Day 19 Bible Reading

Genesis 38 & 39, Matthew 13: 36-68, Psalm 11

Genesis 39: 20-23 (ESV)

“And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.”

Verses 20-23 from Genesis 39 shows that if God favors you, you will succeed no matter where you go. Poor Joseph! It seems as if he had no luck when he got thrown into prison on false charges. But even in prison, Joseph did well. He was put in charge of all the prisoners. And if you know the story of Joseph, this was all part of God’s plan. How many times have I been upset that I had bad luck and thought in that instant, God was not looking out for me. But in hindsight, the bad luck ended up being a good thing. When I moved and changed jobs, I made a financial decision to take my money out of an investment because I wanted to manage the money myself. It was the right thing to do because of the move, but if I hadn’t moved I would have left the money in that investment. A year later that investment fund went belly-up, and if I hadn’t taken my money out because of the move I would have lost a very large amount of money. So what I thought was bad luck turned out to be the best thing in the world for me financially. So the move in many ways turned out to be the best thing for me in more ways than one. God always seems to have a plan for our lives that works out for the best, even when we can see only see in in hindsight.

Day 18 Bible Reading – skipped a day. This was supposed to have been posted on January 20, but I fell asleep.

Genesis 36 & 37, Matthew 13: 18-35, Psalm 10: 12-18

Matthew 13: 31-32 (ESV)

“He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.””

I love the parable of the mustard seed in Matthew 13: 31-32. If you’ve ever held a mustard seed in your hand, you know how small it is. It’s so hard to believe that this tiny seed will go into a tree. I discovered on YouTube last year a channel called WorshipMob. I believe they call themselves “Jesu Co”. This group of various worship leaders from different churches in the Colorado Springs Colorado area. All of the singers are amazing worship leaders. The musicians are excellent as well. I love this song they do on the parable of the mustard seed.

Day 17 Bible Reading

Genesis 34 & 35, Matthew 12: 46-50, Matthew 13: 1-17, Psalm 10: 1-11

Matthew 13: 8 (ESV)

“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Verse 8 from Matthew 13 stood out to me today. I feel at times my Christian life is like the seed that fell on good soil, but the yield is often different from year to year. For the last three years, the seed has produced much grain which increases year by year. But the last three years prior to that, the seed produced barely any grain. I was trying to find a church to join, and I wasn’t having much luck. I did find a wonderful church where they had a 5 pm Saturday service that I loved. The pastor preached great sermons and the singing was very good, but that church was so far away from where I lived. Growing up we always walked to church, and I knew that if the church I joined was too far away I would find excuses not to attend. Three years ago I finally found a church I liked that’s a 10 minute drive from where I live, but I waited a year to join because I wanted to be sure it would be a good place for me to deepen my Christian faith. Holy Spirit led me to this church and I’m glad I followed God’s plan, because this church has exceeded my expectations of everything I was looking for in a church community.

Day 16 Bible Reading

Genesis 32 & 33, Matthew 12: 22-45, Proverbs 2: 1-11

Genesis 32: 24 (ESV)

“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.”

Verse 24 from Genesis 32 struck me today. Jacob wrestled with God, only he didn’t know it was God until the morning. I like to think that I sometimes wrestle with God in my mind at night when I can’t sleep because of an issue I am pondering. This seems to happen when the issue is about something that I want to or need to do, and I don’t know whether doing the thing would be good for my life. I lie in bed, and I pray to God for guidance for the right course of action to take. Sometimes I lie there for hours praying and waiting for Holy Spirit to whisper something in my mind. And when I get an answer that I don’t particularly like, that’s when I feel like I wrestle with God. And yes, God always wins, and I do the thing he wants me to do. And of course, it always works out for the best in the end.

Day 15 Bible Reading

Genesis 31, Matthew 12: 1-21, Psalm 9: 13-20

Matthew 12: 14-16 (ESV)

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known.”

Theses verse from Matthew 12 struck me today as I was listening to a Bible commentary, since this is the start of the Pharisees beginning to plot the death of Christ. Jesus knew what was going on, but he had to carry out his mission. He had to fulfill the will of God and keep healing people, and at the same time he had to quiet things down so he could arrive in Jerusalem and be betrayed. Everything had to be done according to his father’s plan, to God’s timing. Everything had to be perfectly timed and done, so it would all fall into place. Jesus had unfailing obedience to God’s plan for his life. I often wonder how many times I have railed against having to follow God’s plan, endlessly complaining how it was taking too long, and why couldn’t things be done in my timing and not God’s timing. But in the end, God’s timing was always perfect, and everything worked out better than I could have ever planned because God is the ultimate project planner. He leaves no stone unturned with every possibility having been analyzed, so only the actions with the best outcomes are part of his plan. I see it happening that way every time and yet time and time again, I often doubt God’s timing because I don’t have enough faith in him and his plan. I pray that God give me more faith to trust in him and his plans that always, always work out for the best.

Day 14 Bible Reading

Genesis 29 & 30, Matthew 11, Psalm 9: 1-12

Matthew 11: 28-30 (ESV)

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I love these verses from Matthew 11. They are probably in my top 10 for favorite Bible verses. Jesus promises to give those of who are weary rest. Christ says he is gentle and lowly n heart, and that following him will be easy and our burden light because he will share it with us And by sharing it, he meant he will take our sins away from us when he goes to die on the cross. There have been so many times when I have been so weary in my heart in the past, and my only comfort was my faith in Christ. When my mother died and I felt so lost, I felt myself being held by Jesus in the palms of his hands because I was so emotionally fragile for a few days. I remember thinking back then, I don’t know how anyone deals with grief on their own without Christ in their life. I felt so luck and grateful to have my strong faith during that season of loss in my life. Jesus gave me rest from weariness, from my sadness, and he gave his protection.

Day 13 Bible Reading

Genesis 27 & 28, Matthew 10: 32-42, Psalm 9: 1-6

I do not have a specific verse for today to reflect upon, but instead I want to reflect on what happened in Genesis 27. God has a plan for each of our lives. He had a plan for Esau and Jacob, where Esau would bow down to Jacob. What happens in Genesis 27 shows us that no matter what we try to do, God’s plan will not be thwarted. He will figure out a way for his plan to be fulfilled. Isaac wanted to bless Esau and instead, ended up blessing Jacob by the deceit of Jacob on instructions from his mother Rebekah. Why Rebekah did this is unclear, but she did it anyway. I know if I look back on my own life there are things that I wanted that I didn’t get, and I was unhappy at the time thinking that God wasn’t granting me my desires. It was only in hindsight where I realized that what happened had put me on the best path towards getting the thing I wanted, but in a roundabout way. And when I explored it further, it turned out that the roundabout way gave me abundance of what I wanted. One good example is when I moved to the state where I live today. I had a five-year plan, and it ended getting delayed by a year. When the delay happened, I was really bummed out. But what ended up happening is in that year delay, my company did really well and I ended up receiving a large financial bonus before my move. I had more than money that I needed to move, and that extra money made my move very comfortable and left me in a great financial situation. So God has his own plan for my move and his way ended up benefitting me greatly, more than my own plan would have done. I wish I had had more faith at the time in God, and not been so unhappy and railing against God for the delay in my plan. But perhaps that was the lesson for me. Don’t look at delays in what I want as an unhappy event. Instead, I need to have more faith in God that there was a very good reason for the delay and that God is always going to give me what I want but only in a way that will benefit me the most.

