I did it!
For the 1st time ever.
I read the entire bible, cover to cover in the same year.
I have always read it here and there. But never the whole bible.
I could feel God calling me to accomplish this goal.
In years past I would start in Genesis and then never get back to it by the time I reached Exodus. Years would go by, and I would read about Job, or about Moses, and I would try to read the Bible again starting in Genesis, and I would not successfully finish.
So, How did I do it?
At the beginning of 2017 I started reading from my old bible. It was a KJV and tiny print. It was chunky and odd to carry around. I began to feel called to get a new bible. It dropped into my heart mid-January that it was time for a bible. Not just any bible. The Bible that would be easily readable with my dyslexia and something that flowed more like a book and less of the, “Thee, Shalt, etc…”. I drug my best friend with me to the Bible bookstore in our area a dozen times. I sat on their floor going through bible after bible. I spent hours online. I went to stores out of town. I was on a mission. And I knew I would know when I found my bible.
I wanted a leather bible that was flexible, laid flat, could be folded in half to read, large print, indexed, referenced, and Jesus teachings in read. It had to have a concordance, maps and it could not have a cross or “Holy Bible” on the cover. It also needed to have durable pages I could highlight and my friends were so patient as they helped me.
I first bought a NKJV. But quickly got annoyed because I kept referencing back to google to understand what I was reading. Frustrating!
Then it dawned on me – “LaCota, buy yourself a NLT (New Living Translation). Why do you put yourself through so much work.”
Oh my goodness, the hunt was back on. Back to the Bible Bookstore. Ours in town here is called “Faith Expressions” and the owner is phenomenal and so is Amanda my sister from another mister (and misses). The owner spent time online with me. She let me sprawl Bible after Bible out on her store floor. She let me flip and flop and spend all the time I needed searching.
And then there it was.
A Tyndale, Slimline, Red Letter, Indexed, NLT, Large Print Bible with a concordance and maps. Everything I wanted. Floppy, foldable, durable, leather.
God is so good.
Ok so buying the Bible is only like 25% of the whole feat here. But I get it was important to mention. Because I now believe that if you have a bible that works for you, you will enjoy it so much more.
Ok, so you now know the process to get the Bible, but what about the actual reading part?
Once I started reading the Bible I jumped around. I started with the smallest books and worked my way up to the largest books. I skipped around reading a few small books and then I would read one large book to help take the pressure off at the end. I know myself well enough to know that if I left all the large books for the end, I would struggle with finishing. So I moved them in here and there to keep me progressing. After I would finish a large book it was refreshing to read smaller ones and progress through them quickly. Occasionally 2 or more books went together (Corinthians for example) but one was larger than the other, so I would read both of them to get a bigger and a smaller book taken care of.
I also read Psalms and Proverbs at the same time. I did 1 proverb a day for a month while reading several chapters a day in Psalms.
I ended with Luke which was a middle-sized book. I read Isaiah, the 2nd longest book, before reading Luke.
I hope this gives an idea of how I jumped around.
I need to feel like I am reading and accomplishing a lot in a sitting or I get bored really fast and my focus drops.
So starting with smaller books helped me get through 1/2 of the Bible quickly. This helped me feel productive.
Accomplishing goals takes dedication, but that doesn’t mean we can not do it the best way that works for us. Sometimes we have to alter the path to fit us, even if it isn’t usually what someone else would maybe do. For me, altering the order in which I read the Bible was how I helped myself successfully read the Bible.
I did it!!
🔹And God is so good and has revealed so many things to me while I read the bible.
🔹And the Bible is absolutely an instruction manual for getting through life.
🔹And everything we face today is in the bible.
🔹And everything we face today the prophets of old also experienced themselves or predicted for us.
🔹And solutions to surviving this world and this current time frame are clearly written for us.
🔹And Jesus told us those who do not believe will not see it as believers see it.
🔹And that blessing became even deeper and more clear and I gained even further understanding the more I kept reading.
🔹And I know my mental capacity has grown.
🔹And I am so thankful that my knowledge, wisdom, and understanding has increased.
🔹And Jesus’ sacrifice means even more to me now that I have even more understanding behind it.
