The Wide Path Dropout Mama
The Wide Path Dropout Mama
Becoming a Daily Reader of the Word
In this episode, we talk about the practical way that my family and I read the Bible every day. The Facebook bible study I refer to in this episode is the Christy Jordan / Front Porch Fellowship Bible Study. The podcast I listen to everyday is Daily Bread for Busy Moms on Apple. I hope you enjoy! You can reach us at widepathdropoutmama@gmail.com.
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Hi, my name is Jenny. I'm a wife, a mom, an entrepreneur and, most importantly, a disciple of Yeshua Jesus. I've been a Christian for over a decade, having studied the Bible for at least that long or better. Until about three years ago, I thought I knew Jesus pretty well. Then my world was rocked. I started studying the Bible from its Middle Eastern context and culture, and what I found has completely changed my and my family's lives forever. Join me as I share all that I've learned about our Jewish Messiah and listen to my conversations with other moms on their own journey with Jesus, as we discuss the practical ways that we walk out our faith in our everyday lives. This is a conversation for the Christian mom who wants more.
Speaker 1:This is the Wide Path Dropout Mama Podcast. So before we begin today's episode, I wanted to give you a kind of let you in behind the scenes of how today's episode came to be and also for you to just have in mind for all of the episodes moving forward. So when I first started this podcast, I had no idea what I was doing. I had never done a podcast before. I had no idea how to even record a podcast. I didn't know what kind of equipment to use. I didn't know what kind of software, I didn't know anything about editing nothing. But I did not want to buy a course for this, I wanted to be completely spirit led. Throughout this entire process I prayed and I told God, I want to do this just you and me and the Holy Spirit. I want you to take me by the hand and I want you to teach me how to do this and lead me through every step. And that's what we did. I learned how to. He led me to a great resource and I learned the things that I needed and I taught myself how to use the software. Well, he taught me. And here we are.
Speaker 1:We're, you know, a few episodes in, and so for this episode, I told you that I was going to try to record two episodes a week and I missed last week and I had been kind of mulling over the last few days of what the next episode would be and I kind of felt pressure because I had said that I was going to do two episodes a week and I wanted to honor what I said and I was talking to a girlfriend about it and I was letting her know. You know, I really wish that I would have recorded a few episodes before I published it, so I would have something to put out the first few weeks to give myself time to record more. But my sweet friend reminded me that I wanted this podcast to be completely spirit led and I wanted the episodes to flow organically. And I was so relieved when she reminded me of that and she said God wants this to be a blessing and not a burden. And she's so right. And with that I am putting this episode out for you today and I have prayed that the Lord would speak to you. And everything that I put out is because it's what he wants to say to you at the time, that he wants to speak it to you. So when a new episode comes out, I'm not just recording these episodes just to have content to throw out there. These are intentional. I wait and hear from the Lord. I ask Him what he wants to speak to His people, and so this is what came of that today. So, without further ado, I am going to release this episode out to you and as you listen to it or before you listen to it, just know that this is what God has on His heart for you right now in this season. So with that, here is our episode for today. I hope you enjoy it.
Speaker 1:So last week we talked about the Bible. We broke down the Hebrew Bible, the different sections, and we talked about what the scriptures actually looks like for Jesus and the disciples. And we also talked about the commandments not just the 10 commandments, but all of the commandments that are found in the Old Testament, and I hope that you learned something new there. I hope that you were given some food for thought and some things to maybe look into. So, in that same spirit, I thought that we would get into some more practical ways of your walk, the things that I talked about in the beginning, that I shared with you, that I wanted to do with you and for you. This podcast was what came about, because I wanted to come alongside the Christian mom. I want to share the things that I learned that helped me in my walk and helped me grow closer to the Lord I am now. I have read my Bible all the way through three times and every single time I have learned so many, so many more new things, and I just want to share with you the practical ways that I have learned how to become a daily reader of the Word and I've learned how to get that word into my kids and my husband as well, and it really, truly, has changed our lives. I don't mean that I'm not exaggerating and I'm not. It's real. The one thing that I can say that truly has changed our lives, has given us more peace, has given us more wisdom as becoming daily readers of the Word. Today I'm going to share the ways that we got there, the ways that we became daily readers of the Word and have been for three years consecutively.