Day 12 Bible Reading

Genesis 25 & 26, Matthew 10: 1-31 Proverbs 1: 20-33

Genesis 25: 23 (ESV)

“And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you[c] shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger.””

I was listening to a Bible commentary on verse 23 of Genesis 25, and I was struck by the fact that even before Esau and Isaac were born God knew about each of them and had a plan for them. It makes me wonder what God planned for my life when I was in my mother’s womb. Did he have my whole life mapped out and planned? Did he know exactly where I would be at any moment from the time I was born until now? My pastor told us today we need to give to God our every worry today to be stress free in life, “to pray about everything.” And on inspiration from the Holy Spirit, I decided to say out loud all my worries to Christ, the good, the bad, the petty, the crazy, the small and the larger worries. I’m not one of those who pray out loud to God. I silently pray and I love to write everything what I’m thinking to God in a journal. The act of speaking was pretty scary to me, to hear in my own voice what I was worried to God and why, and to ask God help for all my worries. I cried the whole time, and at the end I felt like a great weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. Was that in God’s plan while I was in utero? To hear me speak out loud today so he can take my worries from me, and be so happy that I did so? I think so because I felt God smiling down on me for my simple act of trust.

Day 11 Bible Reading

Genesis 23 & 24, Matthew 9, Psalm 8

Matthew 9: 20-22 (ESV)

“And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

I love the faith of the woman who thought if she only touched a piece of Christ’s clothing she would get well. Her faith was so strong for someone who had had an illness for 12 years. Instant healing seems so rare to me. I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone who’s had an instant healing that I know. I know many, many people who have healed when they should have died. But their healing wasn’t instant. Still, the faith of this woman is so inspiring to me. I have a health issue that’s not painful, but more annoying than anything else. I pray about it daily and while it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse, it’s also not getting better. When I went to a healer, they told me this health issue would take time to heal. I’ve definitely made progress on it, but I would love an instant healing. I think I would have to ask myself “what would I need to believe to have an instant healing and what is blocking my instant healing?” Holy Spirit has been asking me to write about forgiveness, so I started doing that. People I thought I had forgiven years ago are coming up. I think Holy Spirit is telling me before I can be healed, I need to forgive because God wants me to come to him without the sin of pride and self-righteousness in my heart.

Day 10 Bible Reading

Genesis 21 & 22; Matthew 8: 23-24, Psalm 7: 10-17

Genesis 22: 1-3 (ESV)

“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac.”

I love these verses from Genesis 22. Abraham was so obedient to God. His relationship with God was so clear and there was nothing hidden between them. When God called his name, Abraham did not hide and said “Here I am.” In contrast, I was reminded of Adam who hid from God after he ate the apple because of his shame. When God told Adam he was to sacrifice his only son Isaac, Abraham didn’t hesitate. He was automatic “Yes” and he left early the next to fulfill the task. I want to take inspiration from Abraham’s obedience. I am not an automatic “Yes” to life and certain not to Christ. I have to think, I have to analyze, I have to ponder, and I need to sleep on any decision I make. And sometimes depending on what Christ is asking, I have to ask for signs. The apostle I identify the most with, and have done so since I was a child, was Doubting Thomas. I’m the one who has to have proof to believe. I would like to change that this year. I don’t know what Biblical character I want to identify with, but I’m going to take on Abraham for a bit to see what it would be like to be that obedient to God. I want to say “I am here”, when God calls me name and be an automatic “Yes” to requests. I don’t know what my life will be like, but I’m looking forward to seeing how my life will change.

Day 9 Bible Reading

Genesis 19 & 20, Matthew 7: 24-29, Matthew 8: 1-22, Psalms 7: 1-9

Matthew 7: 24-25 (ESV)

““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

I love these verses from Matthew 7. When I feel my faith weakening, I think of all that Jesus has done in my life and I feel my strength coming back. Jesus is the bedrock of my faith. Through the love of Jesus, I feel the power of the Holy Spirit who guides me. I think I especially love these verses because they are part of one of my favorite Christian songs – Firm Foundation by Maverick City Music.

For your listening pleasure.

Day 8 Bible Reading

Genesis 16-18, Matthew 16-34, Matthew 7: 1-23, Proverbs 1: 18-19

Matthew 7: 7-11 (ESV)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

I’ve read these verses from Matthew 7 many times, but today I took a different meaning from them. I used to think you could only ask God once for the things that you want. But my reading from these verses tells me that God wants to us continually ask him for what we want, to continually seek for what we want because like a good father. And furthermore, God is like a good father in that he will never give us bad things but only good things. It’s part of God’s nature as our father to want to give us good things. I’ve been hearing from the Holy Spirit to look at everything that happens to me as a good thing. I hate being sick, but I praise God for this cold because it has shown me that I have a medicine cabinet that is well prepared for a cold, that I have vitamins that will help my body recover from the cold, and that despite the cold God has given me the strength to do my daily bible readings and the 30 minutes I committed daily to spend time with God on gratitude and miracles in my life, and anything else that comes up that day.

Day 7 Bible Reading

Genesis 13-15, Matthew 6: 1-24, Psalm 6

Genesis 13: 3-4 (ESV)

“And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord.”

These two verses from Abraham spoke to me today. In Genesis 5, God told Abraham to go the land that “he will show them.” Abraham dutifully followed God’s command, until a famine came along. Then Abraham acted like he forgot everything God had told him, and hent to Egypt and got in trouble. Abraham’s faith in God and his promises slipped for a time in the face of a hardship or adversity. I know for myself that I have often strayed from doing what God wants me to do because of hardship or adversity. When my trust in God’s promises began to waiver because I was having a hard time in life. But I love how Abraham after all that delay, went back to the beginning of where he was to start over and to once again pray to God. I think verse 3 and 4 is a reminder to us when we waiver in our trust in God because of hardship or adversity, that we can always go back to beginning, reset ourselves, get right with God, and start all over again. God’s mercy for our distrustful nature is a daily thing, so each morning we can start over, give ourselves a reset, and pray to God.

Picked up some sort of bug on Saturday. Thought I kicked it and then it came back on Monday and I was feeling too unwell to post. So I took night time cold medicine which knocked me out, and I woke up today feeling much better. 

Day 6 Bible Reading

Genesis 11 & 12, Matthew 5, Psalm 5

Genesis 11: 4 (ESV)

“Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.””

I was struck by verse 4 from Genesis 11. In Genesis 5, God told Noah and his sons to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” But Noah’s descendants didn’t want to obey God’s advice, and instead they wanted to stay in one place and not be separated. We read of this continually in the Bible stories. God tells people what to do, some follow and some don’t. Good things comes to those people who follow God’s advice, and not so great things come to those who don’t follow God’s advice. So even after the great reset of the flood that killed everyone except Noah and his descendants our sinful nature remained, and we chose again to disobey God. But in God’s mercy, he didn’t punish his people. Instead, he made his people all spoke different languages and he made sure they moved around to full the earth.

Day 5 Bible Reading

Genesis 9 & 10, Matthew 4:23-25, Psalm 4       

Psalm 4: 8 (ESV)

“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord make me dwell in safety.”

