رونوشت 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:06.535 --> 00:00:11.175
Welcome to the Thankful Homemaker podcast, a podcast to be an encouragement
00:00:11.175 --> 00:00:14.779
and blessing to each other in the role God has called us to as women.
00:00:15.109 --> 00:00:19.565
I'm so thankful you've stopped by, so grab yourself a coffee or tea and sit
00:00:19.565 --> 00:00:25.355
with me a bit as we talk about how God's Word impacts every area of our lives as Christian women.
00:00:25.762 --> 00:00:31.352
Hello, friend. I'm Marci Farrell from Thankful Homemaker, and I'm so glad to be with you today.
00:00:31.927 --> 00:00:36.395
We're talking about Bible reading today and specifically what to do when you've
00:00:36.395 --> 00:00:41.354
gotten a little off track or the plan you've been using just isn't working for you anymore.
00:00:41.749 --> 00:00:45.185
So this is something I've been working through myself recently,
00:00:45.185 --> 00:00:49.625
so I thought I'd share a little of what I've been doing and hopefully encourage
00:00:49.625 --> 00:00:52.085
you if you found yourself in the same place.
00:00:52.085 --> 00:00:57.185
So maybe your summer, like my summer, threw your normal routines off of it,
00:00:57.185 --> 00:01:00.955
or life has just been full and you've realized you haven't been spending as
00:01:00.955 --> 00:01:02.815
much time in God's Word as you'd like.
00:01:02.815 --> 00:01:07.087
So I'm raising my hand here with you because it's where I found myself recently.
00:01:07.476 --> 00:01:11.055
I had been working through a Bible reading plan, but somewhere along the way,
00:01:11.055 --> 00:01:14.065
it just became too much for me. I had gotten pretty far behind,
00:01:14.448 --> 00:01:19.133
and I'm not one to try to catch up when that happens. I usually just pick up where I left off.
00:01:19.562 --> 00:01:25.085
But this time, even doing that felt overwhelming to me, and I realized I needed
00:01:25.085 --> 00:01:30.195
to simplify my reading plan for this season. So this fall, I'm now reading through
00:01:30.195 --> 00:01:34.085
the New Testament along with the Psalms and Proverbs as I can work them in.
00:01:34.445 --> 00:01:38.085
And I've also been camping in Ephesians for quite a while now to study it a
00:01:38.085 --> 00:01:40.151
little more deeply. That's taking me some time, too.
00:01:41.005 --> 00:01:46.385
I used, it's a great site, it's called the Bible Reading Plan Generator to put
00:01:46.385 --> 00:01:49.326
together a plan that feels much more doable for me right now.
00:01:49.570 --> 00:01:52.455
I'll put the link to it in the show notes if you'd like to check it out,
00:01:52.455 --> 00:01:56.485
but you can kind of create your own customized plan by just checking some boxes
00:01:56.485 --> 00:01:59.253
on it, and it kind of sets it all up for you. So,
00:01:59.740 --> 00:02:02.631
My friend, maybe you're here because maybe you need a reset too,
00:02:02.961 --> 00:02:08.030
because sometimes the plan that worked for us in one season
Load full transcript
just isn't working in another.
00:02:08.030 --> 00:02:11.570
And that doesn't mean that we give up being in the Word at all.
00:02:11.570 --> 00:02:14.885
Maybe it simply means we need to adjust the plan.
00:02:15.216 --> 00:02:20.225
The plan is there to help us get into God's Word, not to become another burden that we're carrying.
00:02:20.481 --> 00:02:25.582
And sometimes we can make getting back into the Word more complicated than it needs to be.
00:02:25.884 --> 00:02:28.860
We think we need to catch up on everything we missed, find a new study,
00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:31.857
buy a new journal, wait until Monday morning to start fresh.
00:02:32.223 --> 00:02:37.430
But we don't. We can just open our Bibles today and begin. We can keep it simple, right?
00:02:37.668 --> 00:02:41.070
And I do like to keep my Bible reading pretty simple. Pick a time,
00:02:41.070 --> 00:02:42.289
pick a place, pick a plan.
00:02:42.899 --> 00:02:46.380
It doesn't have to be in the morning, although you all have been here long enough
00:02:46.380 --> 00:02:50.404
to know I personally love starting my day with the Lord before everything else starts pressing in.
