When we were dating, Elliott introduced me to the Bible Reading Program for Shirkers and Slackers, created by a friend of his family. Hmm... it sounded like it was right up my alley! I checked out the program and found it was a simple PDF with check boxes (and I love those) next to different Bible passages. The program was divided up into days of the week; each day you read between 2-5 chapters and, if you don't shirk or slack, you can read through the whole Bible each year. If you did shirk or slack one Tuesday, well... you can just check off the passages when you read them next Tuesday.
Elliott and I began studying the Bible together after we got married. Although I would love to tell you the sun finds us sipping our coffee and reading our Bibles together each morning, a more accurate picture would be two sleepy people handing our Bible back and forth between us, reading a chapter each and struggling to stay awake before bed. Sigh... always room for improvement!
When we read and study together, one of us starts by praying aloud briefly, asking God to direct our thoughts and minds towards Him and His Word. We then read together, usually trading off, but sometimes I knit (if my knitting requires no concentration/complicated steps) and Elliott reads. Afterwards we discuss what we read, what stood out to us, and what our take-away points are. Then one of us prays, taking their time with adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, and then sometimes we finish with the Lord's Prayer. Of course sometimes we take days off, sometimes we rush through, and sometimes we just don't feel like discussing or praying. But generally we do it: we study the Word and pray together, enforcing daily to ourselves that God and His Word are at the center of our lives, our marriage, our family.
What works for you? Do you sing? Do you memorize Scripture? Do you like certain devotionals, Bible studies, books? Do you study in the morning or at night? We would love to hear your suggestions and ideas!
*image via here
I really enjoy the daily meditation of Pray-As-You-Go podcasts... and the Anglican rosary.
ReplyDeleteOh boy. What a struggle this is for me. But I notice a difference when I'm doing it so I try to stay motivated.
ReplyDeleteI have really enjoyed Jesus Calling. Just a few simple sentences and verses to go along with it but they are so impacting. And of course I have an entire list on Goodreads of books to go through but that is an entirely different issue.
Becca, I find for my personality, I need to change it up. Right now, I am doing 40 days in the word and was struck by how little meditation I do. So, this week, I have been concentrating on one verse a day and "pronouncing" it - emphasizing one word at a time, to get more meaning out of it.
ReplyDeleteI also tell my girls stories from the Bible with lots of imagining, to bring it alive. And this week, we learned in the 40DITW study that this is helpful if you put yourself in the story (what was it like to be the paralytic, one of the 4 friends, the man whose roof was ripped apart, etc.?)
I also just finished a Bible survey course, which gave me a lot of background information that made the Bible come alive for me. Good commentaries and Bible dictionaries help out a lot.
I will be praying for you, that you find the way to connect with Him that suits you in this season of your life.