I thought I wanted to right about the God’s rainbow and his promise to us, because I love rainbows and still experience childlike excitement whenever I see a rainbow. I grew up seeing a ton of rainbows so they are very familiar to me, but seeing a rainbow still fills me with such joy. But I was struck by the last verse of Psalm 4. If I have complete trust in God and Christ and I keep that knowledge at the forefront of my mind, I feel safe and in peace. But there were times in these last few years where my anxiety was palpable, and I could not get a good night sleep. I was only ever to calm myself down and finally sleep, when I remembered God’s promises to me and his faithfulness and how he has never let me down. My life has never been perfect, but I can honestly say my life has been what I would call “charmed” since I started believing in Christ. 

Day 4 Bible Reading

Genesis 7 & 8, Matthew 4: 1-22, Proverbs 1: 1-7

Genesis 7: 6 (ESV)

“Noah was 600 years old when the flood of waters came up on the earth.”

I’ve read the Noah story many times, but this is the first time I noticed Noah’s age. In Genesis 5, we find out that age 500 he fathered, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. We never find out when God ask Noah to build the ark. All we know is Noah was 600 years old when the flood waters started. It struck me that Noah was building ark for perhaps 80 years or more, if one assumes that his three sons were old enough to help him. That’s a long time to work on the ark project. I’ve been brainwashed by the Hollywood depictions of the Noah story, where we get the impression that Noah built the ark in 10 years, maybe less. Noah is the first example of an obedient follower of God. I have a hard time imagining working on a project for that long. Did Noan not doubt? He had to wait, and let’s be generous, maybe 50 years or more for God’s word to come true. I am shamed by Noah’s patience. I pray for God for things and I expect it to happen fairly quickly. I think I need a sign that says “Remember Noah’s patience. His ark project took over 50 years, And he literally saved the world.” I need to meditate on Noah’s patience and remember his faithfulness and obedience to following God’s mission for him in his life.

Day 3 Bible Reading

Genesis 5 & 6, Matthew 3, Psalm 3

Genesis 5: 28-29 (ESV)

“When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.””

This passage from Genesis 5 stood out to me today because I think it means that God will use ordinary people to do his work. Noah came from cursed ground. He wasn’t great or special in any way. In Genesis 6, all we know of Noah is “was a righteous man, blameless in his generation”. He followed God’s law, but he was a sinner like anyone else. Lamech was also prophesying when he said Noah will bring relief from the painful toil of our hands. The toil of our hands I believe is referring to sin. God chose Noah and he made a covenant with Noah to protect him and his family from the flood waters. The arc that Noah built I think can also be seen as a symbol for the coming of Jesus Christ. Christ will be the one to save us from our sins, protecting us from the flood of the sins that have the ability to destroy not only our world but our life itself.

 Day 2 Bible Reading – Getting Caught Up

Genesis 3 and 4, Matthew 2, Psalm 2

Genesis 3: 1 (ESV)

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?””

This first line from Genesis 3 struck me. I have read this line many times but after watching a commentary on YouTube on Genesis 3, I now see this line as the beginning of sin. And how does sin begin? Sin begins with doubt. Doubt that what God has told is true. I reflected back on my life when I started down a dark path, and I believe it did start with doubt. I doubted whether my life was on track, whether I was doing the right thing in my life, doubt about everything and anything in my life. And when the seed of doubt is planted in your mind and you don’t put a stop to it, it grows. Doubt becomes like a rabbit hole that you fall down into, and it’s dark and disorienting. You become like Alice falling into Wonderland. You start to question everything and if you go too far, you must fight your way back to the light. I really need to read Alice in Wonderland and compare it to Genesis 3. I bet I’ll be able to find many similarities between how the Serpent framed his argument to Eve to eat the apple from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good an Evil. And yes it was Eve’s fault that she at the apple, but then Adam knew the rule and could have said something but he didn’t. And when God asked them what happened, Adam and Eve took no responsibility for their actions. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the Serpent. So in Genesis 3, sin is born.

Day 1 Bible Study

I messed up. I thought my new 2024 Bible Study was starting on January 4, but it started on January 3. The plan I am following is not a chronological reading of the Bible but consists of daily readings from the Old and New Testament and then switches back between Proverbs and Psalms. I like this way of reading the Bible because you start to see the prophecy of Christ in the Old Testament.

The Day 1 Bible Reading consists for Genesis 1-2, Mathew 1, and Psalms 1.  

Genesis 1: 3-5 (ESV)

“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

This passage from Genesis 1 stood out for me because God in the Old Testament created the world in terms of duality. For example, light versus darkness, night versus day, and morning and evening. The newly created world is a world of opposites or good versus bad. It isn’t until the birth of Jesus in Mathew 1 that God adds a third part to his created world. With the birth of Christ, God newly recreates the world changing it from a duality to a trinity with the birth of Jesus. Jesus is balance point between the two opposites in the world, or the person that stops us from going into the darkness since he is in the middle. No longer is there this duality of life and then death. With Christ, we have the world as a trinity. You are born, you die, but with Christ you are born again and will live with him in heaven after you die. This idea of the Trinity strikes me as revolutionary and evolutionary. Instead of us living in a dualistic world of opposites with no chance of escaping the darkness, with Christ we now have the neutral point between the two opposites. We have the point of neutrality where we are allowed to choose which side to follow. We have Christ standing in the way so we don’t go into the darkness of death.

No Bible Reading for today. My third year of reading the Bible in a year starts tomorrow. This year I bought the ESV Study Bible to supplement my daily Bible readings. It will be interesting to hear what the “experts” have to say compared to my own interpretation. I’m also thinking about getting a Bible atlas, although with internet search I think may be able to just do a search on a region to learn about it. I was watching a documentary called Aerial Britian and I had no idea that the King Arthur stories took place in Wales. They even showed the lake where the sword was thrown into. I think I may have to plan a trip to Wales to check that lake out. I loved the King Arthur stories when I discovered them in high school. I even have a hankering to read the Canterbury Tales, which I think we read in freshman or sophomore year of high school. I remember liking them back then, which makes me wonder if I would like them now as an adult.

Maybe a fun project for me in 2024 will be read books I still remember from junior high / high school that I loved. I loved Eugene O’Neil’s Long Days Journey into Night, Flowers for Algernon, Greek and Roman mythology, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Those are the books off the top of my head. Then there’s Catch-22, Homer’s Odyssey, The Scarlett Letter, Mourning Becomes Electra, and Animal Farm.

Other new things I want to try doing for Bible reading in 2024 is highlighting. m going to highlight the passages I like in my Bible. I don’t like marking up my books, but I’m going to try it with my new Study Bible. I think it will be fun to look back a few years later to see if the Bible passage I highlighted still has meaning for me.

Another fun project would be to read a Samuel Beckett play and find the Bible refences. I really don’t remember the play we were studying when my college theatre arts professor went on that rant about how no one in the class could figure out the Biblical references or allusions. I love Waiting for Godot so it will probably be that play. 

Day 365 Bible Reading

Revelation 22: 13 (ESV)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Today is the last day of my 2022 Bible in a year reading plan. When I read this line from Revelation 22, I found it a fitting way to bring this year of Bible Reading to a close. When I started my journey to deepen my relationship with Christ in 2021, I received a message that I needed to read the Bible daily so I could reflect on the word of God. My first thought was cool. It has been a goal of mine since college to know the Bible inside out and out, when my Theatre Arts professor screamed in my Becket class that most of great Western Literature references the Bible in some way, and we were missing out on the references if we didn’t know the Bible. In today’s world, this would the equivalent of watching Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies and not getting all the Kung Fu movie homages. In my senior level class of 12 students who were studying the great playwright Samuel Becket that semester, none of us had much knowledge of the Bible.

