Today I’m so excited to interview Courtney Peetz! Courtney was one of my first blog subscribers and has been a tremendous encouragement to me in this whole blogging journey.
About a year ago, I heard how Courtney read the entire Bible in 6 months and was encouraging others to do the same. I love what Courtney’s doing, and I believe the message and desire that God has put on her heart is something that other young Christians need to hear.
So I asked if Courtney would be willing to share her heart with all of you. I pray God will challenge your heart through Courtney’s story.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Courtney Peetz, I’m a
In 2016 you read through the entire Bible, from cover to cover, in 6 months! What made you decide to do that?
Well, my dad has been in radio for years, and since he worked for American Family Radio, we listened to it all the time while living in Mississippi. One day, when we were doing errands, we were listening to Urban Family Talk on AFR and they were interviewing a guy who was talking about how he had totally fasted from all media for six months to concentrate on his relationship with God. He didn’t watch any TV or movies, didn’t listen to the radio, didn’t spend time on Facebook, nothing! He just read his Bible and prayed.
So I’m sitting there listening to this, and I feel God convict me of idolizing books, and nudge me to do what this guy had done. But I just said no way and ignored it…for about 6 hours. God just wouldn’t leave me alone! So finally, I gave in. I decided to set aside my books and try to read the Bible through in 6 months.
After reading through the Bible for yourself, God gave you a desire to start a program to help others read the entire Bible. Can you tell us about Project N8?
Sure! I started this thing called Project N8, inspired by Nehemiah 8, where the Jews returning from captivity in Babylon actually read the Law straight through in a day. We don’t go quite as fast as Nehemiah did, but we’ve got the same basic idea. You see, in Nehemiah’s day, the Jews didn’t really have a good understanding of what God had said. They hadn’t heard the Law. Today, the Church has much the same problem. The majority of Christians in America haven’t read the Bible through all the way. We don’t have a good understanding of the Bible, so we don’t get much further in our walk with Christ than the basics.
But it’s hard to get through the Bible. So Project N8 was designed to help provide the direction, encouragement and motivation you need to make it through the Bible, while simultaneously gaining a habit of getting into the Word regularly, and a foundational understanding of the Bible. And you can do it anywhere, because it’s all online!
What kind of motivation and support do you provide for people who join project N8?
One thing I’ve noticed is that when people try to read through the Bible, they start a plan but they do it on their own. That works for a while, until life takes over. Then they get behind, lose motivation and give up. With Project N8, there’s still that factor of getting behind, but you’re not alone. There are others who know exactly what you’re going through, who will keep you accountable, encourage you and pray for you when you feel like giving up. When you know that someone is going to ask if you did what you were supposed to, it helps you remember to do it. And when you know others are praying for you, that’s encouraging.
But accountability and encouragement is only part of it. The other aspect of Project N8 that makes it work is, ironically, the pace. So many people think that reading through the Bible in 6 months is a crazy idea – and it is hard – but honestly it’s so helpful. Reading through the Bible for the first time is usually the hardest because things just don’t make sense. So if instead of trying to make yourself understand everything, you simply concentrate on getting it into your head, you relieve a ton of pressure. Plus, when you read the Bible through in 6 months it’s all a lot fresher in your mind, so it’s easier to draw connections. So win, win.
What has been the greatest benefit in your life from reading through the entire Bible in 6 months?
Well, before I read the Bible through in 6 months, I had a problem with being prideful about my Bible knowledge. I knew a lot more about the Bible than those around me, and I was proud of it. But when I started reading the Bible in such big amounts, I became overwhelmingly aware of just how little I knew, and how much more work God had to do in me. As my pride was moved out of the way, I began to get to know Him in much more intimate ways.
Since I started reading the Bible at this pace, life hasn’t been a walk in the park. These past two years have been some of the hardest ones of my life! If it weren’t for having such a large dose of God’s Word each day, and for leaning so heavily on God’s strength, I don’t believe I would have gotten through, let alone grown so much. God’s presence in my life has become much stronger, and there is no way I’m going back.
When are you starting again and how can people join?
We’re starting again on January 6, 2019, the first Sunday of the year. If you want to join you can sign up here, and if you’d like to look into it a bit more before you make a decision, you’ll find everything you need here.
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Courtney thank you so much for sharing your story and Project N8 with us!
And if as you read this, you felt God nudging you to join Project N8, or just dive into the Bible deeper than you have before – even cutting out movies, books, and social media to do it – don’t put it off. Respond to that gentle nudge of God and discover, as Courtney did, the joy of knowing God through His word.
- What is your plan for reading the Bible in 2019?
- If you have any other questions for Courtney, I know she would love to connect with you in the comments section. Go ahead and ask away!
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