Day 1

   Surprise, surprise! I'm a whole 3 days late on my

.::* New Year's Resolution *::. 

well, better late then never..or is it better on time than late? :)
I found it a little hard to read along with most of the 'Read the Bible in a year' plans simply because I have to read over a small portion several times to understand it, so I'll be going a little slow.  (Taken from the New Living Translation)

January 4th

Genesis 1-3:  ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

 ³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day" and the darkness "night."
   And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
 ⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” ⁷ And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. ⁸ God called the space “sky.”
   And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.
 ⁹ Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. ¹² The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
 ¹³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day.
 ¹⁴ Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them mark off the seasons, days, and years. ¹⁵ Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. ¹⁶ God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, ¹⁸ to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
 ¹⁹ And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day.
 ²⁰ Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” ²¹ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
 ²³ And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day.
 ²⁴ Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. ²⁵ God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.
 ²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings^[b] in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
 ²⁷ So God created human beings^[c] in his own image.
      In the image of God he created them;
      male and female he created them.
 ²⁸ Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
 ²⁹ Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food.³⁰ And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened.
 ³¹ Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.


     Genesis literally means "beginning" or "origin" which makes sense since this book recalls the Creation of the world and everything in it! Genesis was written by Moses somewhere around 1450-1410 BC.
    I've read Genesis before and I was honestly turned off by it. I know that sounds terrible, but it was so hard for me to grasp. I was also turned off because I had heard so many different arguments about creation vs. evolution. But, I am making myself CHOOSE to be in FAITH about what is on the pages of that Bible. Regardless of what I know scientifically or even spiritually, I remind myself that I believe in the God and the words that He spoke. One day all things will be revealed.... My prayer is that with time, God will give me a more knowledgeable understanding of what seems to me, the hardest portion of the Bible to take in!
   There was a mentor of mine that told me to pick a verse and write it down before I go to sleep...then in the morning read it again and meditate on it all day. So, I read this last night, but today there were a few things that stood out to me. 
   1. In verse 2 when it talks about God's spirit hovering over the earth that shows that the SPIRIT OF GOD was actively involved in caring for and preparing the earth for us! He GAVE it to us to have dominion over, because He carefully put time into every little detail! What a gift!!
  
  2. It is AMAZING how God does everything in an orderly fashion...He didn't create the fish before the water, or the birds before the air!

 3. In verse 4 when it says that God separated the light from the darkness really stuck out to me...meaning they were once the same thing? It made me think before God created anything or anyone and it was just the Holy Trinity...was everything pure, sinless, and perfect in it's form?
  
  4. In verse 14 it talks about God giving us two light (sun and moon) to separate the day from the night as a way to mark off seasons, days, and years. So, in essence God gave us time and a way to keep track of it perfectly!
  
  5. In verse 26 it says that God said "Let US make people in OUR image to be like OURSELVES." God is referring to the Trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This may make me sound like a total amateur, but did anyone else think of JESUS CHRIST, The Son of God, being already in existence at the beginning of time? I most  certainly didn't for some reason, until I read this Colossians 1:16- "Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see- kings, kingdoms, rulers and authorities. Everything has been created through Him and for Him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together."


       I'm not theologian WHATSOEVER, so any input or revelations you've received, I'd love to hear them!