Journey of the Word

I can genuinely say I love my life. Not only am I unusually content, I look at the future with excitement, and almost {just almost} hope that nothing changes for awhile. Maybe that’s a bit strange considering 1) I’m almost 30 and not married, 2) I live with chronic pain, and 3) I spend at least fourteen hours a week hearing, reading, studying, talking about, and writing about the Bible.

We’ll save the whole marriage and chronic pain thing for another day. But, seriously, can you imagine loving life when approximately two hours of your day is spent in the Bible? Yeah, neither could I for the first twenty-eight years of my life. Now, it’s hard to imagine anything different. And not because this kind of life is required of me. I report to no one {on this earth, that is}. No, I choose this life.

If you’ve read much of my writing, you know I spend many a post gushing about this joy that I’ve found. But many of my gracious, faithful readers have asked about the practical. “How do you do it? How on earth do you find two hours of your day to spend in the Bible? What does a day in your life look like?”

Well, I’d rather not tell you what a day in my life is like. One, because I doubt you care to hear. Two, because no two days of my week are alike.

How do I do it? To answer quite simply . . .

1. I’m single.
2. I’m self-employed with part-time hours.
3. I greatly dislike shopping, sports, and other time-consuming things many people enjoy.

So perhaps I have an advantage . . .

But really, I just found what works and flipped my priorities on their head.

I’m currently a part of three Bible study groups. So three days out of a week, my Bible time is found meeting with those groups and talking about the passage we’re living in and what exciting discoveries we’ve found. This is my favorite.

On the days that I am not meeting with a group, I’m spending a good hour or so digging into one of those passages in preparation for the group meetings. Homework. Lots of it. This keeps me motivated, on task, busy digging {’cause I gotta share something with the group!}, and just super excited about the journey I’m on to learn everything I possibly can about what God says.

This format has completely revolutionized the way I think about Bible study. Meaning . . . I am sometimes giddy with excitement over it.

When, where, and how do I study?

When: The end of the day. Because then my to-do list is not nagging me. Because my roommates go to bed early, so I have all the silence and solitude I need. And because I do my best thinking late at night.

Where: Usually cuddled up on the couch by candlelight. Because yes.
{And sometimes in a park, because strange things might happen.}

How: Which study group is meeting next? Okay, time to soak in that. Notebook? Check. Colored pencils? Check. Brain turned on? Check.

Let’s put it this way. Before, I tried to figure out how to fit the Bible into my day {and somehow there was rarely enough room}. Now, I try to figure out how to fit everything else into my day {and somehow there’s always plenty of room . . . for the things that matter most}. Simple and freeing.

Throw in Scripture songs in the car and about four hours a week writing reflections on the journey, and you have a Word-filled week.

Not for everybody, perhaps. But I’m pretty sure if you tried it, you’d be jealous . . .

In a wish-I-could-live-in-the-Bible-like-that-maybe-I-can-make-something-work sort of way.

 [image credit: pixabay.com & journeyoftheword.com]