Speaker 1:There are days that we miss. Of course, you know where we are human. We have our days that we miss and we get behind, but we always come back to it. We always come back to it. As a matter of fact, I have come to every time I go back to the Word. It's like going home for me when I'm in the Bible, when I'm reading the Bible, when I'm having it read to me, when I'm listening to it, it is like being home. It's like I'm hearing the story about my family, my descendants and the history of my faith and what I believe so strongly in. And so every time we open the Bible, every time we listen to it. That's what it feels like to me. It feels like going home, and I want you to feel that way in the Word. I want you to feel like it's your home and like it's your very life source, because that's what I feel. I know that every single question, every single hurt, every single worry and concern about your life and about living in the world that we're in today, every single thing that you need to know, is going to be found in the Bible. That's what God gave it to us, for. He gave it to us as a light, as a lamp to light our path, to show us the way to go, and that's what I want to pass along to you. So today, I'm going to share with you the practical things that my family and I did to consistently be in the Word and to stay in the Word, and I'll share those with you today.
Speaker 1:So what Derek and I did to begin with. Derek is my husband. We were introduced to this Bible study. It was on Facebook and it still is, and I'm going to share the name with you. It's too late to join now, but hopefully you can request and maybe join in next year. It is the thing that changed our lives forever. We will never be the same.
Speaker 1:After doing this Bible study. We committed to starting in January, at the beginning of January and starting at the beginning of the book in Genesis, and we were gonna read through the Bible the entire year, from Genesis to Revelation. And we did. We followed along with this plan. And it's a lady she reads you some of. Well, she doesn't read it to you, but you read the Bible on your own. It's usually like a chapter a day, sometimes it's more, sometimes less, but you read it and then she gives some of her commentary.
Speaker 1:And so what Derek and I would do is we started out by reading the Bible. So I took our Bible, we would sit at the kitchen table. We tried to do it in the mornings, but I am not an early riser. I have tried my hardest but I just can't. So it was too hectic in the mornings for us to do it. So we always did it in the evenings, usually after dinner and once the kids had kind of had their baths and they're a little bit settled after dinner and bath time, but before the bedtime routine. So we would sit at the kitchen table and we'd take our Bibles and I would read some days, and sometimes we tried to take turns reading, but I don't know it. Just I don't know how it happened, but one day we started we were like, oh, we can just let the Bible read to us. So we found the version that we wanted to on you version, the Bible app, and we had the Bible read to us. So we just press play and whatever chapter we were in, we let it read. So we could sit there and have the Bible read to us and all we had to do was just sit there and take it in.
Speaker 1:And then what we would do is, after the Bible reading, derek and I would talk about what we just heard. We would discuss everything that we just heard, whatever stood out to him, whatever stood out to me, and we would just talk about it. And you know, especially in the Old Testament, we committed to looking at it with a fresh set of eyes. We weren't going into it, you know, with any beliefs that we had. We were just like listen, father, we wanna know you, we wanna know you in the way that you want us to know you. So, whatever you have for us, we are here for it and we're just, we're coming to your word, and we just ask that you would speak to us however you want to, and that's how we went into it. So we knew that whatever we talked about, whatever stood out to us, was what God wanted us to see.
Speaker 1:And I am a big writer, I love journaling, so I would journal about the things that he brought to my attention, just to kind of think about it and mull it over and meditate on it. That's what we're supposed to do, right? So? And let me just tell you that those conversations that my husband and I had over that first year reading the Bible were, they were heated, and I don't mean, like you know, we were getting angry or we were fighting, but I mean we were seeing things that we had never seen before and we were grappling with it.
