At the retreat I attended in October, Mother Raphaela asked for a show of hands from all those who have read the bible beginning to end, including the Apocrypha*. I was among the few who raised my hand (I ate all my peas), another was the fabulous Christina who posted a “Read the Orthodox Bible in a Year” post.

While I appreciate her post, I won’t be following it. I have developed a routine where I read a couple of pages of the Bible most nights before I fall asleep. I find that if I deviate from the routine (read: bite off more than I can chew), I end up being overwhelmed and dropping my habit. Right now, this works for me, and I have been blessed by what I am reading. I am stunned at how many times either a bible verse or a sermon will reference something that I just finished reading.

As I didn’t come out of Protestantism, I’ve always had a familiarity with the so called “Apocrypha” and have long considered Judith** (thanks Mom!) one of my favorite books of the Bible. Mother Raphaela reminded me of the lovely Book of Tobit, so in the late fall when I finished the Bible (recording the date on the inside of the cover, which Father Stephen referenced once and I thought it was a great idea. It was the first time I put the date inside the cover, not the first time I'd completed reading the Bible) before I delved back into Genesis, I re-read both Judith and Tobit. I’ve had a couple of conversations with dear friends who didn’t have the background of those beautiful books of the bible that have been lost to the WASP American traditions, and am so thankful that those stories are in my heart and in my experience, and I know that they have had time to go back and read them and enjoy them as well.

So tonight, I’ll read a couple of pages from Numbers where I have worked my way up to. And, if you’ve not before, read Judith or Tobit and think of me.

*Which is considered Orthodox Canon.
**Oh my goodness, check out The Judith Project. I will explore this in greater depth when I get home tonight. What a find.