Hey Karl! I have only 1 more chapter to go & I will finally be finished with my very first readthrough of the Bible! I am so excited! I started Luke last night. It is so awesome; all the familiar verses I have read before in bits & pieces along have now jumped out at me. After I get to John (my starting point) I will start all over again. It will be like a movie; I'll notice things I didn't catch the first time & understand things I didn't quite get the first time. So tomorrow or Wednesday I will let you know; I'll probably be done by then. And then I'll start all over again. And again. And again. :) Cover to cover, over & over (to quote J in the "Samson" DVD).  Thanks again for the inspiration to start a readthrough in the first place! Talk to you soon!

Hope

Karl,
There are some times where you just need to sit back and think about the wondrous things God has done for you. And how amazing and mind boggling they are. I think of all the people that have helped define me as a person, and as a daughter of the King, and even though some of them have moved on to other areas of the country, onto different people, different lives. They have all been a part of my life, and will remain a part of me as long as I hold onto the things they helped teach me.
 
I can't imagine what kind of person I would be without having had some of those people in my life. Like you for instance. I know for sure that I could never know the things I know without having had you challenge me to read, I know more about who I am and what I believe than I ever thought I could at 17 years of age. And amazing enough I'm not satisfied, I think I should know more, I want to know more, I want to be able to stand up to anyone and be able to tell them exactly what I believe and why at any moment. I want to be able to tell them where to go for the answers to their questions, and have Word to back up what I say about my faith.
 
Even when it was hard, even when (dread the thought) I didn't want to, I followed through with your challenge. And sometimes when I wanted to give up, while I was feeling dry in the books of law, I kept going, I never wanted to have to explain to you why I quit. I didn't want to let you down. And I know that I shouldn't read for someone else, just to make them happy or make them proud of me or whatever, but that's not why I read now, I read for me. And I guess I look at it as, if me reading to make you proud kept me going through the tough times...then bless it, because it HAS blessed me in the long run.
 
I remember being little and dreaming of being able to read through the Bible, just once, in my life. And I look at it now and I've read through it twice, and sometimes I'm a little embarrassed that I haven't made it through more. I never want to forget what I've come from over the past five years of my life. I mean yeah, I was doing good, I was reading my Bible and was loving church. But, man, high school would have been so much tougher without that foundation of my own faith, my own desire to read and discover more of God on my own.

I don't know how or why this email is what it is, but it is long, that I do know. And I also know that I'm thankful to God, for you in my life. His timing and plan is perfect, and He knew that I would need you to help me along, so He timed it in such a way that this trust could form in me for you in time for me to feel I could come to you about things in my life. And well, I thank God for email, because without it, I would have lost touch with you a long time ago.
 
Thank you for your friendship.
 
Blessings and love from your sister,
 
Heather M.
IOWA