My New Year's Resolution

Last year, my new year's resolution was to start baking my own bread and give up the store bought stuff. Guess what? I actually achieved it! Aside from one emergency package of store bought tortillas in February '09, I have not bought bread in over a year!

I really think that talking about it on my blog helped. Even though I know no one of you would have been sorely offended or disappointed if I bought a loaf of bread, I felt some sort of accountability. Like I had to do it. And I did. And I'm glad. Baking my own bread is now just a normal, natural part of life. It's just what I do. I'm not planning on stopping.

This year, my goal is to read through the entire New Testament. As I mentioned last week, this goal was inspired by Jenny and SnoWhite, who are both very committed to their bible reading. In the past, I've often said, "I want to read the bible more", or "I want to read the whole bible in a year", but it's never happened. Why? Because in the first case, I wasn't specific enough about my goal and in the second case, I wasn't serious about my goal and it was overwhelming.

I've chosen to start with the New Testament, because it seems like a more manageable and feasible goal. I don't' want to overwhelm myself because then I might give up. The NT seems reasonable. There are 260 chapters. It can be done in a year, no problem.

Thanks to SnoWhite, I've been connected to a great program that leads you through the NT in a year. It's called the Text Project. If you sign up, they will e-mail you your assigned reading each morning. There is one chapter for every week day of the year. (You can also sign up for an OT and Psalms program, if you're interested).

To keep track of my progress, I have added a "What I'm Reading" feature on my side bar. I will cross out each book once it's completed and I will try my best to update it each Sunday so you can see which chapters I'll be reading that week.

I am so excited to see what God has in store for me. Although I've read most, perhaps all, of the NT at one point or another, I've never sat down and read the whole thing straight through. The Word is alive and I am confident that I will learn new and wonderful things - perhaps when/where I'm least expecting it.

Would anyone like to join me on this quest?

This posted is being linked at Kelly's Korner: Show Us How You Live: New Year's Resolutions