Finding Time to Read the Bible

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Barbara Harper

In a recent blog post I read (I’ve forgotten where), the blogger mentioned that the book she was reading on Bible study didn’t discuss where to find the time. I had the same thought with a book I am reading on the subject. I guess the authors feel that once we are assured of the importance of Bible reading and study, we’ll make it a priority and make time. And I think that’s pretty much what it comes down to. If by finding time we mean we want a time that magically opens up with the solitude and inclination we need without a dozen other things crowding in…I just don’t think that’s going to happen, at least not regularly. Years ago our assistant pastor spoke of struggling to make time for Bible reading, and said to our senior pastor, an older, godly man, “I guess you don’t have trouble making time for Bible reading any more, do you?” He just laughed.

Finding the time is always going to be a struggle. There are always duties, distractions, and people clamoring for that time, and even an Enemy of our souls fighting against it. Instead of getting discouraged about it, we can just accept that it is a common problem and prayerfully seek ways to deal with it. Perhaps reminding ourselves of reasons to read the Bible will renew our motivation.

We need to remember, too, that making time to read the Bible isn’t just about ticking off another duty. Every relationship thrives on communication. If we went for days without talking with our husbands except in the briefest necessary exchanges, we’d feel the effects pretty soon and realize we need some time alone together. Though sometimes we need to set up routines to establish good habits, taking time to read the Bible shouldn’t be a matter of rigid schedules, but rather of taking time to meet with the One Who loves us best.

So with these things in mind, here are some suggestions for carving time out to meet with the Lord:

1. Get up earlier or stay up later. I can hear you groaning. But for many of us, that’s the only way to get some time alone.

2. Keep the Bible handy. One friend with three small children close in age kept her Bible out in her kitchen. She couldn’t set aside a longer period of solitude, but she could read in smaller snatches through the day.

3. Listen. Some people like to listen to recorded versions of the Bible while driving, exercising, making dinner, etc.

4. Plan for it after a natural break in the day. It’s hard for many of us to stop in the middle of a morning or afternoon and put everything aside to read, but a break in the routine, when we’re shifting gears anyway, can help us work in some time for reading, like after a meal, after taking the kids to school, etc.

5. Meal time, especially if you eat alone.

6. Waiting time. We usually pull out our phones or a book if we have to wait at a doctor’s office or in car line at school, but that can be a good time for some Bible reading.

7. Establish a routine. Once we get used to setting aside a certain time for Bible reading, it’s not such a scramble to look for that time every day.

8. Don’t wait for perfection. One problem with a routine is that we can’t always figure out how to function when the routine is disrupted, like when we’re traveling or someone is sick or we have small children at home. I wrote a post some time back called Encouragement for mothers of young children about the topic of trying to find time for devotions with little ones in the house. Though I normally like getting up early and having solitude and quietness for Bible reading, that just didn’t work with little ones. Yet God enabled me to read and profit from it while they kept me company or played near me, even though usually I couldn’t concentrate under those circumstances.

9. Anything is better than nothing. Normally I like a good amount of time for Bible reading or study, but when a few moments was all I truly had, God often gave me just what I needed in those few moments in just a verse or two.

10. Talk with your husband, roommates, siblings, whoever you live with. Years ago I caught part of a radio program where the preacher was scolding women who wanted to spend early morning time to have devotions, saying the husband as the leader should have that time, since the wife had “all day” in which she could have devotions. The man obviously had not spent a whole day at home alone with kids. That mentality is so wrong on many levels. Not long after that a missionary speaking at our church mentioned protecting that time for his wife, a much better example of servant leadership and love. If the only way either parent can have devotions is for one of them to watch the children, then they can do that for each other. If a particular time of day is the best time for two people in a house, they can work out different locations if they get too distracted in the same room. Whatever conflict there might be about time and place preferences, talk with each other to work out the best solution for both and be willing to compromise.

11. Pray. In the blog post I referred to earlier, I mentioned that sometimes I’d get to the end of the day and lament to the Lord that I had no idea when I could have read my Bible that day. I began instead to pray at the beginning of the day for wisdom and alertness for those moments when I could, and that made a profound difference.