🔹And blessings have come.
🔹And Satan is scared out of his pants right now by the authority and power I have gained.
The Bible has 66 total books. So I also kept a tally mark representing the books I have read to give me visual motivation to completely read the Bible in the year.
I also put a star beside the books I finished to keep me on track.
How did my year look:
🔹Sometimes I went a week or two without reading the Bible.
🔹Some days all I could read was 1 chapter.
🔹Some days I read 10 or more chapters.
🔹Some days I would almost fall asleep and struggled with focus.
🔹Some days I couldn’t put the Bible down. I actually carried it around the house while I cleaned.
🔹Sometimes the Holy Spirit led me to read a specific book that was needed for something I was going through. This summer when my friends and I ended up in a situation, the Spirit led me to read Job and that brought me so much healing.
🔹Sometimes I had to follow my list to a T. I had to work at this goal. It wasn’t always something I wanted to do. I had other things I could do instead.
🔹Sometimes I wanted to give up entirely.
🔹Sometimes the scriptures I read reminded me of why I am not a quitter.
🔹Some days I couldn’t wait to dig in and get going, and then I permitted life to prevent me from getting a reading in that day.
🔹Some days I was highly motivated to read multiple books and I was blessed with a schedule that helped me to accomplish this.
🔹Some days I had 5 minutes. 🔹Some days I had 5 hours.
But,
I always went back and I finished reading the Bible, and I accomplish my goal early.
My quotes that I kept in mind to help keep me going:
- “We get who we are, not what we want”
- Winners never quit.
- “Just keep growing”
- “Growth is painful and necessary”
- “Be growth mindset not poverty mindset”
- “Lead by example”
And I always kept the vision out in front of me. I want to be able to show my kids I did it, so they can too. I want to inspire my family to always find time, and make it happen.
And I can not lead my family to the Lord and His Word, if I have never done it myself. What happened if they need a scripture that I have never read? How can I help them? How can I train them in the way they should go if I have never done it? I can’t. “People will not do what I say, they will do what I do.” This quote is important for leaders and parents to remember.
But most importantly these scriptures are a good example as to why I kept going.
“For the Lord gives wisdom”
~ Proverbs 2:6 ~
And I’m always seeking more wisdom, and He can only give to me what I have in my storehouse of knowledge to pull from.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
~
Ephesians 6:11
ESV ~
And how could I put on the full armor if I didn’t know what was available to me? I needed to be equipped. I want to equip my family. I want to teach my children. And I couldn’t do what God is calling me to do properly if I wasn’t fully prepared.
And now – I’m Ready! –
If you wish to attempt my method, here is a list of the books of the Bible (in NLT version) from smallest to largest in page numbers.
New Living Translation:
Philemon (1)
2 John (1)
3 John (1)
Obadiah (2)
Jonah (2)
Haggai (2)
2 Thessalonians (2)
Titus (2)
Jude (2)
Nahum (3)
Habakkuk (3)
Zephaniah (3)
Colossians (3)
1 Thessalonians (3)
2 Timothy (3)
2 Peter (3)
Ruth (4)
Joel (4)
Philippians (4)
1 Timothy (4)
James (4)
1 Peter (4)
1 John (4)
Galatians (5)
Ephesians (5)
Songs of Solomon (6)
Laminations (6)
Micah (6)
Malachi (6)
Esther (7)
Ecclesiastes (7)
Amos (8)
Zechariah (8)
2 Corinthians (8)
Hosea (9)
Ezra (10)
Hebrews (10)
Nehemiah (13)
Daniel (13)
1 Corinthians (13)
Romans (14)
Revelations (14)
Mark (19)
Joshua (21)
Judges (21)
2 Samuel (23)
1 Kong’s (23)
John (23)
Leviticus (26)
1 Samuel (26)
Proverbs (26)
2 Kings (27)
Job (27)
1 Chronicles (28)
Acts (29)
2 Chronicles (30)
Matthew (30)
Deuteronomy (31)
Luke (32)
Numbers (37)
Exodus (37)
Ezekiel (42)
Genesis (43)
Jeremiah (54)
Isaiah (57)
Psalms (71)
