Around November 2010, my mom (an evangelist), and I were talking about bibles and the various translations and their readability, when she told me that she had one that she wanted to send me to read. Inwardly I groaned. Growing up, my mom’s not~so~subtle questioning of my salvation had always been a sore spot with me. In fact, I’d say that it directly led to my rebellious phase. So when the Bible arrived, I left it in the mailing envelope, on the corner of the dining room table, touching it only to move it from place to place so the family could eat our meals…
Around the end of December, I was on Twitter and I noticed this flurry of excited “#B90Days” tweets and being the nosy curious person that I am, I asked what they were talking about. The 140 character explanation was “We’re reading the Bible in 90 Days with @MomsToolbox for more info go to http://bit.ly/WlduV.” I checked out Amy’s blog at Mom’s Toolbox and thought Should I attempt this? I looked at the Bible, still in the plain brown mailing envelope, sitting on the dining room table and said “No.” I felt like taking the challenge would somehow be giving in to my mom ~ yep, there’s still that streak of rebelliousness…
For days, I thought, I questioned, I meditated and, at the last minute, I signed up to read the Bible in 90 Days with a group of strong, praying women from all across the web.
The first day of the reading, I unwrapped the Bible from the brown wrapper, removed the cellophane wrapping and began what would become a life changing journey…
In classic Daenel style, I didn’t tell my mom until roughly two months into the reading.
Reading the Bible changed me in so many ways:
- Discipline ~ it takes discipline to make time to read the Bible every day, especially when there are so many other things that are demanding your attention
- Conviction ~ I started to censor my thoughts and my speech, how could I read God’s word one minute and then laugh at a dirty joke the next
- Accountability ~ reading each morning became less of a chore (sorry but there were times when it was hard) and more of thrill; I started to delight in tweeting that I’d finished that day’s reading
- Love ~ through reading, I gained a greater appreciation for God’s love for us: the sacrificial love, the parental love, the enduring love
- Forgiveness ~ there is nothing that I’ve done that God can’t forgive me for and if He can forgive me, I can forgive myself
- Knowledge ~ it’s one thing to think you know the Bible, it’s another to know that you know; I grew up in the church, I thought I knew, but I had no idea
- Appreciation ~ I’ve gained a greater understanding of my mother; yes, her “pushiness” still tends to rankle me a bit but I get it and I appreciate it
Even after reading the Bible in 90 days, I still stumble but I know without a shadow of a doubt that my God is there to help me get back on my feet.
This session, I will be joining Amy and a host of others as a mentor for others who would like to read the Bible in 90 Days. If you’d like to join us, all you have to do is sign up here and follow the Twitter hashtag “#B90Days”. If you’d like to request me for your mentor, just put “DaenelT” in the last box. Either way, let me know in the comments that you’re joining up, I’d like to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
I told my mom about my decision to become a mentor the day I finished reading the Bible in 87 days…
