It was bound to happen, right?
I'm ten days behind.
The Type A in me (which is a solid 95%) is so ashamed.
I never wanted this daily Bible reading to become another item on my list to check off, but here I am, very much out of sorts because those little "checks" aren't happening.
Guess this is why I should be reading my Bible.
I think I have some good excuses, though.
I homeschool.
My daughter's high school homework load has been astronomical and has kept us both up late on many a night this last month.
It takes a significant amount (but not more than is prescribed, mind you... not even as much as is prescribed - thought you'd want to know that) of pain medication for me to function at a reasonable level these days - and unfortunately, a big side effect of the med is a good deal of brain fogginess. Hard to concentrate.
I did a little traveling. :)
Mark and I took a 6 day getaway to New York City last week.
It was glorious.
We have dreamed of and planned for this trip for many, many years. In fact, the trip was scheduled for the fall of 2008 - when we unexpectedly found we were EXPECTING and so getting through another pregnancy became the focal point of our lives.
So three years later, we finally got to take our trip.
It was everything we hoped and prayed it would be.
The weather was perfect.
The city was fascinating.
The shows were wonderful.
The man I was with is the love of my life.
We had time together like we haven't had in YEARS.
Liberty Island
Top of the Rock
American Museum of National History
Central Park
It was time well spent and I think God was smiling on us.
So what if I'm a little behind, right?
Totally! who cares if your 10 days behind or even one day behind!!!!
ReplyDeleteYour trip with Mark is a great analogy for your Bible reading. How would you or Mark have enjoyed the trip if you were just doing/checking it off your list. You are in love and life pulls and pushes but that doesn't change your love. It is the same with Jesus. There are so many ways to "be with Him". Sometimes those ways are pouring out love to those around you. Sometimes it is just relaxing and knowing He is near.
I am all for Bible reading but when I start feeling guilty about it I remind myself that the early church didn't have The Bible and in many ways they were more dependent on Christ then I am in my daily life. They had the law but they didn't read it everyday.
Mark is the love of your life but Jesus is the lover of your soul and He loves you regardless of how much reading you get in. After all He knows you have pain, kids, commitments and a tight schedule. :) It is not like you are filling your life so full you don't have time for Him, you are stewarding the things He has given you and walking out the things He allowed for you to grow. :)
PS: as you can see I am not a type A and I am more then happy to help you ditch guilt anytime. ;)
ReplyDeleteA.W. Tozer, "The Pursuit of God". Chapter: The Sacrament of Living.
ReplyDelete"That old serpent, the devil...he will be there in the cab or at the desk or in the field to remind the Christian that he is giving the better part of his day to the things of this world and allotting to his religious duties only a trifling portion of his time. And unless great care is taken, this will create confusion and bring discouragement and heaviness of heart.
We can meet this successfully only by the exercise of an aggressive faith. Let us practice the fine art of making every work a priestly ministration. Let us believe that God is in all our simple deeds and learn to find Him there.
By meditation on this truth, by talking it over with God often in our prayers...the old painful duality will go down before a restful unity of life. The knowledge that we are all God's, *that he has received all and rejected nothing*, will unify our inner lives and make everything sacred to us."
It makes me think about the Pharisees and their "check boxes." They always challenged Jesus and had a scripture to back them up. But they missed the spirit of law and that people are more important than rules.
ReplyDelete