My Current Bible Study

Last year I set some Bible reading and study goals that I failed to meet. I set my expectations too high. So this January I thought long and hard about what realistic Bible related goals I could set that would be achievable. About the same time I listened to Kris Emerson's podcast, Excel Still More, about setting yearly, big picture goals and then breaking them down by month, week, and even day. I took his advice, and here is what I came up with.

Big Picture, 2020 Goals:

• Listen to the chronological Bible on an app on my phone--the entire Bible in 2020.
• Copy the books of Proverbs, Luke, and Acts
• Keep up with my Bible study readings and assignments for the three Bible classes I attend at our church. Our ladies are studying a book on prayer by Edwin Crozier; we are studying the books of Luke and Acts, one chapter per week on Sunday nights, and on Wednesday nights we began with an overview study of the book of Proverbs, and now we are in a chapter by chapter study of the book of Jeremiah. 
• I also read a Psalm (or part of a Psalm) each day to prepare my mind for prayer. 

Monthly Goals:

• I divided the chronological daily Bible readings (audio) into 28 day months. I actually began this program the last 10 days of December to give myself some cushion in 2020. I knew that there would be some days that for whatever reason I would miss listening. When that happened, I didn't want to get too behind. I also listen to more than one day's readings when I have extra time for that same reason. So far I am on track. In the front of my planner I listed the readings I would need to complete each month in order to finish by December 31. I check off each month's readings as I complete them. When do I listen? Usually I listen in the mornings while I am dressing for the day, tidying my bathroom, making my bed, etc. These readings typically take 15-20 minutes.
• I counted the number of chapters in Proverbs, Luke, and Acts, divided them by 12, and made another checklist in my planner. For example, in March, I was supposed to complete copying through Proverbs 30, if I remember correctly. Now that I have started copying Luke, and I see how long some of the chapters are, I realize that I should have looked at the lengths of the chapters before dividing the total by 12. I will need to copy more each day while I'm in Luke than I did when I was in Proverbs. That's ok, I will make this adjustment in my weekly goals.

Weekly and Daily Goals:

• At the beginning of each week I look at where I am in relation to the month's assignments for listening and copying and make adjustments as needed. This morning I realized that I will have to copy 2 pages each day rather than one in order to stay on track. If I know that I may not have time one day to copy as much or to double up on my listening, I do extra on another day. Reassessing where I am once a week is keeping me from getting behind or discouraged.
• I make sure that I have my Bible class chapters read and studied prior to each class's meeting. I usually divide these reading/studying assignments into more than one day depending on the chapter's length.

In all, I try to spend 45 minutes to one hour each day in Bible reading, studying, copying, and listening. It's not all in one block, and some days are shorter.

I'm already thinking ahead to 2021 and different goals and studies I would like to do. 

My hope in sharing my current plan is to encourage you to make your own Bible reading/studying plan or to continue in what you are doing. Time spent in God's Word is always beneficial. There are so many ways to read and study; the important thing is to just do something, no matter how small. 

Here is a picture of one of the books I am copying Scripture in. I have been copying Scripture for a few years now, but until January, I used a variety of journals and notebooks--nothing matched. I found these books (they are sold on Amazon and in Christian book stores) and I love them! I wish I had begun copying in them. I bought the ones for Proverbs, Luke, and Acts. They look so nice! They are actually called Journibles.