Your New Bible Reading Plan

What do Tom Cruise, the end of a stick, and my attention span all have in common?

All three are short.

And when it comes to my attention span ~ very, very short. This was always a problem for me, especially when I was little. I constantly got notes sent home from my teachers telling my parents that I daydreamed in class and couldn’t pay attention to the teacher (I know because I always opened the envelope and read them before giving them to my mom). It got so bad that I would just wait until we were almost home from school and I could make a quick escape out of the car. As we were pulling up in the driveway, I would confess my sin,

“I got another note today,” I would blurt out.

Mom would park the car, shake her head in despair before dropping it down on the steering wheel, and just reach her hand in the back seat for me to hand over the note. She would take the note. I would jump out of the car and go find my cat, Fat Max, so I could dress him up in doll clothes.

It became our little ritual.

One day…

…we went through all the actions. She reached her hand in the backseat. I handed her the note and jumped out of the car. After a few minutes, she got out of the car and came to find me. She was holding the note. I was tying a pink bonnet around Fat Max’s head. I thought I was about to get a lecture but she had a smile on her face (something that never happened after reading the notes I brought home from teachers). “Hannah!” she exclaimed, “you have a field trip next week!” I had never seen her so relieved since the time they found her wallet at the Piggly Wiggly (yes, there was a Piggly Wiggly near our house).

During the field trip, I wandered away from the group and got lost. When the teacher finally found me, I was sitting on a bench talking with this old man who was smoking a pipe.

I got another note sent home.

And so goes the continuing saga of me and my attention span. But the point is this: I’m still that way! I tried reading through the Bible, but I would always lose my focus or get sidetracked (wait, isn’t that the same thing?)

I finally figured out a full Bible reading program that fits my attention span. It jumps around all over the place and doesn’t stand still too long (kind of like the average mom’s life, right?).

Here’s how it works:

The Bible can be divided into eight sections:

1. Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

2. History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles.

3. Poetry: Job, Psalms, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes

4. Wisdom: Proverbs

5. Prophets: Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Isaiah

6. Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts

7. Epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude.

8. Final Prophecies: Daniel, Revelation

I moved some books around to get an evenly distributed reading program for each day. Acts is grouped in with the Gospels, and Isaiah’s reading is grouped under the Gospels as well. Ecclesiastes is read alongside the Prophets. And 1 and 2 Chronicles is read along with the Epistles. Are you with me? Yes? Awesome! (Now, you can explain it to me later because I’m totally confused).

You read from each section every day. After a couple of months, you’re done with Daniel and Revelation so it gets a bit shorter. Also, you read a chapter from Proverbs every day (you’ll thank me later, I promise). You have the weekends off to do any catching up before Monday.

And if you follow this program, you will read through the entire Bible in 36 weeks. This was about the time in your pregnancy that you were big and heavy and nearing the birth of your child. Think about this program as another pregnancy. Keep at it, and you will give birth to a miracle! It will change your life, I promise! And you don’t even have to change diapers or do 2 am feedings afterwards.

Here are some tips on getting the most out of your Bible reading:

• Don’t read tired. I like to go on a walk early in the morning before I read the Bible, That way I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
• Pray before reading. When you pray first, it puts you in the right frame of mind. I also pray that God will help me understand His Word and open my mind to receive His message.
• Get a notebook. As you read the Bible, there will be verses that stand out to you and messages you want to remember. Get a notebook, date the top, and write this stuff down. These are pearls, baby. Pearls!
• Read in the morning before the kids get up. I know; it’s difficult to work this sometimes, especially when those babies are still babies. But, your effort to get up early is a step of faith in putting God first. He will reward your efforts. Scripture tells us that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. This is the first step to ensuring your day is going to be productive and abundant.

Okay, now that you’ve got some helpful tips down, let’s get crackin’

CLICK HERE and download the Short-Attention Span Bible Reading Program (you may have to right-click and drag it to your desktop).

This is totally free, ALL I ASK is that you share this with your friends on Facebook below. And IF YOU SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS, then don’t be surprised if one day, you and I become fast friends. I can just see us now, sitting on a park bench smoking pipes together and talking about life and checking out squirrels.