Reading the whole bible in a year is a very popular thing to do, but there's a possibility it's not the right thing for you to do. Let's discuss practical ways to spend meaningful time with God daily, explore the pros and cons of reading the Bible in a year, and find a few helpful resources.

Episode Highlights

• Why I don't love the practice of trying to read the whole bible in one year
• The purpose and importance of spending time in God’s Word every day 
• Resources and strategies to help you read through the bible in one year if you feel called to do so

Resources Mentioned

• The Daily Grace Co. "Story of Redemption" Journal Bundle (get 10% off with this link!)
• Looking Up!: Finding Joy as You Read and Pray through the Bible by Janet McHenry
• The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible by Tara-Leigh Cobble
• The Bible Recap for Kids: A 365-Day Guide Through the Bible for Young Readers Ages 8-12 by Tara-Leigh Cobble

Related Episodes / You Might Also Like

• EP 39 - The Source of Empowerment with Becky Beresford
• EP 45 - Finding Your Natural Prayer Style with Janet McHenry
• EP 47 - How to Study the Bible with Liz Cobo
• EP 48 - Why Bible Study is Important with Kala Yoder

Connect with Rachel

• racheldbaker.com
• Instagram @rachel.d.baker 
• Email rachel@racheldbaker.com

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Hi friends.

Today's episode includes my hot take on a big topic, my unpopular opinion among many Christians, and how we're going to get intentional about spending meaningful time with God every day in a practical, manageable way.

There's a lot of spice and love headed your way, so make sure you listen to the end.

A big part of preparing our minds for the holidays and the new year is being intentional about spending time with God.

We're going to talk about how we can do that in a focused way.

And I want to talk about this practice of reading the whole Bible in one year that has become so popular.

So here we go.

Unpopular opinion time.

I do not love the practice of trying to read the entire Bible in one year.

It's not wrong.

Don't hear me.

I'm not saying you can't or you shouldn't or anything like that.

The heart behind it is good.

People are wanting to get into God's Word and read it all cover to cover.

I've tried to do this multiple times over my 40 plus years of life.

Is anybody else struggling to get through numbers and Leviticus among others?

Maybe.

But those are some challenging books and there are multiple versions that you can do.

You can do it chronologically.

You can do it just the New Testament first, or maybe you throw a psalm in there every day.

There's just so many different ways that you can go through the Bible in one year.

For me, this is me personally speaking.

It just ended up feeling like another thing to check off of the list.

And I never want reading God's Word to be a thing I have to check off a list.

There are a couple resources I found that make this more intentional, more doable.

So I will share those as we wrap up today.

I'm not saying you shouldn't or you can't or that it's not a good idea.

It's just not been something that I have loved so far.

Maybe it will be at some point, but right now it's not my favorite thing.

The purpose of reading scripture is to get to know God better and to build that relationship with Him.

I don't want to read my Bible just for the sake of reading it.

Like I said, I don't want to just have something to check off a checklist.

I want to make sure I have time to process what I read, maybe journal or pray.

I want to know how I'm going to apply the information I've read to my life.

I love the journals that are with the Daily Grace Company.

I'll link those in the show notes, there's not anything super fancy about them, but they do have journals for all the different books of the Bible.

They have space for each chapter of each book where you can jot down notes, verses that you like, key phrases that are used in the book.

There's just a lot of different things that can kind of help you really process the information in each book of the Bible.

And I love that.

So I'll link those in the show notes.

Those have been really neat for me as I go through each book in the Bible.

I do want to read my Bible.

I do think it's the most important thing.

But to have it as something that I have to do every single day just to get it checked off a list is a no go for me.

I want to process it.

Yes, we have to prioritize time for this daily, but it doesn't mean we need to rush it to meet a deadline.

That's another big piece of it.

I don't love trying to read the whole Bible in one year.

I don't want to feel like I'm having to rush through sections just to get it done.

So if this is a priority for you, though, if you feel really called to read through the whole Bible in one year, there are a few resources and strategies that I would like to recommend that I have found that I really, I do.

I love the authors.

I love the way that they've set it up.

So these are my recommendations.

The first one is going to be a newer book by Janet McHenry and we've had her on the podcast.

I will link to her episode, but she recently published a book called Looking Finding Joy as you read and pray through the Bible.

And I love Janet's style.

I love her heart behind this.

She has read through the Bible in one year multiple times, so many times.

And so she knows the value in this and has found ways that work well for her.

And so I would recommend that one.

The other one I have found that I really do enjoy is the Bible Recap.

It's a one year guide to reading and understanding the entire Bible and that's with Tara Lee Cobble.

I love this one again because I don't like feeling rushed or having to meet deadlines.

I have enjoyed these resources on my own time.

I'm not rushing through them trying to do a certain amount every day, but I enjoy the resources that are provided that help you dive into Scripture a little bit more, understand it.

There are a ton of resources with the Bible recap especially.

They have videos that are included.

There's a study guide, a journal.

There's even a version for kids.

So if you really want to dive in.

I do love the Bible recap and all of their resources.

Those would be my top two recommendations at the time of this recording.

And I want you to hear me say there's nothing wrong with reading the Bible in a year if that is something that you have time for and if you feel it connects you with God.

But I also want to say, do not feel shame or guilt for not being able to meet the deadlines.

Spend time with God each day in a way that works for you and read the Bible with the intention of cultivating that relationship with Him.

I'm going to link all the resources I mentioned today in the show notes, including the daily Grace Company journals.

So if you want a place to keep your thoughts, notes, prayers, those are there for you.

Whichever method you choose for the year and whatever point of the year you're listening to this the goal, the bottom line of everything, take time every day.

Create some breathing room for yourself every day to spend time in God's word, connect with him and build that relationship with him, because he is the foundation that's going to get you through each day.