{50 Days} Into My Most Healthy Habit Ever!

Well almost 50 days...

In the beginning of January I blogged about reading the Bible

from cover to cover in 2014.

I wanted to give an update on how it is going.

It is going amazingly and I feel so motivated about it!

Each morning after Drew leaves for work I make a cup of coffee and have some quiet time and read.

I've learned to love this time and look forward to it.

The house is quiet and my mind clear--

it is a time I cherish to focus and absorb my reading. 

When I first heard about this Bible plan I was scared, intimidated, nervous, etc.

Basically I thought I could never do this past 4 days.

Then our church started a new series to fire off the new year.

It was titled "You Won't If You Don't" and I took that heart.

I won't read the Bible if I don't do it.

I decided to give this an honest effort and I'm so happy I did.

I know this sounds petty but already in church the past few weeks when a verses are quoted I'm not trying to read the screen or quickly find in on my phone-- I'm recognizing it and that is a pretty cool feeling.

Each day you read a small part from Psalms and Proverbs and a Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--but one at a time). You also read a chapter or two from another book. Currently I'm finishing up Exodus and really learning about the 10 Commandment. 

I use the You Version One Year Bible Plan.

I have it on my phone and Kindle and it keeps up with it daily.

If you miss a day that's okay-- this app helps keep it listed under each day so it isn't overwhelming and the best part is when you do your reading it tells you what percent of the Bible you have read.

Watching that number increase and knowing that I'm learning and growing is the best feeling. 

I would encourage anyone to try it. I've always heard 21 days make a habit--go for it!

Reading the Bible in 2014

I've shared before that I go to an amazing church Faith Promise.

We have a great leader as our Pastor and he is just an ambitious as he is spiritual.

Our church has grown tremendously and the amount of people reached who have become faithful followers are mind blowing. 

A phrase frequently used  to describe Faith Promise is "making it hard to go to hell from Knoxville." 

That's a pretty bold phrase is you ask me.

Thousands don't get saved and lives changed with passive goals and light ambition. 

In December our ambitious pastor announced that as a congregation we will be reading the entire Bible together throughout the next year. I know how important it is to read the Bible daily and to grow on a regular basis but I find reading these huge amounts very intimidating and doubted how I could do it.

I felt really bad because I knew my small group was excited about reading through the entire Bible but I felt so scared. I'm not nearly as familiar with the stories and people and felt lost before I ever started. Up until this past year I hadn't read daily and was feeling so proud of the growth I had made with daily devotionals and spiritual blogs. I felt that I would overwhelm myself with trying to keep up with these long Bible passages and still continue to grow with devotionals. 

Now being almost two weeks into 2014 I feel so much more at ease.

Our church has started a 21 day fast and we are stepping onward with our daily reading goals. 

I've downloaded the "You Version" Bible app and under plans I follow the "One Year" plan and I must say it has been amazing. The app breaks it up into 5 passages. The first two being part of the same "story" and are longer in length. The last three being shorter passages and a Proverb. 

With a Bible newbi

e such as myself this really helps me absorb what I'm reading and allows me to organize my thoughts. I've never been one that can read a large amount at once and get 100% of it. For me this app helps me "chunk" it up and better take it in.

Our church phrase for this goal is "You Won't If You Don't" and it means just that.

The more I think about that phrase the more it means to me.

I'm excited to grow and I'm excited where this is leading my heart, soul, marriage, and mind.

2013 and Small Group

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and spent time with family and friends!

Drew and I had an extremely busy "24 hours" of Christmas going to six different family places.

Christmas 2014 in the mountains perhaps? We will see....

We are blessed with a large family and lots of excited people to share this fun holiday with but we ran ourselves ragged. I'll remember our first married Christmas more with the prep leading into the actually day-

the decorating the tree together, shopping for our family, working our favorite charity project, and enjoyed a beautiful candle light service. How do you other married folks balance everything? 

As 2013 is wrapping up {which is crazy} I feel I need to share what has been the most influential and important part of my year. Obviously, getting married was huge and such a life changing event that I wouldn't trade for the world. I feel what has really improved the quality of not only our marriage but our lives is the decision we made to join a small group within our large church Faith Promise. 

