Mi Querida Familia: mi querida biblia

so i was chatting with my friend, Melissa, the other night about "mi querida biblia" and she was confessing to me that she's only on day 3. and she was telling me how she thinks she's the only person who's on day 3.

do ya'll even know how many of you are feeling bummed and defeated because you're so behind already?

um, yeah...

like, all of you!

ahem.

so here's the deal: the point of reading through the bible in a year together is eventually to have really meaningful discussion about what we read and all that jazz... but the thing is that the first month is really just about establishing the habit.

that's really the whole point.

so we all need to just leave behind the myth that we're going to be caught up all the time. that would be kind of like expecting to give my life to the lord tomorrow and then live the rest of my earthly life without sin. um... can't happen. sure, eventually you learn to live and more and more holy life, but it takes time. kind of like i was talking about here.

i'll let you in on a little secret - i'm behind too!!

so let's back way up and talk about establishing the habit and how to do that.

the very best way i've learned about how to establish a great habit is to couple it with another habit that is already established in your life.

let me give you an example. a while ago i learned about a 5-minute training hotline for me to call in and listen to every day, but i could not - to save my life - remember to call it. so i picked something else in my day that i do without fail and decided to latch the new habit onto the old one. i picked brushing my teeth, because i never forget to do that. then i put a post-it note that said "hotline" on my bathroom mirror just behind my tooth-brush holder. that way, whenever i grabbed my tooth brush, i also grabbed my phone, pressed dial and turned on the speaker. by latching the old habit onto the new one, i was able to establish the new habit. sooner or later the new habit became so automatic that i didn't need the reminder, and the post-it note was tossed into the trash can.

here's another example: i was trying to remember to read a children's book of proverbs with my son every day. try as i might, i couldn't remember to pull out the book. so i used my old trick of coupling the new habit with an old one. i always nurse my son, first thing in the morning in the same chair in the office. so i put the book on the side-desk right next to that chair. i also put a post-it note (they're my favorite) that said "proverbs" on the edge of the desk facing me while i nurse. that way, every morning after nursing him, when i was already in the cuddly mood, we could just sit a bit longer and read from the children's proverbs book. it worked brilliantly!

ok so now let's apply this to "mi querida biblia." what do you do every day without fail?

do you make coffee every morning? set the coffee pot to turn on 10 minute earlier and leave your bible next to the pot. download the youversion app to our phone so you can check off the readings right from your phone.

do you plop into a certain chair right after work? put your bible and a post-it note there.

do you take a coffee break at work at the same time? set a reminder on your phone and take your bible to work with you.

do you nurse your baby same time every day? i do. i read my bible readings from my youversion app on my phone and check it off then and there. you can even tweet the daily reading from the youversion app on your phone. follow me and you'll see.

do you eat breakfast each morning in the same place? do you veg out on the couch each night before bed? do you take the same subway home each day? do you check the weather each morning?

the possibilities are endless. just pick one old habit and latch the new one onto it.

right now.

i mean it. yep. right this moment. pick the activity you're going to latch the new bible-reading habit onto. got it? now stop reading this blog for a moment. i mean it. stop reading and go put the post-it note and the bible in the new place so you'll remember. go ahead. i'll wait here.

see how easy that was?

ok now, just do one day's reading and call it a victory. yes, just one day. i don't care if you're on day one. read day one and call it a victory. leave day two for tomorrow. as long as you do just one day each day, then you'll be on your way.

ok, last thing. everybody leave a comment and tell me what day you're on. yes, i mean it.

everybody!

no, this is not the newest form of torture. it's becuase you all think you're the only one behind and i guarantee you're all about to see that most of you are behind. i know this, because you've all told me this independently.

there, see? that wasn't so bad. :)