This week, I started my yearly challenge of reading the Bible through. You may be wondering why I continue this practice each year and why I encourage you to do the same? In this post, I will not only share the “whys” with you but I will also share the benefits & blessings of reading your KJV bible all the way through as a homemaker. So let’s get to this!
Why reading the Bible every day is so important ?
Taking the sword
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Can you imagine heading to battle without your sword or weapon?
In similar comparison, reading the bible regularly is how we equip ourselves with the sword of the spirit, preparing us for the spiritual battle we face daily.
No, I do not believe you have to “carry your bible” everywhere you go to be “equipped with the sword” but I do believe the regular intake of the word equips your heart and mind daily. It only seems natural to equip yourself each day or morning as you prepare to face a new day full of new battles and new surprises.
Hiding the Word Of God in my heart
The psalmist David put it this way…
Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
God used David to show us the importance of hiding God’s word in our heart. How can we “hide the word in our heart” if we are not regularly taking it in, in some way?
Setting the example
Psalm 78: 4 We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done. 7. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
There is no better way to show our children the things of God than through the intaking of His word and living by It.
Let us not only set the example of personal devotion to our children but let us live by every word we read.
It demonstrates commitment & fights spiritual complacency
Reading God’s word daily demonstrates A daily spiritual commitment and is a great way to fight spiritual complacency.
It’s so easy to get “lazy” in the spiritual realm. Reading God’s word not only pushes us to put forth a daily effort in reading but it also challenges your faith daily, through the words you read.
It is a communion we have with God as His child. A place He can speak to us & we can listen.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John1:1 (KJV)
Why Should I Be Reading the Bible ALL The Way Through?
You may be wondering why it is important to read the Bible all the way through. Wouldn’t it make sense to read regularly from ‘my favorite parts’ or the books that I feel most pertain unto me?
In theory, that sounds acceptable but if you really believe that the Bible is God’s word, which it is, wouldn’t you want to read ALL of it?
Sure, you may have to push yourself and yes, you may not understand everything you read but if God put it in there then why take a chance on missing out on something He has for you?
I kind of look at it like a child eating dinner. If we allowed our children to always choose their own food , many of them, (mine included!) would have a plate full of sweets and macaroni and cheese. That might be ok for a little bit… but after a while we would begin to see (and they would feel) the negative effects and the lack of good nutrition they are missing out on.
I don’t want to miss out on the spiritual nutrition God has set before me.
Illustration
I am reminded of the story of a little girl who didn’t understand the purpose of her daily Bible reading.
She explained to her grandma how she didn’t understand the use of reading things she didn’t quite understand.
This grandma, full of wisdom, picked up her wicker plant basket, pulled the plant from the basket and asked her granddaughter to head to the creek for a “basket of water”. The granddaughter a tad confused did as her grandma asked.
As the girl came back the basket lost all of the water through its cracks and presented a empty basket to her grandma.
Once again, the gramma sent her granddaughter on a mission to retrieve a “basket of water”. This time the girl ran back as fast as she could with the basket hoping to make it with even a little water remaining. To her dismay she wasn’t fast enough and once again presented her grandma with a empty wicker basket.
The grandma smiled and simply said “child will you get me just one more basket of water from the creek?” The girl in confusion and dismay headed back to the creek and returned with yet another empty basket.
As the Grandma looked on the disappointed and confused child with the empty basket she pointed out the purpose of her odd request.
The basket, though empty, was now clean as could be. Although the basket wasn’t able to contain all of the water, the dirt left from the plant had been all washed out.
The same goes for reading God’s word. You may feel like you don’t “contain much” of what you read but you are continually being cleansed by the words of God as you daily take them in and live by them.
How does reading the Bible effect me as a homemaker?
…but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Prob 31-30
As homemakers why wouldn’t we want to prepare ourselves for the battle, set the example to our children, challenge ourselves, and clean our souls on a daily basis?
Just because you don’t work a 8-5 public job doesn’t mean you don’t need daily strength. Matter of fact, your “job” is 24/7 and if your like me, you need all the strength you can get!
Don’t ever underestimate your own walk with God. You need your daily time with the Lord as much as anyone else. Be sure to make time for God admits the household chaos, it will be so worth it! He can give you the strength, patience, wisdom, and sanity to face your day if you give Him the opportunity .
Is Reading My Bible Daily Doable As A Full Time Homemaker?
Yes! If you have never read your bible through, it may seem like a daunting task, especially as a mom but IT IS DOABLE if you are willing to commit and do it.
