Hello, dear readers.
On Monday, when I read Stacie’s comment about falling behind in her Bible in 90 Days reading in our weekly check in post, my heart broke for her. It really did. I could hear her calling our for help right through my phone screen. I could feel her frustration, her irritation and her desire to keep it up, even as she felt this goal slipping right through her fingertips. Again.
I started to leave a reply to her comment, but then I thought about the fact that she is not alone. I know there are several of you out there feeling the same frustration. But who wants to leave a comment about being behind? Who wants to admit this feeling of failure? Ouch. It hurts. And so I left Stacie a note telling her I’d write a post about it instead. Read on if you’ve ever fallen short in reading the Bible in 90 days. I hope this helps… (And it’s not a lecture.)
So here are my honest thoughts on what to do when you’ve fallen behind in #B90Days:
You ready? Do you want to do this? I think you do.
Life can be hard, with rough patches and challenges coming at you from all angles. Little challenges can become big some days, and big challenges can grow into monstrous challenges at times, too. Life is unpredictable. Planning is hard– or maybe planning is easy, but then follow-through is hard. Every day or week is not the same.
So what do you do?
Do you beat yourself up so much that you throw in the towel completely?
I hope not.
Yes, this is a 90-day challenge and yes, you opted in because you wanted to read the entire Bible in 90 days. So let’s do this as best we can.
But let’s be gentle on ourselves, too.
Here’s what I started to write to Stacie (but decided to share with all of you instead of just her):
It’s super frustrating to be behind in the reading, especially when it is something you REALLY care about.
I think you really WANT to do this, though, and don’t want to give up, so here’s my idea for you: Set a goal to read a total of one hour a day for the next 2 weeks. Don’t worry about catching up or where you are in the reading. Just read for a total of an hour each day, whether that means one hour at one time, or 4 times of 15 minutes. See how that rolls, how it feels. Don’t pay attention to what day you are ‘supposed’ to be on, just read.
Mark 2 weeks on your calendar, read daily, and, at the end of the two weeks, think about how that felt.
Think about it. Was it doable? Was it a struggle?
Once you get to that point, decide what to do next. Do you keep up an hour a day, or add to it, perhaps to an hour and 15 minutes a day? Or do you go back? Or do you read your minimum on some days, but read more on other days?
Set a small goal (which is still a challenge) and see how it goes for 2 weeks. Then decide next steps for YOU.
Of COURSE I want every single one of you who wants to read the entire in Bible in 90 Days to do it in 90 days. But let’s not beat ourselves up over this. Let’s just keep moving forward, page by page, verse by verse, prayer by prayer and word by word.
What do you think?
Can you do that?
I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.
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