Sorry I’m late! VERY late!
Ok – here’s the week….I hope you kept reading even though I hadn’t posted anything!!!!
Mon Exo 28-30 Matt 22:1-22
Tues Exo 31-33 Matt 22:23-46
Wed Exo 34-35 Matt 23
Thurs Exo 36-37 Matt 24:1-28
Fri Exo 38-39 Matt 24:29-51
Sat Exo 40 Matt 25
Sun Leviticus 1-2 Matt 26:1-29
I will do my very best not to be late again!
*~*~Toni~*~*
Bible Reading Challenge wk of 1/26-2/1/09
Sorry this wasn’t up yesterday! I was out of town, and forgot to schedule this post! Anyway, without further ado…..:
Mon: Exo 13-14 Matt 18:1-20
Tues: Exo 15-16 Matt 18:21-35
Wed: Exo 17-18 Matt 19
Thurs: Exo 19-20 Matt 20:1-16
Fri: Exo 21-22 Matt 20:17-34
Sat: Exo 23-24 Matt 21:1-22
Sun: Exo 25-27 Matt 21:23-46
Bible Reading Challenge wk of 1/19-25/09
Here’s your weekly reading schedule:
Mon: Gen 45-46 Matt 13:1-36
Tues: Gen 47-48 Matt 13:37-58
Wed: Gen 49-50 Matt 14
Thurs: Exodus 1-3 Matt 15:1-20
Fri: Exodus 4-6 Matt 15:21-39
Sat: Exodus 7-9 Matt 16
Sun: Exodus 10-12 Matt 17
Ok, gang….we’ve read through Genesis….what’d you think? It is SO hard to pick a favorite story! One of mine is when the Lord told Abraham that Sarah would have a child and Sarah laughed…lol. I like what happened next!
What about you?
When you say, “I’ll pray for you”
Your cousin’s mother-in-law is going for surgery in a week. Your cousin asks you to pray. You say you will.
Your best friend says she is worried about her finances and asks you to pray for God to show her what to do. You promise to pray daily until He answers her.
Your brother asks you to pray for his marriage. You agree to pray daily, without fail, until his marriage is back on track and winning again.
But, life happens. You pray, but the prayers are for things you need just to make it through the day. You ask God to help you find your lost car keys, make it to the doctor’s office on time, and to make that last $50 stretch until payday. You remember your promises to pray for your friends and family, so you say a rushed prayer while you drive to the grocery store. You know you should do more, but the time just slips away.
Does this sound like you? I’m not judging, because I have been there all too often, myself. The question is, who are we short-changing when we fail to pray like we promised?
In my humble opinion, we are doing ourselves a disservice. Don’t get me wrong, the person we are praying for definitely receives a benefit, too, but we miss even more. We miss the opportunity to go before the God of the universe and plead for a fellow believer. And sometimes, we have the opportunity to plead for the salvation of another human. We get to wrestle with demons for that person’s eternal destiny!
But, all too often, we don’t. We miss the boat. We throw up a quick prayer and hope God counts it as a real one. Yes, quick prayers are good sometimes – sometimes they are all we can manage in certain situations! But, when there is something big – salvation, health, marriage, etc – at stake, we owe God and the recipient more than a few seconds.
I challenge you to spend a minimum of 3 minutes of prayer for EACH person or situation you have agreed to pray for – daily. For 5 people, that only adds 15 minutes to your prayer time. You can do it! (You may need to get up an extra 15 minutes earlier, but, you can do it!)
Bible Reading Challenge wk of 1/12-18/09
Ok gang….here’s the schedule for the week. Keep in mind, if you can’t read exactly as is each day, just do your best to catch up by the end of the week!
Mon: Gen 30-31 Matt 9:1-17
Tues: Gen 32-33 Matt 9:18-38
Wed: Gen 34-35 Matt 10:1-24
Thurs: Gen 36-38 Matt 10:25-42
Fri: Gen 39-40 Matt 11
Sat: Gen 41-42 Matt 12:1-24
Sun: Gen 43-44 Matt 12:25-50
Almost done with Genesis! What’s your favorite story so far?
Why don’t you write more, Toni?
I thought that some of you may be wondering why I don’t update my blog more often – at least daily, or every other day….so I thought I would explain, just in case you were interested.
You see, I love to write. I could actually spend hours writing everyday and be perfectly happy. However, I know that when I sit down at this computer, I need to plan to be here a while becauseI like to write. So, although I intend to update this blog more frequently (my goal is daily), there is a distinct possibility that many of those will be scheduled posts.
That said, there is one more reason I don’t post more often – and this one is the real doozie: I’m waiting for God. You see, God holds us all to extremely high standards, but when we start teaching, or leading, or giving advice based on Biblical principles, we BETTER be doing it right. If we knowingly lead someone astray, we are in BIGtrouble. And, I believe that if we lead someone astray simply because we have failed to do our own homework – aka, laziness – we are likewise in some serious hot water. So, as you can see, this is a situation where I want to be sure I stay out of the hot water…..I’m hot-natured as it is….don’t need any help….LOL.
So, I wait for God to lay something on my heart strongly before I write it out for you to read. In fact, right now, I have a post that I started at least 3 weeks ago, and haven’t finished because I don’t feel its what God wants me to write just yet. Mind you, I believe someone should, but right now, He doesn’t intend for that to be me. I’m sure sometimes I miss the boat – I’m sure there are times when the Lord wants to tell you something through me (and I say that in humility) that I just somehow miss (READ: don’t listen) His voice telling me to write it.
