A Blog About a Blog

A friend on Facebook recommended a daily devotion blog. Since I have a fabulous new iPhone 5, it is so easy for me to now follow blogs and do other fun things with different apps.

What I discovered is that "She Reads Truth" is an excellent blog for women to follow. The blog divides up different sections of the Bible to help you dig in deeper to the Word. Begin by creating a free account on YouVersion. (I downloaded the app on my phone). There is a short and simple explanation of the steps to take to get started here.

She Reads Truth is an online community for women to read, discuss, and grow with their daily devotions. For the next 8 days, the community will be digging into 2 Peter 1.

I'm excited about this plan. Lately I have feel like my relationship with God has become lazy. I have wanted something to help draw me back into my daily "talk time" with Him, but with a new baby I have let myself use the excuse of distraction. With this blog and app, everything is online, which makes it easier than me pulling out my Bible and actually sitting down to read it.

I started reading 2 Peter 1 on my phone. Here are things I noted that I love about the app while reading:
* You can download any version of the Bible that you like. I chose to download the NLV (New Living Translation). This version is accompanied with audio. The narrator is pleasant to listen to, there is soothing background music, and it's in an easy-to-understand language. (No "thou shalt" type stuff.)
* As noted above, you can read a long with audio. (Yup, I used this option!)
*You can adjust the font from really tiny to ginormous.
*You can highlight key verses that stick out to you.
*You can bookmark certain pages and verses that you want to come back to later.

I'm sure there are other cool things you can do, but this is a good start.

My journal while reading 2 Peter 1:

God has made many promises to us. These are good promises! In order for us to grow with God and benefit from His promises, all while escaping the craziness and corruption of the world, there are things we need to do: (verses 5-8)
     *self-control
     *endurance
     *moral excellence
     *love for everyone

"Do these things and you will never fall away", the Bible says.

I can testify to this last statement. For a few weeks, my church attendance was sporadic. Granted, I had a newborn, which makes getting to church difficult for anyone. However, when my church attendance was weak, I also let my tithing become weak. (i.e. self-control, endurance)

What I noticed was life becoming difficult. Our basement flooded. The transmission in our car went ka-put. Gasoline was syphoned out of out vehicle at a baseball game parking lot.

I don't believe in coincidences.

I could not wait to get back to church and get that tithe out of my purse. Once our tithings got back on track, our finances also got back on track. My paycheck was unexpectedly larger. I also received another payment for a side job I do that I had forgotten was coming to me.

Again, I don't believe in coincidences.

Other quotes that stood out to me:
"For you are a slave to whatever controls you." (V. 19) What controls you? Debt? Greed? Selfish wants? For me, that powerful statement really hit home.

"All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen." (V. 18)