I knew this day was coming. But that does not make this post any easier.

It has officially been 90 Days since the start of the challenge. Several of you have inquired as to how my reading was coming along after my confession. Your concern warms my very heart and soul.

I did not finish. Not even close. If I explain my reasons, do they simply sound like excuses?

Life over the course of the last three months has been unexpectedly challenging. I started out full of passion and dove into God’s word like never before. It was a breath of fresh air. But then my lack of sleep put me a little behind. Then a little more. I was determined to get caught up.

But I never did get caught up on sleep. Colin wakes every. single. night. to nurse a minimum of two times on a good night. Sure, I could let him cry. My last baby, I desire to savor each moment with my little guy, even at three in the morning. Since he has a particularly hard time eating any solids, and refuses a bottle or cup, I have practically been his only source of nutrition since his birth over eleven months ago. So I nurse him back to sleep. There are fewer tears this way, for both of us. But I am weary.

I suspect my exhaustion has something to do with the unwelcome visitor that recently crept back into my life. Depression.

Admitting this right here on my blog is not easy. I strive to encourage and uplift. And I don’t often get too… personal. But perhaps you know this visitor as well. And perhaps you feel alone. The lies it tells are all too convincing.

A struggle on and off for many years, depression pulls me away from God when I know I need Him most. These last few months have been particularly low for me. I continued to blog, a welcome escape. But my Bible sat untouched. And the guilt grew.

It is my hope that sharing this with the world will be my first step on the road to better days. With an upcoming move, a very active almost-one-year old, and a husband who is often traveling, I know I must beat this. I am taking things one day at a time.

My Bible is waiting. I know I will not finish it in ninety days during this season of my life. But thankfully God’s word is eternal and unchanging. Reading it cover to cover is still a major goal. But for now, I meditate on this scripture:

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

To see how others experienced the Bible in 90 Days Challenge, and learn more about the upcoming Summer session, visit Moms Toolbox.

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Three weeks into January, and I have not posted a single update about the Bible in 90 Days Challenge. This is not for lack of interest or commitment, but rather my inability to put into words all that I am learning.

I must also confess that I am behind in my reading. By several days. It pains me to even type those words! But I am not at all considering giving up thanks to Amy and her tough love. And thanks to all the wonderfully encouraging women on Twitter who remind me every day why I am doing this and why I love this community.

I am still plugging along, bit by bit. And I will get caught up. Maybe not right away, but that is alright. I am learning and loving God’s Word on a whole new level. Some days leave me scratching my head and others leave me basking in the love of my Savior.

If I may share my little excuse for getting behind. This little stinker… does. not. sleep.

9 months old in his new beanie from Mimi's Babies

About 3 weeks ago, Colin decided to give up his 3rd nap. And then he decided he wasn’t really interested in solid food anymore. And then he started cutting his upper teeth. This has all led to many sleepless nights and one very tired mama. Sigh.

The other night, my husband found me like this:

The pictures says it all, right? My hubby of course thought it was hilarious so he snapped this with his Blackberry.

I wasn’t planning to post this photo but a few blogging pals insisted. You-know-who-are. Perhaps my bed is not the best place to read my Bible, huh?

I know that in order to get back on track, I must get more sleep. So if you have any tips for this tired, co-sleeping, nursing, has-tried-everything-in-the-book mom, I am all ears!

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In just a few short days, we will begin an adventure together. Of all the goals I have for the new year, reading the Bible in 90 days is by far the biggest. And most likely the most life-changing.

I must admit I am apprehensive about this commitment. With the full support of my husband, daily encouragement from Amy, and my wonderful readers who keep me accountable, I know I have every chance of succeeding. But there is still this nagging fear of failure in the back of my mind.

Amy wisely asked her readers: what’s your time trade off?

As you get ready to begin reading on January 1, what is it that your hour-ish daily reading time will replace? Will it be sleep? sit-coms? leisure reading? web-surfing?

I know the answer for me without hesitation: computer time. To accomplish this goal, I know my laptop must. stay. shut.

Amy also gave a little background on how this program came to be. This inspiring testimony really hit home for me. The creator, Ted Cooper, is a former agnostic who decided to read through the Bible in 90 days to answer some questions. Half-way through the Old Testament, he became a Christian.

I am actually a former atheist myself. And that story is for another post, another day (maybe).  However, I have never read through the entire Bible.

Because I had little exposure to the Word until adulthood, there are chunks of the Bible I know I have never laid eyes on. Although I am already deeply committed to keeping the Kingdom first in my life, I can only imagine this will deepen my passion and knowledge.

I do want to stress that anyone can participate in this challenge, with any Bible.  You can print out this bookmark reading schedule to keep you on track.

Amy does mention that a major component for successfully completing the Bible in 90 Days Challenge is using the official program Bible. You can still obtain one here or also on Amazon. There are also a limited number of scholarship Bibles available for those who truly wish to participate but are not be able to purchase one.

There is one other option you might consider- iTunes. The Bible in 90 Days is actually available as an audio book download for $2.95 per week. I will probably supplement my reading occasionally with this option during my busier weeks.

If you are a blogger participating in this challenge, be sure to officially sign up here to become part of the online community at Moms Toolbox. You can also join in the weekly Twitter chats for support and discussion on Monday nights, 8-9pm CST (note the change of time) by following the #B90Days hashtag.

I am so excited to embark on this journey! I can’t think of a better way to begin 2010, can you?

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*Update: Congratulations to commenter #115, Alex! I have emailed you for your shipping info.

