My Bible Reading Routine

I have 4 kids that are all between the age of 3 & 6. My husband works 2 hours away. And mostly only comes home on weekends. I am dealing with anxiety and PTSD. One of my children is a guardianship case that is an extremely stressful and complicated situation and the child has several behavioral and developmental issues. 

Each one of these circumstances gives me a decent excuse for skipping out on Bible reading time. And I have used those “legitimate” excuses for years!

But I KNOW that this time is important and necessary. I won’t be fulfilled or effective if I can’t take some time out of each day to spend with my Savior! So how is it done?

First of all, don’t sweat it! It doesn’t need to involve angelic choirs or quiet closet time with a locked door and padded walls! You don’t have to read 70 million pages and know the Hebrew origin in order to “do it right”. All you need is some form of Bible and a heart that is ready.

After I feed my kids breakfast and they are off playing happily for a whole 20 minutes, I make myself a cup of bean juice (coffee) and I sit down with my YouVersion Bible app and a notebook.

I read 1 chapter from the Old Testament (start at Genesis 1). Then I read a chapter from Psalms or Proverbs begin with Psalms 1.. Then I read a chapter from the New Testament, starting in Matthew. Old Testament is so full of stories and knowledge and history. Psalms and Proverbs are inspiring and encouraging. And the New Testament is just JESUS. And full of practicality. All 3 are important and I like to glean from all of them each day. 

Anytime a verse sticks out to me, speaks to me, inspires me or teaches me. I write it down in my notebook. I find that writing it down makes it stick in my heart better. Some people need to doodle in their notebook, some need to write in neat rows, some need to use a different colored gel pen... make it YOURS! 

And that’s it guys! There’s not a lot to it! Some days, I listen to worship music while I read. Sometimes I have to get up a thousand times to break up squabbles. But God knows my heart. And it has changed from guilt when I miss my Bible reading time... to just being bummed and knowing that I can catch up with my good Friend next time. Because it isn’t about quantity in any relationship we have, it’s about quality. He desires my worship, not my performance. 

I challenge you to try this plan for 1 week. And if you need someone to keep you accountable, I would love to be that person for you!