This week I want to touch on something that might shock some of you. I am going to tell you that this past week, I hit a scheduling speed bump and the habit and routine I formed many months ago for getting up early and studying the Bible (or reading another book) was derailed by a couple of unforeseen events. A scheduling change at work meant I needed to go in earlier, and a rare appointment meant that I needed to drive my wife to work before I arrived for my earlier shift.
So what in my life ended up being squeezed out of the schedule: My morning Bible study. I hate to say it but yesterday was so busy and chaotic that even my plans to do the Bible study at a later point in the day were thwarted. I worked through yesterday’s study this morning instead of today’s study.
No worries though. Today’s study will be done tomorrow morning, on one of the two buffer days in my schedule that I don’t regularly study.
This brings up the topic of planning when it comes to Bible study and scheduling. Some people, who start out excited with a 365 day “Read through the Bible” plan, end up missing a day or two about this time of year and this knocks them off their plan. Often times they just give up because they may feel like a failure and/or like the amount of time necessary to catch back up is too great.
If this is you this weekend, may I suggest working into your study plan a way of having a “free” day or two per week. Even though it might logically seem like you are going to have to read longer each day, it really doesn’t feel like it in practice. In addition, having a plan that only uses 5-6 days per week, gives you the flexibility to work ahead if you know in advance that your schedule will be interrupted (summer vacation), and it allows you an easy way of catching up when the inevitable happens and you miss a day or two of study.
This is the big reason that Reflective Bible Studies are laid out in a five day/week schedule.
If you haven’t been studying with a day off lately, perhaps you might want to think of incorporating one or two days a week for rest in your study schedule. This way it will allow you to stay motivated when setbacks arise.
~Cam
P.S. If you have fallen off of your 365 day reading plan this year, perhaps you may want to look for a new plan to keep studying, or if you have only missed a day or two, you could transition over to a reading plan that gives you a day or two each week for reflection and/or catch-up if you need it.
P.P.S. Stay tuned for next week, when I share insights from “the missed study.” This morning, when I sat down to work through yesterday’s passage, something jumped out at me that I hadn’t noticed before. I’ll share it with you next week.
P.P.P.S. Did I miss something, or would you like to respond on this topic? Join the conversation below!