Category Archives: Personal Growth

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A New Bible Reading Plan – 9 Months Later

Back in January, I started a new Bible reading plan. I decided to use Professor Grant Horner’s system of reading through the Bible.

It has been incredible!

Bible

Allow me to give you a brief synopsis of the plan.

The Bible is divided into ten different reading lists: the Gospels, the Pentateuch, Major Epistles, Smaller Epistles, OT Poetry, Psalms, Proverbs, OT History, OT Prophets, and NT Church (including Acts, Romans, and Hebrews).

Each of these lists have differing amounts of chapters in them. When you read one chapter from each list each day, you’ll finish each list at different points. When you finish a list, you simply start it over. This means that you will never be reading the same ten chapters each day. Each day puts new scriptures together, drawing your attention to the comprehensiveness of God’s Word.

As I said, it’s been incredible!

Today, I finished the last chapter of Malachi, which is in the longest list. That means that I’ve read every chapter in the Bible this year. But at ten chapters a day, I’ve read much of it more than once. For example, the shortest list is Proverbs. I’m currently in my ninth reading this year of the book of Proverbs. Or the 62 chapters of Poetry… I started my fifth reading just the other day.

At this point, I’ve read more than 2500 chapters so far in 2012. With only 1189 chapters in the Bible, this plan has helped me read more in a shorter time frame than any other plan I’ve ever tried.

And I’m loving it!

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Sometimes It’s Hard To See Around The Bend

It’s been a crazy few months for the Randleman family.

We moved over a thousand miles from everything familiar. We’ve started working with a new church, moved into a new neighborhood, met new people. My day off has changed to a different day of the week. We’ve had to make new friends. We’ve learned our way around a new city.

And frankly, it’s been tough.

Tunnel Vision

I’m not saying it’s been bad. It’s just been hard.

Our schedules have been severely disrupted, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing either.

As a result, my writing has taken a considerable hit. And so has my reading. I haven’t read more than about six or eight books since we moved.

For me, that borders on scandalous.

I have some ideas to help me overcome this:

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12 Ways To Be A Great Dad (Or Mom)

This is part of the The Dad Toolbox series, providing tools and resources to be a great dad. Read more from the series!

My family is getting larger.

We are expecting our next child in January 2013.

My Family Walking

But with children comes responsibility. That seems so obvious, but so many dads have missed that somehow.

Let me say it again: With children comes responsibility.

A few weeks ago, I took some kids, including one of my daughters, to church camp. I watched a dad arrive with his son, unload the luggage, register, and then leave, all without taking his phone from his ear. The only time he even spoke to his son was after he failed his swim test. He pulled the phone away and growled “You’d better pass it tomorrow!”

As I got to know this boy throughout the week, it quickly became apparent that this was pretty normal in his life. He craved attention from the faculty, especially the men. From that one moment, it was easy to see that this boy had a father, but he didn’t have a dad. This man is failing his son, and he probably doesn’t even know it.

This is an area in my life where I do not want to be passive. I do not want to fail in this. In order to be a great father, I must be active and take the initiative in the lives of my kids.

I must be intentional.

And that means I must continually reinforce to them that they are one of my top priorities.

Here are some things I’ve found helpful in communicating that to my children.

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The Dad Toolbox

The Dad Toolbox

There’s an epidemic in America.

It’s true. Look around.

Father’s are failing to be the Dad their kids need them to be.

Some father’s just don’t care.

Others don’t know how.

And still others are just clueless.

My desire to to be a great Dad. I want my kids to know without a doubt that I love them. I want my kids to feel valued and encouraged by me. I want my kids to have a solid relationship with me all of their lives. And I want to teach and model to my kids how to have a solid relationship with God.

But that won’t happen unless I am intentional about making it happen.

And as I learn and grow in this area, I want to share that information with other dads.

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How To Gain Insight By Hand-Copying The Bible

When is the last time you took a good, deep look at the book of Proverbs?

I don’t mean a cursory reading, or finding the few verses you need when you want them.

I’m referring to a cose study that results in new understanding.

Proverbs Journals

That’s what I’m attempting for the rest of the year.

With the start of 2012, I started a new Bible reading system, by Professor Grant Horner. So far, it’s been a great fit for me. I’ve been more consistent than I’ve been in a long time, and I’ve experienced a deeper understanding of the inter-connectedness of God’s Word like never before.

For the rest of 2012, as I continue to work my way through this reading system, I’m going to add a deeper look at the book of Proverbs.

Here’s my plan. Each day, I will write out several verses of Proverbs into one of my favorite pocket journals. Armed with this in my pocket, within easy reach, I will examine each day’s verses several times throughout the day. If needed, I’ll consult a couple of good commentaries I have on the shelf. But since most of the Proverbs are common sense, simply meditating on them all day long should be sufficient to implant their wisdom in my head.

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Impacting The Future With The Past

Have you ever had one of those moments where you didn’t expect the day to be extraordinary, and God turned it into something extravagant?

Yesterday was one of those days for me.

JAARS Missionary

Sometimes God speaks from the past, teaching me about the present and giving me better insight into the future.

My oldest daughter and I departed yesterday morning from our home on the Gulf Coast of Florida for JAARS, a missionary recruiting and training center. I spent the first part of the week with 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade kids at church camp, and had enough time home the previous evening to wash some laundry and spend some time with the family.

Hannah and I got up and left at 4:00 am, anticipating a 10-12 hour drive to North Carolina. I expected yesterday to be a day of riding in the van, getting to know the people on the trip, and catching up on some lost sleep from camp.

It was all that, and more.

Upon our arrival at JAARS, they invited us to an ice cream social. Nothing big, right?

That couldn’t be further from the truth.

That little event may just be the biggest, life-changing moment of the trip for my daughter and I.

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Moving In A New Direction

My family is facing a huge change in the very near future.

We are moving halfway across the country, from the Missouri, in the Midwest, to the Gulf coast of Florida.

Heather and the Kids at the Beach

It’s been a crazy process; one that practically fell into our laps.

At the first of May, I will become the new youth minister of the Brooksville Christian Church, in Brooksville, Florida.

It all started when a friend mentioned a ministry position that he knew of. I thought nothing of it. We weren’t interested in moving away from Mountain View. But then the same position came across my Facebook feed, in a group of Christian church ministers that I am a part of.

So I asked for a few more details.

One thing led to another, and Mike, BCC’s senior minister, and I were talking on the phone. That resulted in a resume, which led to a phone interview, and was quickly followed by a face-to face interview with my family traveling to Florida for a week.

The rest is history, as they say.