I do plan to update this (HIS) blog more frequently – and I hope that in the meantime you’ll stay on as a faithful reader. I have some big goals for this site, and one of those is to have a book written by mid-year! I’m going to need your help!
Also, Cindy Rushtonannounced that she would be issuing a challenge sometime in the near future to her readers who are also writers: the 30-Day Challenge to write an article for their blog everyday for 30 days. This is something I also plan to accomplish – so, with God’s Grace, for at least one month my blog will be updated daily! I’d like to ask for your prayers for this though, as I want to do this to please God, and write about the subject He chooses – not me.
So, I said all that to say, I’ve missed you guys! (Wait, I am NOT a Yankee! LOL – j/k to all from north of the Mason Dixon line….sort of…lol) Let’s try that again – I missed y’all! (Now that’s Texan!) See you again soon!
And, um….where are all who took up the Bible Reading Challenge???? I know you’re out there……we can’t give up already! Tomorrow is a great day to catch up! Go to the last reading schedule post and leave a comment about this week’s readings…..we’re waiting to hear what you think!
His,
Toni
Bible Reading Challenge Wk of 1/5/09
Here’s this week’s schedule:
1/5: Gen 12-14 Matt 5:1-20
1/6: Gen 15-17 Matt 5:21-48
1/7: Gen 18-19 Matt 6:1-18
1/8: Gen 20-21 Matt 6:19-34
1/9: Gen 22-25 Matt 7
1/10: Gen 26-27 Matt 8:1-20
1/11: Gen 28-29 Matt 8:21-34
So, by the end of this week, we should be through Genesis 29, and through Matthew 8. Good stuff!
Happy reading and don’t forget to leave those comments!
Blessings,
Toni
***As a side note: If you come in to the challenge later, all the weekly schedules and discussions will be located in the section titled…um, “Bible Reading Challenge,” LOL….just in case you need to play catch up!
Bible Reading Challenge!
Ok gang….sorry I haven’t posted this sooner. But to be honest, I hardly even crawled out of bed yesterday! And for me to stay away from the computer completely, well, you know I must be sick!
Anyway, here’s how this will work.
Each Sunday, I’ll post reading schedules for Monday thru Sunday. Sometime during that week, at least once, to be a “TRUE” participant, you’ll need to post a comment about that week’s readings. You can post everyday, or you can post once for the week. Of course, I’d love for you to post each day, but we are all very busy, I understand. Also, tell your friends, teens, kids, family, etc., to stop by and join our challenge! I’ll be accepting new participants as the year goes by, but they won’t have the advantage of reading through from the beginning as we will.
Some ideas and hints for your readings:
Because this is reading through the Bible in a year, you may consider making these readings separate from your daily quiet times. That way, you don’t get caught up on something and fall behind. Instead, keep a notepad handy, and jot down verses you’d like to go back to later.
Consider making this a family endeavor. Reading aloud may take a bit longer, but the rewards earned by participating as a family will be worth it.
You’ll have two readings each day. You can read these all at once, or split them up. The most obvious way to do it is once in the morning, and again in the evening. However, there are other ways to work it in: read during your lunch hour at work; read while the kids are napping; in the doctor’s office; while waiting for your daughter’s ballet class; read during baseball practice, etc. The most important thing to do is to make it a habit. It needs to be something you do everyday without fail, without question.
Finally, and actually the most important of all, pray. Pray before you begin each reading session asking God to open your eyes, ears, heart, and mind to His wisdom and instruction.
Ok, now those are the “rules.” Here is the schedule through Sunday, January 4, 2009:
Jan 1: Genesis 1-2 Matthew 1
Jan 2: Gen. 3-5 Matt. 2
Jan 3: Gen 6-8 Matt 3
Jan 4: Gen 9-11 Matt 4
Next installment of schedules due out on the 4th!
Happy reading!
Toni
It’s Flu Season again….woohoo!
This is a very quick post to ask for prayers from each of you reading today. Somehow I think I have been lucky enough to get the beginnings of the flu. Yay me. No, I did not get a flu shot. My thought process went like this: the kids don’t go to school or day care, and I don’t work outside the home, therefore, we are not at as much of a risk as others. I won’t get one…..DUH! Didn’t think about going to Walmart, the post office, the book store, the library, friends and family for Christmas, and oh, here’s a biggie: HUSBAND GOING TO HIS JOB THEN COMING HOME!!!! Boy, am I smart these days! LOL….ok, well, now I’m paying for my complete and total lack of forethought…..so, um….I humbly ask for you to pray not only for my intelligence to return soon, but for this to pass quickly and be more like a bad cold than the flu. Or better yet – like a SLIGHT cold! I am really looking forward to our church’s New Year’s Eve celebration on Wednesday, and hope to be well…..I’d greatly appreciate your prayers!
Oh yeah, as afraid as I am to ask for this particular prayer, I need some patience! I volunteered to take my 3 nieces and nephews for a few days home with me. Although they are behaving pretty well together (which says a LOT for 5 kids roughly the same ages!), they are wearing me out! I need some patience, a little ingenuity, and LOTS of stamina!
Well, that’s it…I’m heading to the couch for a little peace and quiet while the kids fish with Pawpaw Doug. Peace….quiet….won’t last long!
Have a blessed New Year’s! And don’t forget to sign up for our Bible Reading Challenge!
Resting,
Toni
