Happy New Year, everyone!! I can’t believe that 2014 is already here.  Last year was full of blessings for me and my family, and one of the greatest was the extreme growth of my YouTube Channel.  I went from 1400 subscribers in 2012 to 18.6 THOUSAND in 2013, so I just wanted to say a giant thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and kind words throughout the year.  I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities to work with companies and befriend other bloggers and vloggers in the beauty community, and obviously, I couldn’t have done any of that without you.  I truly love you all, and I can’t wait to see what the new year will hold for all of us.

Although the growth of my channel was extraordinary, it did cause my dedication to the blogging side of things to drop off.  I went from uploading once a week to three times a week, which was a huge commitment, and I found that it was tough to keep doing individual posts for each new video.  But the English major in me misses writing desperately, so this year I want to refocus and recommit to my blog.  Rather than using it as a place to duplicate what’s already happening on YouTube, I think I’ll continue to use it as a venue for additional product reviews AND as a place to share my faith, which was really always my intention.  That’s actually how the name Glow of Grace came to be, but I’ve got a whole post on that here.  Contrary to what some people tend to assume, it is not because my name is Grace!

To start the year, I’ve also decided to recommit to reading our Daily Bible.  It takes you through the whole Bible in one year, and breaks it down nicely into daily readings.  I’ve started it before, and actually gotten quite far, but I’ve never actually finished.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read nearly the entire Bible, but I’ve always wanted to just delve in and totally commit to doing it this way.

I posted this picture on my Instagram this morning and asked if any of you would like a weekly post recapping some of my favorite verses from the week, and the answer was a resounding YES!  This excites me to no end, and I also think it will be an excellent way for y’all to keep me accountable!

So I wanted to write this post to kick off this new year and new series in case any of you wanted to join me on this journey.  Below I’ve listed a few of the ways you too can read the Bible this year, and I’d love for you to then share your favorites verses with me as well!

The Daily Bible
This takes you through the Bible chronologically in 365 days, and includes devotional insights so that it reads like an epic novel.  Any other time I’ve tried to read the Bible chronologically, I find it a bit daunting, but this version really keeps your interest and guides you through even the toughest sections.  (I’m looking at you, Numbers…)

You can buy this HERE on Amazon, and yes friends, there is a Kindle version which I’m extremely tempted by…..

The One Year Bible
This takes you through the Bible in a year, but in a slightly different way.  Rather than reading the text chronologically, each day includes a bit from the Old Testament and the New Testament, plus a Psalm and Proverb.  I do own this, and I enjoyed having the readings broken up like this, but I also found it a little hard to focus on certain Old Testament stories because of the way it jumps around.

You can buy this HERE on Amazon, and again, there’s a Kindle version available for immediate download.

The You Version Bible App
By far the best Bible App I’ve ever used, and it’s FREE!  This really is the greatest way to carry the Bible around with you everywhere.  This app features multiple versions of the Bible in a ton of different languages, so it really does have something for everyone.  There are hundreds of different reading plans to choose from, including a huge variety of one year plans.  Even if you are reading one of the other one year Bibles I recommended, you should totally get this app and take a look around at all of the plans You Version has to offer.

You can download the app HERE.

I hope that you’ll come along on this journey with me, so that we can all grow in our faith together this year.  I’m thinking I’ll do these weekly posts on Sundays, and like I said, I would love it if you would share your favorites verses from the week in the comments of each post.

Happy New Year! 2014, here we come!

Best & Blessings,
Rachel