HOW THIS STARTED

I was handed a booklet very similar to this one in 2005 while attending a men’s Bible study at
​First Baptist Church Enid.  The preacher that handed them out told our group it was imperative that we meet with God every day in his Word and to journal about what God told us through the scriptures.  The Lord grabbed hold of me that day and inspired me to start reading.  I have read the Bible cover to cover every year since.  Daily, I put different marks by the passage I read until it was difficult to even read the passages in that old booklet any more.  When I went to order more of these booklets, the phone number for the group that made them was no longer connected.  What you see before you is my effort to recreate the greatest gift ever handed to me and hopefully provide you a tool that you can use to strengthen your walk with the Lord as well.
 
My grandpa was a great example for me when it came to Bible reading.  He read his Bible cover to cover more times than he could count.  He would always tell me that it is good to read commentaries and special passages from time to time, but, just like any book worth reading, you needed to read the actual words and the entire book to get the full story.  I agree with him. 
The Bible is not a book about perfect people (except for Jesus), it is a book about regular people who are flawed just like all of us.  The direction shared in the Bible is for flawed people to get back on the path God has prepared for us and experience joy in its fullest here on God’s earth.
 
I have also learned that it is not enough simply to read the word.  I am a firm believer in “journaling” as you read.  The way this booklet is laid out, each day you read passages from two locations in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.  I find that God teaches me more when I read one of the passages and then write in my journal the lesson he is teaching me through His words.  It forces me to pay more attention.  I also journal about what happened in my life and my family’s life the day before.  This helps me to stop and reflect on the blessings God is raining down on me every day.
 
After reading and journaling, it is also important to spend a few moments speaking directly with the Lord through prayer.  I use my journal to make a list of people for whom God has laid on my heart
to pray.  This may be the most important part of your daily Bible reading “habit.”
 
Finally, I have learned that I need to read the Bible even when I’m not feeling like it.  It is similar to working out or calling your mother.  If you do it even when you don’t want to, it continues to remain a habit in your life.  There is no better habit than taking about 20 minutes out of every day to read what God has prepared for you and to reflect on His greatness.  Also, most of the time,
you will find that by the end of your time with God’s Word, your attitude has changed.
 
You can read the Bible from front to back every year for the next 50 years and you will find some truths that will help you navigate your way through life, but the Bible won’t truly speak to you until you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you.  I pray that if you are searching for the peace that surpasses all understanding, that you find it in this daily Bible reading.  And if you are already a believer, then I pray that this booklet helps you grow in your walk with the Lord,
​and you become a mighty instrument for His work here on Earth.