I am so excited that some of you have decided to join me on this journey through The Bible!  I am actually overwhelmed by the comments and emails I have received from many of you.  Apparentley, the idea of diving into God's Word is something that has been on a lot of hearts lately.

I have learned that it doesn't matter what translation you use or where you start...God will speak to you when you desire to learn more about Him. 

I remember trying to read The Bible in years past...before I was really "in love" with Him.  It was boring.  Repetitive.  Out-dated. 

But this time?  This time is different.

I am reading from The Quest Study Bible in the New International Version.  It's easy for me to follow.  The NIV was written on a 6th Grade comprehension level.  While I am at least on a 7th grade reading level {insert grin} I find this translation easy to follow.

The Quest Study Bible is good for me.  There are commonly asked questions in the margins with answers provided.  These Q&A's were written by Man and may or may not be correct...but it provides me with an idea of what the author of that particular book was trying to convey.  In addition,  there are links to similar ideas in other areas of The Bible.

So far, I have read through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.  I am currently on Chapter 8 of Deuteronomy...where so many of you will be meeting me.

I have learned so much already.

My favorite thing so far was in Genesis 18:12 when Sarah laughed at God.   God had just told Abraham (Sarah's husband) that she would bear him a child after years and years of infertility...at the ripe old age of 90.  Sarah laughed.  (I would have laughed, too.)

I can relate to this verse.  There have been things in my life that have gone horribly wrong.  My plans did not pan out.  My friends did not stick around.  Life was not perfect.  I was not perfect.  In these times, the idea that God would turn these events around to benefit me was...incomprehensible...comical...far-fetched. 

I laughed at God. 

And if God reacted to me the same way He reacted to Sarah, then He looked upon me and said, "Is anything too hard for the LORD ?"

As you probably know...God delivered on His promise to Abraham and Sarah.  Just one year after making the promise, Sarah delivered Isaac.  (By the way, Isaac means he who laughs.  Sarah named him after laughter.)  Isaac was the one through whom God delivered His everlating covenant.  He was the seed of many nations.  The promised one.

Look around you, right now.  Look out your window.  The sun.  The moon.  The galaxies that you can't even see.  The rain.  The snow.  The 90 degree heat.  God created it all. 

He is a planet breather.  That is pretty fierce no matter who you are.

The fact that He can turn bad into good (or allow a 90-year-old woman to deliver a healthy child) should be no surprise to us. 

Yet it is.

 We laugh at the things that God promises us because we forget that He is the Great I Am.  And he loves us with a love that is beyond our imagination. 

How do I know?

Look at how many times He has forgiven and redeemed you and me.  Seriously...if you knew me...you would probably laugh at the fact that He could redeem me.

Even though we laugh, He is capable...He is able...He is.

My next post will be about what I have absorbed from the first few chapters of Deuteronomy.  Don't forget...if you decide to join and you post to your blog, just let me know.  I will link it back from here so everyone can track along with you.

If you haven't started yet or if "life happened" and you aren't as far along in reading as you had hoped...no worries!  This is at YOUR pace.  God's Word shouldn't just be another box to check on your "to do list."  Let's make this something that we look forward to...something that we treasure.

Thank you for joining me!