If you're not the best Bible reader....(I wasn't either)

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If you're not the best Bible reader....(I wasn't either)

Holly Gort • January 19, 2022

So many of us want to truly grow closer to God but either don't know how or are struggling to consistently carve out time to spend with Him. If you're feeling this way, you're not alone in your frustration!

How to fall in love with reading the Bible...

When I first became a Christian, I was totally intimidated by the Bible. I picked up a free one at church, and it sat on my nightstand making me feel a little extra holy, but I never quite opened it to start to read.

The first time I ever actually read it was on my first mission trip to Costa Rica. They told us to bring one, so I did, and that first morning they gave us an hour to read and spend time with God. I had no idea where to start.

I whispered to my best friend, Michelle, who was sitting across the room, “Where do I start? I have no idea what I’m doing!”

“Start in Matthew,” she whispered back. “There’s a table of contents. You’ll find it there.” I fumbled until I found it, but the words read like gibberish. I closed it and took a deep breath, opting to journal instead.

The Bible is intimidating for a lot of reasons, but one of the main ones is its size. It’s a massive book, a gigantic book. If you were assigned that book in school you’d groan, and whine, and reach immediately for the CliffsNotes version — is that just me?

It’s full of names we don’t know how to pronounce, details that are hard to remember, and stories and lessons that are hard to relate to and make sense of and even harder to put into practice.

Not only that, but at least to me, reading the Bible didn’t sound fun. It sounded like the opposite actually, like the kind of thing you know you have to do but dread — like going to the gym, or getting an oil change, or eating a salad. But just a few months into my life as a Christian, I read a book, a passage specifically, that changed everything for me.

I don’t know if you have ever read the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller but, if you haven’t, you should! There’s a section in which Don is talking to a friend of his who is telling him about when she first became a Christian. This is how she describes it:

“We would eat chocolates and smoke cigarettes and read the Bible, which is the only way to do it, if you ask me. Don, the Bible is so good with chocolate. I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn’t. It is a chocolate thing.”

I read that paragraph, and read it again. I skipped right over the cigarettes part, but my eyes stopped at the last sentence. “I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn’t. It’s a chocolate thing.”

She had me. That’s exactly what I had always thought about the Bible. It was a salad thing, a “have to” instead of a “get to” — like folding your laundry or eating your vegetables. But she suggested that I might have gotten it all wrong, that there might be another side to the Bible I’d never experienced before.

All along, I’d known that the Bible was full of things I should know. When people explained things to me from it, they were helpful, and relevant, and insightful, and I wanted to be able to find those things for myself. Not only that, but I knew that if you wanted to get to know someone better, and that someone had written a book, you should probably read it. I wanted to get to know God better, and so I knew I should probably read His book.

I decided I wanted to give this Bible thing another try — this time looking for the chocolate in it — so that’s exactly what I did.

Later that night, I put on my favorite album, turned on the twinkle lights above my bed, found the golden bar of Toblerone I’d been saving for such a time as this, and put on my favorite over-sized yoga pants. I climbed into my bed, opened my Bible, and began to read, popping a triangle of Toblerone in my mouth every few pages.

“The Bible isn’t a salad book; it’s a chocolate book.” — she was right!

I started in Matthew again, and read right through. I looked for the richness, the relationship, the lessons I could apply to my life, for places where God shows us who He is, for times when He shows us how much He loves us. And as I did, the Bible started to open up to me, to come alive beginning that day, and more and more the more I read.

Reading and understanding the Bible is a lifelong process . It’s an almost magical book where it never gets old; every time you open it, it teaches you something new. I didn’t just magically understand it overnight, but I did start to discover that it’s so much more than first meets the eye.

It’s a love story, an epic adventure, an eternal battle of good versus evil. It’s a guide to life that makes way more sense than anything I’ve ever found in a magazine or the self-help aisle. It’s full of stories of people just like you and me — messy people, imperfect people — and how God used them (and wants to use us!) to do miraculous, beautiful, life-changing things in His world. And that day, with the twinkle lights sparkling overhead and the Toblerone melting in my mouth, I started to see that for the very first time.

Later that year, I started the very first small group I’ve ever led. It was a small group of 27 (not small at all, now that I think about it) sorority girls — messy, honest, amazing women. We would gather in this cozy room above the church on oversized couches every Sunday afternoon. We’d talk about God, and life, and where the two meet, and how to connect with God in real, authentic, and helpful ways.

But on our first day, before we got started with anything else, I wanted to set the tone for where we were going. I wanted them to know what was in store for them. So they walked in to find a stack of Bibles and a huge bowl of chocolates.

“The Bible isn’t a salad book,” I told them, “It’s a chocolate book.” Then, we began to read.

