Monday, December 28, 2009

90 Day Challenge Accepted


We've accepted a challenge.

Hubby and I have agreed to accept the challenge and read the whole Bible in 90 days in 2010.

I will tell you up front, I am quite nervous about accepting this challenge. You see I've never read the whole Bible all at once before. I have read several whole books of the Bible at various times, some of them several times. I have attempted to read the whole Bible several times, but I've never succeeded in reading the whole thing from beginning to end.  I usually get backed up and then get frustrated and give up. But, God has been teaching me perseverance and with the help of some real-life encouragement from Hubby as well as some online encouragement I am determined to succeed this time.

Why I accepted the Challenge: 
I have been a Christian over 30 years, and yet I've never read all of God's Word. This has been a continual frustration and embarrassment for me. I believe with all my heart that God is as real today as He ever was. I believe that He continues to speak to us through the Bible. It is just as applicable today as it was when it was first written down. While I also believe that God speaks to us through many ways, these need to be checked against the perfect standard - the Bible. If I'm not reading God's word every day, then I cannot check what I am hearing from other sources against the perfect standard.

Why the 90 Day Challenge?
I think taking a full year to read the Bible has been a problem for me in the past. Too many things can interrupt and change my schedule in a year and then I get off track. Tackling it in 90 days seems to allow for fewer interruptions. I have decided to use the suggestions from Mom's Toolbox and use the Bible that's organized for the 90 Challenge. I certainly don't need another Bible but, this one is thin enough to be portable, the type is large enough to reduce eye-strain, and it's laid out in daily sections (12 pages per day). All of this seems to make sense to me and I think it will be help me achieve the goal.

If you are interested in finding out more about the challenge go here to Mom's Toolbox. The products are not mandatory, but I think the format will be helpful for me. Hubby is using his own NIV Bible to complete the challenge. I found the best price at Amazon (see my sidebar), but you can find the suggested resources at several different sites including Christian Book Distributors and at Biblein90Days.org.

I would love to know,  
  • Have you ever read the Bible from cover to cover? 
  • If you have, what method or strategy did you find helpful the first time you accomplished it? 
  • If you haven't, what were the obstacles that prevented success?

5 comments:

Ruth J Leamy said...

I've read through the Bible in a year several times, using a One Year Bible. But I haven't done this for years because I don't like to make a year-long commitment. I write Bible studies (one a year) and I'm always researching a topic or two and searching the Bible for a particular subject. I've been wanting to read the whole Bible again though, and the 90 day plan makes sense. I've been previewing the Epistles and it's been a blessing.

Amy Rainey said...

I have read the Bible through a couple of times...for some reason it has always taken me 13-14 months. The 90-day thing seems a bit daunting to me. I am going to check out the links and find out a little more about the challenge, though. The last time I read through the Bible, I used the Chronological Bible. This was pretty cool because it lined the passages up in chronological order. So, when there are several accounts of the same event, they are all together. I also got a better understanding of Israel's history because the Kings and Chronicles passages are intermingled with the prophets. January through March is a good time to do it, with the nasty weather outside. This is something to think about.

Mikki said...

Wow! Good for you.
I just started a new study that I'm really enjoying.
I've read the bible through a couple times, but always through a year. So 90 days would be quiet a challenge!! Can't wait to see how it goes!!

Amy@ MomsToolbox said...

I'm so glad you are going to be a part of the challenge. I'll be praying for you through it all. See ya Jan 1 for the kick-off!!

UnfinishedMom said...

Amy & Not So Perfect HW,
Yes. I'll admit the 90 day thing is daunting. Part of the reason I'm determined to do this is that I know from past experience trying to do it in a year that my schedule goes through so many changes over the course of a year that inevitably I get interrupted and off track and then I give up. I'm hoping that by doing it in 90 days I reduce the risk of schedule interruptions.

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