216 of 365

216 days ago I made a commitment to read my Bible through in a year.  I decided I needed to do this because as a grown Christian woman it's something I should've already done.  I want to be better and do better, so I will check off all the things I know to do.  Read my Bible every day, pray for a certain amount of time, go to church and tell people about Jesus.  Those are all important things in my walk with Christ but what happens when those things become another check mark on my to-do list?

I have read the Bible for 216 days and I am sad to say that many of those days I just did it for the accomplished feeling of completing a task.  My soul wasn't stirred and awakened by the words of God. That is what happens when our relationship with Christ is reduced to the importance of a check mark on a list.  That is not the way God intended it to be and honestly I am not fulfilled by a relationship like that.  So, what to do?

Communion.

I don't mean grape juice in tiny cups and oyster crackers.  I mean communing with our Father.

The definition of communion is:

"The sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially on a spiritual level."

I think the important aspect of that is the "exchange" part.  It's not me reading off a list of prayer requests to God but sharing my feelings and thoughts and listening to his.  It's not one-sided at all.  It's me putting down my iPhone, turning off the computer and listening to him.

For the next 149 days of my reading plan, I vow to dig deeper, to give more of myself and open my ears to listen.  I know he has amazing things to say.

-Monica