Carve out some time today (even if it’s just a few minutes) to read the Bible in a whole new way. Curl up in something cozy, turn on something twinkly and bright, get your favorite chocolate, and read a passage of the Bible. If you need a place to start, begin by reading the book of Mark, and don’t forget to look for the chocolate in it as you do. I promise you it’s there. If you’re looking for a great Bible Study, check out Seamless by Angie Smith, or anything by Beth Moore . They’ve helped me understand the Bible so much better, and I know they will for you too!

From the Blog of Stephanie May Wilson

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We Stopped Going House to House for the Holidays. Here's Why.... Written by Lindsey Maestas a favorite Blogger of Lisa's

By Written by Lindsey Maestas • December 5, 2022

When we were first married, the holidays were a really stressful time for us. We went to 5 different Christmases at 5 different houses. We wanted to spend as much time as we could with our family, and we didn’t want to disappoint anyone, so we made it happen. We were trying our best, but as soon we had to leave somewhere, there was always at least one comment that made us feel guilty. We knew that they intended well, and we truly are thankful that our family loves us enough to want us around. But we would still leave the house feeling so discouraged because, in reality, Jesse and I had spent absolutely no time alone together; we were simply trying to accommodate everyone else. Then we hit a turning point. I remember the day like it was yesterday. Our son Sutton was 1 1/2 years old and we rushed home a ridiculous number of times to pick up food and gifts to take to the next house. And then the next house. And then the next. Jesse decided on our final trip home that night that he pretty much despised the holidays and it made me so sad. He had always loved and looked forward to them when we were dating. We were stressed out with each other and far from ‘merry.’ And honestly, that day had looked so much different than what I had dreamt of time and time again as I imagined celebrating my son’s first real Christmas. When we finally came home for the night, it was completely dark. Sutton’s toys were piled up, untouched, in the corner. He didn’t get to open or play with anything that day and he was passed out by the time we got home. Our house was a disaster because I had rushed to cook and bake everything for each house and didn’t have time to clean before we left. We also spent an inordinate amount of money on 19 kids, 10 siblings and 3 White Elephant parties. We were completely exhausted, frazzled and frustrated. It was in that moment when we both realized that, although we both desperately love our families, we are our own family now. We have to set healthy boundaries in order to invest in and nurture this little family we have created – even during the holidays. Jesse and I have always clung to this verse in our marriage, but somehow forgot to implement it into the holiday season: “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” Gen. 2:24 We are our own family now. And while it is absolutely crucial for me to teach Sutton that Christmas is about Jesus and loving and serving others, I also don’t want to create strife or forfeit our family principles to people-please or to simply fulfill society’s standard of what Christmas is supposed to look like. We love being generous and we love giving gifts. It is one of our favorite things to do as a family. I love making all of the holiday food (like our famous cranberry jalapeno dip! ) We also absolutely adore spending time with our families, and we look forward to a time of relaxation with them every single year. But, you guys, when we spread ourselves so thin, neither we, nor our families, actually get that relaxation. We are so busy and exhausted that they actually get very little of our energy or attention. Every family is different, and every family has unique boundaries. In our family, we personally still do our best to see everyone because we really do love it. However, now, we have split the days up. The timespan spent at each home is shorter and we don’t allow guilt to consume us if we can’t make it somewhere. Sweet friends, I want you to consider this. When you exceed your budget by hundreds of dollars, simply to fulfill America’s expectation of giving a gift to everyone in your family (which they will likely take to Goodwill in 6 months), you are forfeiting your boundaries and possibly making an unwise financial decision for your own little fa mily. When you and your spouse are at one another’s throats because you have to put on a false smile for your in-laws who you swear have it out for you, you are sacrificing the health of the one you were intended to cling to for the family that you were intended to separate from after you said, ‘I do.’ Here’s what I’m not saying: I’m not saying that you should say ‘no’ to everything and everyone. Scripture reminds us that those who are faithful in very little are also faithful with much. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy gifts. We are called to be generous with the money that we have because ultimatel y it is God’s, not ours. I don’t necessarily equate that verse to giving gifts on Christmas, but I do think there is something special about the joy that comes from placing presents under the tree for those we love. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t make small sacrifices to spend time with your husband’s family or that he shouldn’t spend time with yours. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” It is important to place your spouse’s needs above your own and to place other people (even extended family) above your own needs as well. Our reward for doing so may not ever come on this earth, but they will be waiting for us in heaven. I encourage you to love your extended family so well throughout the entire year that the holidays aren’t a question of whether or not your family is important to you, simply because you can’t attend one Thanksgiving dinner. Here’s the thing: Jesus has given YOU freedom. Even on the holidays. This year, let us leave behind the obligation and lie that we need to be all things to all people. Instead, let’s focus on honoring God with our lives while clinging to our own little families during the holiday season. Slow down. Go to church or make a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy the day inside with your little family. Simply do your best to lo ve and serve those around you without allowing pressure or obligation to consume you. And most importantly, spread true joy and the love of Jesus with those you come across. It might even be a lot easier this time around because you’ll be rested enough to do so. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!

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