I was talking to a some sisters at Church last week about the ways we have found that help us best digest the scripture we're reading.  The oldest mentioned having to read the whole NT in a very short amount of time for a college assignment, after which her class also required her to write down a few thoughts/notes about each book. "Wow.  Was that difficult?"  "Ummm.... yes.' (hello??  I'm not sure why I even asked?)  'But it was so good, too!  I feel like I learned so much - just in a different way - by reading entire books of the bible all in one sitting rather than spreading it out."  We decided that it would probably be good for Christians (namely, us...) to mix things up a bit and try different "methods" of reading/studying to get a fuller picture, a more complete perspective.

I've been wanting to read Job again, so I pulled it out the other day, and finished it this morning.  I can't say I felt I learned anything hugely different from the last time I read it more slowly, but I do think I got a much better view of the book as whole.  And, the more I think about it - I know I understood it more completely this time.  Sometimes you can get lost in the sea of words and forget where your thought process had left off the last time you were reading (or maybe that's just me... *blush*), and you start reading passages out of context.  (The last thing we want to do it confuse Elihu's understanding with God's!)  Therefore, I do think "reading at large" ;-) is a good practice from time to time.  I'm going to do it again.  But I definitely think meditating on one small verse can be used just as powerfully in one's life - so we come back to that word once again:

Variety.  Nope - it doesn't just apply to the physical food you feed your physical body.