HAPPY NEW YEAR!
On a really fun and must have note—I have a friend making dresses and bows to help fund their adoption! If you have a girly, have a niece, or you just want to help a family with their adoption–will you pretty please with ice cream on top…and a cheery—head over right now to her adorable site and get a dress, 2 or 3 for a little love in your life?! You can tell your hubby that it’s going toward an adoption—the dresses are custom made and you get to pick our your fabric and everything!!! Julie is also doing our read through the Bible this year…and I’d love to help her start her year off with a handful of orders to help her! And when you get your dress, love your dress and want more—you can find her link under my “mommying” tab on my home page. Check out her goods here: http://flitterbugs.blogspot.com
For those of you bravely joining in the commitment to read through the BIBLE in 2010…today—is our first read! January 1 – Genesis 1:1-3:24. To print off the entire year reading plan, please see the previous post.
And for those of you who haven’t read yet—oh my word…talk about some MEAT…some seriously good stuff…to start our year off with! These 3 short chapters are full of theology, explanation of why we are the way we are and amazement of God’s creativeness. Creation is one of the essential truths of the Christian faith. In these 3 chapters, non-believers will argue and deny almost every verse written. I mean, seriously–who wrote Genesis anyway? I mean…who was around to document the part before man was created? (See–you follow along with me this year in this chronological read through…and I’m gonna make ya think;) Well, lemme tell ya–some say Moses wrote it–we know as believers we believe the Word is God breathed. But who actually wrote it? Scholars argue the answer. The more important matter to me–is WHO believed and trusted it? Jesus did. In Matthew it is written: And he [Jesus] answered and said unto them, “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:4-6 (KJV) Maybe it was Moses–maybe not–Moses never claims authorship. BUT most likely it was a writer during that time. And can you imagine God laying that story on your heart and mind and telling you to write that?! For real—I would have been doing some double takes nailing those words on a tablet! Ok Lord—if you say so! Regardless who wrote it though, Jesus gives Genesis credit! And I believe in Jesus! I believe Jesus on this one. And that is enough for me. YET…it’s a great question and it might be fun for you to bring up just to make your spouse think;).
Back to Genesis. These 3 chapters…the first reading for our year…will rock your world when you really think about them. In just 3 chapters, you have CREATION…and as if that isn’t enough…you also have the first mention of the Trinity…unity of man and woman—the miracle of becoming one flesh…instructions to be fruitful and multiply…temptation…the beginning of sin…the curse of man, women and Satan…and being thrown out of the garden. WOW…told you we have some meat in the first day of our reading! SO…dig on in—rejoice in our Creator…His grandness and power!
Here are just a few things that stuck out to me in a new way…
Genesis 1:1-2 – If the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters—yet there wasn’t an Earth, there was no land—there was no sky even…just waters and the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the waters…what does that look like to you? What do you imagine the grandness of that to look like? HOW GRAND IS OUR GOD?
Genesis 1:26 – I love that God uses the word US here. He makes it a point in the very beginning that He is not alone in Creation. In the beginning was God—the Trinity.
Genesis 2:4 – Before verse 2:4, we only see God’s name as God. In verse 2:4, we are given another name of God – LORD. LORD with all caps translates to “Jehovah”. SO…any time you see LORD in all caps as we read through this year–remember it means Jehovah. Jehovah is often refered to as “God as Creator”. Jehovah is that name of God, which denotes that he alone has his being of himself, and that he gives being to all creatures and things (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary). Don’t you wish you spoke and understood Hebrew? I sure wish I did! Everything seems to have such deeper meaning when you dig into the Hebrew meaning doesn’t it?!
Genesis 3:16 – I thought it was interesting in the KJV how the curse of sorrow is seperated here—almost like women have a curse of sorrow AND pain in childbearing: Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Hmmm…is that why we are more emotional than men? WAAAAA! I’ll admit, I sure can be a roller coaster while my husband is so even keel! UGH. To think we could have lived a life without the curse of sorrow. Man, do I need Jesus all the more if I’m now created…preprogrammed this way!!!
And as for the pain in child-bearing…I am so thankful for epidurals—that’s my 2 cents on that one–YET…there was definite pain in recovery…and I definitely felt the curse of Eve in that one.
OK–don’t expect full commentaries on all our readings this year;). I’ll be doing good if I just post the reading each day! YET…I am SOOOO thankful for you sweet friends keeping me accountable! I am so excited to dig deeper in His word this year! 365 days of knowing HIM…our Creator…our Jehovah…the Trinity…more intimately. Oh how we need Him. The serpant saw Adam and Eve in communion with God and couldn’t stand it. Temptation came and they gave in. Let us hold TIGHT to the LORD and HIS WORD this year. The Lord is going to do great things this year—but procrastination, tiredness, busy lifestyles will all try to keep us from our commitments…I pray this year I can put the LORD and knowing Him FIRST. Let my house be dirtier if it means knowing Him more. I might not look perfect to the world–but the only One who really sees us…all of us…is the Lord–our Creator. The world will tell us we need to do things that the Lord would not…so let us aim to hear the Lord over the world this year. Speak to us Lord this year. Change our hearts. And let your glory be revealed.
