#28 On Life List - Check!

Still working on my ongoing life list....and have another one to check off! I read the New Testament in the year 2009. I actually completed it 3 days ago. Last year, I set the goal to read it along with my church congregation, and I did it! I also read Psalms, which is in the Old Testament. Of course, #29 on my Life List is to read the Old Testament, but I gotta be honest- that's a beast, and it's deep, and it's difficult, and most people will tell you to try to read it in a small group, or read it with a tutorial, or to prepare yourself for a challenge at the very least. I do plan on reading it someday, but I think I will take a little break. I normally do a lot of reading but last year, it was pretty limited with the Bible taking up most of my time. So, I'm excited to start reading some other books.

Here's what I learned from the New Testament:
* When you set this goal for yourself, you take your Bible pretty much everywhere. It went on a lot of road trips with me- Lake City, softball tournaments, etc. And, when you're on vacation, it goes with you, so my bible went to Cancun, Cape Cod, Ely and Colorado. And, on EACH plane ride, I had someone make a comment to me about the Bible or the reading I was on or whether they had read it. It makes for great conversation.
* Sometimes when you read a verse, you will actually sing it because you'll realize it came from that beloved song you know from church. So many times I thought to myself, "Ahhh, that's where they got that line from!" or "I know that verse from somewhere!"
* Sometimes when you read a verse, you will say to yourself, "Self- I have no idea what in the heck that meant." No clue, zippo, zap, nothing- I would read it and literally could not comprehend it. So, you google it and see what others say it meant, or you move on.
* It's a great feeling when you come across one of your favorite bible verses- it's like you found a little pot of gold! It's just different when you read it as part of the whole story versus reading it as just one verse. Both are great feelings- they are just different.
* Psalms is like one long, long, long song that never, never, never ends.
* I truly do not understand someone who believes the Bible is make-believe. I mean, there are so many details- fine, tiny details- that are in the Bible that I just don't know how you could even make that up. There are names, there are locations, there are bodies of water, there are times, there are in-depth stories - there's just no way it's not true. (Jesus- this is my way of saying that you made a great main character! Good work on that!)
* The Bible - especially the New Testament- is very uplifting, very encouraging, very positive. It makes you more compassionate, more forgiving, more understanding, more loving, more honest, more humble- and more giving. I think I had a lot of those traits before reading the Bible, but EVERYONE could always use more reminders. It made me a better person - a new person.
* I started reading the Bible when my grandpa was sick. We talked about it a lot and he told me he was proud of me, that he wished he would have read it all the way through. So, I kind of feel like I did it for Grandpa. I'll be honest with you- I wanted to quit a lot (you can ask my husband). It wasn't always enjoyable, and there were times, it was quite boring. But, I'm glad I stuck with it. I would have missed out on a lot - which brings me to why I started reading it. Our pastor gave us a "talking to" one day in church - January 2009 - and his exact words were this, "Can you get to heaven without reading the Bible? Yes. But, are you missing out on something really, really great by not reading it? For sure." And, that's when I knew I better give it my best shot - because I never like to miss out on a great thing.

If it's on your life list, I encourage you to act now. You won't regret it.