* need...and if I need it, I'm sure my husband does too!

"I have my kids around all day", "I spend time with them when they get home from school", you say. Well, yes, as a mom, I can truly attest to that. As soon as my kids get home from school, I am "all mom"...but I'm nagging to get homework done, to pick up the toys they left out, to clean up a mess they made. That's not "being" with my kids. Watching TV or playing a video game is NOT being with them in any meaningful sense. Take the time to PLAY with your kids. Wrestle, ride a bike, play a board game, color. Helping with homework definitely gives you face time, but it's always such a struggle for me (both of my kids inherited my "pigheaded" gene, lol), and frustration abounds, so I can't count that as meaningful time.

The bottom line is this: Are you up for this challenge? Go download the bible reading guide, and read it with me. Get a journal, and start writing about what you're reading. It will make the bible more relevant to you. Spend time with God, your spouse, and your children. Let me know if you want to join in. I'm starting this on Monday, January 25.