I would LOVE to hear from you…your thoughts and even your prayers for 2010!
XOXO!
Andrea
by admin
Thank you. thank you Andrea 🙂 Oh, and tomorrow I am adding new patterns and some boys designs 🙂 Really excited about today’s reading!
Yes! I am in with you! What a great idea to use your blog to spur others on in this area!
Thank you for your insight! You are an inspiration! Here’s to a word-filled 2010!!!
Julie–I’ve heard from some friends that they have already purchased some this morning! YAY! Can’t wait to see the boy designs too:).
So excited to walk through the Bible in 2010 with you all!!!!
I love reading your blog and I LOVE the idea of reading the Bible in a year. I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile, and this is just the little push (and accountability!) I needed! Thanks for doing this, Andrea!
Day 1: Done! 🙂
First, thank you for the dresses link…I will check it out. You know how I love to help adoptive families.
Secondly, the kids and I read this first reading together. It is amazing absolutely amazing to think of total nothingness…then God begins his creations. Not only does he start creating…the earth, but every single detail about it too…not only does he create each animal, but he gives them complex systems of digestion, circulation, reproduction…THEN he creates man. Do you know how complex we are, yet to God so simple. I LOVE IT! I also love that he knew all along our need for Jesus…Oh how I need Jesus.
Blessings,
Amy
That is so good Amy! SO AMAZING! And wow…tomorrow’s reading—even more eye-opening how I need Jesus! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts about tomorrow’s reading!!!
Hi Andrea! Thanks for starting this…I’m totally in! It has been so fun to “get to know you” and a few other adopting moms through your wonderful blogs. I feel like we’re friends…though you don’t know me! The Lord is finally giving me the confirmation on getting back into blogging. Our adoption story is going to be an interesting one…and a long one. But God is so good and has been so faithful. I look forward to documenting just how GREAT He is through this process.
Again, thank you for the Bible reading challenge. I look forward to how the Lord will bless us, teach us, and move us this year!
Happy New Year!!
Ashley
These passages were filled with so much! I caught the “Us” in Genesis 1:26 too! They have always been. Another thing (out of so many) that I found very interesting is that Adam & Eve had a very personal relationship with God. Because it says that after they sinned they hid themselves, and God came to walk with them in the Garden of Eden. He actually was there in every sense. That’s one of the things we suffer due to the sin. Anyway, there’s so much there it’s hard to pick just a couple of things! Blessings!
I’m ashamed to say, it’s been a while since I’ve read about the creation! On the plus side, it made some things stand out to me in a whole new way!
For starters, in the first couple verses it talks about the spirit hovering over the surface of nothingness that would be the earth! Wow! Just trying to envision that over here! And from an artistic standpoint, imagine what joy it must have brought God to create every animal! I think of Planet Earth (since we own every DVD)…think of all the birds or all the undersea creatures! Wow! It used to be when I read this I would think about all the animals here, in Washington. That’s a lot! But now I am thinking of Africa, and all the beautiful creatures that roam the land there! I think about how their beauty inspires the décor in my own home – so really GOD inspires the décor in my home! Wow!
Another thing that stood out to me is that from the moment God informed Adam and Eve that they had sinned, he was already designating their roles as husband and wife. Eve will have the babies (yes, painfully) and Adam will work to provide a living (and no, it won’t be fun). We are paying the consequences for their actions. Although I’m sure any of us would have done the same, being born sinners and all.
And then I can’t help but think, every time I read this, what if Eve had never taken a bite?!? What would it be like to live in this world, never even realizing we were naked! I think, how embarrassing! All my cellulite and weight gain for the world to see! But, if we didn’t know we were naked, would we never be self-conscious?!?! Hmmm….something to think about!
And I just gotta say – did you notice that Adam was, in a sense, incomplete until God made Eve? I tell you ladies, they need us! =) Sorry, but I can’t be completely serious! It’s just not me! =)
—-I’m blogging about it to (this is straight out of mine) and linking back to your page! You are welcome to check it out if you would like, but it is a private sight so you would have to sign up with your email and create a password. http://www.rossientertainment.net
Thanks again for doing this!
Hi everyone. I have made the commitment with you guys to do the reading, I just joined a little late. I used to would shamefully admit this but my life has changed lately and now I’m letting Him lead me. I have never even read a whole chapter in the Bible but I won’t let that keep me afraid, nor will I be ashamed as I join your group. In the last couple of days as I prayed for understanding as I opened my Bible, I also couldn’t help but feel bad for not doing it sooner. I kept singing the song I learned as a kid…”in His time. In His time. He makes all things beautiful, in His time”! Wow! You can imagine the weight taken off my heart as I read the first sentences. He really DID make all the things beautiful, and it WAS “in His time”. Oh, guys, I’m soooo excited for what the future holds for me and I can’t wait to share my daily thoughts on the reading. Since I just started last night and only got through Genesis 10 (just through Jan 3rd’s reading), I have a lot of catching up to do. I had planned to do all of that last night. I mean, how HARD could it be? I had no idea. I found my self re-reading and soaking up every word!!