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| Bible on the Parlour Table, in the Evening, at Mrs. White's Vermont Home. |
Last month, my husband and I finished reading through the entire Bible together. This was the first time my husband had read, or heard, the entire Bible. It took us four and a half years. It was such an incredible blessing to have this precious time of Bible reading, each night, for such a long period of time.
We started doing this shortly after his injury. He had been in a frightening accident that caused permanent damage and his permanent disability. We spent a great deal of time going to physical therapists, seeing specialists, and attending many doctor appointments. One night I offered to read the Bible to him. I read a short chapter in Psalms. We did this again the following night. Soon I was saying a short prayer after the reading. Then I asked if we could sing a hymn from one of our hymn books. He agreed.
Eventually, my husband was the one saying the prayers. Soon he was picking out his own Bible passages to read to me. Then he selected 1 to 4 hymns, each night, and we sang together. Over a period of several months, we established a precious routine of Bible time, which went like this:
1. I read, out loud to him, one to two chapters in the Bible (with the intention of reading through the entire Book to him.)
2. He read a chapter out loud, that he had selected from the Psalms.
3. We sang hymns from our hymn books.
4. Later, at the end of the day, he said a prayer out loud - every single night.
If any of our grown children happened to be visiting with us, at the time of our evening devotions, they would sit with us and listen, or join in the singing.
There were some difficult days when I had to be away from home. (This would be for an overnight trip to stay with one of our grown children.) I would call my husband on the telephone, at the appointed time, and he would read a Psalm to me over the phone. Then he would pray. It was so comforting.
A few months after we established our Bible routine, I would have a prayer request
before the evening prayer. I would say, "One of the grandbabies has a
cold." or "I am not feeling well." or "I am scared or worried." He
would include this concern in his prayers. The Lord heard our prayers
and our faith grew stronger.
In all of the four and a half years of doing our evening Bible time, we only missed one night. This was because I was having a rough day. I was not in a good mood. I let this ruin my day. I said to my husband, "I do not want to do Bible time tonight. I am going to bed." Then I cried myself to sleep because I was so miserable, feeling like I was missing out on our beloved time of Bible reading. I felt terrible. From this, I learned to keep my moods in check, and get over a bad mood quickly, so I would never miss our evening devotions again. It was a difficult lesson, but one I learned very quickly.
On other nights, I would be very sick in bed. I could not sing or talk without coughing. On those nights, my husband would sit in the rocking chair beside my bed. He would read a chapter to me from his Bible. Then he would sing a verse or two of one of our favorite hymns. We were determined never to miss a night of Bible reading, even if one of us was sick.
There were times when the days had been stressful and the hour would get late. On these days we would simply read something like Psalm 23 and then sing one hymn. On better nights, I would read several chapters in Psalms, or nearly all of the book of Esther or Ruth - in one sitting. But our usual routine was for me to read 2 chapters, in order, to accomplish our goal of reading through the Bible. Then my husband would always select a Psalm to read to me. After this, he would pick out four hymns.
When we started doing this, my husband did not know that many hymns. He was familiar with "Amazing Grace" but not much more than that. Every now and then, I would suggest a new one and sing it for him. He learned many hymns in this way, and found many favorites. He marked the ones we know in his own hymn book. He now has 23 hymns marked in his book. He has memorized every single one of these.
Sometimes, as we go about our day, in different rooms of this old house, I can hear my husband singing one of the hymns as he goes about his chores. I am so grateful and blessed to hear this.
His faith and wisdom have grown tremendously over the last four yeas. There were times I felt troubled about some trial or difficulty. My husband was able to direct me to the Lord, with a reminder of something we had read in the Bible. Or he would mention a verse from one of the hymns. This would give me courage and peace!
Last month, after we finished reading the entire Bible, we started again in Genesis. Our goal is to read the entire Bible in about 2 years. But there is no rush. The purpose is not to have pressure or meet an unrealistic goal. We may not make it within the 2 years. But we will continue on, night after night, year after year, to the best of our ability; Even if we have many nights of only reading a chapter in Psalms.
I created a Bible chart that I use and thought some of you might like a copy of it. It is in a PDF format and can be downloaded for FREE:
Here is the page - "
Bible Reading Chart from The Legacy of Home Blog."
I hope you are able to do your own version of daily Bible time in your own home. It has made an incredible difference in our lives.
Blessings
Mrs. White
From the Archives -
Always Remember -
The House Comes First.
Happiness in Marriage -
Serving Mister.
The Greatest Use of Mother's Time -
A Humble Parlour as a School of Theology.
Find Home-keeping Inspiration, and Encouragement
in Mrs.White's book
-Mother's Book of Home Economics .
Paperback, 312 pages.
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