12. Set something aside. If we have times to read other books, peruse Facebook, watch TV, or play games on our phones, we have time to read the Bible. I admit, if I sit down to relax for a few minutes with a book and realize I haven’t read my Bible yet that day, I don’t always have the best attitude about laying down my book and picking up my Bible. But when I confess that to the Lord and then go ahead, He graciously speaks to me through His Word. We do need time to relax as well, but that shouldn’t come at the expense of time in God’s Word. He knows our needs, and we can ask Him for both time to spend in His Word and for some down time.

What about you? What ways have you found to make time for Bible reading?

Sharing at Thought-Provoking Thursday and Works For Me Wednesday.

Laudable Linkage

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Barbara Harper

Forgive me for blogging about mostly books the last couple of weeks. I just happened to have finished several at once (a couple were really short), plus it has been a busy time, and somehow book reviews are easier for me to do than other posts where I am thinking through something. I do have a couple of the latter percolating on the back burner and hope to be able to finish them soon. Meanwhile, here is some interesting reading I’ve come across the last couple of weeks:

The Danger of Pet Sins.

Busy Bible Reading.

The Way Pinterest Makes Us Feel.

Two Ways to Ruin Your Relationship With the Giver. We hear a lot about the first one, but the second one is a problem, too.

11 Ways Mothers Change the World.

Why You Should Think Twice Before Badmouthing Obama. I am not a fan of the man but I cringe to see Christians calling him names when we are called to honor our authorities, even when we disagree with them.

Spurgeon on Christians Who Rail Against the Times.

Some of you might echo this sentiment:

And finally, it is that time of year again…

Some of you might recognize the character and the take-off from a quote in The Princess Bride. 🙂 I do feel that way about Daylight Savings Time, though! And it seems earlier this year. Don’t forget to turn your clocks ahead tonight.

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Barbara Harper

It has been almost a month since I’ve shared links that I have found interesting for one reason for another, so I hope you’ll forgive a longer list this time, and I hope you find something of interest among them:

Twenty-One Grains of Wheat. A must-read about the 21 people killed by ISIS.

An Extraordinary Skill for Ordinary Christians. Ways any of us can minister to others.

How to Make the Most of Your Bible Study.

Intimacy or Familiarity. Sometimes it is good to read large portions of the Bible to get the overall view, sometimes it is good to hone in on a smaller passage for a longer time. Love the truth that Bible study doesn’t have to be either/or, but that we need both.

23 Things That Love Is.

What My 9-Year-Old Taught Me About Being Willing to Follow God Into Uncomfortable Places.

How to Spot Mean Girls at Church, and How Not To Be One.

When To Overlook a Fault. This is something I’ve struggled with – when to confront and when to overlook.

When Pain Enters, HT to Lisa. Setting aside the Calvinist/non-Calvinist arguments over which so many disagree, there are some good thoughts from one in pain about how God uses it.

Praying For Adult Children.

Spurgeon on Christians Who Rail Against the Times. HT to Challies. Of course we observe the times and interpret them in light of what the Bible has to say, but I do get frustrated with those Christians whose constant theme is harping about how bad the times are. Evidently there were those even in Spurgeon’s day. I love what he had to say: “What have you and I to do with the times, except to serve God in them?” “We must not be “Woe! Woe!” Christians. We must be “Grace! Grace!” Christians.”

Gentle Fiction: What It Is and Why I Write It. I had never heard the term “gentle fiction” before, but it perfectly describes the kinds of books I most like to read.

Forty Portraits in Forty Years, HT to Challies. One photographer took a photo of four sisters once a year over 40 years. Fascinating to see the progression.

Adding Beauty. Love this philosophy of decorating and making home “homey.”

Why Missionaries Hate Airports from my real-life friend and missionary, Lou Ann. I always love glimpses into aspects of missionary life that we might not have thought of or realized.

Dear Moms: It’s OK to Be Unremarkable. Nothing wrong with gleaning neat ideas from Pinterest, posting pictures on Facebook, or making 3-layer cakes, but the point is well-made that we don’t need to “compete” in all these areas.

Are You Too Sensitive?