So after two years of reading the Bible in a Year, I can honestly say I still don’t know if I’ll ever get all the Bible references in a Samuel Becket play. But I’m going to keep trying to read the Bible every year in a year, because if the great writers of Western Literature loved the Bible enough to put Biblical references in their works of art then it’s worth it to me so I can deepen my understanding of my favorite Western Literature writers.

And I love that I start my day and end my day immersed in activities that deepen my faith in God. God is my Alpha and Omega, my first and last, and my beginning and my end.  

 Day 364 Bible Reading

Proverbs 31: 30 (ESV)

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

I love this line from Proverbs 31. I’ve met the most charming people who turned out to be total snakes and liars. These folks have so much charisma, and they hide their deceitfulness with their charm. Beauty is a complicated subject. True beauty is so fleeting and is in the eye of the beholder. It is rare for a woman not to be vain about her looks, but that beauty can be a trap. The women I know who are obsessed with their beauty pursue it more than they do their relationship with God. Most of these women are so insecure about their looks, even though they’ve been called beautiful their whole life. As a woman, I do want to be thought of as charming and of course beautiful. Who doesn’t? But for me the most important thing at this point in my life is that I want to be thought of as a devout Christian woman, who loves and obeys God.

Day 363 Bible Reading

Revelation 20: 14-15 (ESV)

“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

My pastor said in a sermon recently how confident were we that our name was written in the Book of Life in Revelation. I thought about his question, and my immediate answer was Yes. I don’t know why I thought that, but that was the answer I received. I have a close relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. They have been with me since I was six years old, and although I know that sometimes I was not that close to God, he has always been part of my life. Do I often think I have disappointed God? Yes. Do I doubt God hears me and answers my prayers? All the time. But do I doubt that I have a relationship with God? Never. Wondering whether your name is written in the Book of Life is quite the thought to have on New Year’s Eve of what many are calling will be a tumultuous year of 2024. Will my faith be tested in 2024? Absolutely. Will I waver in obedience to God? Of that there is no doubt. The only thing I can be certain of is I have a relationship with God, and I work on relationship daily. And maybe that’s good enough for me in my mind to be written in the Book of Life. 

Day 362 Bible Reading

Nehemiah 9: 17 (ESV)

“But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.”

I love this passage from Nehemiah 9. It makes me think about all the times I have not listened to God or did wrong things or have not obeyed his commandments. God has always been loving and ready to forgive me. His patience with me seems infinite and he always tells me how much he loves and is proud of me whenever I do something right. Even when I have felt forsaken by God, I’ve come to learn that God has never forsaken men. He is there to always answer my prayers and talk to me about what I have done wrong. God speaks to me with such love in his voice and understanding of who I am, what my needs are, and seems to always know why I do the things I do. There is nothing that compares to the love of God in my life. It’s something I can’t explain because there are no human words for it, and God’s love has to be experienced first hand.

 Day 361 Bible Reading

Psalm 148: 1-6 (ESV)

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.”

Another beautiful Psalm that praises God. It sounded like a song, so I searched on YouTube for Psalm 148 and found several musical versions of this psalm. This is one is my favorite.

Enjoy!

 Day 360 Bible Reading

Proverbs 31: 10-20 (ESV)

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.’

I love this passage from Proverbs 31. There is so much disinformation on how the Bible’s view of women is demeaning, but this passage from Proverbs 31 proves otherwise. This bible verse contains much praise of an “excellent wife” who is also a smart and responsible woman. The writer of Proverbs 31 lists all the things that a wife does and tells the reader what a great partner in life she will make to a man. This woman is also kind and strong to boot! Of course one has to find this kind of wife, but this Bible verse also provides a road map for a woman to remember to not be ashamed use all the gifts that God has given her to support her husband, her children, and her community.

 Day 359 Bible Reading

Psalm 147: 13-15 (ESV)

“For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.”

I like this passage from Psalm 147. It reminds me of the blessings of God and what happens when you have them. Every day seems like a miracle and things just seem to go your way. You have a season where everything in your life goes right and the world seems like it is at your feet. But deep in your heart, you know none of it is possible without God in your life. You obeyed everything he wanted you do for many years, and this new life, this new season is your reward. 

Day 358 Bible Reading

Psalm 147: 3 (ESV)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

I was struck by line 3 from Psalm 147. I have many memories of being brokenhearted and feeling myself held in the palm of God’s hand. God was healing me and binding up my emotional wounds. Sometimes I don’t even know I am brokenhearted, and then I feel myself being held the palm of God’s hand, and I realize that I have been hurt but God has bore the brunt of it because I am safe and protected by him. I felt safe and secure in God’s hands when my mother died, and this feeling lasted for months as my sadness at my mother’s passing was so severe. I often wondered during those months how people bore such grief without a God. That time of grief was so unbearable, and only confidently knowing I was in palm of God’s hand, was I able to survive that period in my life. I also wondered after that, how often God had held me in the palm of hand during my other times of grief. I am sure God did protect me during those times, but my faith was weak, and I rarely acknowledged God’s presence in my life in my youth. But with my stronger faith, I can now openly acknowledge to myself and the world that I feel very privileged and proud that God does hold me in the palm of his hands when I need to be held.

Day 357 Bible Reading

Psalm 146: 3-4 (ESV)

“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”

I was struck by this Bible passage when I read from Psalm 146. It made me think of all the people I’ve worked with at corporations where I saw fellow employees put all their trust in their boss. They supported their bosses 100% and were rewarded with promotions if that boss was promoted. But as soon as their boss left the company, their good fortune seemed to leave them. I’ve seen new vice presidents come in and bring their friends and former co-workers to replace the heads of the departments that reported to them. I also think of myself as an example where I put my trust in someone only to be very disappointed. I’m not saying you cannot put your trust in anyone, but like the writer of Psalm 146, I think it would be a mistake to put all your trust in one person. The only person who is 100% deserving of our trust is Jesus Christ. He is there from the beginning of our lives and will be there until the end when we take our final breath. He will never leave us, never depart from us, and always love us.

 Day 356 Bible Reading

Revelation 14: 12

“Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.’

This line from Revelation 14 spoke to me today. While in prayer this year, I heard a message from God to eat like the folks in the Old Testament which would mean to adhere to Kosher laws. My first reaction was like, Okay, no big deal. I can keep Kosher laws. But it was a big deal for me. Keeping  kosher laws meant that I could no longer eat pork, and that meant no bacon. I was kind of bummed out. I love bacon and eat it every weekend. But after much searching, I was able to find beef bacon so I’m back to eating bacon. But no pork also meant no sausage unless it was beef sausage. Not a big deal, until I realized I couldn’t eat salami, meatballs at Italian restaurants since they have sausage, and other dishes that have sausage. Still trying to deal with this one. But with New Year coming up, I find myself bummed out again. I have eaten lobster on New Year’s eve and day for years. But shellfish is not Kosher, so no shrimp either or calamari. I grew up eating shrimp and calamari! Both items are comfort food for me. Keeping Kosher law that God requested of me this year has become an endurance. Giving up these foods I know is a small thing for God to ask of me, but on some level I see as an endurance as well. I think God asked me to keep Kosher law to test my level of obedience. Could I do what God asked me to do? So far I have, but it is hard for me and I have to pray constantly to God for help and advice on what I can and can’t eat.

