Five Things I Learned About Reading the Bible in a Year.

In honor of National Quitting Day (January 9th), here are five things I learned about reading the Bible in a year, plus a bonus on how you can get started on your own plan.

1. Awareness is the First Step to Success

It wasn’t so much a New Year’s Resolution as it was a quest: I was a professing Christian of 50 years, and my Living Water Support System helped me realize that I had never read the Bible from cover to cover. There were chapters, verses, and even books (hello, Revelation) that I had never read.

2. The Right Tools Are Important

After a lovely drive up the Susquehanna River to The Bible Depot in Sunbury, where my dad took me as a kid, I found the most comprehensive geeked-out Chronological Study Bible that would make a nice companion for the battle-worn 1950s King James Version my dad preached from, which sat on my shelf as a decoration. Using that encyclopedia-ish beauty was like a third grader going into calculus.

And it would have beaten me before I got to Genesis 2.

Two Bibles atop one another, both purchased at the same Christian bookstore.

Then I found a New Living Translation One Year Chronological Bible titled “Expressions,” which was pliable enough for my left-handedness and had margins for writing notes and coloring pages in case I got bored. Along with a Snoopy notebook and a variety of writing implements, I felt I could explore God’s Word with confidence. And, I did. Sort of.

3. Tools Can Be a Distraction

I am obsessed with office supplies. Post-It notes, stickers, colored pens and pencils, and highlighters all made it to my desk alongside my Bible. Simplicity is not in my vocabulary, and one of the things that frustrates me the most is accidentally highlighting a word in the wrong color. Anger should not be part of your Bible Reading Plan. I had lost sight of my mission.

4. Sometimes Rabbit Holes are Good

I became obsessed with a thermal printer and found reasons to use it. I’d print out definitions of words that I only thought I knew the meaning of. I printed the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the Judges, and the Twelve Apostles. Sometimes the lists didn’t match, depending on the source or interpretation, so I dug even further. I slowed down in 2 Samuel to understand what King David was dealing with. I hand-wrote many proverbs I needed to hear again, and soaked in psalms that shifted my perspective from worry to praise. None of those were in the official reading plan, but it was okay… maybe even encouraged… to break the rules a little.

A gluttony of office supplies that helped pave the way for some interesting rabbit holes.

5. Perfectionism is the Enemy

Life happens. It is one thing to intentionally pull yourself away from Christ, and allow reading your Bible to be a casualty. But for most of us, the messiness of life destroys our comfortable routines. In July of 2025, I lost my father-in-law in a tragic car accident, and my journal was an empty block for three weeks. In the middle of November, I spent nine hours in an emergency room, convinced I was dying of a heart attack. That incident blew its dandelion dust all over the remaining days of my calendar, affecting my sleep, my faith, and how I related to others. The idea of getting caught up on four weeks of reading made my chest tighten.

And therein lies the problem. Any kind of reading plan is meant to be a tool, not a rule. Reading your Bible shouldn’t be on your agenda like brushing your teeth or taking your vitamins. God doesn’t own a color-coded planner with tiny boxes to check. We should approach God's Word with anticipation, curiosity, and reverence.

The Great Takeaway

There’s no wrong way to read the Bible. God simply calls us to it. Because even when I take mind-numbing notes and question why Rahab isn’t a common name for a girl, but Joanna is, and even when I skim through entire chapters of Chronicles and Numbers, there was always the value of showing up. And even when I didn’t, sometimes weeks on end, God was still there, waiting for me at my quiet spot, waiting for me to return home.

And that is the God who loves us. That is the God we serve.

P.S. One thing my accountability partner and I discovered is that while the chronological method was a helpful tool, we found that adding a psalm, a proverb, or something meaty in the New Testament would have made it less daunting. Check out biblereadingplangenerator.com for a customizable plan tailored to your needs.