00:02:50.776 --> 00:02:54.310
Maybe your time is during the kids' nap time or over your lunch break,
00:02:54.310 --> 00:02:56.807
or maybe it's even after everyone goes to bed.
00:02:57.382 --> 00:03:03.599
And you don't need hours, right? Some days it may be a chapter or a few verses or a psalm.
00:03:03.837 --> 00:03:06.925
Other days you may have the gift of a longer stretch in the Word.
00:03:07.233 --> 00:03:10.664
The point here isn't to have this perfect Bible reading routine.
00:03:11.012 --> 00:03:16.190
It's to be in God's Word. We don't read our Bibles to earn God's favor or simply
00:03:16.190 --> 00:03:22.592
to check something off our list. We read because we're his children and we want to know our father.
00:03:23.016 --> 00:03:27.610
We need his truth to shape our thinking. We need it to convict us of sin,
00:03:27.610 --> 00:03:32.576
to strengthen our faith, and we need it to help us see our lives rightly.
00:03:33.041 --> 00:03:37.743
Jesus prayed, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth in John 17, 17.
00:03:38.126 --> 00:03:42.515
God uses his Word to make us more like Christ. We need it.
00:03:43.025 --> 00:03:46.735
So I just always say, just begin. If you're not sure where to begin.
00:03:47.413 --> 00:03:51.953
Choose one book of the Bible and read through it slowly. Really meditate on it, right?
00:03:52.185 --> 00:03:55.197
Philippians or James are great places to start.
00:03:55.197 --> 00:03:59.337
And as you read, just ask yourself some questions as you're reading.
00:03:59.337 --> 00:04:03.727
Like, what does this teach me about God? How, what does this show me about myself
00:04:03.727 --> 00:04:09.409
in relation to God? Or how can I apply what I've read to my life today now?
00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:14.177
Keep a notebook nearby. I think that helps to be able to jot some thoughts down
00:04:14.177 --> 00:04:15.452
and things as you're reading.
00:04:15.975 --> 00:04:19.887
But you don't need anything elaborate. If you've gotten behind on a reading
00:04:19.887 --> 00:04:24.277
plan, it's okay to adjust it or just start with the current day's reading.
00:04:24.277 --> 00:04:28.507
You don't have to go back and catch up on everything you missed because if you're
00:04:28.507 --> 00:04:31.897
regularly reading through the Bible, you're gonna come back around to those
00:04:31.897 --> 00:04:36.744
portions again. But the important thing is that we keep coming back to God's word.
00:04:37.075 --> 00:04:40.604
God's word is our daily bread. It's not a once a week feast.
00:04:40.976 --> 00:04:46.049
And as we spend time in his word, The Holy Spirit uses his truth to renew our minds.
00:04:46.281 --> 00:04:50.987
He uses it to expose our sin and conform us more and more into the image of
00:04:50.987 --> 00:04:55.187
Christ. So if you're raising your hand here with me today, I love that I'm like
00:04:55.187 --> 00:04:57.857
on a podcast and I'm raising my hand, but I'm raising my hand.
00:04:58.048 --> 00:05:02.100
Let's not wait until we have the perfect plan or the perfect morning.
00:05:02.367 --> 00:05:05.984
Let's just open our Bibles and begin again.
00:05:06.617 --> 00:05:10.097
And my friend, if you have a copy of my book, Homemaking Matters,
00:05:10.097 --> 00:05:13.347
chapter nine is all about our daily devotion and spiritual growth.
00:05:13.347 --> 00:05:17.397
So you'll find more encouragement there on Bible reading and prayer and scripture
00:05:17.397 --> 00:05:20.658
memory and some simple ways we can make time with the Lord a priority.
00:05:21.024 --> 00:05:25.058
This whole post is over at my home on the web at thankfulhomemaker.com.
00:05:25.308 --> 00:05:28.100
So all the show notes or links, everything's there.
00:05:28.454 --> 00:05:31.927
And I'm just grateful. Thank you for joining me. I'm always thankful when we
00:05:31.927 --> 00:05:35.414
can get even just a few moments together, which is what this one was today.
00:05:35.780 --> 00:05:39.745
But my friend, let's always remember, Jesus truly is enough always.
00:05:40.081 --> 00:05:42.623
I pray you have a very blessed week.