Well, it’s safe to say that I am a terrible blogger. I hope that everyone starts out so poorly and that I’ll somehow be transformed into a much better (more consistent) blogger with practise. Such is my self discipline, that this week I had to cold turkey Facebook and blogs so that I could get some assignments done! I’m arguing that I had the discipline to use Cold Turkey but I think my logic is questionable!
This week, the discipline challenge is in relation to Spirit.
This is a very interesting challenge for me, as you will see. This week, Courtney challenges us to soak up His word, for at least one minute, first thing in the morning, before we do anything else. Courtney has a wonderful way with words and she explains it here.
Now I would love more than anything to say that I stuck to this rigidly this week… But I didn’t. I am in the final weeks of my final year of college and my assignments have had me up to all hours of the morning and I don’t want to think about how many times I overslept this week :0
However, there is another reason that this is not an easy challenge for me… I DON’T OWN A BIBLE! I know you’re thinking that I couldn’t possibly call myself a Christian and not own a Bible, but hear me out first. I am but a poor (or thrifty!) student. My income at the moment is around €30 a week, sometimes a little more if I get some babysitting work or tutoring and this goes towards supplies for college, car tax etc. At the moment, I put €20 petrol in my car to get to my flat and home again, and I spend €10 on food. And that’s it! I walk to college every morning, make my lunch everyday and bring some herbal teabags in my travel mug. So as you can see, there isn’t a lot of spare cash left over.
Which brings me to why I do not own a physical Bible – I can’t afford one! Pathetic excuse I know, but this means I had to be creative this week- It’s not called a challenge for no reason people! I was fortunate enough to receive a Kindle for my birthday, which is fantastic, as now I can read all my favourite e-books on the go. It also meant that I could download a free version of the Bible on Amazon! So now, although I can’t leaf through the pages, or ask the Holy Spirit to guide me in what page I read, I can read the Bible on the go, in bed, in the kitchen… everywhere!
Now, as I stated, mornings were manic for me this week, so I did not diligently take the time to read my Bible in the morning. I was lacking in discipline through the semester, and now I’m paying for it… oops! I was also lacking in the discipline to get to bed on time and the diligence to dedicate a bit of time each morning to reading the Bible.
So, I carefully wrote out some verses that I thought might help me in this area.
Diligence:
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.
-Romans 12:11
Self- Discipline:
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
-2 Timothy 1:7
(Both NIV)
And I also wrote this out, as I came across it in a time when I was feeling very overwhelmed by all the work and errands I had to do.
The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
These words that I wrote, sit on carefully cut-out clouds, on the ceiling over my bed. So now I wake up to God’s word every morning (however bleary eyed I am) and I read the Bible on my Kindle between lectures, at lunch time, in bed at night… I just can’t get enough. Courtney, your post was the spark that ignited the passion for His word in me. Thank you.
However you do it, make sure that you take some time to read His word everyday. In one week, this simple action has given me a knew perspective and made me more accountable for my actions. It has given me strength when I needed it and a shove in the right direction at times too. His word has provided for me in ways that I never imagined. If like me, this isn’t something you would normally do, try it for just one week. I promise you, when you see the answers the Bible gives us, for every eventuality, you won’t want to stop!
And for those of you wondering- I cannot wait to buy a real paper Bible, (I’d really love a leather-bound copy!) but I am content that God will provide in His time.
~Positive prayer yields positive results~
-Katie
Christian Cailín 
Have you yet received a paper Bible? I have so many…I’m a Bible collector…if you’re willing, I would love to send one to you.
Rebecca that is so sweet and generous of you but I live in Ireland- I’m sure the shipping would be so expensive and I couldn’t ask you to do that! I haven’t managed to get my hands on one yet but I am looking for a summer job so who knows!
I was going to not send it to you because of the international shipping, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it and actually just paused my Bible study (online) because I keep thinking about it. Please prayerfully consider letting me send one to you. They are not brand new…gently used (by me) and I have several translations to choose from, Amplified (the Joyce Meyer one), NKJ, NIV, & HSBC. They are all study Bibles, except one of the NKJ. They are also all leather bound except for the amplified. Maybe at least consider it until you can get the one you have been looking for and then you can pass it on to another one in need of a Bible. In the mean time, until it reaches you…Youversion is a wonderful online version of the Bible that you can get on Andriod, iPhones, computers, and I think even Blackberrys that is completely free. It has many wonderful features such as reading plans…multiple translations and so many others. I use it when I don’t have my Bible handy…call me old school, but I love using the actual book…lol!
Well then Rebecca I just have to say thank you so much and I am so grateful for your generosity. I really am so touched. I promise that I will put it to good use and pass it on when the time is right. Who knows what journey this Bible may take 🙂