Maybe you have read your bible through in the past but now life seems a bit crazy and your not sure your up to it again. This is where priorities need to kick in. If you will realize the importance of reading your bible through and set it as a true priority YOU CAN DO IT! You may need to reprioritise some of your daily activities, shift your schedule a tad or try out a new reading method.
It’s so easy to get set in a rut and when things don’t work the same old way, we just assume they don’t work at all . Sometimes, different stages of life require us to try different approaches or to put it into one word, be “flexible”.
Tips to work daily reading into your BUSY mom life.
- Get up a tad earlier in the morning
- Stay up a tad later at night
- Include your kids by reading the Bible to them
- Set up a quiet time , let the big kids read book, babies take naps, and you read! When your done take some time to yourself to finish up other duties that require your full attention and quietness.
- Split your daily reading up into chapters. Read a chapter in AM, one at lunch, one at bedtime etc. until your daily reading is finished
- Talk to your husband about setting aside a short period of time each day that he can watch the kids while you focus on devotions.
- Reevaluate. We often spend way to much time on petty things. Take something you need to cut back on and replace part of that time with reading.
- Make a habit to read as soon as your kids go to bed. Half of the battle will be conquered just by setting the habit.
- Although I believe actual reading is often the best way to take in content. I realize this isn’t always the best option for everyone. With that said , I absolutely love listening to the FREE Gideon KJV dramatized bible(linked below). You can even follow along if you wish. I like to listen to the Bible while I’m going about my daily duties in addition to my daily reading. This provides a way for me to take God’s word in more often while I am attending to my daily responsibilities.
How To Finish Reading Your KJV Bible In One Year
•3 chapters a day & 5 chapters on Sunday = (23chapters per week)
•4 chapters every day= (28chapters per week)
•4 chapters every day on week days. (mon-fri). & 2 chapters a day on the weekend (sat-sun) = (24 chapters per week)
•3 chapter a day on week days (mon-fri) & 4 chapters on the weekend (sat-sun) =(23 chapters per wk)
*Each of these calculations will have you finished at a minimum of 1year, if kept on track. The reading plans that contain a little more the 23 chapters per week will have you done a little early or will give you a little wiggle room in case you get a tad behind.
You can split it up however you want, just be sure to read a minimum of 23 chapters per week to finish the 1,189 chapters of the KJV bible in one year (52wks). To read the Bible through 2 times in one year just double the amount of chapters (46 per week).
There are many bible reading plans and charts for sale at a very responsible price. Some of these charts are made to where you read less of the large chapters and more of the smalll chapters together, balancing your daily reading time better.
Check your local bible book store, Amazon, online Christian book stores, ask your pastor, and even check the back of your bible for these types of charts & reading plans.
Another option is this One Year KJV bible wich I LOVE. The entire bible is set up to read through in one year with each day distinguished right there in the Bible. ❤️. Check out my link here to order your own!
If Already Read Daily, What Else Can I do?
If you already read your bible through regularly, congratulations! Maybe you are wondering if there are more ways to instill God’s word in your heart as a homemaker. If you haven’t already, try out some of these ideas below!
• Try bible journaling. Bible journaling has became super popular! Check this adorable journaling bible (I love mine like this). If you like drawing, coloring, note taking, or are just creative in general you may find bible journaling very for filling.
• Include your children in an additional “smaller challenge” by reading the New Testament through. Did you know you can read the entire New Testament in a year by just reading 5 chapters per week? This is a great way to introduce your children to bible reading while adding a additional slower paced reading for yourself.
•Add in study sessions. There’s nothing better then getting yourself a good study Bible and purposely setting aside time to study what you read. There are so many amazing study bibles and devotionals to follow. I myself love the life in the spirit study Bible linked below.
• Listen to audio Bible. As mentioned before, listening to the Bible has many great benefits. The Gideon app is currently my favorite FREE bible audio. Audio Bible also comes on CD at most book stores or online.
•Memorize God’s word. You are never to old for bible memorization! It’s easy to teach our kids to memorize the scripture and stop memorizing ourselves. The more you can memorize now, the more great full you will be that you did.
Whether you already read your bible through yearly or if you never heard of it before in your life, either way, I hope you feel inspired to do more!
Check out the links mentioned throughout the post below and don’t forget to like, subscribe and share!
Also, if you would be interested in hearing about more of “my favorite bibles” and how I use them, let me know in a comment below.
Related Links
Gideon Bible App (KJV option in app). https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gideon-bible-app/id1000709020
One Year Bible (KJV)
Life in the spirit study Bible (KJV)
My KJV Journaling Bible
