{"id":183,"date":"2011-05-02T10:31:12","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T14:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=183"},"modified":"2011-05-01T18:41:44","modified_gmt":"2011-05-01T22:41:44","slug":"a-small-word","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html","title":{"rendered":"A Small Word"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was raised in a denomination that is currently being accused of worshiping the Bible. \u00a0Understand, I don’t remember ever being told that the scriptures were co-equal in importance with the Godhead. \u00a0What I do remember is a strong emphasis on daily Bible reading. \u00a0In my mind, there was an equal emphasis with studying and meditating on passages of the Bible. \u00a0I concluded this because I could tell the difference in the teaching of people who were serious about Bible study. \u00a0As I approached adulthood, reading and studying the Bible became an important discipline in my life.<\/p>\n

Therefore, for more than 40 years, I’ve read through the Bible at least once each year.\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>Some years, I would read through the New Testament every month and the Old Testament each year.\u00a0 Yet,\u00a0during the past four or five years, this daily exercise has been a terrible struggle for me.\u00a0 At first I wasn’t particularly disturbed, I’ve felt\u00a0study and\u00a0reading the scriptures\u00a0was a part of training that needed to be done and it wasn’t necessary to enjoy it.\u00a0 Nevertheless, I did miss the joy I’d always had in discovering new and exciting nuggets hidden in some overlooked and obscure portions of the Bible.<\/p>\n

I still understood the benefits of daily reading and study.\u00a0 However, it seemed that everything was a deterrent to me.\u00a0 In fact, there was almost a bitterness in my mouth each time I would open up the Scriptures.\u00a0 This greatly disturbed me and I prayed that the Lord would take it from me.\u00a0 However, it persisted for at least five years.<\/p>\n

Even though a struggle, I\u00a0consistently read through the Scriptures each year.\u00a0 Then a most wonderful thing happened last January.\u00a0 One evening, I thought, “I need to go to bed and read.\u00a0 This is the most important thing I’ve done all day.”\u00a0 Without the\u00a0bitterness or tension, that I’d become accustomed to feeling, I got up, went to bed and read my Bible.<\/p>\n

Every night since then, I’ve been able to read my Bible before I go to sleep.\u00a0 Yes, some nights I fall asleep reading but I continue until I’ve finished.\u00a0 Some evenings, I tell myself, “I’ll read and then I can get back up and finish my project.”\u00a0 Then I speak to myself, “This is the most important thing you will do today.”<\/p>\n

Such a simple word has taken away the bitter taste and the hesitancy with which\u00a0I’d struggled.\u00a0 For me, it’s a real miracle, giving me back one of the true joys of my life–reading God’s word and hearing Him speak to me with revelations and hidden treasures.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It is hard to recount how many simple words of truth have changed my life by inches.\u00a0 Most of the time, other people have spoken those simple words of truth to me.\u00a0 My mother, a Bible teacher, a loving friend, my children.\u00a0 My first memory of this happening was when I was seven years old, a substitute Sunday school teacher chose me first to give me the new Bible study quarterly. \u00a0I was the middle child. \u00a0I’d never been first in my life.\u00a0 It was a thrilling experience\u00a0and a turning point in my young life.\u00a0 God used that lady to let me know that I was important to him.\u00a0 I’m going to find her in heaven some day and thank her.<\/p>\n

In working with people who are developmentally disabled, we are usually working with folks who don’t expect much from God or society.\u00a0 You can give them simple words of hope, joy and release.\u00a0 Simple, loving words can change lives.<\/p>\n

How many simple things do you do that help to change the lives of your co-worker? \u00a0your friends? \u00a0your family?\u00a0 How often are you the vehicle that reaches out and says to a person who never expects to be first, “You are important to God”?<\/p>\n

Photos: \u00a0Reading the Bible by Micah Boy and Young Woman Reading Bible by J. D. Gregory<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was raised in a denomination that is currently being accused of worshiping the Bible. \u00a0Understand, I don’t remember ever being told that the scriptures were co-equal in importance with the Godhead. \u00a0What I do remember is a strong emphasis on daily Bible reading. \u00a0In my mind, there was an equal emphasis with studying and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,40,10,16,28,12,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,699,701,13,694,19,689,692,700],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged","category-religion","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nA Small Word - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Small Word - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was raised in a denomination that is currently being accused of worshiping the Bible. \u00a0Understand, I don’t remember ever being told that the scriptures were co-equal in importance with the Godhead. \u00a0What I do remember is a strong emphasis on daily Bible reading. \u00a0In my mind, there was an equal emphasis with studying and…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-05-02T14:31:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-05-01T22:41:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/05\/reading-the-bible-by-Micah-Boy.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Small Word - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Small Word - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"I was raised in a denomination that is currently being accused of worshiping the Bible. \u00a0Understand, I don’t remember ever being told that the scriptures were co-equal in importance with the Godhead. \u00a0What I do remember is a strong emphasis on daily Bible reading. \u00a0In my mind, there was an equal emphasis with studying and…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2011-05-02T14:31:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-05-01T22:41:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/05\/reading-the-bible-by-Micah-Boy.jpeg"}],"author":"Linda G. Howard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html","name":"A Small Word - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/05\/reading-the-bible-by-Micah-Boy.jpeg","datePublished":"2011-05-02T14:31:12+00:00","dateModified":"2011-05-01T22:41:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/05\/reading-the-bible-by-Micah-Boy.jpeg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2011\/05\/reading-the-bible-by-Micah-Boy.jpeg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/a-small-word.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Small Word"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/","name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Linda Howard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739","name":"Linda G. Howard","description":"Linda G. Howard is the best-selling and award-winning author of four books, including MOTHERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO and THE SECRET LIFE OF A HOUSEWIFE. Currently, she serves as area director of The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Additionally, she is the co-publisher and editor of CONNECTING POINT, the ministry newsletter. Her husband is a retired aerospace technologist who worked for NASA. They have three children and four grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/specialgathering.wordpress.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/author\/lhoward"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183\/revisions\/280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}