Saying "Why"...

After yesterday's post, I waited for something BIG to happen. Not sure what; an appendicitis attack, a fire, pestilence, plague... SOMETHING. But the strangest thing that did happen was how smoothly the day went. I wrote the post at midnight and went to bed. I got up in the morning, and after getting ready, I went in to the bug hunter's room and prayed over him. I've been doing that throughout the school year but slacked off over the break (mainly because he got out of bed before my sack-hound self most mornings; I do love me some sleeping in!). He ended up being the best he's ever been at church; usually, he needs paper and pencil or a book to get him through the sermon. Not yesterday; no, he sat and listened in rapt attention as the pastor talked about hard times, and asking "Why", and what you need to do to get the answer. And seriously, almost every song that the praise team sang had some reference to how God stays the same from yesterday through today to tomorrow. It was beginning to feel like "deja vous", and I wondered if someone had peeked at my blog entry to plan the service. Then, I went to my ladies class, and we talked about sorrow and suffering, and how Godly sorrow and suffering are purifiers that bring you closer to God. I think maybe God is pounding a few things into my feeble old brain, and I suppose I'd better be taking notes. One thing that I did pick up from the sermon was an idea for reading the Bible this year. I've read through the Bible in years past, and some years I've used study guides or devotional books to keep me focused in certain areas. But Pastor Ken mentioned that Billy Graham had read a chapter of Psalms and a chapter of Proverbs every day of his life. There are 31 chapters of Proverbs, so he read that book 12 times a year. And I realized that I'd read a lot of good advice in Proverbs lately and that I'd never really, DEEPLY focused in on a book of the Bible for a long period of time. So, I've now decided that I will read a chapter from Proverbs every day, with an extra chapter or two a day at the end of the shorter months. And, to make it more interesting, I'm going to use my NIV/Message parallel Bible, so I'll read each chapter twice in a day, once in each translation. That will be 24 readings of the book of Proverbs by the end of 2009. Considering the book's emphasis on wisdom and truth, I think it will fit in nicely with my resolution to live by Phil.4:8.
And now, please excuse me as I go upstairs and focus on the good of straightening out one's household after a 2 week break! Oh, by the way, the pastor's catch-phrase for asking "why" comes from Andy Stanley: "To understand why, submit and apply". I'm taking notes....