Day 355 Bible Reading

Psalm 145: 14-15 (ESV)

“The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.”

I like these lines from Psalm 145, but I often wonder about the last phrase of Line 15 – “you give them their food in due season.” I know in my greatest moments of doubt, I wonder does God hear my prayers? Does he understand my misery? Will he ever answer my prayers and give me what I want, especially when it comes to my health. But I am reminded that I am but a very, very tiny part of his kingdom. I have a role to play, and I am most of the time unaware of how my role affects others, how they further the plan he has in my mind for all us. God has his own timing, his own season, his own reasons for how and why he does things. We may only know in hindsight that the timing of when God answered our prayers was perfect and happened at exactly the right time and place. But until the insight of time and hindsight comes, we must have faith that God will respond to our prayers, and whatever the response is, it is always for the best and to fulfill God’s plan for this world.

Day 354 Bible Reading 

Palm 145: 8-13

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.” 

The Bible reading for today continued on with more of Psalm 145 and its beautiful praises of God. I used a search engine and found more songs that were based on Psalm 145. I think it would be an interesting survey to find out which is the most used Psalm for songs. Psalm 23 is the most popuar psalm, but I haven’t found any survey of which Psalm has been used the most in modern Christian music. Here’s another song that I like based on Psalm 145. 

Enjoy.

Day 353 Bible Reading

Psalm 145: 1-3 (ESV)

“I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.”

I love reading the Psalms. So many Christian songs have been made from Psalm verses. It always makes me wonder how they would have sounded during the time of King David or when Jesus was alive. Were they sung to music or spoken out loud like poetry or both.

This is one of my favorite Jesusco (formerly called Worship Mob) songs - Psalm 145 - The Lord is Great | WorshipMob original by G. Hall & Emma Graham. I used to listen to this every morning as part of my prayer time with God.

Enjoy!

Day 352 Bible Reading

Proverbs 30: 24-28 (ESV)

“Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
the rock badgers are a people not mighty, yet they make their homes in the cliffs;
the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
the lizard you can take in your hands, yet it is in kings' palaces.”

This is an interesting passage from Proverbs 30. I see this Bible passage as saying that no matter what your size is or your condition in life, if you have wisdom you can do many and mighty things. I know that I often think I can’t do something because I’m this, that, or the other, and I give up on doing the thing at all. Perhaps God is reminding me that if I pray and follow God’s wisdom, I will be able to do the thing I want to do. Okay, so maybe I can’t be a rock star or professional sports player or whatever, but at least I can become really good at the thing I am trying to do, and God will show me that this experience will teach me lessons I needed to learn to excel in the purpose he has for me.

Bonus Post: Love in the Aftermath - 4-act structure

Since I didn't post yesterday, I wanted to let you see a draft of the 4-act structure for my next novel "Love in the Aftermath." This is very ROUGH draft and not yet completed I create about 15-20 versions of this type of structure before I write. The 4-act structure is like a rough map of my story, which I use as a guide. I almost never stick to my rough map however, because I find that when writing the story you discover new things that will change the structure. Writing is always a work in progress I've discovered, even when you've spent hours on creating the structure. 

Title: Life in the Aftermath

Concept:  The last Lemurian princess is forced to go on the run with a wizard monk to escape the Atlantean prince who wants to wipe out all traces of Lemuria from history.

 Main Conflict:   The new rulers of Atlantis (atlantean prince) want to wipe out all traces of Mu after the war between the Mu and Atlantis. Princess Serri is on the run to hide her family treasures and to survive being killed once the Atlantean prince finds out what she’s done.

Princess Serri OLD WAYS

   1.  Old Identity: Spoiled as the youngest daughter of the king and queen

   2.  Main goal in life is to be married and become a queen

   3.  Flighty and a partier

Princess Serri NEW Ways:  

  1.  New Identity: caring partner to Mojic

  2.  New goal is live in secret and simply

  3.  Mature and accepts responsibility to keep Mu alive through her story

THE 4 ACTS (Acts 1-2 only)

ACT 1: Set up and see the old ways

Opening:  

We see an older Princess Serrula (Serri) writing her life story. She looks bruised and fragile, and winces in pain while writing. We read what she wrote. But she sighs and says what she thought would happen when the war ended between Mu and Atlantis was something completely different.

The Story continues as a flashback to the beginning of the story.

Serri is picking out the fabric for her wedding dress since she expects to be married to the Atlantean prince now that the war is ended. We see her interacting with the Atlantean prince and they seem to get along, but her mother thinks the prince is used to getting his own way and warns Serri. Serri says she can handle him. Her father the king summons her to a family meeting.

Inciting Incident:

Her father tells her he has learned that Atlantis wants to wipe out any trace of Mu. They have started the systematic destruction of anything related to Mu. Her father reminds her that his family has been since its founding the record keeper of Mu history. He was not going to let the Atlantean prince destroy what his family had been collecting since their founding. He tells Serri that she must take the sacred scrolls to the Wizard temple and that they can hide the scrolls away. Serri objects because the prince is here and she wants to spend more time with him, and the king tells her she will when she gets back from the Wizard temple. Serri agrees but she is not happy about it. The king makes her promise that she will make sure the scrolls are hidden away and kept safe. Serri promises.

Serri travels to the Wizard temple and meets Mojic, a young monk who has been tasked with hiding the scrolls. Serri does not like him and Mojic thinks of her as nothing but a spoiled princess.

Turning Point 1: The king’s most trusted servant arrives at the Wizard temple and tells her that the Atlantean prince murdered her parents and her brother when he found out that they wouldn’t tell him where the scrolls were. He called her parents traitors and took over the running of the kingdom.

ACT 2: On the run with Mojic

 The wizards tells Serri that she cannot stay there and must take the sacred scrolls with her and that Mojic will find a place to hide them. The atlantean prince will come after her and kill her and destroy the scrolls.

Serri and Mojic travel together by horse to the next wizard temple. Very few people know about this temple. They arrive at the temple, fighting the whole time, but the wizards have found out that the atlantean prince killed all the wizards and they are afraid that he will travel there. They tell Serri and Mojic that they cannot stay there and must leave. The wizards give them an old map of old wizard hiding places. They do not know which one will be safe and they will need to visit each one to see which one will work.

Serri and Mojic constantly fight about which temple to go to, and when Serri picks one and they go there, they find out that the house has been destroyed.

Next Mojic picks one, and when they visit the house, it seems to be a good place, but a wizard comes and tells them that the Atlantean prince tortured one of the wizards and was told them two of the most obvious locations where they could be found. So they flee again.

Turning point 2: They decide to pick the next place together, and they get there and it seems ideal, but they are spotted because Serri doesn’t want to disguise herself and they are forced to leave when they find out there is a reward for her capture.

 Day 351 Bible Reading

I don’t’ have any favorite Bible passage from today’s readings. We read Ezra 1 and 2, Revelation 8, and more of Psalm 144. But when I read Revelation 8, I was reminded of how many doomsday prophecies there have been over the years, and how there are people of every generation trying to tie what is happening in the world to Revelation 8. I’ve seen it in movies and have read what the fulfillment of this book would look like if they had happened. The language in Revelation 8 is very dire and beautiful at the same time. Are we in end times? I’m not sure. Should we be concerned about end time prophecies? Absolutely! I think as long as we have daily conversations with God, he will help us discern what is happened in the world and what needs to be done.

