NT in 90, The Sermon on the Mount, and other Bible Study tidbits...

In all honesty this has been such a miserable summer.

It has been SO hot and dry and well...miserable.

First of all, the normal underlying chronic health issues : this entire year has been a particularly challenging year for medicine adjustments and trying to 'balance the stack' so to speak (in other words trying to keep our heads above water).

Then : we had Covid.  And that was miserable.

For a while now : My mom hasn't felt good.  And I hate when she doesn't feel good.

I  am frustrated with myself :

I started the New Testament in 90 days with the full intention to see it through...but then I hit the book of Romans and all of the old questions bubbled to the surface.  WHAT DOES PAUL MEAN?!?! became the soundtrack playing in the back of my mind as I read each chapter.  And I remembered my study a few years ago and how when I read the book The Normal Christian Life I promised myself when I read through the book of Romans again I would take it slow with that book as a guide.  I also wanted to use Kari Denker's I Will Meditate series -  the one she made for Romans - and together with those two tools, study Romans in depth.  I reasoned that none of the girls that signed up to read with me were answering my emails anyway...so as far as I knew it was just me reading and I could take my time through the book if I wanted to....right?!?!  

Truthfully?  

I am disappointed in myself for not completing that goal.  I wanted to do a quick read through of the New Testament for a reason this summer...so I am going to continue my study of Romans (more on that in a bit), but I am resolved to finish what I started.  So with my birthday coming up, as a present to myself, I want to finish the New Testament read through by my birthday.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount and the book of Romans study:  I took a break after completing the first third of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones study.  It was such a mind-blowing study that I needed time to process what I learned.  And then I tried to jump back in a few weeks ago (has it been a month already?!?!) but it just didn't work.  Because once I hit the book of Romans I found myself slowing down to look up what a verse meant (the original Greek or Hebrew of a word), I also found myself pulling out my notebook to verse map/draw verses in diagrams trying to get to the root of the meaning of them, and then came Watchman Nee's book, and then Kari Denker's book...so I am going to need to complete Romans before jumping back to The Sermon on the Mount.  But I am looking forward to picking back up with Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

I am thankful that fall is on the horizon.  I absolutely love fall and winter.  I am so excited for pumpkins and the leaves to change color, to fall, and then that satisfying crunch on the ground.  I am excited to see the steam off of my coffee cup again.  I am excited for pumpkin spice candles and cinnamon flavored treats and the warmth of my favorite grey sweater.  I am so thankful God created a world where we have fall followed by winter and the hope of snow!