How to read scriptures daily

First off, a shout out to Sometimes Sweet for the post idea. I'm not a DIY blogger, and this isn't technically a DIY post, but I decided to mix things up a little :)

Have you ever felt like it's super difficult to be consistent with reading your scriptures daily? Sometimes you forget, or you just don't have time.

Well. I've read my scriptures 140 days in a row, as of last night :) I have some friends who have done much more than that, too. How is that even possible?

First off, I have a daily reading calendar. My seminary teacher handed them out at the beginning of the year; I don't know if they're standard issue or if she went out and found them herself. It looks like this:

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I've used this thing daily since I got it. It's my scriptures bookmark, so I never forget to mark a day when I read. I like to use abbreviations for the book of scripture I'm reading (D&C, BOM, OT, NT) instead of just X's, so I know when the last time I read the Bible or BOM was. It's kind of rewarding to mark a day after you read, and to see the calendar fill up with all the days you've read :)

I started out accidentally skipping days here and there (we were on vacation, I was sick, stayed up too late doing homework, etc). And it's totally okay to miss days sometimes. But as you make a commitment to read EVERY day, and you do everything you can to read EVERY day, it gets easier.

If you take notes and date your notes, that's also a good way to track days. Having a scripture journal is awesome. I record questions, verses I absolutely love, new ways to think about a verse that I never thought of before, etc. Also, personal revelation can come through reading the scriptures. If you're already taking notes, it'll be easy to record personal revelation, too :)

Sometimes, you really don't wanna read scriptures. So pull out a church magazine or a conference talk. Those count too, so long as they're not the only "scriptures" you ever read!

My second bit of advice is maybe less of a good idea. I don't let myself go to bed until I've read at least a verse or two. Even if it's midnight, I gotta read scriptures before I can sleep. I really don't get enough sleep as it is, so maybe this isn't the best idea - I really should make more time for scriptures during the day - but this way, even if I have a jam-packed day, I still read before I go to sleep.

A note about what I consider to be "a day"- does reading after midnight count for the "previous" day, since you technically switch over to the next day? Yup. Anytime from when I wake up in the morning to when I wake up the next morning is fair game. If I fall asleep doing something and wake up at 3am and remember I haven't read scriptures yet, I quick read a few verses and go back to sleep. See, it's okay, cuz I went back to sleep :)

People say it takes 21 days to form a habit. It took me much longer than that. Now, I simply remember scriptures every night. I don't have to leave myself notes or set alarms on my phone anymore. But it took quite a while to get to that point. So don't feel bad if you're not there yet :) you'll get there :)

<3 Marie-Rose