Six Reasons Your Husband May Not Like Your Women’s Group.

Dear Mom…Worried About Your Daughter’s Reading Material?

Emotional Vertigo.

7 Principles of Sabbath Rest.

God Makes One Baby Boy “Different” To Save Hundreds of Others.

And in the “You think YOU’VE got snow” category, Kathie, one of my FFF friends in Prince Edward Isle, showed 16-foot snow banks in her area and shared this funny clip:

Too much snow for me!

Hope you have a great day!

31 Days of Inspirational Biography: Young Mother Trying to Find Time For Bible Reading

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Barbara Harper

The following is another excerpt from Climbing by Rosalind Goforth, which I have mentioned the last couple of days and many times before. This book shares a very human view of a woman after God’s own heart who also was “of like passions” as we are.

A devoted Christian missionary, Mrs. S, was holding a series of special meetings for our Christian women at Changte. On one occasion, this dear woman, who had no children, told me that I could never have the peace and joy I longed for unless I rose early and spent from one to two hours with the Lord in prayer and Bible study.

I longed intensely for God’s best — for all He could give me, not only to help me live the true Christian life but also for peace and rest of soul. So I determined to do what Mrs. S. had advised.

The following morning, about half-past five o’clock, I slipped as noiselessly as possible out of bed. (My husband had already gone to his study.) I had taken only a step or two when first one and then another little head bobbed up; then came calls of, “Mother is it time to get up?”

“Hush, hush, no, no,” I whispered as I went back, but too late; the baby had wakened! So, of course, the morning circus began an hour too soon.

But I did not give up easily. Morning after morning I tried rising early for the morning watch, but always with the same result. So I went back to the old way of just praying quietly — too often just sleeping! Oh, how I envied my husband, who could have an hour or more of uninterrupted Bible study while I could not. This led me to form the habit of memorizing Scripture, which became an untold blessing to me. I took advantage of odd opportunities on cart, train, or when dressing, always to have a Bible or Testament at hand so that in the early mornings I could recall precious promises and passages of Scripture.

In another place she writes of finding at the last minute that the woman who was supposed to speak at a certain function couldn’t, and she was asked to. She nursed the baby with one arm while looking through her Bible and jotting notes as she could with the other. When Jonathan came through and saw her, he wondered how she could possible get ready for a meeting under such conditions in so short a time. She replied that if she’d had hours to work on it, she would have taken it, but she trusted God would give her just what she needed in the time available.

A few pages later she writes that sometimes she got out a concordance and her Bible to study out something which she needed help on at the time. She ended up with forty outlines resulting from her studies which the Lord used first in her own life, and then in talks to other ladies.

I expanded on this theme of trying to have devotions with young children in the house in an earlier post titled Encouragement For Mothers of Young Children. I went through quite a spiritual slump at one point due to a lack of spending time with God, and He showed me some ways to do so at that super-busy time of having little ones that wasn’t my usual routine, wasn’t even a setting where I would normally “get anything” from his Word, but He enabled me in those times. I hope perhaps it will be an encouragement to some of you in that stage of life – or any stage.

For the 31 Days writing challenge, I am sharing 31 Days of Inspirational Biography. You can find others in the series here.

Book Review: Women of the Word

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Barbara Harper

I have to confess that my first thought when I saw Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin mentioned favorably around the blogosphere was, “Hey! She took my title!” That’s not a very spiritual reaction, I know. 🙂 I’ve been blessed to have been able to compile a ladies’ newsletter for our current church for a couple of years and for a former church for about 9 years, and one column I’ve had in it for a long time has gone by that same title, “Women of the Word.” It began after a discussion about devotions during one of our ladies’ meetings and the realization that no matter how long one has been a believer, there are always going to be struggles either maintaining a devotional time or making it what it ought to be. So I began the column to encourage ladies along that line and have begun to wonder lately if perhaps I might put them all together and see if they might possibly form a book.

My second thought, after reading a little bit about this book, was that I must get it. Everything I’d heard about it indicated that the author had the same passion as I do for getting women into the Word of God.

And the book definitely did not disappoint in any way.

