Bible Reading In 2017

A week ago I finished reading the entire Bible out loud in the presence of my 1 1/2 year old little boy. I started when he was 9 months old, and, although he slept through most of the Bible reading, I think he has learned more than I realize. 

I remember back when I had just started, I had only been reading to him for a week or two when he started trying to bring my Bible to me, open it up, and start jabbering, whenever he found it in his reach.

   Another example of how much he pays attention is this story that happened back in April, when he was 11 months old:

I had to take him to the nursery during a Wednesday evening service. (He was being too noisy in the congregation.) We were the only ones in the nursery and I decided to use my time to memorize the first two verses of Genesis while my son was playing with some toys. I was just repeating short little phrases in the verses over and over again. I had no idea that my little boy was paying attention. The next day we were in the kitchen at our home and I began to say Genesis 1:1 out loud, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."  My son looked up at me and then started to climb the steps into the living room. I continued with verse 2, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." I peeked into the living room and saw him standing in front of the book shelf looking up at my Bible. He pointed up and looked at me as if to say, "Come and get it."
If that doesn't teach you that children are learning more from you than you think, I don't know what does!

My main objective was to read the scripture out loud to my baby boy, and, even if he didn't comprehend anything I read, he would hear his mother's voice reading the cadence of Scripture and, in turn, the holy Bible would be associated with comfort, safety, and love, for the rest of his life. I believe that this effect can be achieved even earlier, and that reading to your baby in the womb, will yeild stronger results.

As we begin to read through our Bible again this year, I encourage you to join us!

An easy way to read through your Bible in a year, without having to mess with a schedule, is to read 3 chapters a day, during the week, and 4 chapters on Sundays.

Another way to figure out how much to read to finish your Bible in a year is to take how many pages your Bible is and divide that number by 365.
For example: My Bible is 1044 pages.
1044 ÷ 365 days = 2.85 pages per day
With this method you end up reading the same amount every day. If you use the chapter method you end up with a variation in how much you read every day because chapter sizes vary.

Of course, there are a lot of Bible reading programs and schedules out there. Find one that resonates with you and stick with it! There are also apps for mobile devices that can help motivate you to stay on track.

I prefer the simplicity of reading from Genesis to Revelation in order. I like the two methods I explained because they don't require any extra papers to keep track of, or schedules to check off. Once you know how many pages or chapters you need to read every day you are good to go, no extra stuff.

I realize that checking things off on a list can be very motivating for some individuals.
So, I encourage you to find a plan that works for you, and join me, as we read through our Bible in 2017!