Accountability in God’s Word
This will be the place where, if you would like to be held accountable, you can be. You can read along with what I read or select your own reading plan. I would love for people to be able to find an accountability partner on here. Sometimes it is easier to hold someone accountable when you don’t know them and don’t have to look them in the eye. I would also love for this to be a place where we discuss scripture that we are reading. It is always such an amazing blessing when God speaks to us through His word and I especially love it when He uses the same scripture to speak to people differently(if that makes any sense 🙂 )! To start us off, I will reply with what I am reading and if you would like to hold me accountable you can always just reply, “Hey, have you done your reading today?” Trust me when I say I don’t mind at all, I need to be held accountable. Hopefully as more people join and leave comments then people can pair up either on their own, or I could help, to have an accountability partner. You could e-mail back and forth or message each other on Facebook or Twitter. However you wanted to communicate. Even on here, if you wanted to, but if you were going to partner up you might want to make it a little more personal or private and that’s great too! I would like to know just for informational purposes if it is working out for you. Remember, our stories/testimonies of encouragement can always be used to reach someone even though we may never know it. May God bless you today in whatever you are reading!!
Jesusgirlz 
I am currently going through and trying to read the books of the bible that I have not read at all yet. I am a bit of a nerd, so I created a spread sheet and I am just going by which ever book is the shortest that I haven’t read yet comes first. I know this is a completely ridiculous system but it was something different and it is working. I have actually made it through all of the New testament books that I haven’t read except Revelation. I am a little intimidated by Revelation so I decided I would go ahead and read back through the gospels so I am currently in Mark. Tomorrow I will be on Chapter 7&8. In the Old Testament tomorrow I will be starting Hosea Chapters 1&2. Then I am also reading a Proverb a day for the month of August so tomorrow I will be on Chapter 28. I am also doing to same thing for Psalms and will be on chapter 28 as well. Basically, I try to read two chapters of old testament and two chapters in the new testament then one Psalm and one Proverb. Now, let me also say that I am currently not working right now so this is a doable plan for me but when I return to the working world I will more than likely modify this plan a little bit. Anyway, like I said you pick whatever plan/reading works for you and just do it. And if you would like me to hold you accountable, all you have to do is let me know.
While I have been avoiding the blog, I haven’t been avoiding the reading. I really have been so blessed with this time off to be able to spend a couple of hours with Him each morning reading devotionals, his word, praying, and praising Him for all He is doing! I strongly recommend you finding at least 30 minutes each day to spend with Him. Honestly I don’t care when you do it but I will say I notice a HUGE difference in my attitude and my day in general when I spend time with Him first! In fact, I am anxious about going back to work because I am NOT a morning person, in fact I may rise at 5:00 am but I do not actually begin to function well until about 10am and I have learned there is not amount of caffeine that changes this behavior :/. Anyways, I will make a plan to keep my reading at the beginning of the day and we’ll see what happens….Right now because I have been avoiding the blog so long I am through with Mark, Hosea, & Proverbs. I am still reading through Psalms and have completed Songs of Solomon & Lamentations. I am now reading through Luke and will be on Chapter 15 tomorrow, I just began Ecclesiastes today so I will be on Chapter 3 tomorrow, and then I will be on Psalm 41 tomorrow as well.
I am going to share with you what God opened my eyes too today as I was reading;
Ecclesiates 2:10 & 11: (This is Solomon talking)
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet, when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
I am ashamed to say that I have been struggling with God’s answer to my prayer for a job. You see, often we don’t even realize what we have turned into an idol and then God gently reveals it to us and that is exactly what has happened to me over the last week. I have prided myself on how hard I have worked and my accomplishments over the years. You see, I have pretty much been taking care of myself(so I like to think) since I was about 16 years old. My parents divorced when I was 13 and single parent incomes don’t go very far. Honestly, I felt like most people around me(family & friends included) really didn’t think much of me, they thought I would be pregnant when I was 16, and never really amount to much of anything. What they didn’t realize was I had this huge drive in me to prove them all wrong. Not only did I have that, I also had a loving God on my side that protected from so many horrible things that could have happened to me and I always knew He was the one who saved me when I started drowning but I would never turn my life completely over to Him. However, that being said I have worked since I was fifteen years old. I worked two jobs while I was in high school then headed off to college with the same determination. Then real life started happening, my mom lost her job and I wasn’t able to keep going to the school I wanted to go to so I just quit going to some of my classes and applying myself because I knew I wasn’t going to be abel to go back the next semester. After throwing myself a little pity party I refused to give in a let all those people be right about my future. So, we moved to a new town and I started applying to banks thinking I would make a career for myself and once again prove all these people wrong. And that is exactly what happened, thanks to a cousin that happened to work for one of the banks I applied for I started out as a teller. I also decided I would go back to school and get my degree just because I felt like I was once again proving to these people that I could do the things they thought I couldn’t do. So for the next several years of my life I worked full time during the day and went to school at night. There were several ups and downs and moving all arounds because I wasn’t depending on God I was depending on me. So, I worked my way up through the banking world, Teller, CSR, Loan Specialist, Assistant Branch Manager, and then a Credit Analyst(because I finally got my accounting degree in the midst of all those chaotic years, after I got married and had a baby). Anyway, the reason for all this back story is because God answered my prayer with a job that will pay basically what I was making when I first started working as a teller all those ten years ago. And when I first realized that this was the job God wanted me to have it just devastated me. Again, I am still ashamed for feeling this way, I just felt like I had worked so hard and overcome so many obstacles and proved myself so why was I having to start all the way over. The truth that rings through in this verse in Ecclesiastes is that all that “hard work” was nothing more than chasing after the wind and the reason is because I was chasing after myself and approval of others. I wasn’t chasing God’s plan for me I was chasing my own selfish achievements and desires to prove myself to people who probably don’t even think about me. I think what has bothered me the most about this is that I really want what Jesus wants for my life, whatever that may be, and I have come to the realization that while my hearts desire is Jesus, my flesh wants what this world wants. It is a constant spiritual battle that we have to be ready for at all times. I am thankful to God to be in a place where I am more prepared for the battle today than I was even a year ago! Still, I allowed the devil to use this against me for a week, beating me up, throwing myself a pity party, etc. and then asking for forgiveness everyday for my weakness. I am so happy to say that God is bringing me through it with this Ecclesiastes verse and then also with Luke 12:22-34 where Jesus is warning people about worrying and how we are much more to Him than the lilies and the ravens and He takes such good care of them so wouldn’t he do even more for us? And the last verse really gets me “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” So wherever you are putting your faith, time, effort, money, accomplishments, your “treasure” that is where your heart is…Not with Jesus, but with your treasure and we all know that in the end those “treasures” will fade away. I want to end with this because this is were I am today….Asking myself this question: Are you where Paul was in Phillipians 3:8?
Phil 3:8 – (Paul Talking) What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ.
I really thought I was here, but God showed me I still have things that I don’t even realize I am holding onto….the good news is He is always working on us changing us and growing us in ways we never thought we could or would grow. Are you letting Him do His work through you or are you still holding tight to your treasures?