I have a confession. Well, a couple confessions, actually.
One – I’ve never read through the entire Bible.
And two – I’ve failed to finish every Bible reading plan I’ve ever started.
It doesn’t matter what plan it has been – 60 days, 90 days, 1 year. I can’t do it. I get behind; I can’t catch-up; I call it quits.
Remember what I said about failure when I shared my “Every Damn Day List”? Same thing when it comes to the Bible reading plans.
I got it in my heart that I need to do this, though, so early in January, I sat down and figured out why I’ve always failed these plans that the rest of my Christian brothers and sisters seem to have no issues with.
It was too much too fast.
Between my often unpredictable days (hello, autoimmune diseases!) and my God-created nature to study and understand, zooming through God’s word at a breakneck pace set me up for failure and went against my nature.
I couldn’t find many two-year Bible plans, and I didn’t love the ones I encountered, so I moved on, Googling “three-year Bible reading plan.”
I was ecstatic to find one that did not have me reading Psalms three times and Proverbs twice – I just wanted to read the whole Bible once!
It wasn’t a functional format, though, so I decided to make it into a cute trackable! About five hours into that project, I stopped and thought, “I’m missing books of the Old Testament.” I double-checked the original reading plan (which was from a well-known ministry) and sure enough! Their “read the entire Bible” plan was missing most of the minor prophets and chapters of almost every book of the Bible.
The next day, I chose another three-year plan from a different well-known ministry. I checked first – all the books of the Bible were present! I started dropping this plan into my cute trackable. Four hours later, I realized this was not a three-year plan – it was a three-year-three-month plan.
I took a bathroom break, and sat on the toilet, crying. My husband appeared in the doorway. “Why can nothing be easy for me,” I wailed. “Why can’t I find what I need? Why are these ministries promoting a resource that doesn’t meet the need?!”
He just stood there, looking at me. I took a deep breath. “I’m tired of going first,” I said. “I’m annoyed that if I need something done well, I have to do it myself.”
We left the bathroom, and TR put me back on the couch. “So build a ministry that provides reliable resources for women who are brave enough to seek them out. Design what you need and offer it to the world, Ava.”
I picked up my computer and redesigned the logo.
Knotty Living Ministries was born.
I tell you that because the first resource Knotty Living Ministries created is a three-year Bible reading plan.
It has every book of the Bible and every chapter, too. It is not daily. It alternates between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and there are no dates. It’s meant for your real life.
It contains blessings for each stage of the journey, and it’s a tracker, allowing you to miss days and not miss a beat.
It’s something I needed, something I couldn’t find, and despite my earlier meltdown, it was my privilege to put this together for those of us who need a longer-term reading plan solution.
If you read my “Every Damn Day” List post, you might remember that January 2025 was a miserable month for me. February and March weren’t easy, either. I wasn’t myself. I didn’t feel well, and I could hardly function.
And I am happy to report that I filled in every single bubble under my month 1 reading plan! I could commit to it, stick to it, and follow-through on it during one of the worst months I’ve had in over a year. That’s how doable this reading plan is!
Earlier this year, I was introduced as a new member and a ministry leader to my church congregation. I was handed the microphone and instructed to share what my new family needed to know about me. I took a deep breath and said, “I’m Ava. I’m a chronically ill and disabled Christian, and I have a heart for that community. They need the hope of Jesus so much. I’m a geneticist by degree, but the Lord decided to have His way with my career, and I actually work in online ministry now!”
It was a surreal moment for me. It’s even more special now that I am sharing this Bible reading plan with you.
I created it to honor my body and brain that need a slower pace than my healthy, able-bodied Christian brothers and sisters. I got to test it out through my own broken and hurting body, deep in the throes of a flare.
You don’t need to be chronically ill or disabled to desire a journey through God’s Word that is slower, flexible, and made for busy life. You could have dyslexia, young children, two jobs, and/or a short attention span. This three-year plan is for you, too!
Below is a picture of my own booklet – note that I’m not able to do this daily! Not only is there ample margin in the months, but you can read more than one suggested bubble at a time. This plan is truly designed for your unique circumstances.
Heck, ignore the month divisions, and just read through as you are able, using this as a tracker only and ignoring the plan!
Last thing!
I told a family member that I was creating this and starting a three-year journey through the Bible, and they said, “What makes you think you can do that? You’ve never stuck with anything that long.”
So in case there’s a voice in your head or in your life saying something similar, let me remind you of this.
If you’re 20 and older, you’ve successfully done at least three years of adulthood.
Maybe you’ve been married for five years.
Perhaps you are raising a three-and-a-half-year-old.
Your undergraduate college degree presumably took at least three years.
Maybe you’ve lived with a diagnosis you manage daily for 16 years.
You’ve been knitting for seven years.
Perhaps there was a childhood pet you kept alive.
Maybe you’ve been sober for ten years.
You have a high school diploma.
The point is, go through your life. There is more than one thing that you have stuck with for at least three years.
If reading through the Bible is something you want to do – if you’re tired of failing to complete a traditional Bible reading plan – if you just want to read the Bible in a way that works for you – print this booklet off (it’s free) – it’s meant for you.
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