I read my Bible every day for a year... here's what happened.

Why did I want to do this?
Reading the whole Bible is the best way to understand what it is I believe and to get to know Jesus better. It is hard however to read it and see it’s full glories when you’re always preparing a lesson or a study. Also I wanted to remind myself that even as a teacher I don’t know it all and still need it for myself.

How was it?
I used the Read Scripture app which was perfect for me in terms of reminding me every day to read, but it also allows you to choose to read at your own pace and includes videos from the Bible Project which highlight important themes and structures. It was super helpful and I only missed three days out of the year but I definitely still struggled with actually reading it well not just reading so that I could get it done (especially the genealogies!) it was tricky not to be legalistic about it and to enjoy reading it - it certainly wasn’t a daily struggle but often a joy.

Read Scripture

What’s the end result?
I’ve enjoyed it, and it has definitely benfited my relationship with God. I’m excited about reading the Bible again, not only to teach others but to learn from it myself. I’m desparate to spend more time in a passage than was on the reading plan this year, and to study the books that are less well known to me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about reading although I’ve wanted to do it more regularly.

Is it recommended?
I will do it again, but not next year. It helps me to keep a perspective on the stories I know well, that they fit into a wider context and that I don’t know them perfectly and as deeply as they can be known. But I equally find that reading such big chunks in one go means that I don’t see the details or spend as much time in a passage at as I’d like. If it’s not something you do regularly I would definitely try a one or two year reading plan.

P.S. I’m not quite finished with my year yet, but yesterday was the last day of my Bible reading plan which means I have read the whole Bible in within a year and that I’ll be reading a psalm a day until the 31st.

P.P.S You can find the Read Scripture app in the Apple Store and on Google Play.

5 Podcasts You Should Listen To

I would not have described myself as a podcast person. My radio channels of choice have always been music based and I rarely listened to the radio. I have tried various e-readers but found they pale in comparison to an actual physical book.

So what converted me to the point where I not only listen to some but have 5 I want to share?
Washing the dishes.

Having something that is more than background but actively engages my mind while I scrub pans has meant I’ve been known to say ‘It’s not your turn to wash up, it’s mine’ just because I have a podcast lined up. So here is what’s been keeping my kitchen clean and my mind active:

1. The Bible Project
   I was already a fan of their videos when I started listening to this. It’s so good than when an episode outlast the time it takes me to do the dishes - which is often - I will continue to clean the house so that don’t have to press pause. I have a binge-y approach to podcasts so I like to look for a miniseries, on the wisdom books or the tree of life, and listen to all of those over a few weeks then wait a while and find a different theme. Their deep dives into the Biblical Theology that unlies the videos is well worth a listen however fast or slow you consume it.

2. Knowing Faith
   This is probably my favourite. I arrived late to the party and loved it so much I listened to 2 years worth in about 6 months and was devastated when I caught up and had to wait a week for the next episode to come out! Why is it so great? Well, the hosts (Jen Wilkin, JT English, Kyle Worley) love what they’re talking about, they’re not afraid to disagree with each other and stay friends, they have the best guests, they make big theological ideas accessible without talking down to you: they’re like real people!

3. 5 Minutes in Church History
   This is a fun one. They literally only take 5 minutes but they pack in all the info. They’re so short I will use them as an oven timer and listen to 5 or 6 while something bakes. There’s a lot of the reformation, so Calvin and Luther, but also the less famous including Lady Jane Gray (she’s just my fave), and Francis Grimké. It’s fascinating.

4. Pass the Mic
   Is the podcast arm (wing?) of The Witness. They cover a lot of current events, pop-culture and the church all from the perspective of Christians who want to hear Christ first on everything. They also have super interviewees - Leslie Odom Jr and Michael B Jordan so you know this is no lightweight podcast but something you can get your teeth into. They have other podcasts too that I haven’t listened to but I want to, maybe they’ll end up on a future top 5 list.

5. The Bible Recap
   This podcast is designed to accompany your daily Bible reading, they have a plan in their show notes. So, I’m not actually following it at the moment - it’s waiting until I’ve finished my current reading plan. At the moment I’m listening to the odd episode that covers whatever book I’m psyching myself up to write a study on. The episodes are short (about 8 minutes) which is the perfect length for when you’ve finished reading the Bible passage, but also means that when you just dip in and out you haven’t had the study prepared for you but you’ve got enough to give you momentum to look deeper into the passage. There are some intro episodes you should listen to before you start - a kind of top tips and enthusiasm builder for the not undaunting task ahead. And a high mark of quality is the acknowlegement that you need to find your best fit - which is what you get here.

These are my top 5 and, since I’m now a podcast person, what else should I be adding to my list? Let me know in the comments below

5 Helpful Apps for Christian Living

I have a love/hate relationship with my smartphone.
It doesn’t fit in any of my pockets but Whatsapp is by far the easiest way to contact my friends and family (we live in different countries so tradional calling is expensive). It is far too easy for me to waste time on fb or youtube, but its addictive nature and Duolingo have definitely helped me to learn German. None of these things are sponsored; simply things I personally have found helpful.
So here are 5 apps that have helped me embrace the blessings of the smartphone.

1. Read Scripture
   There are many Bible Reading apps out there: I like this one as you can choose your plan and if you’d like to read everyday or go at your own pace, choose what time you want to be reminded and select a font size. I love it because at the beginnin of each book they have the relevant Bible overview video from the Bible Project and for the longer books they’ve also included some of the theme videos. This is super helpful for me as it helps me to not just read (most days) but to engage with the passage and the God behind it as well. Check it out for yourself here.

2. Prayermate
   As the name suggests this app is here to help you pray. I find it an easy way to organise, when I tell someone I’ll pray for them I can add them to a list of my choosing and set how often I want them to come up in my rotation. I don’t use it every day but on the days where we don’t have somthing specific on our hearts it’s really helpful. You can also add prayer requests from organisations like Open Doors and Christians in Sport; individual churches can even share their prayer lists via this app.

3. Verse Locker
   One of my failures in children’s ministery is that I put less effort into learning memory verses than the kids teaching do. Verse Locker helps with this by somewhat gamifying the process: I can unlock badges for when I have memorised >10 or >50 verses or five verses from the Pentateuch or Wisdom books or the Gospels. And I love me an app that can put my overly competative spirit to good use.

4. Logos
   Even on the free version they have a ridiculously large numer of books available, modern releases from NT Wright, classic christian lit like Augustine’s Confessions, numerous translations of the Bible, RC Sproul’s Crucial Questions booklets, making this a super useful teaching-preparation tool. A mobile phone is a little small for this amount of reading so downloading the app on a tablet or laptop is probably easier (either that or I’m showing my age).

5. A Podcast App
   I don’t have a strong preference for which one you use. I use Podbean which gives me access to my top 5 Podcasts every Christian should listen to… The subject of my next top 5 list.