24 days into the year and we are still going strong on our New Years goals! I know, I know, big whoop…you made it less than a month! Buuuut they say it takes about 14 days to form a habit, so we might be in the clear! I like to set goals that are not only challenging but also something that we can realistically achieve.
One of those goals was to read and study the Old Testament. The Old Testament has always been a part of the scriptures that scares me. I have grown up hearing all of the stories, reading the “children versions” of them, and learning about them in Sunday school but it hasn’t been something that I have ever read and studied myself. I always told myself that I wouldn’t understand it, so why bother? It was time to challenge myself and break down the barrier of what I thought I couldn’t do and what I actually could do.
I, like most of humankind, am not the type of person that can open the Bible and just read from cover to cover. I knew by doing that I would be setting myself up to get bored and never finish… aka FAILURE. I wanted to actually learn and get something from my study, so I decided to come up with a theme. Something that I could focus on while I read. So I made a key. Like a legit key with color coding and all! Go ahead laugh, but I am telling you…IT WORKS (at least for the last 24 days.) I’ve decided to focus on patience. I am an expecting mother, so it was only fitting, lol! Not only patience but I also wanted to focus on the blessings that come when we have patience.
Focus wasn’t enough. I knew I would need some accountability. So my husband and I decided to study together every night after dinner. We read two chapters on our own, marking and taking notes, then we come together to discuss what we learned. It has been so interesting to see how different of a perspective we have on the same two chapters. I love being about to learn from him!
I never thought I would say it, but the Old Testament has really started to come alive to me. The stories I grew up hearing are finally starting to have context! It’s been 24 days, but the fire has come alive in me and I hope that this goal reaches all 341 days to come. I can’t wait to see what this book and this habit have in store for us!
xo,
Kyle & Taylor
From my Tulips 