8.29.2013

reWORDED


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remember that time that i revealed my struggle with (aka hatred of) reading the bible?

it was over a month ago, and i thought i'd give a little update on how things are coming now that i'm putting real effort toward getting that lamp unto my freaking feet.

this may be shameful, but (yeah right, when has that ever stopped me from telling yall?) buying new things gets me excited for a new activity. maybe it shouldn't but it so does. having new running shorts  MAKES me more likely to work out. having a garlic press or a pastry cutter makes me want to cook.

in that same vein, the first thing i did after publishing that post and deciding to change my habits was order a new bible. this one specifically.

i like that its a new translation for me (NLT, a good mid-way point between the message's easy-to-read, paraphrasing and the NIV's more literal, yet sometimes harder to understand, interpretation), and i am liking it lots. i also like that there are no notes at the bottom (beyond VERY brief translation options sometimes). and i love that its small and zip-uppable so that if/when i put it in my purse, i dont find chapstick smears, dirt granules and squished raisins between pages when i pull her out again. and i like that the design is pretty cool (i mean, for a bible and all. i cant be too picky; i'm just grateful that my copy is 0% vellum).

the second thing i did was to take cindy's recommendation from the comments section and to buy Jen Hatmaker's book, A Modern Girl's Guide to Bible Study: A Refreshingly Unique Look at God's Word. jen hatmaker is a million percent hilarious (not something i say about chicks very often because i am stingy and insecure), and sold out to jesus. these are my prerequisites if you want me as your bible book customer.

while i waited for these gems to arrive on my doorstep from the dark heart of the amazon (seriously, they should get some domestic distribution centers, right?), i sat down with my hubface and talked about what we could do in our daily life to make spending time studying god's word more likely (since a lifetime of pretty much just NOT trying and waiting for the fire to light hadnt brought me far).

we landed on the super obvious, yet avoided-for-years, solution of waking up earlier. i confess: i make sleep an idol very often. for years...YEARS, yall, my husband has been waking up with the kids and letting me sleep for an extra 1-2 hours EVERY DAY. he is amazing in that way and knows that i legitimately need sleep more than he does. i feel like such a spoiled brat admitting that in public, but it's true, and while i've appreciated this SO much, this "extra" sleep had started to be a serious stumbling block to a lot of things in my life.

we started small though. the kids usually wake up around 7-7:30 (so jesse informed me). i get to work around 9. so formerly i would sleep until like 8:30 and leave (taking care of only myself...shame!) at the last possible moment. we decided to try both of us waking up at 7 every day for a week (regardless of when the kids woke up) just to see if i died of sleep-deprivation and to see how life felt after our trial run.

miraculously i lived. it was a close thing though.

actually not really. it was pretty easy and made it all the more ridiculous that i have been avoiding being a wearer-of-the-big-girl-panties for so long now. but dont be too impressed (as if you would) with my panties just yet...i made jesse a deal that he has to set the alarm, and then he, his beautiful self, has to wake me up personally, WITH iced coffee in hand. (i KNOW that he is too good for me, yall, but good luck convincing him). these were my demands.

so the entire first week we did exactly that. the first thing i learned: WHOA COFFEE! hoo boy, i usually drink coffee as like a dessert, and then only rarely. i get it now. drinking coffee in the morning = life. i can almost literally feel the first molecules of caffeine making contact with my brain and sending it into action. and i see that it is good.

study buddies!

the second thing i learned: jesus is on board for this.

how do i know? BOTH kids slept past 8 am every day that first week. jesse was GOBSMACKED (and i do NOT throw that word out lightly because it is very heavy). he says that not one child has ever slept past 8 for him, much less both of them for five days in a row! it really was amazing to hear this. call me the Nutty Confessor (please?), but i totally believe jesus did this to show me that reading his word is something he really wants from me

*it should be noted they have NOT done this again since...but they are made to stay quietly in their rooms until at least 7:30 so that we get at minimum a half hour alone with our bibles*

so i read the first few chapters of jen's (we first name tight like that) book sunday night before my first day of actual reading (jitters! i hope the teacher likes me...oh wait, he died for me and i am his child...i'm so in. yeah, nepotizz!). 

i love that she had a suggestion and example of a prayer to pray BEFORE opening the bible. to ask for guidance, revelation and protection from distraction. this is a very helpful exercise as it reminds me every day before i start that it's not ON ME to find something meaningful in god's word. it's in his hands to unfold exactly what he wants me to receive. that's a load off already and it changes my mindset of how i view a daily devotion from work i have to do to a blessing i am going to receive. straight up. 

