-------------- Original message --------------
From: Phil Scovell <[log in to unmask]>

> Rhonda,
>
> Yes, whatever is comfortable is probably the best for anybody. I have read
> the Bible 114 times from cover to cover. For 8 years, back in the eighties,
> I read 40 chapters every day. This allows you to read the complete Bible
> once each month. One year, I read it not 12 times but 14 times. I even
> read it all in one week, just to see what it was like, but I didn't do a
> very good job paying attention I don't think. Reading the Bible once a
> month, however, really had a profound effect upon me in ways I find hard to
> explain. You get a different picture of how Bible stories fit together
> since, at many points, you are reading whole books in a day or several books
> within a week. After I reach something like 108 times, I stopped reading it
> even on a daily bases. This year is the first time I have really thought
> about reading it through again. It is odd, to some degree, but after
> reading it that many times, when I am praying and thinking about other areas
> of the Bible, connecting passages will come to mind that I've not noticed
> before. My goal was to reach 100 times but since then, as I said, I have
> slowly crept up to 114. I've read the New Testament a few more times than
> that but I forget how many now. In many respects, especially in the New
> Testament, it is probably better to read less than more so, as you said, you
> can focus more on what is being read and so you can think about what you
> read throughout the day. Meditating on a passage is very rewarding but
> that's a different subject.
>
> Phil.