 Day 350 Bible Reading

Psalm 144: 1-2

“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.”

I love these two lines from Psalm 144. I feel sometimes that I am a solder for God, a warrior he can put to use in these uncertain times. God is training me for war, but he is also my rock, my fortress, my love, my shield, and my deliverer. I can see reading this psalm when facing a difficult situation in life where you have to fight.

No Bible reading reflection today. I read Malachi, Revelations 6, and Psalm 143 but nothing really stood out for me. 

I did however hear a sermon today where the pastor said that the believer’s responsibility is obedience to God and God’s responsibility is to the outcome. This is a hard one for me because I was taught to be responsible for the outcome of my actions. But if I want to truly rely on God then I have to surrender control over what actions I take, so I can be instrument for God and he can use me however he sees fit. I might not know the game plan of what he’s trying to do in the world, but I can let myself be used to fulfill his plan. I have such a hard time with the surrender part, but I think I am starting to see that maybe surrender will make my life easier because I know I can control my actions. What makes life so frustrating for me is I cannot control anything else. But if I surrender to God, perhaps I can let go of the frustrations in my life because it’s not my responsibility to control anything other than my own actions. 

Day 348 Bible Reading 

Revelation 5: 9 (ESV) 

“...Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” 

When I read this line from Revelation 5, it made me tear up. The subject of the line is the person who opened the scroll that was sealed with seven seals, who is “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David.” There are several references in the Old Testament to the lamb that is slain for offering to God, and I always think of Jesus Christ when I see the word “lamb”. The writer of Revelation never says it is Jesus Christ who has opened the scrolls, but for me the similarities are unmistakable. 

Christ was slain and by his blood, we have been saved from the sins of our ancestors and are now part of his new kingdom. As followers of Christ, we are also priests for God. We need to take a priestly role in all of our relationships. Are we leading people to God by our behavior or leading people away from God? 

 I was thinking I might not have the right interpretation of this line, so I searched to see what others have said about this line from Revelation. It was comforting to know that they also saw the Lamb as Christ. I know you can’t always follow your heart, but whenever I read a line in the Bible that in any way references Christ’s crucifixion it makes me cry.

 Day 347 Bible Reading

Revelation 4: 11 (ESV)

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

When I think of the Book of Revelations, I usually think of the prophecies of how Jesus will return to the world. This line from Revelation 4 reminds me that there is also beautiful poetry in this book. Others have had this thought as well because I found a beautiful song based on Revelations 4. When I listened to the song, I knew I had heard it before. “Revelation Song” written by Jennie Lee Riddle is so amazing. Other singers and groups have covered this song, but I love Jennie’s version because she wrote the song.

For your listening pleasure -

 Day 346 Bible Reading (ESV) 

Esther 4: 14

“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

I love this line from Esther 3! Mordecai is speaking to his sister Esther and tells her that if she keeps silent, God will send help from another person, but she will perish. But perhaps you have become queen of the land so you can help the Jews escape death.

I know sometimes when I think about doing something, the thought always occurs to me that I do nothing then someone else will surely say or something. But then guilt washes over me and I think, is that bad karma if I do nothing? Will is perish for not taking action or speaking? Then another thought comes into my head that says “maybe I was put into the position precisely because I was meant to do something about it. I have all this power and maybe I can put the power to good use.

It's such an interesting line “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” I don’t think we can really know what our role is in life. We need to pray to God and wait for him to let us know or send a sign to guide our way. It is seductive to think I was born to be do something, but I think until one checks in with God, one has to cautious and always try to discern what role God wants us play in this world.

 Day 345 Bible Reading

I don’t have a specific bible passage today that struck me today, so I want to write about the Book of Esther since we started reading it today. There is no mention of God or God’s covenant in the Book of Esther, but it seems clear from the reading that the characters in the book never forgot about the Covenant God made with Moses and his people. Even though the characters in this story have been in exile from Jerusalem, they have held on to their faith and the expectation that God is watching over them and will rescue his people from harm.

Their faith is strong, and I envy their unwavering faith in God’s protection over their lives. The Book of Esther reminds me that to truly have faith in God, one must always expect and depend on God’s intervention in our lives. The Book of Esther seems to be an example of people with true faith in God.

Day 344 Bible Reading

Proverbs 30: 5 (ESV)

“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

I like this line from Proverbs 30. I know from experience that whenever I think I have heard the word of God coming through in my prayers, whatever has said has always come true. Maybe not necessarily in the way I thought it would come true, but whatever was told me would come true nonetheless.

God also provides a shield that defends me and makes me feel protected and loved. When I feel depressed and low, I feel God’s love surrounding me and I am being held in God’s hands because I am so fragile and he has to hold on to so I don’t fall apart. It’s an amazing feeling of being loved by God. I’m not sure if others feel that way about God during the low points of their lives, but it’s the way I feel.

Day 343 Bible Reading 

Zechariah 9: 9 

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” 

I love this line from Zechariah 9 since it reminds me of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on a donkey. Would someone who was familiar with Zechariah have caught the significance of Jesus arriving on a donkey like a king from the Old Testament? It makes me wonder if they saw the similarity when it first happened, or later when they were remembering the event.

Day 342 Bible Reading

Jude 1: 9 (ESV)

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

This line from Jude 1 stood out for me today. I believe God is telling us that he is the ultimate judge of people. We cannot truthfully judge right from wrong and must rely on God to be the ultimate judge of what is people’s hearts. I know that I have often judged harshly the behavior of others in the past, but through prayer, I have come to see that I can only see their actions but not the truth of why a person did what they did. It is hard, but I am trying to have more compassion for people by telling myself that God will judge them. 

 Day 341 Bible Reading

Psalm 139: 16

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

What struck about this line from Psalm 139 is how God has a plan for our lives even before we took form. He saw the plan he had for every day of our lives before they even happened. I think there is such a thing as free will because God lays out his plan before us, and yet he loves us so much that he still gives us a choice. We can choose at every moment whether to follow God’s plan for our life. I personally think God is the best game maker and strategist, who has mapped our every choice we could make and he also has a plan for every choice we might make. So no matter what choice we make, God has a plan for that choice. But I also think God had preferred choices for us, choices that will make up happy, and that if we make a wrong choice God has a plan to put us back on the right track.

I love the movie franchise “Final Destination”. It came up on my Max channel as a movie to watch before it disappears, so I watched it. I love how the writers of this movie came up with all the little ways that death eventually found the kids who cheated death, and the theory from the undertaker that death has a design.

It made me wonder if everything in life has a design, and we can either cheat the design or just go along with it. For example, I’m not feeling very well today. I’ve been on an eating junk food binge since Thanksgiving. I let myself eat whatever I wanted on Turkey day, and it’s been hard to get back on track with my very healthy way of eating.

So if I look at everything that led me to not feeling good today, the design of it all, it all started on Thanksgiving. Well, if I’m honest, t started with my September vacation. I went on vacation after Labor Day, and it was hard to keep to my normally healthy way of eating. I wasn’t at home, and I was at a conference. And when I’m on vacation, I like to indulge and take a break from my normal way of life.

So I gained 5 pounds that week. I was just beginning to lose it, when I went on my yearly camping trip in October. Camping for me is the worst place to stick to my healthy eating habits. I go camping with a group of friends, and two of our camping meals are potluck meals. And I have this thing with potlucks that I let myself eat whatever I want because it’s fun to taste the food that people cook and bring to that event. Plus, it’s a social occasion and it’s fun to eat all the food and then talk to people about all the dishes that were good to eat.

