Sunday Salon #1

Bible Reading [Plans, Goals, Projects]

Next week, Lord willing, I'll have updates on actual-actual Bible reading. There are pros and cons to New Year's Day being on a Sunday. One positive is that it is the start of a brand new week, month, and year. I did wrap up the last week of Bible reading for 2022 yesterday. 

Current Projects

BSB Audio Bible. I've tried and failed (and failed, and failed, and failed) to listen to the Bible on audio. But I really want to want to actually listen to the Bible all the way through on audio. And the BSB is one of my favorite translations. I think working against this desire is the fact that I'm a lazy listener and easily distracted. I have to be actually paying attention to the audio to absorb it....but if I'm not occupying myself doing something--anything--then my mind will 1000% wander. It's a balancing act of attention. [I don't usually struggle with attention span when it comes to reading-reading.] The last week of December, I jumped straight to the book of Psalms. It is one of the books I am most familiar with. I figure that the chapters are mostly short and I can always re-listen to any as the need arises. 

ESV Church History Bible. This one is ALL KINDS OF FABULOUS. I love the notes. I do. The people who worked on this project must be talented, organized, and all kinds of awesome. The idea of gathering all those quotes that oh-so-perfectly match the passages is daunting. Picking quotes is not as easy as it looks, in my opinion. Nor could I imagine it being easy to pick which authors to include for any given passage or text. Reading this one is like meeting old and new friends. Last week, I read all of Genesis and am halfway through Luke. This upcoming week, I'll be starting to read Psalms and Proverbs [and Exodus.] 

ESV Large Print Reference Bible. I started this project in November 2022. I'm guessing that I'm at least halfway through the Bible. I know I've read Genesis through Isaiah in the Old Testament. And I've read some in the New Testament already. Last week, I finished Isaiah and Matthew. I chose those two books to finish out the year because they are both Christmas-y. 

Those are my three "current" Bibles.

Current Plans

Today will be the first day of January's project to read Mark 1-4 thirty times. This year I will not be adding a second project to complement that of Growing 4 Life. One thirty-day project is enough. Two was doable but not always enjoyable. 

As for devotional "plans" for the whole year. I plan on using the Morning and Evening offices from the Book of Common Prayer. (I use my own reading plan for tackling the Scripture readings.) I also plan on using the devotional Be Thou My Vision. I started using this in December 2022. I like that this one has two catechisms to work through. In December, I finished both, but, I'm not always sure I will...and I'm not sure that is intended by the author. Heidelberg Catechism. Westminster Shorter Catechism. If you haven't read these two, they are so WONDERFUL and highly recommended. 

Other Books....

I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to actually consistently be reading and reviewing Christian nonfiction and Christian fiction. I'd love to give greater attention to Christian reading. I think last year's goal of 100 books was too grand, too epic, too impossible. Right now even 50 books seems like a stretch. [In 2022, I read and reviewed 43 books for Operation Actually Read Bible.] But anything over forty-three has to be a step in the right direction. I am not in the middle of any book at the moment. [Technically, I started a Christmas novella in early December but got subtracted. The name of it was Five and Dime Christmas. Multiple authors as it is a novella collection.] 

Questions...

What say you...do you go ahead and finish Christmas books in January?

What is one book you'd recommend that I read in 2023?

Do you have any Bible reading plans, projects, or goals for 2023?

Do you have a favorite creed, catechism, or confession?

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible