It's hard to believe that 2009 is almost over. And depending on when you believe the decade ends, this could be the last day of the first decade of the new millenium.
Tough act to follow, eh?
In 2008, I made a resolution to read the Bible from cover to cover in one year. I got a daily devotional Bible and I did it. It wasn't easy, that's for sure. I spent the first few months just trying to get myself into the habit of reading daily, and the rest of the year trying to make sense of the words I'd read before, but never in such close context.
in 2010, I'm back for the task again - to read the entire Bible in a year. And I'd love for you to join me!
I'll also give updates on my Beliefnet.com Gospel Soundcheck blog. My hope is that we can have some Christian music artists and others involved in the industry to share their thoughts on various reading over the next 365 days.
Here's what you'll need to join me:
- a Bible. I'm using the Charles Stanley Life Principles Daily Bible, because the version I used in 2008 isn't available any more. But you don't need to buy any special Bible. I'll post the readings on my blog so you know what we're reading. Each day includes a reading from the Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs and the New Testament; if you read them all every day at the end of 2010 you will have read the entire bible! But you can read just the Old Testament, just the New Testament, just the Proverbs or Psalms, or everything. You can use your own Bible or log onto BibleGateway.com and read online. Whatever works for you - set an attainable goal that you'll be more likely to work towards, and if you read more, bonus for you!
- a journal or notebook. I strongly believe that if you want God to speak to you, you'd better be ready to take notes when he does. In 2008, my daily reading journal was filled mostly with questions, ranging from "What does THAT mean?" to "What the heck is God thinking?" along with comments like "Whoa, that finally makes sense!" But truthfully, there were more questions than answers. At the same time, I felt like for the first time in a long time I was making the effort to hear God. So if you're going to join me, please do yourself a favor and take notes. Even if all you write is "I have no idea what any of this means." God will respond!
- a copy of Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, which you can read online. This past year, I've going through this devotional for maybe the 7th time, and every time it makes more and more sense to me. So in my blogging, I may reference good old Oswald. But if you want to really enhance your study, try checking out the devotional on a daily basis. It's challenging and inspiring. You can read online at the My Utmost website.
And here's the rule: do what you can. Read what you can, when you can. if you have to skip a day or two, don't beat yourself up. Just pick up where you left off and move forward. This isn't a test; it's a desire to build a relationship with God. If something doesn't make sense, just admit it. Hopefully, we'll have a community on the blog that can help explain or explore ideas.
And try to keep an open mind. You may find yourself reading stories that you think you know backwards and forwards. But reading in context may shed new light on something, or perhaps God wants to tell you something through a story you already know well. Bring your patience to the task, but leave your pride at home!
And that's it! Everything you need is already right here online.
So if you're ready, the first reading is ...
January 1, 2010
Genesis 1:1-2:25
Psalm 1:1-6
Proverbs 1:1-7
Matthew 1:1-25
January 2
Gen. 3:1-4:26
Psalm 2:1-6
Proverbs 18,9
Matthew 2:1-23
January 3
Gen 5:1-6:22
Psalm 2:7-12
Prov 1:10-19
Matthew 3:1-17
January 4
Gen 7:1-8:22
Psalm 3:1-4
Prov 1:20-22
Matthew 4:1-25
January 5
Gen 9:1-10:32
Psalm 3:5-8
Prov 1:23-27
Matthew 5:1-26
January 6
Gen 11:1-12:20
Psalm 4:1-3
Prov 1:28-33
Matthew 5:27-48
January 7
Gen 13:1-14:24
Psalm 4:4-8
Prov 2:1-5
Matthew 6:1-18
Happy New Year!
Visit the Great Chicken Adventure blog and the It's A Dog's Life blog. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Pics of me with Sarah Palin
The pics of us from the Sarah Palin book signing are finally up. Yeesh, I had no idea I had gained THAT much weight!!!
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/shealahcraighead/image/I0000wLFx7wV6M.E
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/shealahcraighead/image/I0000PohDPEMOdeI
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/shealahcraighead/image/I0000PaJY4C9y7og
Visit the Great Chicken Adventure blog and the It's A Dog's Life blog. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/shealahcraighead/image/I0000wLFx7wV6M.E
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/shealahcraighead/image/I0000PohDPEMOdeI
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/shealahcraighead/image/I0000PaJY4C9y7og
Visit the Great Chicken Adventure blog and the It's A Dog's Life blog. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
Labels:
pictures,
Sarah Palin
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The strangest dream: the incredible, growing house
I had the strangest dream the other night:
For some reason, David and I had been given a huge, mansion-like house. It had a ground floor, three floors of bedrooms, and then an attic.
In the dream, Cassie, David and I set ourselves up on the third floor of bedrooms, lovely, huge rooms with big windows and lots of sunlight and beautiful antique furniture.
Immediately Cassie came to me and asked if her friend Holly could move in. Holly is a single mom with two kids and one on the way.
Dream David and I said, "Of course! Let's give her the second floor, which should be enough room for her and the kids." So we did. When she moved in, she found that the entire floor had already been outfitted with a crib and toys and everything a single mom with three kids could need.