We joined our group a month or so before we got married. Our group is made up of three other couples who are still less than five years married and since joining a single dad has joined and a dating couple. I'll tell anyone considering a group that it is difficult at first to take that dive into putting yourself in the scary position of sitting down with strangers and putting yourself, your marriage out there to share. I feel we can always make an excuse of why not to, it IS tough to finally say okay, I'm ready to grow. Words can't say how grateful I am that we have joined this group.

Mather 18:20 says, "Where two or more gather, I am there."

Our first study once we returned from our honeymoon was a marriage study.

Marriage Study Post Here

This study may have lasted six sessions but the impact it has left on me still remains. I find myself looking at Drew differently and really thinking about my role as a wife. 

This is something I never would have experienced without small group.

Since this time we have studied how to balance our busy lives, a family study, and a prayer study. 

These studies have "trickled" down into my life as a teacher, my life as a friend, my life as daughter, and more. Do I think we could have worked our way threw 2013 without group? Sure, but it would not have been such a learning experience and not near as enjoyable. I wouldn't want to think about the second part of our year with out group. 2013 has been an amazing year both personally and professionally for Drew and I, without question I know that the best step taken this year was our step to grow in our faith, together. 

I'm excited for the growth and path that our faith will have in 2014!

{Marriage} The first six months...

I feel blessed to be married to my best friend and I feel like

it was yesterday we got married.

It was only six months ago, not long I know but I can't believe half a year has already gone by.

I have found true the popular wedding day quote,

"I love you the least today, because

I'll love you more tomorrow."

Upon the start of our marriage we decided to join a small group with our church.

Our small group is composed of mainly couples whom have been married less than five years.

We study different topics and books within the Bible when we meet each week.

I must be honest, when we were first on our way to a strangers house to eat and study the Bible together I was very nervous. And nervous is not something I'm familiar with!

I was worried I wouldn't know much compared to them and not bring much to the group at discussion.

I couldn't have been more wrong!

Small group has been wonderful and it is a special two hours that I look forward to each week.

The other couples and us hit off and we know share all our personal concerns, triumphs, and everyday life together. Like a mini marriage support group. I feel this has been monumental to our marriage and has built (and helping us continue building) a stronger faith and connection to one another.

Once we returned from our honeymoon it was time to start a new series of study in our small group and we decided to do a marriage study. This was something totally new to me and once again wasn't sure what to expect. Since all of us were in different places within our marriage it gave us all an opportunity to grow.

I feel marriage has been made a mockery of in our country and divorce has become widely accepted as a back-up plan in the event we can't quite make it work. Don't get me wrong, I know some situations are absolutely different and some even life threatening without a divorce. That's not what I'm talking about.

Over 50% of marriages fail and that terrifies me. Drew and I have dedicated ourselves to our marriage and part of that has been with the growing in our faith with our small group.

 In our study we had great emphasis that love is a choice, agape love.

Agape love meaning we make the commitment, the choice to love and accept our spouse. Truly for better and for worse knowing that both times will be had. 

Love is not an emotion. It isn't a mood or a feeling, it is a choice.

We studied the importance of intimacy on many levels in the marriage.

As a spouse we know longer chose to please ourselves and make decisions to better "me" we make choices to better the other that will ultimately lead to a stronger bond with each other and strong faith within ourselves. 

One part of our study was "divorce proof your marriage" and here are the support verses:

~ I Corinthians 15:33

~Proverbs 18: 20-22

~John 4:11

~Ephesians 4:26

~Matthew 19:1-10

I know even without kids our daily routines can get pretty crazy and just that, "routine."

Making a point to hug or say something nice can make all the difference.

Drew and I make a point to sit down, t.v. off, and have dinner together every night with the occasional date night. We learned that 2% of couples that pray together get divorced.

Being a submissive wife I feel will be an ongoing process. I feel this is a term that gets a bad rap and is considered old fashion in our modern sin filled culture. 

The husband is the spiritual leader of the house and the wife is essentially the #1 cheerleader of his decisions. That is why it is important to grow in faith together.

God calls on husbands to love and cherish the wife and lead the family while the wife is to be the support and love while having a faith filled heart.

I know six months isn't long.

But it is a start and I feel the choice to have a growing faith together will lead to a stronger marriage.

I look forward to what the next six months, six years, and sixty years look like for us. 

I know two things that will be forever changing and that is the amount of love we have for one another as we grow and the amount of faith we have.