I (finally) finished the Bible!

I did it!  


Up until today, I couldn't honestly say that I had read the entire Bible.  In spite of being in Bible studies since 9th grade,  I'd never stuck to a reading plan that took me through every single verse.  I had probably read something from all of the books in the Bible, but not every verse from every book.  I have the "One Year Bible", but the out-of-orderness of it bothered me and I quit after a few weeks.   I tried reading and checking off the little boxes in the reading plans that come in the front of some regular Bibles, but I never kept up with it, and the same-old-story goes for every other reading plan I had ever tried.  


BUT, I actually stuck with a plan--and finished it.  But here's the thing--and don't judge me!  It was a one-year reading plan, but it took me two years and 10 days to complete (having begun on January 1, 2010).  My two-year stretch might cause some to question my stick-to-it-ness, but the way I see it, it just shows that this time I had double the amount of perseverance--two years worth!  


But, seriously, let me explain.  A fellow teacher from my first year in Honduras came from Birmingham, where she attended this huge church, with a pastor who has since written books and become quite renowned.  The church did a sort of new-years-resolution project that was so radical that they called it "The Radical Experiment." It involved reading the whole Bible, praying for the whole world, committing your life to multiplying community, sacrificing money for a specific purpose, and spending time in another context--all in a one-year time frame.  This teacher and my friend/roommate, Twana, who were jointly reading through the Bible, inspired me to give this reading plan a try.  


Something I really enjoyed about this reading plan, compared to others I've tried, is that it is arranged in chronological order.  This meant that instead of plugging along through some of the seemingly relentless Old Testament history, it would sometimes be mixed with some Psalms that David wrote during those events.  It made for a nice mix.  


Here is a link to the "resources" page of the Radical Experiment.  If you scroll past the "pray for the world" section, you will come to the Bible reading plans.  The first is the chronological plan I followed.  
I can't find the cool book-mark shaped version that I used and cut out in order to always have with me, but I do have another more compact version saved on my computer.  If you want it, I'll e-mail it to you.  


So hooray for me.  I'm very happy to have completed this, but I'm also happy to not have a "plan" for a little while.  I just want to dig into the Word wherever I want at the moment.  




"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord.      -----Jeremiah 9:23-24