It was almost 10 years ago that my friend, Kevin, and I started our chapter-a-day journey. It started as just two guys who wanted to read God’s Message in a more faithful and disciplined way. The idea was simple. Read one chapter every weekday and share one thing we got out of the chapter. We started by calling one another to talk about the chapter.

In 2006 I began blogging and our chapter-a-day seemed a natural fit for the blog. While Kevin and I still call one another almost every weekday to share life, our chapter-a-day journey moved on-line where I post my thoughts and Kevin adds his own valuable two-cents in a comment. Along the way others have joined in the journey. Some faithfully walk along with us. Others share a mile or two before moving on. Some people chime in with a comment now and then, which I love. Others, I’ve discovered, have quietly walked along with us without ever saying a word about it. That’s cool, too.

A few years ago I was approached by a publisher who wanted me to publish my posts in a book. I started the process of turning the posts into a manuscript and hired an editor. As I began reading through the contract, however, I discovered that the publisher would require me to take all my posts off-line since they would then own the rights to my posts. When I discussed this with Wendy, she immediately encouraged me to give up the idea of publishing my posts. She was right, and I informed the publisher that I would not be signing their contract. And so, all the chapter-a-day posts remain out there free for any other wayfaring stranger who stumbles upon them. I hope they will continue to be an encouragement for others.

I’ve been keeping track of what we’ve covered since back in 2006. We’ve journied through some books multiple times. But with the completion of Ezra, we’ve now journied through every book of God’s Message at least once! Technically, there should be a chapter-a-day post for every chapter in the Bible!

I’m working on adding a page to my blog that will list all of the books and chapters with a hyperlink to each chapter-a-day post. It will take a while and I’m already discovering that there are a few chapters missing here or there. When you blog at 4-6 a.m. it’s easy for the brain to misfire once in a while. Not only that, but from time to time I think I struggled to get anything out of a chapter and just skipped it. As I discover these missing chapters, I’ll be filling in posts until I’ve got everything covered.

So, now what? The journey continues. Life changes it, and with those changes there are new things to learn from God’s Message that address the path I find myself on right now. Since I began, I’ve been using Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase The Message. I did so because I’d not read the Bible in that version before and I loved Peterson’s take. I think I may switch to a different translation, but chapter-a- day will continue.

A special thank you to Kevin, who has been my friend and fellow wayfarer through these many years. And thanks to Wendy who gently and faithfully encourages me when I occasionally wonder why in the world I take the time to write these posts every day. Thanks to those fellow wayfarers, both known and anonymous, who have walked along side me.

Press on.