It's been an amazing journey & I'm so thankful I did it! The best "marathon" in my life. No, I'm not a runner, but I am running the race for the incorruptible crown, and that's all that matters. I'm seeing that more & more lately, & I'm so thrilled to have done this blessed event.

I did finish on time, but I just hadn't been here to update. I am done, though, and plan on doing it again in the future. Praise God for this most excellent challenge! :)

This past Sunday in church the speaker (whatever happened to the good ol' fashioned preachers? They are few & far between these days. Nowadays we hear speakers or are taught Sunday mornings, but rarely are we preached at these days. I heard a good sermon a few weeks back & wouldn't mind hearing more of them from time to time. :)) said something that makes total sense & something that I've really seen as I'm going through this 88 day journery.

The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed & the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.

I thought that was excellent, & I've seen it quite a bit whilst reading the Word lately. Somehow hearing that simply eloquent phrase really brought it to light. It hit me like a tonne (can't help my Canadianisms! :)) of bricks! Especially when it comes to the life of Jesus and all the prophecies that He fulfilled. Amazing! For even a small number of them to be fulfilled in just one man is incredible, but for all of them to have been fulfilled in one Man - wow! Impossible! But then God is the Master of the impossible, isn't He?

Taking verses from the Bible out of context to justify one's actions or thoughts or views, etc., is unconscionable and not something that should ever done. Each verse should be taken in the context in which it was written in order to get what God is saying and to understand what's being said, to see the story being told. God inspired the Bible the way it is and we must read it in its entirety. That's why it was put together the way it was, I believe. God wants us to spend time in it each and every day and to listen to Him speaking to each of us through it.

However, I also believe that a single verse or phrase can be used on their own to speak to us as well. I do not put together my thoughts on any subject just by what I read in one random verse or phrase, but, rather, I take encouragement from what's being said to me. If I only had time to read one verse in a day and it was something that I got something out of, than I feel that that's fine, too. Overall I read the Bible with the whole picture in mind and with each part in its place, but once on a while I'll find that certain verse or phrase or paragraph, etc., will pop out at me with something I really need from God at that time. Sometimes they don't seem to be what I need them, but they will come back to me at a later time and I'll realise why they stuck with me "back there."

Some people say that Job never questioned, never wavered through all the hard times, but I saw him question. He asked God why everything was happening to him. I really don't think that he would've been human if he hadn't questioned. I wonder if he was tempted to give it all up & to lose sight of God.

Still, Job never gave up his faith, & that's what this is all about. I truly don't think that God minds us questioning Him or what He's allowed to happen. I really don't! I think it's healthy to ask questions & to seek. Yes, some things must be taken on faith & some questions will never be answered, but I don't think seeking answers to things is wrong. God gave each of us brains & wants us to use them.

This morning I woke up exhausted, not wanting to go anywhere, least of all church. I nearly didn't go, but I forced myself to get dressed & to walk out the door. Thankfully the weather is gorgeous - finally! Warm enough to walk outside without having to bundle up completely. It's still nippy up here, but not freezing. I'm truly praying that spring has come & that we can all at least begin to thaw out up here in the Arctic! :)

I was walking to church &, suddenly, my back started to spasm & I was in agony. I pushed myself, though, praying desperatetly the entire time for God's strength & help & healing. He did not take away the pain then & I felt it hard to move.

Isn't it something....
....how God chose the Levites to be His family of priests, & yet Levi was not described in a very righteous way by Israel?
....how God kept hardening Pharoah's heart when He wanted His people free?
....how God allowed the magicians do many of the same miracles as Moses & Aaron, although gnats were the point where things became different?
....how God spoke through a burning bush but the thing was not consumed by the fire?
....how God used a stammering murderer to lead His people out of bondage into freedom?
....how God kept His covenant with His people, even though they kept grumbling & complaining & falling away?

I'm thrilled with the Word. Someone thought that wasn't the right word to use - "thrilled" - but it's appropriate. The Christian life is thriling. Serving God is thrilling. Being around other Christians is thrilling. Worship is thrilling! So, yes, I think that "thrilled" is the right word to use. I don't mean a cheap thrill, but, rather, something that is exciting & that I can't wait to see what happens next. Praise God for the Word! :)

Sarah must have been extremely beautiful, even in her elder years. Twice she & Abraham tricked people into believing that she was his sister & not his wife. Well, she was his half sister, but she was also his wife. They half lied about it, although they should have always told the truth. If they truly believed in God fully, would they not have trusted Him to protect them? Mind you, I know that it's easier to say they should have trusted then for them to actually have done it, methinks. In scary situations, trusting is not always the firs thing that comes to mind, although it should be.

Most men would not go after a woman who's extremely old like Sarah was the second time this happened, but she must have maintained her physical beauty for it to happen again. I know that back then people lived a lot longer, & so I'm sure that their age would not have shown the same way it does now. Even today many people do not look their ages. I knew a man who died when he was 101 or a little older. To look at him, he only looked to be in his '80s (when you work in a nursing home, you see people of elder age in a different way :) ).

Yes, I got a certain distance, & then I started slowing down. So now I'm starting this over so that I can do it right this time. I know I'll be going back over stuff I've read quite recently, but I don't care. I want to do this & know that I'm more than able to do so with God's help. So I'm starting over & will make it through this time!

I kept reading everyday - just not the amount that I would need in order to reach the goal. So I'm starting once again & will do it this time.

The Bible's full of all sorts of good stuff! It's amazing how God's love & provision shine through! I'm also amazed - again! - by the people God uses to serve Him. Forgive me for digressing a little here, but I haven't written here for a while. In judges, not all the judges were righteous people (like Samson), but God used him regardless. It even said in one verse that Samson's choice of a first wife was all part of God's plan.

Another digression, but I was also quite frustrated with the Israelites, not only in judges when they kept returning to their own ways & doing what they wanted, but in the Pentateuch when they did the same thing. Then they'd ask for God's help. At one point He didn't want to give it anymore, but finally He relented & gave in to their pleas.