Yes!
I have completed several challenges in different formats:
One year, I joined with a few friends online to read the Bible using A Woman’s Guide to Reading the Bible in a year by Diane M Stortz. This has six weekly readings, a short reading explaining the events of the week’s readings, and three questions to answer. Our small group then had a virtual meeting using Facebook where we answered the questions. It was a great way to get to know people better, and I’m sure it would be even better in person.
Another year, I used The Bible plan from The Bible Project on the YouVersion app (which allows users to choose which version of the Bible they read). Each day had a devotional, a reading, and a space for users to add a personal note. There were also videos to introduce different books of the Bible. I did this challenge as part of a group as well, and found it encouraging to read the comments from the other participants.
Those plans both worked through the whole Bible from start to finish, with occasional “interruptions” to cover Psalms and Proverbs.
I’ve also used a chronological plan, which goes through the Biblical story in chronological order e.g. so Job comes in the middle of Genesis.
I’ve also completed The Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Coble, which is available as both a daily podcast and as a book.
I’ve also tried plans that have an Old Testament and New Testament reading each day, as well as a chapter from Psalms or Proverbs, and I find those feel a little disjointed in comparison. I don’t mind a Psalm as part of the daily readings, but I prefer to read one book at a time, rather than jumping from Genesis to Matthew to Psalms and back again.
In 2023, I took a new approach.
I decided I wanted to listen to the Bible readings using a daily podcast. I sampled several different podcasts before settling on The Bible in a Year (with Father Mike Schmitz) from Ascension Ministries. This was a chronological plan based on the Great Adventure Bible Timeline. It used the Catholic Bible, which introduced me to some new books and stories. What I particularly liked about this plan was that it interrupted the chronological timeline three times to bring in one of the gospels, which had the added advantage of not then reading (or listening to) all four gospels back to back.
This year, I’m taking a new challenge: Mary De Muth’s 90-Day Bible Challenge.
I have to say that while there is a time commitment to reading Genesis in four days (instead of the more common two-plus weeks), it does give a different perspective, one that I’m enjoying. Reading longer portions enables me to keep the whole story in mind, to make connections and ask questions.
I have tried to use a different version of the Bible for each challenge.
Reading a new version can bring a new awareness to what might otherwise be a familiar verse or chapter.
I’ve read the new International Version and New King James Version in full, listened to the Revised Standard Version (Second Catholic Edition), and am currently reading the English Standard version.