So that became another 5 pounds that I gained. Surprisingly, I managed to lose the camping weight gain very easily, but not the original 5 pounds from my September vacation. And then Thanksgiving rolled around. And then I’m like, okay, Christmas is coming up, and I’m not going to watch what I eat at all. I’ll deal with it in the new year because there are parties to go to from now until the end of the year.

Today was a party day. Went out with friends to eat and we did a cookie potluck, where everyone brings cookies to share. And I let myself taste all the cookies. BIG MISTAKE! And I’m paying for it now because I so do not feel good. Too much sugar at one time and a tasty but carbo-loaded meal.

I’m thinking about the design of it all, and a video pops up in my Youtube feed about an astronaut talking about his nutrition. It was like a sign. d a sign this morning, so I watched it. The astronaut said his nutritionist told him that the difference between two football teams who are tied at the end of the game, comes down to nutrition. Because when you’ve pushed yourself that hard for the whole game, and you now need a little more just to win the game, it’s your nutrition that is going to determine how well you play during those extra minutes.

So the design of my day, the design of my life since September has not been that great and now I feel horrible. If I had kept my good nutrition in place since September, I know I would be feeling very good right now. Instead, I feel like crap and semi-nauseous.

If there is a design to my life, the lesson is I have to design it better if I want to feel good and accomplish the things I want to do.

 Day 340 Bible Reading

Proverbs 29: 25

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

This line from Proverbs 29 struck me as very profound. Is fear a snare? Sometimes it appears to be. Fear of whatever can you lead some very interesting and sometimes dark paths. One begins to imagine one scenario and then another until it becomes a continuous fear loop. Perhaps some of the scenarios to be fearful of are justified, but other scenarios seem to stem from one’s imagination or often borrowed from other past traumas that have nothing to do with the present fear. Fear truly sems like a snare swing you from fear to fear without rhyme or reason.

But if you trust God, then he’s like that brilliant award winning movie/theater director on the live stage that is your life who yells “CUT”. God then comes over to talks to you and says “What was that about? What made you go there? Does that action have anything to do with the person you are now?” So instead of swinging dangerously from fear scenario to fear scenario, where you could fall into depression, anxiety, addictive impulses, etc; you stop and think “God is right. Let me rethink my fear scenario exploration.” And you remember that God loves you because you are amazing person, you are a child of God, and with him, you can conquer your fear and the world.

Day 339 Bible Reading

1 John 5: 4

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

I love this line from 1 John 5. We are all born of God, but it is faith that helps up to overcome the world. When I look at how I have overcome any challenge in my life, I always needed faith to do it. Sometimes it was a little faith, but other times I needed as much faith as I could muster to overcome the difficult challenges in my life. And Jesus was my role model for faith. Jesus had so much faith in himself and his disciples. He never gave up. He kept on going even though there wasn’t any physical evidence to back him up. His faith never wavered.

 Day 338 Bible Reading

I John 4: 7

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

I have heard this line from 1 John 4 many times, but today it struck me because as a believer in Christ God is our role model for how to love. We read of many examples in the Bible of how God loves his people, even though they often disobeyed him and did not follow his laws. God’s nature in the Bible is shown to be forgiving and generous. He sees our faults, but in the end he still loves us anyway. God seems to let his people do what they want, so they have free will to follow their desires. He then watches his people to see what we will do with our free will and free choices. Like a good parent or a good marriage partner, God’s love never wavers even when we make mistakes and make bad choices.

 Day 337 Bible Reading

1 John 4: 2-3

“By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.”

I like this passage from 1 John 4 because I am sometimes reminded that the friends whom I can rely on the most have the same love of Christ that I have. There always seems to be a sympatico between myself and another person who believes in Christ. We speak the same the same language, have the same values, and look at life in similar ways. I do have friends who do not follow Christ, but our friendship does not seem to go as deep as with my friends who do believe in Jesus Christ. Belief in Jesus Christ adds a very deep and profound layer to any friendship and maybe it has something to do with the Bible passage from Matthew 18:20; “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” When there is a friendship between two believers of Christ, he is always there between them.

 Day 336 Bible Reading

1 John 3: 17-18 (ESV)

“But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

I like this passage from 1 John 3 because it says to the believer that actions speak louder than words, and if we have Christ in our heart then our behavior must reflect the presence of God within us. But we must constantly pray to God about actions to make sure they are correct, because we are asked to love in truth. To love in truth means that our actions must also reflect the truth of the situation we are in at every given moment. Because in some cases, to give to someone om need might not be the right thing to do because that person needs to hear the truth. An example of this might be when we don’t want to lend someone money because that money is being used for an addiction. The way to love the person who is an addict is to tell them the truth that the person needs help to get over the addiction and not money to fuel the addiction. So prayer to God for every action must always be a part of our lives, because only God will know that right kind of “love’ an individual person needs.

 Day 335 Bible Reading

1 John 3: 6 and 9 (ESV)

“No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”

What struck me about these two lines from 1 John 3 is the word “abide”. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word “abide” has these meanings:

As an Intransitive verb (no direct object needed

 -      to remain stable or fixed in a state

 -   to continue in a place - SOJOURN

Using these definitions, the lines would read “No one who [is fixed] on God can keep on sinning” and “For God’s seed is [stable] in a believer, and they cannot keep on sinning because they have been born of God.”

I like the idea that as a believer “God’s seed” is stable and fixed on me, so even when I sin or dwell in darkness, God will help me to come to the light. But as a believer, I have to do my part and be “fixed” on God by reading his words and the Bible, by meditating and praying to him, and keeping him always at the forefront of my mind in all my decisions. The seed of God is within me to help me, but like any plant that seed needs to be watered to grow and thrive.

Tentative ending for my next novel

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Day 334 Bible Reading

1 John 1: 5-6

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

1 John 2: 9-11

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

These two passages from 1 John 1 and 2 caught my eye today. “God is light” and with him, we live in the light. Living in the “light” means for me that I do not get caught up in the “dark” emotions and thoughts of depression, envy, anger, paranoia, etc. But sometimes I do walk in darkness, and I feel that it cannot be helped because this is life and “stuff” happens.

But then I feel the whisper of the Holy Spirit in my ear saying “Look up, there is a light to guide your way. Jesus is there to light your way out of the darkness.” The blinders are then dropped from my eyes, and the dark tunnel that I dove into head first doesn’t seem so dark. I slowly climb my way out of the darkness, I see solutions I wouldn’t have seen in the darkness, a different way of looking at things, and gratitude appears like steps that I can climb out of the darkness and into the light. Having faith is like having an emergency light that you can turn on to find your way out of the darkness, if you remember that you have that light. And even if you forget, Holy Spirit is always there to remind you, that Jesus Christ is the light you need to find your way out of the darkness. 

 Day 333 Bible Reading

Psalm 135: 15-18 (ESV)

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths.

Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.”

I love this passage from Psalm 135 as it gives us such a poetic description of money, which was silver and gold at the time this Psalm was written. We sometime worship money as idols, and treat them like they are like people, but they aren’t. But what is very interesting is how the Psalmist says that those who make “money” and those who trust in “money” become like them. So nations and people cannot speak, do not see, do not hear, nor are they alive. Does this sound like people and nations you know? I know when I’ve become obsessed with money, I did so the exclusion of all else. I thought I was living, but I think deep down inside I knew I was literally dead. Money never made me happy for long, and I found that out the hard way. I have only found lasting happiness in my faith and Jesus Christ.