With less than 2 weeks until the start of my biggest challenge yet- reading through the Bible in 90 Days- I am thrilled to offer a giveaway of the following:

:: (1) Bible in 90 Days Bible (NIV translation)
:: (1) Bible in 90 Days Participant’s Guide

One lucky reader will receive the materials above in time to start the challenge on January 1st. There is still time to order the books as well.

Some readers mentioned that they would like to participate, but prefer a different translation. That is completely understandable! Thankfully, our leader Amy has provided a reading schedule and tips for completing the challenge with your own Bible.

Download the reading schedule

Like I said, yes, you can read a different Bible. And if you choose to do that, I still would love to help you accomplish that goal. Feel free to download and print this handy bookmark reading schedule and check off the days as you read. The bookmark lists page numbers for the plan Bible and scripture start and stop points you can use with any Bible.

There is also an optional one hour twitter chat tonight, December 21st, from 9-10pm CST. Details here.

For a chance to win:

1. Leave a comment below:  Have you ever read the Bible cover to cover? How did it go?

If you are reading via email or in a reader, please click through to the post to enter.

For Bonus Entries (leave a separate comment for each):

2. If you are a subscriber or follower (thank you!), leave a comment. You may subscribe for free updates via RSS or email and leave a comment telling me you have done so.

3. For a third entry, share this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter.

This contest will close on Wednesday, December 23rd at 11pm CST. The winner will be selected by random.org and contacted via email. Contest open to US residents only.

Good luck, and thank you for entering!

Disclosure: I received the materials above to participate in the challenge.

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My readers know how much I love a good challenge. A $5 Challenge… a Giving Challenge. But this one is the biggest yet. A challenge to read through the. entire. Bible. in 90 days. Whew!

I have never actually read through the Bible in its entirety, and I know it’s a lofty goal. But with a special Bible, a reading schedule, and an entire online community supporting this task, it can be done. And with Amy (why are there so many bloggers named Amy?) leading the way starting January 1st, I can’t think of a better time to do so.

In Amy’s words, a guest post:

Have you ever thought about reading the Bible… the whole thing, from start to finish?

I thought about it for years, and even attempted a few times on my own, before I discovered Bible in 90 Days, joined a group at my church and read the whole thing without stopping, cover to cover.

I was so blown away by the experience that I offered to facilitate it at my next church and have since facilitated several more times, trained facilitators and now plan to host an online community via my blog, MomsToolbox.

If you have ever considered reading the whole Bible, I cannot recommend strongly enough that you join me January 1- March 31, 2010, as I read and blog through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, bit by bit, in order, every day.

If you would like to join our online community, here’s what you’ll need to do:

• Plan to set aside about an hour each day from January 1- March 31 for an incredibly enriching experience.
• Get your hands on a Bible in 90 Days Bible (only $14.39 on Amazon) or from your local Christian bookstore.
• Consider also purchasing the Bible in 90 Days Participant’s Guide which offers weekly questions for you ponder to gain more insight from your reading. (I’ll be using these questions for our weekly Twitter meet-ups.)
• Consider purchasing the Bible in 90 Days Essential Bible Companion, which offers a snapshot of information to help you make it through each week’s reading without getting distracted by researching on the internet.
• Bookmark my site, www.MomsToolbox.com, and plan to visit January 1- March 31 after you have completed each day’s reading to see what I learned and report in that you have read for the day.
• Follow me on Twitter (@MomsToolbox) and plan to be on Twitter every Monday night of the program from 9-10 CST (much like a study meeting—just online!) when we can ask and answer each other’s questions. Use and look for the #B90Days hashtag for our group discussion (not required to participate).

I would bet some of you are asking “Why this particular Bible?” Here’s why:

The official Bible in 90 Days Bible is an NIV Bible, so it is an easy-to-read direct translation. This edition has large type, minimal footnotes and indicates where you should start and stop reading each day. Sure, you could accomplish this goal using your own Bible, but the statistics point to a huge success ratio for those using this official Bible… and not so much success for those who choose to use a different one. And don’t you want to succeed this time?

Although we won’t be meeting in person, my prayer is that via almost-daily online communication on my blog, as well as on Twitter we can still hold each other accountable, helping each other to accomplish our goal to read every word of the Bible attentively in 90 days.

I’d love to encourage you in this endeavor. It has been life-changing for me.

I cannot express how much reading the bible in 90 days has helped me with every study I have participated in and every sermon I have heard since then. I now know the context of the stories. I know where to find them… and I can clearly see how they are related. And to read about Christ and the fulfillment of countless prophesies just after you’ve read about those prophesies is amazing!

If you’re up for the challenge, I’m up for encouraging you every step of the way.

Pray about it. Think about it… And click on over to MomsToolbox.com to let me know if you’d like to join in the challenge and to learn more. But do it soon so you’ll be ready to start 2010 in His Word… all of it!

Hope to see you there!

** If you still have questions, plan to follow me on Twitter and join me for our first Twitter chat this Monday, December 21 from 9-10 CST. I’ll be there ready to chat about the program and would love to answer any questions you may have.

Alyssa here: When Amy first approached me about participating, I knew this was a great fit for my blog and my new perspective. One of my blogging goals for 2010 is incorporating more of my faith into my writing, along with coupons and deals, of course. But I was not sure if I could accept this challenge. I know myself. My evenings are hectic. Between the house, the kids, my marriage, and my blog, my life is jam-packed. And that’s exactly why I NEED this challenge. I need accountability. I need more of God’s Word in my life.

So… I accept. {gulp}

Are you in?

Stay tuned for an upcoming giveaway of the materials needed to participate. I hope you will join me!

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