Yup. You read that right. I am reading the Bible in a Year. I was blessed to hop aboard this little book club tugboat which really changed life in quite a few ways for me last year (another post for another day). That little book club now boasts 90 women making up a runaway cruise ship called, "read the Bible in a Year." I had felt quite discontent, waivering, and inconsistently connected in traditional church to the point of not really wanting to go, and this little get together a year ago last January was my S.O.S (and yes I hate Rihanna and yes I love using metaphors). Me a year ago....
-I can't believe I'm doing this
-I'm not gonna know anybody
-Come on, Lacy, quit complaining about not feeling connected and do something else about it (I had tried and failed at quite a few other things)
-I love sharing, so I'm totally gonna be the talker
-They are all going to be so suburban
-Can't I just wear a sweatshirt?
-They are all gonna have kids
-I just really want someone to initiate me because I make a practice of doing that myself
-I must suck
-Gosh, I am so judgemental
-Church is stupid, who thought of organized religion anyways?
-I shouldn't have said that (102% harmonizer speaking)
-But it's the cold hard truth and its how you feel, remember the last time you predicted how a social situation would end up and it totally did? (102% persistor speaking)
-I've heard that being 102% persister AND Harmonizer is a personality test's way of gently breaking the news to you that you are schitzophrenic. Oh dear, they let my be in charge of something. Oh dear, I'm in church.
This in essence is Lacy Brain in all its glory. But, I'm not here for an outlet to my narcissism (read all posts before this date for that). I'm here to document whatever I'm getting myself into with this gargantuan attempt at reading the Bible in 365 days. Me yesterday...
The issues.
1) I need to know the Greek or Hebrew translations of each an every word
2) I need to understand the cultural and geographical implications of every event in scripture
3) I need to cross reference to the New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament through Christ
4) I need to write down every scripture and memorize it that has meaning in some color coded system
5) I need resources to research the questions that arise from the scientific gaps in scripture.
6) I need to stop eating meat because in Genesis it says that every plant was made for food...
7) I need to get the right translation...
8) I need to start getting up at 4am to chew the scriptural cud
9) I need to....
10) I need to...
11) I need to...
I DON'T need to do anything. I'll say that again...er...copy/paste it. I Don't need to do anything! Can I get not an amen, but a Yeehaw for freedom! Mid-Genesis this week, I had an aha moment that felt like I put the proverbial Braveheart war paint on. I think it happened sometime during the 3rd time I fell asleep trying to get through all the 200 pages of introduction to Genesis in my Mcsomething study bible. If God has enough grace to cover all my sins, then he has plenty of grace for me while I mow through scripture at a rapid pace. What pride have I to think that I have to help God show me to the depths of scriptural knowledge, but only if I fulfill the previously listed expectations for my experience. Oi vey...I'm only half way through Genesis and this is what I'm dealing with already. It's gonna be a long year.
This year, I choose freedom from expectations. I choose freedom to read the Bible in pure form, allow myself to be refined without man's knowledge. I choose freedom from guilt when it doesn't go how I think a good Christian would read the Bible in a Year. If expectations are my daffodil, then I am the wind. Lord, help us all.
The only thing close to an expectation or a goal will be to use a blog as a very wise woman modeled for me. A kindred spirit of mine has consistently blogged for a while now and found some great success with it. When I asked her why she blogged, she told me that it was her quiet time with the Lord while her son napped. She explained how she would blog some but never wanted to just sit and vent. She would articulate a few thoughts on an issue that was present for her and then walk away from it, let it stew, and then revisit the post before it published. No wonder wisdom was at the top of her digital reputation! She let it coast. So I hope to feverishly hoist the mainsail and do all those fancy things you see in sailboat competitions, but I also hope to use this format as a way to sit on the edge of the deck with the wind in my hair. See how that metaphor came full circle? You like that? It's all I've got. HOWEVER, You may be reading the same words I am, the same chapter, see the same theme, love a same verse. I'd love to hear and share your thoughts over the next year.
Bon voyage!