I started the year out last year really wanting to read the Book of Mormon again cover to cover. It seemed like it didn't take too long before life got in the way, and inconsistency on my part led to a lack of seeing that goal come to fruition. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, I'm just going to try again this year, only with more of a plan. Justin told me the other day that he was following an account on Instagram called BofM365 that maps out all your reading for the year for you. All you have to do is the recommended reading assignment every day and by the end of the year you've read the whole Book of Mormon.
I've also incorporated in my personal study this study guide that I bought last year, but didn't get too far into. I like having the reading assignments from BofM365 that are totally manageable, but then spending a few more minutes getting to digest what I'm reading about in the study guide is nice. It focused mostly on doodling and visuals, and while I'm not much of an artist, the doodling, drawing, or writing key phrases down is making the study a little more interesting.
I started putting the kids in bed at 7:30 the last few days, instead of 8:00 or 8:30, and telling them to spend 5-15 minutes on personal study by themselves and then they could read a book of their choosing. That carves out time for me, before I'm too cranky, to sit down and work on my own study without distraction, and then gives me a few minutes to catch up on here before I go tuck them in at 8:30. I know we are only three days into the new year, but I'm kind of liking our new routine! I'll try to make myself be accountable on here from time to time with how I'm doing. I really hope to stick to it this year though. Lauryn was saying last night that she didn't understand everything she was reading. I told her that was okay; that there were promised blessings just by doing her part and doing it. I know that's so true. The times in my life where I was consistently letting the scriptures be a part of my daily life, I felt those blessings come to fruition, in so many different ways. The power of the scriptures is real!