Speaker 1:There were things that we did not like, there were things that we did not understand and we were like God, how could you do this? But the one thing that I can tell you that we did, no matter what is, we always had the attitude that God, you are God. We may not understand why you did what you did, but we know that you are good, we know that you are loving and we know that your ways are higher than our ways and that you have reasons for doing things that we might not be able to understand, but we always vowed that we trusted him and that he is good and that he knew better than we did, and that reverence for God is something that I think it means a lot to him and I think it carries a lot of weight with him when you approach him that way, because he knows that you are gonna have hangups with some of the things that he's done and still does. There are things that I'm sure that you have happened or that you hear about happening, and you're like God. I don't get that Like. I just don't understand how you could let that happen. But if you can always have an attitude of you are God I am not, you know best and you are always good and I'm gonna choose to believe that, no matter what, no matter what my flesh wants to think. Those were the conversations that really changed everything and that really began to reshape how we saw God and the word.
Speaker 1:Another thing that we did when we started this whole process was there were times when we tried to show up to the word and the kids are running around being crazy and we kept getting interrupted. And that is gonna happen, especially when you are a busy mom and you've got kids running around. Just know you are not gonna find that perfect time to read your Bible. And know this that when you do start committing to reading the word especially if you haven't done it before, like that, the enemy is gonna come at you all kinds of ways to try to get you to not show up to the word. He's gonna try to distract you. He's gonna try to piss you off. He's gonna get your kids all up in your ears. He's gonna try to keep you from doing this. But, sister, please fight for that time in the word. Fight for it. Make sure that nothing gets in between you and that time in the word. And if you can do it with your spouse, that is even more powerful.
Speaker 1:You are also going to miss days. You are gonna get sick. Your kids are gonna get sick. You're gonna have things happen that you just you're, you're not gonna feel like doing it, or You're gonna go on vacation or something's gonna happen and you're gonna miss it. You're gonna miss it for a day. You might even miss it for a week.
Speaker 1:Don't give up. Come right back to it. You don't have to go back to where you were, just jump right back into where you left off and keep it moving. Just keep showing back up. That's the most important thing, is just to keep showing up. Don't let some days go by and think, oh man, you know, I've fallen off, I'm just gonna get no, no, no. That's what the enemy wants you to do. He does not want you to come back to the word. He wants to let more and more time go by until it's too late, until you don't have the opportunity to get into the word, or God knows what can happen. Do not let the time that you have now Stop you from keeping showing up to getting back in that word, because I'm gonna tell you, god says in his word that His word will not return to him void.
Speaker 1:When that word goes into you, it is going to produce a work in you. When you get that word in you consistently, what ends up happening is you end up being changed from the inside out. A lot of people have this mindset when they think that they have to clean up to bring themselves to the Lord. No, no, no. The Lord wants you any which way you come. He just wants you and he is going to do all of the changing. He is gonna change you from the inside out with his word. When you take in that word and you let it go in Every single day and do its work, it's gonna produce Amazing fruit in your life. It's going to produce peace, it's gonna produce wisdom Just earn me it's gonna produce love. It's gonna produce patience. Everything that you feel like you're lacking, it's gonna be found in the word and it's gonna be found in depositing that word into you every single day. So please, mamas, do not be discouraged. If you miss days, weeks, come back to it, because he's always gonna be waiting for you right there in the word.
Speaker 1:Now, when it comes to the kiddos, here is what we did with the kids. So, to begin with, we would try to have them do the same plan that we were doing. We would try to sit at the table and read the word with them, and it was, it was just too much. The kids, after a while they're just, they lose interest there, and then they start messing up the whole thing, right, like so not only are you, they're not getting the word, but now you're not getting the word because they've disrupted the whole thing. So I've prayed about it, right, and one day the Lord just said start in the beginning, just like you did, start in the beginning and Read a chapter a night with the kids. So I was like, okay, that's what we'll do. So we started doing that every single night, I started reading a chapter with the kids.
Speaker 1:We started in Genesis and that, and we've just continued along and let me just tell you guys, I am blown away At the fruit that it's produced and I'm. Let me just tell you, it took a really long time and there are so many nights and days that you feel like they're not getting anything. I promise you, keep showing up and keep reading that word to them. They are getting it. Even when you think they're not getting anything, I promise you they are. There have been so many times that I'm just so discouraged. I'm like, why, like, why are we even doing this? The kids they fall asleep while I'm reading. They start fighting with each other, they Just start playing and they're not paying attention and it frankly, it makes me mad and I just get discouraged and I want to give up.