she also strongly encouraged journaling. i have ALWAYS sucked at this, vowing to journal my life so my daughter can read about young-me one day, and i always make it no farther than 2 days. despite my dismal track record, i do love an excuse to buy cool school supplies so i scored a sweet graph-paper journal from target that makes my heart really happy. it has triangles and awesome all over it. it's the really well-bound kind that you can open all the way flat without breaking the spine. you dont have to feel the same, but i've just never been a big fan of spine-breaking, in general. 


first i went all the way through the book of james, and am now in the gospel of john. 

so here i am 6 weeks in. i'm still totally NOT that lady who talks about her bible like it's a secret lover. i'm not getting visions or stigmata and havent met a single seraphim (yet!). sometimes all i write on a journal page after a morning's reading is, "um....what???"

but it feels right. it feels like the beginning of a good work in me that he IS going to complete. so i keep showing up because jesus does too.

and, doy, bonus: life is a million times better when you get out in front of your day rather than hitting the ground reacting to it. i'm a better mom, wife, worker, crafter, runner, citizen, humanoid with my new, more disciplined routine.

standing ovation, please, for the 30 year old who learned to wake up at 7 am (movie contract pending for this gripping tale of heroism, in a world).

so my final verdict on this experiment-turned-habit? hold on to your hats, because it's the shock of the universe, and you wont hear this anywhere else, folks, because i am dropping a cutting edge truth-bomb: reading this bible is good for christians

blammo. *throws down mic*

dukes out

11 comments:

  1. Love this! I'm so glad it's working for you. You're inspiring me to take action! But man, is it hard to roll outta bed before the kiddos sound their gentle dulcite tones in the morning. Ahem. Or their scream sirens. Whichever.

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  2. This makes me so happy! Isn't it wonderful that when the Lord sees us striving to follow Him, He meets us and gives us what we need to continue in His path? I love that you're meeting with Jesus and giving the first-fruits of your day to Him.
    You are awesome! So excited for you.

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  3. Between you and Jen Hatmaker? Totally convicted. Or whatever the word is that we are "supposed" to use there.
    I've read the Bible on and off for years, literally, but never on a CONTINUAL DAILY basis. Thank you for being your honest, open, straight-forward self.
    blammo, INDEED!

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  4. You have no idea what this post means to me. I have always struggled with daily devotions. I did ok for a while, but it is sooooo hard for me to get up before my boys. I feel the same way about sleep as you do/did. When I read "i make sleep an idol very often" I was totally convicted. I have never thought of sleep being an idol, but it totally is to me. I try to blame it on "my thyroid must be off, I must be iron deficient...." but you know what, I think if I start to be obedient and get up earlier and "exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world" (Lysa TerKeust), then I wonder how much more energized I will feel? Thank you for being obedient and posting your struggle and how you are overcoming it. You really are an inspiration....

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  5. You, Nutty Confessor, you. You're welcome.

    Thanks for sharing this. It's totally relatable. (<--- is that a word? My spell check is telling me no.) I purchased myself a new Bible, as well. Step 1!

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  6. I love everything about this. So glad you shared your update. :)

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  7. Keight,especially regarding the Miley Cyrus post please continue to be who you are. many of us who read your blog understand your heart and your humor. some people will not understand you and that's okay. I didn't find anything you said offensive only true and of course we know you don't actually want to Miley Cyrus Dead. come on. as I said just please continue to be who you are.

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  8. Keight,especially regarding the Miley Cyrus post please continue to be who you are. many of us who read your blog understand your heart and your humor. some people will not understand you and that's okay. I didn't find anything you said offensive only true and of course we know you don't actually want to Miley Cyrus Dead. come on. as I said just please continue to be who you are.

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  9. Between this post and a couple recent church sermons I am feeling very convicted, but also inspired with setting some new goals! Thanks for the recommendation on Jen Hatmaker. I have struggled to find a reading plan that works for me---my cynical self has a hard time dealing with the Beth Moore-like studies, which is my own problem. I'm ordering her book pronto and diving in. Thanks for the honesty and encouragement.

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  10. Makes me smile all over...so thankful! Reminds me of "I'm gonna hide God's word in my heart as a lamp unto my feet". (In my head, it's a song from one of the Psalty videos--ask Jesse if he can sing it!) If he needs help--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVwJcBgblk0&list=PL53202BC7BAFC2B3F&index=10

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  11. Makes me smile all over...so thankful! Reminds me of "I'm gonna hide God's word in my heart as a lamp unto my feet". (In my head, it's a song from one of the Psalty videos--ask Jesse if he can sing it!) If he needs help--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVwJcBgblk0&list=PL53202BC7BAFC2B3F&index=10

    ReplyDelete