by Aarron Pina | Dec 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
Do My Eyes Deceive Me?!
Several years ago at a conference, I saw an odd display: a bible propped up under a tabletop fountain where the water streamed plainly down the bold, waterproof pages…
If you know my wife, during that season of our life we had a newborn and a tween. Between all that and carrying twins in her belly, the only time and space that was inviolate for her to really soak in the word of God was… while soaking in the bathtub. The paper bibles had water stains and dogged pages where her wet fingers had left water damage while trying to read in her quiet place. I knew in an instant The Waterproof Bible was exactly what she needed.
Seven years later, she’s really given this thing a workout… Take a look:
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by Aarron Pina | Jan 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
My Confession:
I hate to brag, but I have a really big mouth… Years back, I told a few guys I was going to read through the bible that year – cover to cover. I was full of it. Trying to impress. Selfish motive, meet big mouth. Ever been there?
There are two paths you can go with that: either repent & resolve to do it year after year, failing until you quit trying, or get so sick and tired of not doing it that you finally get it done. I want this to be the last year you try and fail. Is that OK? An END to the lightning starts in Genesis, followed by stop and go traffic in Leviticus, and stalling out in the genealogies of Numbers somewhere around February 2nd… (Yes, I’ve had camera drones flying over your house for years now… Can we get back to the point?)
Every year, we make resolutions because something inside us yearns for “better”. Whether light years better or just a few inches better, we want… better. But, striving for better will only wear us out. (Been there, done that. I give it zero stars.) Christ promises us if we “walk by the Spirit” we’ll bear some killer fruit (see Gal. 5:16); one of them is perseverance.
The Most Important “Strategy” Question
Most failures begin with a great strategy. ( –Yours, Truly). But, as Michael Hyatt taught me:
Popular wisdom says the crucial strategy for completing any challenging, long term task is “accountability“. While that is important, it’s not most important. Strategy apart from vision leads to frustration, false starts, and failure regardless of accountability. Accountability doesn’t do the work. The work gets done where the rubber of strategy meets the road of discipline, fueled by vision. The most important strategy question starts by first answering the vision question: “why do I want to read the Bible start to finish?” The Lord weighs the heart. We should, too. If you’re reading to get a bible merit badge, regroup, repent, restart… now. We have the word of God so that we may know the God of the word. Let’s use it that way, mkay?
Then… write that answer down. I’ll tell you why in a minute.
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