As the dream progressed, more and more people began to move into the house: homeless people who needed a helping hand and a job. Strangers who were otherwise alone in life. Kids with problems. Everyone worked together to find a place for people to sleep and for ways to make sure everyone was fed and that all of the chores got done. People who had their own rooms offered to share rooms so more people could come and live in the house.
As we explored the house more, we found that the attic was filled to the rafters with board games of all sorts, and that whoever had owned the house before us had specifically written that we were to let anyone who wanted to play the games at any time. Which, of course, we did.
The weird thing is that while more and more people moved into the house, the house just got bigger and bigger - and nicer and nicer. The downstairs had a state of the art kitchen and a living/dining room straight out of Architecural Digest. The furniture was beautiful, the home spotless.
And it continued to get bigger and bigger and the people continued to come. Oddly, the more people who came, the less David, me and Cassie appeared in the dream.
And then we got a second house.
This house was smaller, and on the other side of town (ironically, it was called The Pittsford House; for some weird reason I remember that.). It was not as nice as the other house; it was decorated all in shag carpeting and bright red and blue colors, and although it looked huge from the outside, inside it was very shabby, dark and small.
One girl moved in there, and she complained about the way it looked, the way it was decorated. She said she didn't care if it was free or that she would have the entire house to herself. She wanted us to completely redecorate it. So she moved back to the big house and demanded her own room.
Four homeless men agreed to move in. They were so happy that they didn't have to sleep on the streets that they didn't care about the shag carpeting. Over time, they tore out the carpeting and cleaned the house ... and like the big house, it grew.
And then I woke up.
I've been thinking about the dream for two days now. The irony is that for much of the last decade, if it was up to me, my house would be open 24/7 to people. But David is a much more private person. He works hard and home is where he rests, so he's not much for company. Over the last few years, I've taken on his "recluse" mindset and spend much time alone. And happily alone, I might add.
But the dream has been bugging me. The more we gave, the more we got. The less we had, the farther it stretched. The more who were helped, the more they helped others.
There's a message in there, I think. What does it mean in practicality? ... Perhaps I've just dreamt the next "Christmas Carol"?
Visit the Great Chicken Adventure blog and the It's A Dog's Life blog. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
For some reason, David and I had been given a huge, mansion-like house. It had a ground floor, three floors of bedrooms, and then an attic.
In the dream, Cassie, David and I set ourselves up on the third floor of bedrooms, lovely, huge rooms with big windows and lots of sunlight and beautiful antique furniture.
Immediately Cassie came to me and asked if her friend Holly could move in. Holly is a single mom with two kids and one on the way.
Dream David and I said, "Of course! Let's give her the second floor, which should be enough room for her and the kids." So we did. When she moved in, she found that the entire floor had already been outfitted with a crib and toys and everything a single mom with three kids could need.
As the dream progressed, more and more people began to move into the house: homeless people who needed a helping hand and a job. Strangers who were otherwise alone in life. Kids with problems. Everyone worked together to find a place for people to sleep and for ways to make sure everyone was fed and that all of the chores got done. People who had their own rooms offered to share rooms so more people could come and live in the house.
As we explored the house more, we found that the attic was filled to the rafters with board games of all sorts, and that whoever had owned the house before us had specifically written that we were to let anyone who wanted to play the games at any time. Which, of course, we did.
The weird thing is that while more and more people moved into the house, the house just got bigger and bigger - and nicer and nicer. The downstairs had a state of the art kitchen and a living/dining room straight out of Architecural Digest. The furniture was beautiful, the home spotless.
And it continued to get bigger and bigger and the people continued to come. Oddly, the more people who came, the less David, me and Cassie appeared in the dream.
And then we got a second house.
This house was smaller, and on the other side of town (ironically, it was called The Pittsford House; for some weird reason I remember that.). It was not as nice as the other house; it was decorated all in shag carpeting and bright red and blue colors, and although it looked huge from the outside, inside it was very shabby, dark and small.
One girl moved in there, and she complained about the way it looked, the way it was decorated. She said she didn't care if it was free or that she would have the entire house to herself. She wanted us to completely redecorate it. So she moved back to the big house and demanded her own room.
Four homeless men agreed to move in. They were so happy that they didn't have to sleep on the streets that they didn't care about the shag carpeting. Over time, they tore out the carpeting and cleaned the house ... and like the big house, it grew.
And then I woke up.
I've been thinking about the dream for two days now. The irony is that for much of the last decade, if it was up to me, my house would be open 24/7 to people. But David is a much more private person. He works hard and home is where he rests, so he's not much for company. Over the last few years, I've taken on his "recluse" mindset and spend much time alone. And happily alone, I might add.
But the dream has been bugging me. The more we gave, the more we got. The less we had, the farther it stretched. The more who were helped, the more they helped others.
There's a message in there, I think. What does it mean in practicality? ... Perhaps I've just dreamt the next "Christmas Carol"?
Visit the Great Chicken Adventure blog and the It's A Dog's Life blog. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter!
Labels:
random musing
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