Today Is The Perfect Day To . . .

On December 12^th, 2006, I was driving home from work, and God gave me a story.

Now I’ve always wanted to be a writer – ever since I was a little girl – and I’ve always dabbled in writing for most of my life. But this was different . . . this was not a story that I made up in my head, this was a story that God put in my head. For two months I wrote in every spare moment that I had – oftentimes writing things without even knowing or understanding why I was writing them, (if you haven’t already, I encourage you to read my first post, The Story Behind the Story). At the end of exactly two months, the book was finished and that experience has been – without a doubt – one of the most significant events in my life, and now I love nothing more than to get other people to read my book. Those who know me best say that I am . . . obsessed.

Obsessed? Well . . . I guess if I were to be honest, I would have to say, “Guilty as charged.”

After several months of trying to get everyone in North America to read my book, I was driving along one day and was listening – no . . . I was half-listening – to a sermon on the radio. I still remember the voice of this older gentleman who had a strong southern drawl; he was talking about the importance of reading the Bible, every day.

I already knew that it was important to read and study the Bible, (but that doesn’t mean I was doing it . . . it just means that I knew it was important). Honestly, at that time in my life, I wasn’t reading or studying the Bible on a regular basis (just like I definitely wasn’t paying all that much attention to the sermon that was on in my car). On both counts, I was probably thinking about my book.

But then . . . then that older southern preacher man said something that I will never forget. He said: “How would you feel, if you wrote a book, and nobody wanted to read it?”

How would you feel, if you wrote a book, and nobody wanted to read it?

Well, I knew how I would feel. I knew exactly how I would feel, and God was letting me know how HE felt about the fact that I wasn’t reading His Word.

Ohhhhh, did I ever feel bad. There’s nothing quite like learning how disappointed God is in you to kick-start you in the right direction. Since that time I’ve been actively reading and studying the Bible and – over the past few years – God has never ceased to amaze me by revealing Himself to me through His Word.

Did you know that the Bible is the only document whose basic message is so straightforward that the simplest of minds can understand it, and yet so complex that the most scholarly of individuals can spend their entire lives trying to unravel its wonderful mysteries?

What better day than the first day of a brand New Year to decide that you’re going to delve into God’s word more fully than you have in the past? Deciding to begin diligently reading the Bible can be somewhat overwhelming, I know, but I really got into it when I started reading one of Beth Moore’s personal reflection series books. Although the book I started with was her book on David, the most powerful one I read (and the one I’m recommending you start with) was the next one I tried: her book entitled John: The Beloved Disciple.

A version with the same information as the personal reflection version is FREE right now on Amazon and on Nook, and if you’re looking for a way to get into God’s word a little deeper, I would highly recommend that you download it. As a matter of fact, there are several of her books that are free right now – so grab them while you can (and – as always – make sure the price is still free when you click!)

John referred to himself as the disciple Jesus loved, and by the time I finished the book, I understood why. He wasn’t bragging or anything, he simply knew (and I think was overwhelmed by the fact) that he was loved by Jesus.

I leave you today with a short music video by Jason Gray that I hope you will take a few minutes to watch, because we are all—like John—loved by Jesus.

We should be overwhelmed by that fact.