{99 Days, 66 Books}
For years I’ve been a fan of those who’ve chosen to tackle the entirety of God’s word in less than one hundred days. I’ve been tempted at times, but allowed the fear of failure to lead me instead of His indwelling Spirit. Anxiety, nervousness and angst ruled the day rather than allowing Him to do a work in me which was beyond me.
A week ago something changed. I was perusing Teri Lynne Underwood’s blog and saw this:
A familiar twinge tugged deep inside. The thought of “One Amazing Summer” grabbed hold as never before. You see, our summer camping ministry, LIFT Ministries, usually keeps me on the road from school’s end until school’s beginning. It’s an incredible ride, but a busy one. This summer, however, is planned a little differently. Although my husband will be traveling here, there and everywhere, my son and I will be spending the majority of our time at home. In that moment, the moment I glanced at the above banner, it was as though I knew this summer was the time. The Spirit lifted my confidence and spoke into me. “YOU NEED THIS 99 DAY JOURNEY and I’ll walk every step with you. I’ll be there through each verse, each chapter, and each book.”
Daunting, but not impossible.
Challenging, but not unachievable.
Taxing, but not unattainable.
You may be asking, “Why read the bible through? After all, there’s isn’t a commandment to do so.” Technically, you’d be right; however, our lives should not be duty filled, but desire led. If we desire Him, we should want to know Him. What better way than to immerse ourselves in His word! Additionally, if we desire obedience and Him, His word should matter far beyond duty.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. ~ Psalm 119:11 (KJV)
As an adult, 18-current life expectancy, we live approximately 20,000 days. Some days are planned while others are lived spontaneously. Some days prove weary while others are exhilarating. Whatever the day may be, we have nearly 20,000 as an adult. Let’s do the math:
20,000 minus 99 equals 19,901
Now, we know we’ll not be reading all day, each day we take part. On average, I believe we’ll be reading about 12 pages a day. 12 pages. Even when we reach Leviticus and Numbers (which may be slightly more tedious) there’s no way we’ll spend an entire day reading. So, out the 99 days committed, we’ll probably read an hour – hour and a half at the most. Period. In comparison, I wonder how long the torture of Jesus took so that we might have the hope of heaven. Perspective.
With that said, I commit to 99 days in His word. What about you? If you’ve been a #B90Days participant, what a feat! Thank you for committing and following through. For us “first timers”, what of it? You in? We can serve as an encouragement to each other by becoming each others cheerleader. In the end, we’ll be bonded for life. It doesn’t get better than that!
Linking with Thought Provoking Thursday, Imperfect Prose, Thankful Thursday and Life:UNMASKED
