Well, last night was the 90th day of my Read the Bible in 90 Days challenge and, by the grace of God, I accomplished what I set out to do! To be quite honest, I wasn't so sure that this challenge was do-able for me and after signing up, I was left wondering why in the world I thought this was a good idea! But now, in hindsight, I am SO glad I did! I learned so much and have found it to be a very beneficial endevour!

What exactly are the benefits for a busy Mama of young ones to take an hour out of her every day to read a rather enormous and intricate book? I'm glad you should ask because I have a whole list for you!

1. I learned that the excuse of 'I just don't have enough time to read my Bible everyday' is no longer an acceptable one. Despite the fact that I truly do have a very busy life, there are still hours wasted online or watching shows. It really didn't hurt me to spend 1 of those hours in God's Word!

2. I found spending an houring sitting and reading my Bible each day to be far more relaxing than I'd expected. Even the long geneologies did not seem so bad, cuddled up on the couch with a coffee in my hand. I even began looking forward to this time. (Imagine that!)

3. I came to realize how priveleged I am to be able to read the whole Bible! Not only do I live in a country where I am still free to do so but I also live in a time when I am blessed with being able to read the entire revealed Word of God! In the midst of plugging through the OT, my pastor spoke one Sunday in his sermon about how the men and women of the Old Testament longed to see these things revealed, to see all that God was foreshadowing through the sacrifices and events in which they played a part. I was humbled at the thought of this - that all that they had hoped for and longed for in the coming of the promised Messiah is now completely revealed to us!

4. I was amazed at how reading the Bible from cover to cover connected so many things for me. Due to the fact that I read it so fast, the prophecies in the OT were still fresh in my mind when I went on to read the NT where they are stunningly and perfectly fulfilled! Not only that, but I was blown away by what a beautiful love story the Bible is of God chasing after, rescueing and redeeming His people!

5. My curiousty was piqued in so many instances during my readings. Initially, I was rather disappointed that I didn't have time to look very much into the things I wondered about. I felt that this was maybe a downside to the 90 day challenge - no time to study things that you come across and don't quite understand. But in the long run I have to admit that this has been a benefit for me! I am now really looking forward to reading though the Bible again but at a slower pace that will allow for time to study things in greater detail!

6. I was surprised at the impact that the time spent in God's Word had on my 3 year old daughter. One day, when I was reading it, she cuddled up to me and said, "Mama, you love read your Bible!" I agreed and went on to explain to her why it was so important. Often throughout the past few months, I've also had company while reading since she liked to snuggle up to me and read her children's Bible. Without knowing it, I was setting an example for her about the value of reading the Bible every day!

7. I was encouraged by my husband joining me on this journey. It was nice to have someone else sharing this challenge with me in the same room! (Not that I didn't appreciate the online encouragement, but its just different! You know what I mean!) This led to many good converstations between us about what we were reading and caused us to realize that it is likely a good practice to be reading along the same schedule!

8. Finally, this challenge caused thankfulness in my heart towards God! Thankfulness for leading me to this opportunity, for helping me to persevere when I found it difficult, for blessing my heart with His Word, for instilling daily, consistent seeking after Him into my life, for giving me this book that shows me so clearly that He is everything.

So what now? Well, for starters I've printed off a 52 Week Bible reading plan to follow. I've also joined the Spring Reading Thing (you can see my list of books here!). In case you haven't guessed, I am a bit of a book worm!

If you're interested in doing the Read the Bible in 90 Days challenge, there is another one starting on July 11th! For more details on the challenge, go here!

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105