Speaker 1:But then I'll have a teacher reach out to me and say Kobe brings up the Bible all the time in class. He was telling the kids this, sat in the other and I'm like what? What are you kidding me? And the Lord's like see I, I told you, I, you. All you have to do is be faithful to putting the word in, hit them and I will do the rest. He promises that the word will not return to him void. So if you're putting the word in your kids, I promise you you are gonna start seeing a return. And even if you don't, don't give up because they are getting something, I promise you they're getting something.
Speaker 1:At this point I am, and Derek and I are at the point now where it's just a note, like it's just a part of what we do every, every night. So get your Bibles. If you feel like a chapter is too long, do I have a chapter read like? Here's what I do. I just read the room, I pay attention to my kids and their attention and when I see that they're starting to lose the interest, I'll wrap it up. I'll say okay, that's it for tonight. We'll go over. You know we'll start next. You know we'll pick up where we left off.
Speaker 1:And I always ask them what spoke to you today. What took out the most to you today? Because whatever stood out to you is what God wants you to know right now. And when you tell them that, like the creator of the world wants to speak to them, they pay attention to that and yet they may not show, they may not have any reaction. That's gonna let you know that they're getting it. But I promise you, god wants to speak to your kids and he can only do that if you are Presenting the word to them. So be faithful Every day and get the word into your kids, and I promise you that God will do the rest. He wants to speak to your kids and he's got things to say to them and all you have to do is get that word in them so he can speak.
Speaker 1:And when it comes to figuring out how to get the word in them, I Find that simple as best. Just showing up in the living room together with just the Bible and you reading to them and then talking about what you've read, not only are you putting God's word into them, but you're spending quality, wholesome family time together, and that's a tradition that you can start with your family, with your kids, that you can carry throughout the rest of their lives, and they will want to do the same with their kids. So, no matter where you are right now and no matter how daunting it may seem, just start. Start tonight. Just say I'm gonna start at the beginning with my kids. We're gonna start at the beginning and we're gonna read through the whole Bible and I'm gonna let God speak to my kids. And I promise you there are gonna be nights that are gonna be crazy. Your kids are not gonna want to sit down and listen to the word, but the more you do it, the more they're gonna know. Okay, this is what we do every night and as long as you, mama, keep showing up and keep doing it, your family will follow suit.
Speaker 1:You may not, you may know this, and some of you may not. For those of you that don't get it yet, mama, you guys are the main influences in your homes, no matter what you may think. Yes, our husbands are the leader of our homes. He should be the spiritual leader, but sometimes that's just not the case. That was not the case in my home. I Was an, am, still am the spiritual leader of our home and I will be until my husband has gone deep enough into his walk with the Lord that that God leads him to be that spiritual leader. And, guys, I can tell you that that is happening. I see it in the works every single day.
Speaker 1:And it all started with Just showing up to the word every single day. It started by Derek and I Deciding that we would show up to the word every day and read it every day. We decided that we didn't just want to go through the Bible once, we wanted to become daily readers of the word, and I'm telling you that has been the biggest game changer in our lives, in our marriage, in our parenting, in our Relationships with other people being bosses in our business. The word of God has been the game Changer and I want that for you. I want you to be so secure in the wisdom that God has given you from reading the word every single day that cannot be taken from you, that will carry with you in every single situation that you find yourself, and God will provide the words that you need just when you need them. So please, don't be discouraged, don't just start. Just start today. Start today with yourself, start today with your partner, just you. The Holy Spirit, the Bible, let him teach you and see what happens.
Speaker 1:And Show up every day with your kids. Read that word to your kids every single day, no matter how hectic, no matter how crazy. Show up every single day and be that Light bearer. Be that light bearer in your home, be that influence that Turns your family to the Lord, that turns them to Jesus, that turns them to the word. And it doesn't matter how old your kids are. They could be super young and you're starting early, which is amazing. They could be teenagers and they may be scoffing and rolling their eyes, but if you are Consistent, if you keep Bringing it, they are going to finally realize.
