Tuesday, July 22, 2014

How to Read the Bible in 90 Days

Between New Years and Easter a couple of friends and I went on an AMAZING life changing, spirit altering journey. We read the Bible in 90 Days with some guidance from our friends at B90 and now I can't shut up about it.

Ready?

You can hear why it's worth doing over at my friend Bronwyn's blog where I risk getting a little too raw for the sake of compelling others to give God the chance to transform them through His voice. (link coming soon) My friend Lisa also shared her experiences powerfully here.

Set?

When you read the Bible in 90 Days you will get to know God as He is, as he shows himself. You will make connections, see themes and repetitions that you never imagined because everything is fresh in your mind. You are seeing the airplane window, big picture view. Your daily reading will become less about forcing application and more about recognizing and listening to God. Get set for the spiritual journey of your life.

Go!

Here's some practical tips to help you succeed.

  • Join (or start!) a group.
     Small is best. There were 3 of us and it was a great size to hold one another accountable but small enough that there was not a lot of additional administration or overhead to keep the group on the same page. 
  • Consider taking 103 Days.
    We found it best to do our 90 Days of reading over a 103 day period. We had 6 days of reading each week and on the 7th we came together as a group, shared what we were learning, and prayed. That way our time commitment held steady at 60 minutes per day and we also allowed ourselves some time to process what we were reading. 
  • Grab a reading plan.
     The official plan we used is here. I made my own so that I could add in our meeting days and line it up to specific dates (see below). Feel free to copy/paste it into excel and customize it for yourself! 
  • Get a new Bible.
    This is the Bible that Zondervan recommends and is broken up into the sections for the daily plan. Us girls all used and loved our journaling Bibles instead. It was really nice to quickly take notes, write observations, or scribble a "WOW!" or "???" as we went along. 
  • Plan your schedule.
    It works best to pick an hour a day that is non-negotiably committed to the journey. Even though I am not a morning person, the only hour I knew I would have was early in the morning before my kids woke up. I would highly suggest morning time. It has become my favorite way to start my day- 100 days will form a habit! 
  • Read the whole Bible.
    There is an amazing sense of connection and fluidity to the story of the Bible even when read simply cover to cover. There is a lot of reading and real life is going to happen and you will almost certainly fall behind on a day or two. Here's what to do and not do do when that happens. 

You CAN do it. I was an exhausted mother of a one year old and a two year old the first time I read B90. That hour of reading in the morning that I didn't think I had became the time that energized and fueled the rest of my day. I was shocked and amazed to discover I actually enjoyed reading the Old Testament. God's voice will surprise you!

I can't wait to hear how God's Word speaks to your soul. Will you email me and tell me? Pretty please?!

Joy to your journey, my friend! May Grace and Peace overwhelm you.


***


Day Date Reading Day Date Reading
1 3-Jan MeetUp 58 1-Mar Isa 1:1 Isa 13:22
2 4-Jan Gen 1:1 Gen 16:16 59 2-Mar Isa 14:1 Isa 28:29
3 5-Jan Gen 17:1 Gen 28:19 60 3-Mar Isa 29:1 Isa 41:18
4 6-Jan Gen 28:20 Gen 40:11 61 4-Mar Isa 41:19 Isa 52:12
5 7-Jan Gen 40:12 Gen 50:26 62 5-Mar Isa 52:13 Isa 66:18
6 8-Jan Ex 1:1 Ex 15:18 63 6-Mar Isa 66:19 Jer 10:13
7 9-Jan Ex 15:19 Ex 28:43 64 7-Mar MeetUp
8 10-Jan MeetUp 65 8-Mar Jer 10:14 Jer 23:8
9 11-Jan Ex 29:1 Ex 40:38 66 9-Mar Jer 23:9 Jer 33:22
10 12-Jan Le 1:1 Le 14:32 67 10-Mar Jer 33:23 Jer 47:7
11 13-Jan Le 14:33 Le 26:26 68 11-Mar Jer 48:1 La 1:22
12 14-Jan Le 26:27 Nu 8:14 69 12-Mar La 2:1 Eze 12:20
13 15-Jan Nu 8:15 Nu 21:7 70 13-Mar Eze 12:21 Ez 23:39
14 16-Jan Nu 21:8 Nu 32:19 71 14-Mar MeetUp
15 17-Jan MeetUp 72 15-Mar Eze 23:40 Eze 35:15
16 18-Jan Nu 32:20 Dt 7:26 73 16-Mar Eze 36:1 Eze 47:12
17 19-Jan Dt 8:1 Dt 23:11 74 17-Mar Eze 47:13 Da 8:27
18 20-Jan Dt 23:12 Dt 34:12 75 18-Mar Da 9:1 Hos 13:6
19 21-Jan Jos 1:1 Jos 14:15 76 19-Mar Hos 13:7 Am 9:10
20 22-Jan Jos 15:1 Jdg 3:27 77 20-Mar Am 9:11 Nah 3:19
21 23-Jan Jdg 3:28 Jdg 15:12 78 21-Mar MeetUp
22 24-Jan MeetUp 79 22-Mar Hab 1:1 Zec 10:12
23 25-Jan Jdg 15:13 1Sa 2:29 80 23-Mar Zec 11:1 Mt 4:25
24 26-Jan 1Sa 2:30 1Sa 15:35 81 24-Mar Mt 5:1 Mt 15:39
25 27-Jan 1Sa 16:1 1Sa 28:19 82 25-Mar Mt 16:1 Mt 26:56
26 28-Jan 1Sa 28:20 2Sa 12:10 83 26-Mar Mt 26:57 Mk 9:13
27 29-Jan 2Sa 12:11 2Sa 22:18 84 27-Mar Mk 9:14 Lk 1:80
28 30-Jan 2Sa 22:19 1Ki 7:37 85 28-Mar MeetUp
29 31-Jan MeetUp 86 29-Mar Lk 2:1 Lk 9:62
30 1-Feb 1Ki 7:38 1Ki 16:20 87 30-Mar Lk 10:1 Lk 20:19
31 2-Feb 1Ki 16:21 2Ki 4:37 88 31-Mar Lk 20:20 Jn 5:47
32 3-Feb 2Ki 4:38 2Ki 15:26 89 1-Apr Jn 6:1 Jn 15:17
33 4-Feb 2Ki 15:27 2Ki 25:30 90 2-Apr Jn 15:18 Ac 6:7
34 5-Feb 1Ch 1:1 1Ch 9:44 91 3-Apr Ac 6:8 Ac 16:37
35 6-Feb 1Ch 10:1 1Ch 23:32 92 4-Apr MeetUp
36 7-Feb MeetUp 93 5-Apr Ac 16:38 Ac 28:16
37 8-Feb 1Ch 24:1 2Ch 7:10 94 6-Apr Ac 28:17 Ro 14:23
38 9-Feb 2Ch 7:11 2Ch 23:15 95 7-Apr Ro 15:1 1Co 14:40
39 10-Feb 2Ch 23:16 2Ch 35:15 96 8-Apr 1Co 15:1 Gal 3:25
40 11-Feb 2Ch 35:16 Ez 10:44 97 9-Apr Gal 3:26 Col 4:18
41 12-Feb Ne 1:1 Ne 13:14 98 10-Apr 1Th 1:1 Phm 25
42 13-Feb Ne 13:15 Job 7:21 99 11-Apr MeetUp
43 14-Feb MeetUp 100 12-Apr Heb 1:1 Jam 3:12
44 15-Feb Job 8:1 Job 24:25 101 13-Apr Jam 3:13 3Jn 14
45 16-Feb Job 25:1 Job 41:34 102 14-Apr Jude 1 Rev 17:18
46 17-Feb Job 42:1 Ps 24:10 103 15-Apr Rev 18:1 Rev 22:21
47 18-Feb Ps 25:1 Ps 45:14 104 16-Apr
48 19-Feb Ps 45:15 Ps 69:21 105 17-Apr
49 20-Feb Ps 69:22 Ps 89:13 106 18-Apr MeetUp
50 21-Feb MeetUp 107 19-Apr
51 22-Feb Ps 89:14 Ps 108:13 108 20-Apr Easter Sunday
52 23-Feb Ps 109:1 Ps 134:3
53 24-Feb Ps 135:1 Pr 6:35
54 25-Feb Pr 7:1 Pr 20:21
55 26-Feb Pr 20:22 Ecc 2:26
56 27-Feb Ecc 3:1 SoS 8:14
57 28-Feb MeetUp