Milestone

Today is a special day.
Veterans Day, yes. I am so thankful for those that sacrificed sooo much for me to enjoy the liberties I do.
Happy Birthday too- to my older sister, who lives far far away as a missionary overseas. I love her and I'm so thankful for her in my life!
But today also marks a milestone for me. 11/11/11, what a perfect day to celebrate my completion of reading through the Bible this year!
I started out at the beginning of the year with determination and hope that I would finish. In all my life I was never able to say I had read through this dear Book from God. I had never finished it cover to cover.
As it happened, I was reading a fellow bloggers post and she shared a Bible reading plan that she had just finished. I clicked the link, downloaded it, printed it and that was it. I began my reading.
I really loved the plan as it lets you check each box as you finish, giving a real sense of satisfaction :)
I have to say that it was wonderful reading through it all. God spoke to me in different passages and verses, and my printout of my plan is filled with scratchings and scribbles of verses that meant so much for so many different reasons. Now I look back over my plan and I am really glad I took some notes of different verses- I will save it for future reference as I again read through His Word.
So, why not begin again? It's been such a huge blessing to read through it daily. Sometimes I missed a day or two, but it was easy to get back on track and the plan helped me refocus and follow through.
My next goal is to read through in chronological order. The Bible isn't actually laid out this way, so reading in chronological will be interesting indeed. It's a history book after all and I think it will be interesting to read it as it all took place.
But I may not do that just yet, I may wait until the New Year...and I may not.
My thoughts right now are to do some studying over the next couple months, maybe focusing on a certain passage. I'm not sure what it will be yet. I'm praying for some guidance here.
One area that I have been really wanting to dive into personally is to become more learned about Theology. To know more about His Word, to have more knowledge.
In my church we have a women's Bible study every other week and I have really really enjoyed it. It's been a rich time of learning, and many of the women that share have been given so much godly wisdom, not because of their laziness, but because of their diligence in the Word.
One lady encouraged us to become diligent in studying the Bible. To be theological. Sure our husbands may be this, but why do we as women think it's too hard, too complicated to dive in and really study?
I feel I use that excuse in my own life- the books written about doctrine, beliefs ect. can be a bit daunting. So I remain in the dark.
Is this right?
To further challenge us, my friend also went onto say that we are teachers in our own homes. Raising our children, guiding them in the way they should go, and also being there to give an answer to Bible questions. We are counsellors to our husbands, the ones they seek out when they are needing encouragement, and wisdom in life.
We are also called to offer encouragement, wisdom, and sometimes strong guidance to friends that need it, and how in the world can we do all this if we are not seeking out His wisdom?
To me this was something I felt convicted about. How can I possibly think I can offer council of any sort if I'm not studying what His Word says? I don't want to be the one to offer worldly advice to others.
And so, I have been challenged in this area personally. To dive in, to absorb. Who says it's too late to learn? Thats foolish. You can always start right where you are- and I think God will bless your efforts.
If you would like  to read my reading plan it's found here.