Jen is not content to just get you into the Bible, however. She wants to equip women to dig for the true meaning of the Bible rather than using the Xanax approach (just seeking something to get through the day) or any number of other faulty approaches. She reminds us that God wants us to love Him not just with our hearts and souls, but also with our minds. She says that when she first began to read her Bible, she approached it with questions like, “Who am I?” and “What should I do?” Though the Bible did give her some insight for those questions, she eventually realized that “I held a subtle misunderstanding about the very nature of the Bible. I believed that the Bible was a book about me…I believed the purpose of the Bible was to help me” (p. 24). She learned that “We must read and study the Bible with our ears trained on hearing God’s declaration of Himself” (p. 26).

When I read that God is slow to anger, I realize that I am quick to anger. When I realize that God is just, I realize that I am unjust. Seeing who He is shows me who I am in a true light. A vision of God high and lifted up reveals to me my sin and increases my love for Him. Grief and love lead to genuine repentance, and I begin to be conformed to the image of the One I behold.

If I read the Bible looking for myself in the text before I look for God there, I may indeed learn that I should not be selfish. I may even try harder not to be selfish. But until I see my selfishness through the lens of the utter unselfishness of God, I have not properly understood its sinfulness (pp. 26-27).

“It’s possible to know Bible stories, yet miss the Bible story” (p. 11). In our quest for Biblical literacy, “we may develop habits of engaging the text that at best do nothing to increase literacy and at worst actually work against it” (p. 37). “We must be those who build on the rock-solid foundation of mind-engaging process, rather than on the shifting sands of ‘what this verse means to me’ subjectivity” (p. 87).

The author then shares ways to read the text within the context and to read it for comprehension, interpretation, and application. There is an excellent chapter as well for teachers, one section of which makes an excellent case for women Bible teachers. She appears to believe, as I do, that women should teach women rather than men, but she gives some excellent reasons why women should teach other women.

I also appreciated how she dealt with an issue in the conclusion that I have seen some up in just the last couple of years. These days, when you try to encourage Bible reading and study or try to bring to bear what the Bible says on a conversation, you can sometimes be accused of “worshiping the Bible.” Jen answers:

I want to be conformed to the image of God. How can I become conformed to an image I never behold? I am not a Bible-worshiper, but I cannot truly be a God-worshiper without loving the Bible deeply and reverently. Otherwise, I worship an unknown God. A Bible-worshiper loves an object. A God-worshiper loves a person (p. 147).

In short, I love this book and highly recommend it. I do more than recommend it: I don’t often do this, but I encourage you to get it. I’m more than happy that the title I was considering using for a book has been attached to such a one as this.

I’ll close with one last quote:

We must make a study of our God: what He loves, what He hates, how He speaks and acts. We cannot imitate a God whose features and habits we have never learned. We must make a study of Him if we want to be like Him. We must seek His face…

We see Him for who He is, which is certainly a reward in itself, but it is a reward with the secondary benefit of being forever altered by the vision (p. 150).

(This will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Here is a collection of some thought-provoking posts discovered in the last couple of weeks:

You Are What – And How – You Read from Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. About more than reading.

When Sin Looks Delicious.

The Inner Life — Four Reasons to Have a Quiet Time.

The ladies of Out of the Ordinary have been blogging about middle age this month, a topic you don’t often see on blogs. My two favorite posts so far have been Things to Guard Against in the Middle Years and The Middle Years: There’s Good News, Too!

On Daughters and Dating: How to Intimidate Suitors. Loved this: “Instead of intimidating all your daughter’s potential suitors, raise a daughter who intimidates them just fine on her own. Because, you know what’s intimidating? Strength and dignity. Deep faith. Self-assuredness. Wisdom. Kindness. Humility. Industriousness.”

What do those with disabilities owe those without?

An Outburst Is An Opportunity.

When It’s Time to Leave a Church.

Five Helps for Memorizing Bible Verses.

Three Reasons to Diversify Your Reading. Why Christians should read non-Christian books.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Barbara Harper

Here are a few interesting reads found this week:

Head Knowledge = Good. Heart Knowledge = Good. We need both.

Reading the Bible Like Jesus: Matt. 22:31 and Reading the Bible Like Jesus: Luke 24. I would just caution, with the first one, that though we do need to read the Bible as written directly to us, we need to remember that not every instruction or promise is for us to follow. Some things were given specifically to Israel or to an individual. But, yes, even that is written to us for a purpose.

Don’t Pray in Circles!

Coming Home: When Missionaries Come Off the Field. Ways to be helpful rather than hurtful.

Rescued. Beautiful.

How Do Birds Keep Warm in Winter? HT to FFF friend Kathie (who always has gorgeous photos!) I thought our resident cardinals were just getting fat, and though they do eat more to stay warm, they also fluff layers of air amidst their wings as insulation. Very interesting article.

Saw this at Bobbi‘s. Very sweet. I don’t know if falling makes you stronger, as it says at the end, but I do hope I’ve taught my kids that falling isn’t the end. This is a good reminder, too, that though Olympic athletes are talented, they also have years of hard word leading up to their feats.

Have a good weekend!

Laudable Linkage

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Barbara Harper

If you’re like me, there hasn’t been a lot of time for Internet reading the past week, but here are some things I found interesting over the last couple.

5 Things Christians Should Stop Saying.

My Preferred Way to Read the Bible. I tend to go back and forth – more general reading some times and then camping out in one book some times.

Dear Kids: What You Need to Know About Duck Dynasty, Justine Sacco, and Christmas.

Is a Simple Christmas a More Godly Christmas? While the message to simplify is a good and needed one, and we could all probably simplify in some ways (in life as well as at Christmas), there are some times that we can’t, and there are some times that what we call simplifying = selfishness and unwillingness to sacrifice and serve. This is one of those areas that will look different for different people and requires discernment and wisdom.

Aren’t There Enough Christian Books Already?

My Take on “The Hobbit” 2. Pretty much my take as well.

This is the US Air Force Band staging a flash mob at the National Air and Space Museum. I was amused that at the end they were all organized in neat rows, unlike most flash mobs. 🙂 I always wonder what it is like for the very first person to step out into a crowd and start singing or playing.

Hope you have a great weekend! I’ll have some exciting news next week. 🙂

Laudable Linkage and Videos

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Barbara Harper

Here are some good reads from the last couple of weeks:

Christmas Is For Those Who Hate It Most.

God May Not Have a Wonderful Plan for Your Life. He does, in the sense that He made it possible for us to go to heaven when we repent and believe He sent His Son to take our sins on the cross, and He has promised to be with us in this life, but some things in life are hard. The Bible said they would be, and we can give people the wrong picture of Christianity and rub salt in an open wound sometimes by spouting phrases like this.

God’s Heavenly, Glorious Melting Power. Ways to keep devotions from becoming mechanical.

Scowling at the Angel. “There in my brokenness I had so little to give. But grace, she never left. She met me in all my frailty, raw and wrathful, as exposed and defenseless as the day I was born.”

The Needs of Three Women. Being ministered to while ministering to the homeless.

3 Marks of Righteous Anger.

Daily Scriptures to Help Tame the Tongue.

The Story of Gwen and Marlene. This is a theme I have mentioned often, that women’s ministry is not always in specific programs. It’s mostly a matter of being available and interested in others.

Inhospitable Hospitality.

Our Love-Hate Relationship With Christian Art. “Christian art? Are you kidding me? Christianity has produced the greatest art of all time.”

A Letter to an “Expectant” Adoptive Mom. Great advice from one who has gone through the process not only of adopting, but adopting internationally.

How to Get People to Read the Bible Without Making Them Feel Dumb.

Union With Christ in Marriage. “Paul doesn’t give us commands to extract from the other spouse. Instead, Paul instructs us in the graces to give!”

What Foster Parents Wish Other People Knew.

It Takes a Pirate to Raise a Child, HT to Bobbi. Loved this – about how children’s stories shape their ideas of right and wrong, e.g., telling the author’s son that he was acting like Edmund in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe helped him understand his behavior towards his siblings was wrong when explaining and exhorting wasn’t getting through.

Merry Literary Christmas. 🙂

A couple of fun videos:

An two year old with amazing basketball skills: