The Bible Feast...Jen's progress report

Greetings to all.....

When I first read about the "Bible Feast" activity in the Fisherman's Net, I was immediately interested in the idea. I am an avid reader, with wide-ranging interests, and the Bible has always been on my "to be read" list. However, since late 2007 I have felt compelled to actually commit to reading the Bible; in addition, around that time I began reading a handful of blogs written by actively Christian parents whose faith lives both inspire and challenge me. Several of those blog authors would include verses from the Bible in almost every post, and while I know it is a simple thing to do a quick internet search and find the appropriate verse, still I was intrigued, impressed, and challenged by their ability to consistently relate the Bible to their daily life.

And so, a few short weeks ago, along comes this idea from A. and D. to read only the Bible during the 40 days of Lent. Hmmm.....this would be quite a challenge. This meant putting aside any other "recreational reading": newspapers, magazines, books from the library whether fiction or non-fiction, and any news-based websites. For me, this also included not reading the several blogs I would check in on daily, and also refraining from listening to any recorded books, both in my car and at home. I did check out a book-on-cd recording of the Bible from the library, and even though the Old Testament was read by James Earl Jones and so is probably an excellent "listen", oddly enough I have not felt tempted to play it. Still, there are piles of books all over my house, and many books in those piles have yet to be read. I am on the computer several times a day, and it is a serious temptation to just click over to one of the blogs I had been reading daily. Even my MSN homepage is a temptation, with its news bites about celebrities and such. So, definitely there is a great deal of other "stuff" constantly around me by which I can be so, so easily distracted from reading the Bible (not to mention the ordinary distractions of everyday life!).

Another source of some caution was the fear of feeling "convicted" by reading the Bible. After all, what human out there can sit down to read this book without coming upon multiple examples of how they have obeyed their human impulses, with negative consequences, instead of attempting to live a wholly Christian life searching out God's will?? I wasn't exactly looking forward to 40 days of feeling like an awful person. But, of course, it has not turned out like that. So far I have managed to read Acts, Romans, and Corinthians 1 and 2 - and feel inspired and hopeful instead of "convicted" and hopeless. After all, who knows better than God how to reprimand lovingly, and reaffirm His commitment to us humans in the process?

Just a few days before beginning the Bible Feast, I was straightening up a pile of books and came upon one called "100 Favorite Bible Verses", a book which was a birthday present and one which I have not yet read. For whatever reason, I opened the book to where the ribbon bookmark held a page, and read the entry for #12, Hebrews 4:12: "God's word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts and feeling in our hearts." The explanatory entry for this verse goes on to say that "the Bible is not a reference book to teach you about God. The Bible is an invitation to connect with God in a personal way - and to learn more about yourself in the process. The more time you spend reading the Bible and meditating on how God wants you to apply what you've read, the more you'll learn to recognize the whisper of God's Spirit in your life and to see his hand at work in the world around you."

Well. Basically I had, just by chance, picked up this one book and felt led to open it - and came upon an entry that spoke directly to my thoughts and anxiety about going ahead with the Feast! Now, let me say here that there is nothing wrong with reading all that other "stuff" - the blogs, books, newspapers, magazines, etc. etc.; I am a huge fan of public libraries and reading in general and I will continue to read all of those things after Lent is done (although maybe not as much...but, that's another post in and of itself!). I guess the thought that kept nagging at me, as I pondered the Bible Feast exercise, is this: if I am going to call myself a Christian, shouldn't I also have read the entire Bible? If I desire a closer, more vital relationship with God, isn't reading His Word a good way to start? And by this I mean reading the whole thing, cover to cover, for myself - taking it in more often than in church on Sundays. In addition, so many things have changed in my life over the past 6 years; I am in a place I never would have envisioned 6 years ago, and I find myself asking those age-old questions "why?" and "what is this all about?". Of course I am not expecting that reading the Bible will completely answer those questions for me! But, I am hoping and praying that spending time with the Bible...with God....will bless me with grace, hope, and perseverance for the road I'm on, as it is at times a frustrating one.

That's my report from the field. Thanks for reading, and have a great night.
Jen

A bit of poetry

Greetings all,

I found this poem a few months ago, on another blog . Unfortunately, since I surf so many blogs sometimes, I now forget where exactly I found this. The first line caught my attention, since my mother weaves and we both (along with several of my sisters) love hand-crafting with yarn/fabric/thread...the imagery in this piece sheds at least a little light on God's mysterious ways. [Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways» says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts..."]

The Weaving
My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me,
I may not see the pattern, but He knows what it should be;
Most times I do not understand and in my foolish pride,
Forget God sees the upper, while I the underside.
Sometimes He weaveth sorrows which seemeth strange to me,
But I'll just trust His judgment and work on faithfully;
'Tis He who fills the shuttle, He knows just what is best,
So I'll just weave in earnest and leave Him with the rest.
At last when life is ended and I with Him abide,
Then I shall see the pattern upon the upper side;
And I shall know the reason why joy with pain entwined,
Was woven in the fabric of life that God designed.
The dark threads are as needful in the Creator's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.
But not 'til the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the fabric and show the reason why.--
Author unknown

Have a peaceful night,
Jen

Greetings to all!

Hello! This is my first post on this blog, so let me provide a quick introduction. My name is Jennifer, and I have been married for almost 14 years to B., and we have two children: K., who is 9, and S., who is 5. In an effort to preserve a bit of their privacy, I won't be using their full names when they happen to be a part of my writing.

Our family began attending St. Peter's Episcopal Church in 2003; my husband did an internet search on Episcopal churches close to our neighborhood and found the St. Peter's website. I think we were instantly drawn to this particular church for two reasons: its traditional service and music fit my husband, and the service itself is similar enough to the Catholic mass that I felt at home. We both felt it a good choice to raise our children (I was pregnant with S. at the time) in a religious experience that allowed us both to participate in the life of the congregation; as B.'s home church is United Church of Christ, he felt prohibited from taking communion within the Catholic mass.

I have to say that being led to St. Peter's has been such a blessing over the past 5 years! Almost as soon as we began attending services there regularly, it seemed that every week the sermon spoke directly to some issue occurring in our lives at that moment. This became especially noticeable, for me at least, after the birth of our second child S., who was born with a rare genetic syndrome. We had no suspicion during the pregnancy that anything was wrong, and when we did receive the diagnosis it basically took the deck of cards which was our life at that moment and tossed them into the air. We have been able to "reassemble the deck", so to speak, but being the parents of a special-needs child carries with it difficulties, challenges, and also rewards that make for a very unique experience. Over the past 5 years, I have heard or read more than once that God "sends" special-needs children to special people whom he has chosen for specifically that parenting challenge. In that case, He sent us a great blessing along with the challenges; S.'s place in our lives has thus far served as the refining tool for our character and soul (although of course she doesn't know this!).

I will pause here, and wait until my next post to write about my experiences thus far with "The Bible Feast". I will say it has been both interesting and quite rewarding!

Thanks for reading,
J.