It's the B I B L E, yes that's the book for me!!!

Since the day we found out we were pregnant with Joey I began to pray for her.  I pray that she will come to know Christ at an early age, that she would long to know her savior and that one day she would understand and accept the sacrifice Jesus made for us sinners in order to live with him in heaven for eternity.  When she was a baby and I was nursing her before bed, I would pray over her.  When she started eating food, we would pray with her before meals, and when she turned one, my cousin Lori and fam gave her this Bible....

We would read from it's pages to Joey when we thought about it, but weren't really dedicated to the cause.  Later that year, we were challenged by a video shown at church.  It talked about people relying on the church to provide children with the spiritual education they need and how that doesn't make sense knowing that kids attend once weekly.  From that moment on, Johnny and I decided we were going to read Joey her Bible each night among other things.

We earmarked the pages each night and continued the stories the next night.  Once we had read her Bible from cover to cover, we got out the marker and personalized her Bible a bit.

We put her name in it....

 

.....and we started taking note of how many time we have read through her Bible.

We ask Joey questions as we read like "What was that story about??  Can you point out Jesus in the picture??" and so on.  

Some nights Joey doesn't want to read her Bible, and she even says "No Jesus!".  It makes me sad when she says stuff like that, but I know she's tired and doesn't really know what she's saying.  Other nights she's like this.....

....saying stuff like "We read my Bible now?" or my favorite "One more bible story?"  And even though she does have nights where she is opposed to reading her Bible stories, we press on and read...sometimes through her talking, and fidgeting....we read.

We are so diligent with getting our daughter in the Word and it has really forced me to take a look at my own Bible reading.  

Am I in the Word everyday, even when I don't want to be, even when I'm tired, and when I have a headache, and when we have a workout to do, and all I want to do is go to bed?  

The answer is no.  

Now if you look at the picture of Joey's Bible, you can see we have read it from cover to cover 4 times, and at this moment we are almost through it again.  I can't say that I've ever done that with my own Bible.  I have sat down with lofty goals of reading my Bible cover to cover. I have started many a reading plan only to fail them all.  Something always comes up ya know??  EXCUSES are what comes up.  

I thought, why am I so diligent with Joey and how are we able to keep up the reading with her.  I decided it was because of the accountability we have with our 2 year old and the deep desire I have for her to know Jesus.  On the days I forget to read to her, she comes running with her Bible asking me to read to her, and on the days she doesn't want to read, we press on even though it's tough. Accountability is the key!

My friend Jan issued a challenge to her facebook friends.  She was starting a reading plan to read through the Bible in a year.  I looked at her challenge and ignored it at first but then I couldn't get it out of my head.  I checked out the reading plan and still decided against it.  I began thinking about the example I'm setting for our children with my Bible reading habits.  How can I expect Joey and Sammy to be in the Word if I'm not modeling that for them?  So I took the challenge.  Now if you know me, you know I don't like to loose, and if I set out to do something, I prefer to finish strong. I feel I can win with this because we have accountability with the other women in the group.  There are people looking out to see if I'm reading.  If I have questions, there is a group of women I can go to and ask anything.  I can do this, I need to do this, I have a desire to know God more, and I have a desire to show my kids what living for Christ is all about!

So long story long, I will be reading my Bible cover to cover this year.  Please ask me how it's going and ask often.  I know that even just reading God's living word will impact my life greatly and I pray it sets a good example for my girls! It's not a resolution, it's a devotion to myself and God!  Here we go!!!  Amen :]