 Day 332 Bible Reading

Proverbs 29: 1-9

"He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

He who loves wisdom makes his father glad but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts[a] tears it down.

A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.

Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet."

For me The Proverbs have always been interesting. They seem to be rules for how to be happy in the world, how to live a "Godly" life. Do this and this happens, do the wrong thing and this happens. 

For me, the value of Proverbs is that I often see myself as the person doing the things you're not supposed to be doing. And I'm like, duh, if I had just remembered the proverbs telling me not to the wrong thing, then X would not have happened. And yes, I often do the good things that Proverbs tell you to do but I don't remember them as well as I bad things I've done. I am thinking when I do one of the good things that Proverbs tell you what do, I need to write it down so I remember them. And when I feel I'm always doing bad things, I can look back on my notes and remember that most of the time I do the right things, and it's only once in awhile I do wrong things. 

Day 331 - my bible readings for today.

Daniel 2: 24-49 (ESV)
27 - 30: “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days ...But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind."

What struck me about this passage is how the prophet Daniel acknowledges that everything comes from God:

• God reveals the mysteries or dreams to the dreamer
• God reveals the interpretation of the mysteries of the dream to one who interprets them.

I don't remember my dreams very much, and when I do remember a dream it is a "big thing" for me. This Bible passage reminds me that everything comes from God, and perhaps when I remember a dream it is because God is trying to reveal something to me that maybe I couldn't have gotten any other way. Was it because I was not listening or paying attention? Or is having the dream just the start of perhaps God hinting to me that he has the message, and the dream is my first hint.

I try to interpret my own dreams, and I love the thought that God is involved in this process as well. That God is guiding me on how to interpret my dreams. For me there is a comfort in knowing that God is in charge of all aspects of life, but it is a fact that I often forget or ignore because I want to be in charge of my own life and decisions. But I have learnt the hard way over the years, that my way is often the hard way, the round about way, and that God's way is always better.

2 Peter 1 (ESV)
21: "For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

What I like about this line, is that it is another reminder from the New Testament, that God is in charge of all things. That the Holy Spirit revealed to prophets the visions they saw and their interpretations. All things come from God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, to teach us something, good or bad. Sometimes, or maybe all the time, this is hard for us to remember. If there is such a thing as a "Matrix", perhaps we are in God's matrix because he created it, and God is always trying to reveal himself to us in all things, all circumstances of life, good, bad, and the indifferent.

God is in everything, the micro ,the macro, and the details.

Updates

 Wow, it's been awhile since I've blogged. So many things have happened. Where to begin.

I finished a novel, yeah me! The novel is tentatively titled "Escape from Atlantis." Here's the concept for the story:

A slave girl in Atlantis must find a way to leave the capitol with her daughter before it sinks into the ocean.

When I was taking screenwriting classes for two years, I learned how to do a certain type of editing, so I am using for the novel. There are 12 steps you go through for editing, and I'm on step 7. Writing was easy compared to the editing because you have to look at every aspect and element of your novel one by one, and I think it makes for a better novel. You work on the structural things first and then the fun stuff like the descriptions. This is my first time using this way of editing, but I really like it. 

But working on the editing of this novel every day is hard, so as a way of distraction, I am plotting out my second novel. It's been jelling in my brain for a year, and yesterday I finally figured out who the antagonist was going to be in the story. 

My second novel idea is tentatively titled "Love in the aftermath." Not too happy about the title right now, but I know it will change. Here is the concept:

The last Lemurian princess is forced to go on the run with a wizard monk  to escape the Atlantean prince who wants to wipe out all traces of Lemuria from history.

Some folks are convinced that Japan was part of MU or Lemuria, so I am setting the story in northern Japan on the island of Hokkaido. This elfen Lemurian kingdom is one of the oldest and most rural of the Elf Kingdoms, but they hold many of the relics and treasures of MU and its history. After the war between Mu and Atlantis, the Atlanteans wanted to wipe out all traces of Mu from history, which is the background for the story.

What else....

I've also joined a reading the bible in a year group, which has been most rewarding. So I've been thinking I would blog about what I learn in my bible reading. I'm nearing the end for this year, but I'm thinking of posting every day to see if I like doing it. I also see it as a way to force myself to blog every day. But we'll see how it goes. I want to get back the excitement I felt in the past about my blog. 

So stay tuned. Cheers!

Past Life Memory with Elf Man in Lemuria

 Free writing about my past life memory with Elf Man which I am structuring into a novel. For now, my novel is tentatively titled "After the battle between Atlantis and Lemuria". Not the cleverest of titles, but it reminds me of the past life memory that I am drawing on to write this story.

I was thinking of writing the story from the female character's point of view, but this is what I am getting in a free write on this topic.

"I can see four parts and this story told in different points of view. But I like her writing it first, and then maybe to get his point of view in, she will find his journals and include the parts of his diary that he left. She will cry a little because he only wrote about what she didn’t know about as if he knew that she would be left alive and recording their lives. She sees a note to this affect and reflects that she knew how much he loved her, but she is always surprised by the depths of his love and what he sacrificed for her. She loved him but she knows deep down she did not love him as deeply as he probably loved her. He writes that she was the joy that he was promised as a boy when he took up the magical arts, a joy that came late in his life and one that he knew would come with a price. A price that he knew he would gladly have paid over and over again. Their years together had been his joy, his only joy, in his dark life."

I was sobbing when I wrote this - past life memories should never hurt this much....

Moving to AZ

 I updated my description. I moved from SF to Phoenix Arizona.

My intuition told me to move in 2012, but it took me awhile to say goodbye to San Francisco. I finally moved in 2019, and my intuition told me I would know why in a few months.

Then COVID happened, and it seems to have destroyed the city I loved so much. Nothing seems to be same there. The crime is up further, and all the fun free stuff to do does not exist anymore. 

I'm glad I was there when it was a fun place to live. But I am so happier where I am now. Life is slower here, easier, and there are still interesting things to do.

There is great art, great fun experiences, great places to visit, so I'm happy I moved. 

 I can't believe my blog is still around. I sort of half expected Google to get rid of it, but it's still here.

I am still writing. I've written 3 screenplays, only to find out screenplays are not my thing. I loved taking the classes. I love how screenplays are structured and I found a teacher who I resonated with and took several classes from that organization.

But screenplays are hard, too hard for me. I'm not a visual person. I thought I was, but not enough to tell a story as a movie. Learning to write a screenplay was a fun detour, but now I am back to novels and novelas. 

I am working on novela from my past life memory with Elf Man. I wanted to explore that story more. I think it's a novela and not a novel. I am plotting it out like a screenplay, but it will be a novel. 

I will be using the 4 act structure. I really like that past memory, and it will be the opening. A dying woman who is writing down her life story as she is dying. 

So the 4 act / part titles are: 

1. Love is sudden and convenient.

2. The Hunt is on.

3. To be free you need to leave your life behind.

4. Love can overcome everything except for death.

It makes me cry to plot this story,  to think of this past life memory, but maybe this is why I have a hankering to write it down. No one should experience this much sadness from a past life memory. It's like I have a window into that life and it's intersecting with my present life, and my tears are the bridge that keeps this past life portal open.

I will post more at the story progresses.