12 Minutes

12 minutes. What can you do in 12 minutes a day?

I can easily waste 12 minutes (and lots more than that if I'm not careful.) Just sit me down in front of the computer and I can start reading blogs (not that that's wasting time! I love reading and learning and laughing and crying with my blogging friends) or surfing the internet and pretty soon, I've wasted a lot of time.

Daily time in God's Word. It's something that is a high priority in my life. It's from His Word that I gain strength, wisdom, peace and more. "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12.

Do I go to the His Word daily? Do I open the pages of my Bible every day? Well, depends on when you ask. 2009 has been a great year. But, sadly, I have had dry spells where I don't drink in His Word for days at a time. I come up with all sorts of great excuses, but there really is no excuse.

Soon after Ellen, our eldest was born, I knew that I wanted to teach her God's Word and teach her to walk in His ways. But I also realized that I had never read the entire Bible. Certain passages and books I had ready many, many times, but I had never gotten the entire picture, cover to cover. So I committed to reading the entire Bible (it took me 2 years) and I was amazed at all that God has to say! Wow! I loved it! What an amazing divine plan He has for us. Okay, I'll be honest, Leviticus got a bit tough at times. But I now had a complete picture of God's Holy Plan. There is some amazing stuff in there. There is also a lot of stuff I still don't understand which I continue to pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to me.

Every few years I begin again. January 1, 2009, I began again with hopes to finish by December 31st. Although, I'm not going to be legalistic about plowing through. If it takes longer, no big deal. I'm using a plan now that has me read about 3 chapters of the Old Testament and about a half of a chapter from the New Testament every day. And it only takes 12 minutes a day. That's it. Just google 'one year bible plan' or something like that and you'll get a ton of choices. Every time I start over I choose a different way to read through. I like variety.


I like having a journal and pen with me as I read for the day. I can jot down a verse or prayer or thought or question that comes to mind. That lengthens my time beyond 12 minutes, but that's okay. When I have the time, I journal a lot and pray as I go. Other days, I just read and then noodle on what I've read the rest of the day. (Or as I drift off to sleep, as sometimes I read it before bed, although, I much prefer first thing in the morning if a little one hasn't awoken first in the morning.)


12 minutes a day. That's all it takes. Really.