4 Tips to Help You Read the Bible in a Year
2022 is just around the corner, and while you can certainly read through the Bible in a Year any time, a fresh new year always feels like a great time to start!
Whether you’ve already tried before and failed, or are diving in for the very first time, here are some common struggles and helpful tips as you read through the entire Bible this year!
One of the biggest reasons people give up on the Bible in a Year is that they fall behind. Watching missed days add up can feel discouraging and lead people to give up and just try again next year. And if you don’t already have an established Bible reading routine, it can be easy to forget!
Tip #1: Pair your daily reading with your daily planning!
Our Scripture Lettering Planner has daily Bible in a Year readings pre-printed in the corner of each day for you to see as you plan your week. This will help keep your daily reading top of mind each day throughout the year.
Tip #2: Try tracking your progress by day number instead of date
In the back of our Scripture Lettering Planner, you’ll find a page with each day’s reading listed by day number instead of date. Tear it out & stick it in your Bible to keep with you at all times, and fill in the check-boxes to visually track your progress! This will help keep you focused on forward-progress, and make the number of days you fall behind less obvious.
Another common struggle for many people is making it through the Old Testament.
Since most Bible in a Year reading plans have you read through the Bible chronologically (which certainly has its benefits!), that often means you spend the first three quarters of the year solely in the Old Testament. With the OT’s seemingly strange laws, sacrifices, and writing styles, it’s easy to become confused, unmotivated, and discouraged—leading many to give up!
Tip #3: Follow a Reading plan with both Old & New Testament Readings every day
The reading plan featured in our Scripture Lettering Planner pairs both Old & New Testament readings each day for 6 days of the week, and just a Psalms reading once a week. This will help make your daily reading feel less dense, encourage you with the New Testament’s familiarity, and remind you of how the entire Old Testament points to Jesus as you simultaneously read about the life of Christ!
Last, many people struggle with the motivation to open their Bible day after day. Unless you already have a habit of daily Bible reading, it can take time to start to see the fruit of this daily habit develop.
Tip #4: Pair your daily reading with something fun to look forward to each day!
To help keep me motivated the first time I finally read through the Bible in a Year, I created a small piece of hand lettering in the margins of my Bible with my favorite verse I read that day. I already loved lettering, so it was a fun thing to look forward to each day as I opened my Bible. It also became a method for remembering & meditating on what I read!
With our Scripture Lettering Planner, you can trace over a small piece of hand lettering each and every week to go with your readings! Feel free to copy them into your own Bible for extra practice & meditation.
not sure you’re ready to read the Bible in a year this year? No problem.
The Planner can still be a great fit for you!
Use the daily readings as prompts on days when you don’t know where to open your Bible to that day or are in between reading plans. Use the 60+ traceable lettering pieces to memorize scripture throughout the year and to be reminded of God’s Word as you plan and dream for “such a time as this…”