I have come up with a workable solution to my series I want to begin, “You Are What You Read.”

I did face a few technical difficulties with my YouTube video a few weeks ago. I couldn’t seem to fix the settings issue while I was out of town and away from my laptop. And after going through the time and effort of making a video, realizing it was a bit self-indulgent and just not my thing, I have decided to continue the series, but in blog post form, not a vlog/video blog.

The issues and topics are still near and dear to my heart but think I can get my point across just as easily writing instead of being on YouTube.

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Today’s episode deals with my all time favorite book. The Bible. This book is foundational to my faith and has been a near constant companion all of my life.

I received my first Bible when I was seven as a gift from my grandparents.

I went on to have a Precious Moments Bible as an older elementary and junior high school student.

In high school and college I used a women’s devotional bible (NIV) and for more than the past decade I have been using an NIV version that was given to me from my church at my college graduation in 1999. (So that’s a little more than a decade).

That Bible bears the markings, the tears, the highlighting and notes from a whole lotta life. My courtship with Ryan, marriage, the birth of our three children, some difficult moments in our marriage, our ministerial internship program, our transition to military life and my transition to homeschooling. The physical bible was so worn out that the pages were starting to fall out and the binding had pulled away from the spine of the book. Sad times.

As we made the change from El Paso to Georgia, it hit me that it really was time to begin a new season and get a new Bible. Admittedly I’d become a little too dependent on and even distracted by some of my old notes and highlights. I wanted a clean slate so to speak.

My sweet in-laws gifted me with an ESV (also time for a new and different translation) journaling Bible for Christmas and I adore it!!!

This year I am reading through the Bible with the express intent of taking notes and jotting down insights on the practices and promises of God toward me and how I am to live. I’m aiming to keep my focus on that theme this year and I’ll take another focus next year and in the coming years.

I am using a very grace-filled reading plan that has been easy to keep up with. It’s called the Bible Reading Plan for Slackers and Shirkers. There’s no exact dates for each day just a gentle guide through all of Scripture. There’s even a generous built in “skip day” system. So basically, if you get off a few days here and there, you’re still on track to finish the whole Bible in a year.

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For me it seems out of order to discuss other books or topics related to reading without first mentioning my Bible.

It has been through my own love for God’s word and his truth that I have grown to trust the wisdom and validity of other books. God’s word is central to my life and the foundations of who I am and how I try to live.

I know I don’t always get it right and I fail often, but staying centered and grounded in the wisdom and truth of Scripture is the only hope I have.

Do you have a favorite Bible or resource that you’d like to share for Bible reading or study? I’d love to hear about it.