What’s one of the hardest things you’ve ever done? For me, I would say walking through our infertility and adoption journey was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done; so much so I felt I needed to write a book about it. But in my childhood, one of the hardest things I had done was to persevere through music. Allow me to explain. I was asked as a scrawny fourth grader if I wanted to join orchestra or band. Without knowing too much about either, let alone the various instruments involved I accepted the school’s invitation and suggested that I play the flute. The music director instead recommended that I play the cello. The cello? I wasn’t even sure what they were talking about. They allowed me the chance to speak to the orchestra director who in turn showed me what a cello was and expressed that they needed me in order to help complete their orchestra. Since I had no real preferences to any instrument, I accepted their suggestion. After joining orchestra I was taught the basics: how to hold the instrument, how to play with the bow, finger placement, etc. Soon I was set to play in the school orchestra’s first concert. Looking back, I’m sure we all sounded off-key and new to all of our instruments, but we were learning!
That’s the tricky thing about learning and growing. It’s hard to see and value in the moment just how far we’ve come because all we see sometimes is how much further we need to go. I didn’t have a strong belief at the beginning of my orchestra days that I would be able to successfully learn and play the cello. But my cello classmate wasn’t going to let me give up. She would help teach me and encourage me along the way. And over the years I found that through my continued efforts of showing up and practicing that I got pretty good. I learned to appreciate my growth and enjoyed being able to play in the orchestra. Music became a big part of my life in middle school through college.
Another area that I know has been hard for me and others is Bible reading, especially if you start talking about reading through the entire Bible. At first the idea sounds nearly impossible – reading through 66 books in total which would take about 70 to 80 hours total. Who has that much attention and time? I had read through the entire Bible once when I was in middle school but hadn’t tackled it since then. I had the desire to, but I always felt like I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time to it, let alone understand all that I’m reading.
A few years ago, a dear friend posted on Facebook about how she had been reading through the Bible in the year with the Bible Recap. I learned that The Bible Recap offers short daily recaps of God’s Word—explaining the challenging parts and connecting the dots to help you develop a deep friendship with God. It sounded like this method was not only doable, but enjoyable. I was in! I started in January 2022. I’m now close to completing my third year of reading through the whole Bible with the Bible Recap and I plan to keep going. Here’s what I’ve learned in my time going through the Bible in its entirety:
Stack the habit – I knew in order to remain successful that I would need to “stack” my Bible reading habit with another habit that I already had in place. I used the audio feature on the YouVersion Bible app to listen to that day’s reading while I’m getting ready each morning. Since getting ready is so routine, I found the listening to the Bible was not only a great way to start my day, but that I could easily focus on what was being read aloud to me.
Each year I learn and observe something new – I anticipated that with my second time through the Bible it might become a bit mundane, but each year’s it’s been the opposite. I see new aspects to the stories and scriptures each time I read (or listen) through them.
Reading God’s Word keeps me humble – 2 Timothy 3:16 states that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” I’m humbled regularly, but in the best of ways.
I know and love God more – Reading through the entire Bible helps me see the “bigger picture” in all of scripture. When I see the overarching story that runs through all of scripture I get to know God in both detailed and broad ways which makes me love Him all the more.
I understand scripture more – As I read through scripture and listen to the Bible recap alongside it I can say that I understand scripture more than I did before the experience.
It’s a daily source of encouragement and joy – Starting my day focused on God’s Word leaves me feeling encouraged and joyful because I’m focusing on God, rather than my problems or current stressors.
I know we’re all getting ready for Christmas and all the joys that it brings with it. We’re also just weeks away from a new year. I’d love to invite you to join me in reading through the entire Bible in 2025. You can use the Bible Recap plan in the YouVersion app and listen to the associated podcast each day. You’ll find more resources to get started here: thebiblerecap.com/start. Just think, by this time next year you’ll have completed over 345 days of Bible reading, having read 49 books of the Bible and you’ll likely find a deeper appreciation for Christmas and the joy that it brings.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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