Don't Skip, Adapt

By: Jenifer Metzger

Picture this...

You wake up a few minutes late and it throws the whole morning off. Before you realize it, it's time to leave. You have to get the kids to school and get yourself to work. Halfway to work your stomach rumbles, reminding you that you didn't have time to eat breakfast. You glance at the clock and sure enough, there is no time for breakfast today.

Or maybe this...

You are going about your day with diaper changes, a fussy baby, a rambunctious toddler, a mountain of laundry, and a sink full of dishes. You get the kids fed and laid down for a nap, then you walk to the kitchen to grab something to eat. On your way, the baby lets out a wail telling you how much she needs you. As you try unsuccessfully to rock her back to sleep, you realize lunch isn't happening for you today.

In either scenario, does missing a meal mean you don't eat at all that day? Of course not. You'll eat the next meal or grab a snack as soon as you can. You don't say to yourself, "I missed breakfast so guess I am not eating at all today." You just adapt. You will at some point in the day eat something.

It's the same with reading our Bible. If we wake up late or something in our morning stops us from opening the Bible in those early hours, that doesn't mean we have go all day without doing so. It means we open the Word at a different time, or maybe we listen to a Bible app on our drive, or we split our reading up into segments throughout the day, but we don't skip it for the whole day.

Life is busy. Sometimes it's even downright chaotic. But just as we don't skip eating for an entire day because of one missed meal, we don't skip reading our Bible for an entire day because of one missed scheduled time. We adapt.

To become women of the Word, we must be in the Word. No matter what time of day. No matter if it's in one sitting or multiple. We just open the pages of the Bible and dive in heart first. On those busy days, don't skip, adapt.

(Analogy adapted from The Daily Grace Co podcast.)

Discussion:
1. Think back on some on your busy, chaotic, or stressful days. Did you have the tendency to just skip spending time in the Word?
2. What can you do to help remind yourself to stay in the Word and adapt when necessary?

Introducing our 2024 Bible Reading Plan...

At Woman to Woman we offer a one year Bible reading plan. This is a free resource that you can print out and keep in your Bible or download to your phone. Monday through Saturday we read the Bible and on Sundays we have a Reflection Day.

Reflection Day is not a day to just skip reading. Instead, it is a day where you can look back over what you read throughout the week, pray over what you learned or what God spoke to you, spend extra time in prayer, work on Scripture memorization, and/or reflect on what your pastor preached about that day.

In 2024, we are going through both the Old and New Testaments simultaneously. Each day you will read 2-3 chapters in the Old Testament, then jump into the New Testament and read 1 chapter (there are only 260 chapters in the New Testament, so there will be a few days that do not have New Testament reading).

You can complete all of the reading in one sitting, read the Old Testament in the morning and the New Testament at bedtime, or whatever works for you. All that matters is that you are in the Word, remember, we committed to becoming women of the Word!

We would love to have you join us in 2024 as we read through the Bible together. To access the free download of the 2024 Bible Reading Plan, click HERE.

Over the next few weeks, I will be back on Wednesdays sharing encouragement and tips for getting into the Word. Join me!

from Woman to Woman
Umn ministry