Speaker 1:Okay, mom's, not. You know this isn't going anywhere and it will become the norm, but you have to keep showing up, keep bringing it. Do not stop when they fight you on it. Do not stop when they Just go so hard that you're so discouraged. Just keep showing up, keep being the one to bring it into them. And, mama's, I promise you he will be with you. He will cause this endeavor to prosper because he wants you in the word, he wants your family in the word. So he's going to be with you and he will sustain you. He will carry you through. Just don't give up, mama. Do not give up. Keep showing up with that word, keep putting that word into yourself and into your family and it will not return to the Lord void. So that's it. Those are my practical ways that I've gotten the word into myself, my husband and my family.
Speaker 1:I listen to it every single day. I've now, instead of just taking the Bible and Starting at the beginning and reading a chapter a day, we have actually found this podcast. It's called daily bread for busy moms. I will link it in the show notes. I listen to that every day and that has been the way that I've gotten my word in. It's very much In the hebraic roots. It's these women who live in Israel most of them live in Israel and they are bringing you the word of God from the land of God and they go through those Bible, the Hebrew Bible that I wrote down in those three sections.
Speaker 1:They go through that and they add the Gospels in to it, so I get a dose of all of the different scriptures. So I get the Torah which, as I taught you last week, were the first five books of the Bible. So I get that. I get the writings, like the Psalms. Then I get the prophet writings and I also get the Gospels and the Epistles, so all the letters that Paul wrote to the churches and all. So all of scripture from Genesis to Revelation. I get that in this podcast. So if that's something you're interested in, I highly recommend it.
Speaker 1:It's Daily Bread for Busy Moms. They also have a journal that you can use along with it. But you don't have to use that podcast, you can just go download the Bible app, download the U-version Bible app, and start the beginning and read a chapter a day or let it read to you. I do it in the car a lot, or sometimes when I'm cleaning, I'll pop my earbuds in and I'll just listen to it, and there's always something that sticks out to me and I'll just journal it. If I can do it while I'm listening to it, I'll do it then, but if not, I'll find some time later in the day to just sit and kind of write down the things that the Lord brought to mind for me and to think about. And, guys, it's just been such a life changer and there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about the word that it's become such a huge part of our lives. That it's all I think about. All I think about is the Bible and the word and Jesus and what he's doing.
Speaker 1:And when you start to, when you've read the Bible all the way through a few times, you really start seeing. Your life starts lining up with the Bible. It's the wildest thing. And then what's happening in the world? You know. You read in the word. God says that there is nothing new under the sun, that everything has already been done. There's nothing new. So that has always resonated with me. So when I see what's going on in the world today, I'm reminded there's nothing new under the sun. So you can learn a lot from watching the history of God's people and the cycles that they've gone to. It's the same cycle over and over and over again. You'll start seeing the pattern. I'm not going to share it with you because that's yours to find as you get into this, but you'll start seeing the patterns and it gives you so much wisdom as to what's going on now and what we might be facing to come. That's why I feel it's so important to be in the word, because if you're not in the word, then you're kind of you're lost in what's going on in the world today, so don't be lost. Please get that map for your life that you need for you and your family. So that's going to wrap up our episode for today.
Speaker 1:I hope that you enjoyed it, but before I send you off to go on your own journey in the word in this new year, I wanted to share a scripture that was shared with me a couple of years ago and it has never left me, and it's Isaiah 4011, and it says this he will feed his flock like a shepherd.
Speaker 1:He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. Did you catch that last part? He said he will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. That's you. He is going to gently lead you through this year and I just want you to hold that close to your heart throughout this new year as you go about your life and get yourself and your family in the word. Just know that he is gently leading you. That's it for today. I pray that God keeps you in his perfect peace today with you and your family, and I pray that you have a beautiful new year with the Lord and his word and we'll see you next time on the wide path. Dropout mama podcast you.