I am soooo behind...

Looking forward to catching up this weekend. I'm terribly behind. And it's only February! But I'm determined to catch up and do better in February and March. And I will!!

We've been reading! Honest we have! (MoMo)

Luke and I are both caught up on our reading. Actually, I was several days behind, but Luke was only a day behind and we both caught up last night. I think we're both struggling a bit with Job. There are good things there -- good nuggets of truths and glimpses of God -- it's just that at times it's very hard to find them, as you work through the speech-ifying of Job's friends. Truthfully, I would have a hard time calling these guys "friends" if I were Job. It's not just that they either outright lie about me or pontificate in judgment towards me, but how 'bout the fact that in chapter 33, Elihu spends five verses basically to tell Job that he's going to say something? I'm imagining Job, in emotional and physical pain, looking at Elihu and thinking, "Good gravy, man, GET ON WITH IT!!!" But Job was probably more patient than I am.

A verse that has spoken to me, particularly, in these last few chapters was from January 12, in chapter 29:14:

"I put on righteousness as my clothing;
justice was my robe and my turban.

Basically, Job saw justice as the accessories to righteousness. Necessary accessories. I'm ashamed at the times in my life where justice has seemed like a luxury -- something that not everyone deserves. Job didn't seem to have that perspective. He speaks at length of his efforts on behalf of those less powerful and less fortunate than he. In fact, he speaks more of that than he does as his role as a father or a husband. And this is Job --

...blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. (Job 1:8)

Day 7 (Luke)

Today was a very powerful part of the Bible that had to be written. It talks about how if we don't have God, we are nothing. I was thinking back and looking at all the things God has done for me, and what kind of person I would be if those things never happened. God has done so much for me and I can't imagine life without such an awesome God by my side. He is amazing! A lot of times i will think of the bad things, and think my life has gone all wrong, but if you look at the positive side, life is amazing! Thank you Jesus!

Day 6 (Luke)

I thought that today's passage was very interesting. It applies to the life I'm going through right now. It's talking about how God is always with you, thick or thin and he will never leave you. It's hard to see my grandpa in a nursing home or a hospital bed, and my great grandpa recovering from a heart attack but I know that God hasn't left my side the whole time. When I think that all hope is lost, God is there, and he always will be. God has done some amazing things in my life, and they just keep on coming. This Bible project has been amazing and has already changed my life. I can't wait to read tomorrow's!

Day 5 (by MoMo)

Something that's been a little bit disappointing about this project is that, when we told our family what Luke and I were doing, my 85-year-old Dad immediately told us, "I'll join you guys and do it, too." Unfortunately, my Dad and Luke's Grandpa had a stroke on December 17th, and is currently in the hospital to get a pacemaker before going back to a local nursing home for continued rehab. The stroke robbed Dad of his ability to make propositional speech. In other words, he can say words and talk here and there, but when he wants to tell you something, he most often cannot get the words out in an understandable fashion.

Even though he can't speak, my Dad has often "sung" along with us when we sing praise songs to the Lord in his hospital room. And he appreciates when we pray for him and with him. Two of his roommates (one in the hospital, and another in the nursing home) have given us accounts of times that they woke up in the night to hear Dad singing. The words weren't often recognizable, but the tunes were, and each time Dad was singing praise to the Lord.

When I read in the assigned passage about all that the Lord allowed Job to be robbed of, but how Job remained steadfast, it made me think of my Dad. Even though he has been robbed of two of the things that make his life most meaningful -- spoken and written communication -- even so, Dad praises God for his mercy and goodness. Faced with the same circumstances, would I do so much?

Days 4 and 5 (by Luke)

Day 4: It took me a while to read day 4. I was reading it out loud with my dad and there were a bunch of strange names that I struggled to pronounce. But it was still a great experience to be in and reading the Word, and seeing all the descendants of Adam and Eve.

Day 5: Day five was a very interesting passage and gave me a lot to think about. It was about how Satan wanted to see if something bad happened to Job, Job would turn against God. Many terrible things happened to Job including the death of his children, but Job still praised God. It reminded me of the movie, "Facing the Giants," when the coach says "we will praise Him when we win and we will praise Him when we lose." But Satan didn't stop there, He brought physical changes to Job but Job still praised God. That is amazing and a very interesting scripture.

Reflection on Day 3

Today Luke and I read the assigned passages aloud to each other, taking turns reading a page at a time. Here is his reflection:

Noah is one of my favorite Bible characters. Out of every man on the whole earth at that time, God found favor in him. He was a very old man but did something amazing in the Lord's eyes and my eyes.

And here's my thinking...

I liked the picture in my mind of Noah holding out his hand for the Dove to return to when there was no place to land. When the dove could find no safety, he knew he could return to Noah. It reminds me that when the world seems like a scary place, God is right there and I can land on him.

January 1 Reflection

It was a pretty busy day and before I knew it, it was after midnight and I hadn't done the first reading! (Way to get a start on that New Year's Resolution, Mo!) But I picked up The Book and read the first reading before going to sleep.

The creation passage is so familiar; the activities of the seven days and the announcements that "God saw that it was good." And then the creation of Adam and Eve and the introduction of sin. But the thing that stood out to me was relatively minor...not earth-shattering, not faith-changing, but drew my attention.

Genesis 2:9 - And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food...

Sometimes I get all wrapped up in the practicalities of life -- and of my faith -- and neglect to remember that God purposefully created things that are pleasing to the eye -- His eye, and ours. I'm often times too concerned about whether what I'm doing is pleasing to God's eye, focused on results and where I lack. I'm probably missing out on plenty of opportunities to see the beauty He has created.

Day One: Genesis 1:1 - 3:24

And so begins our year-long challenge!