A Lamp Unto Bible reading app: now available for iOS devices!
I think it is good and important to read the Bible. After all, I actually believe these are words that God had written for us. I believe it shows us true things about God. I believe it gives me instructions for living a meaningful, love-filled life that will glorify Him.
But I am also human. And I have a newborn. And a toddler. And golly, I LOVE to sleep. Reallyreallyreally. Like, at this very moment, I’m fighting the urge to go take a nap instead of write this post. #thestruggleisreal (I’ve always wanted to use that hashtag haha)
I’ve decided to write this post, even though both children are in bed for a nap at the same time, because that’s how badly I think word needs to get out about this awesome app. Full discloser: my husband wrote the app. If you know my husband, though, you know that he is a man of excellence. Seriously. Not only is he brilliant, but anything he does, he does well. He drives well. He dresses well. He puts together amazing material to teach at Sunday school. He does our finances excellently. His smile is excellent.
You get the idea.
So of course, when he set his mind to create a Bible app, it was just that: excellent. This app is so thoughtful in all the right ways. It’s the kind of app that has solutions to problems you didn’t even realize you had. Tired of feeling defeated on December 31 when you’re only halfway through the Bible? Then pick the “3 chapters per day” plan instead. Sick of starting in Genesis and giving up by Deuteronomy? Try the chronological or “Genre rotation” plan instead. Only have time to read on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Then check those boxes and make it so!
Sorry. Couldn’t stop myself. Clearly, I need a nap.
This app makes it possible for you to create a reading plan that suits your lifestyle and personality to make Bible-reading more realistic and doable. It’s so super handy!
I’ll give you a personal example. I’m a mother of an infant, which means I’m still nursing him 6-7x a day. Prior to this app, I spent those minutes mindlessly scrolling through social media and frankly, feeling like people in the world were living a life while I was at home being a milking cow. Super uplifting, right? Now, I jump on the opportunity to tap over to A Lamp Unto to get some reading in. During the next quiet nursing session, I pick up right where I left off, then finish the chapter. I’m pleased as punch as I tap “Mark as Read,” which bring me to the next chapter. It feels great when the finish screen comes up to show my accomplishment:
I like to think Ben put a cookie there just for me :).
Not only did I feed a baby, I GOT SOMETHING DONE!
This victory can be yours, too. Not only did I wait in line for groceries, I READ MY BIBLE! Not only did I take the train to work, I READ MY BIBLE! Not only did I use the bathroom, I READ MY BIBLE!
Also, that little note on my personal streak is super motivating to me: “You’ve been on time for 15 sessions in a row! Go go go!” Probably because deep down inside, I am super competitive so I like setting records and PR-ing and all that. (Which is also why I feel the urge to note that I’ve actually been on time 26 days in a row. It’s just that I decided to create a new plan 15 days ago, so it reset my stats :P). Once, it was 11:45pm and I realized I hadn’t done my reading yet. You bet I pulled out my phone that very minute and read my chapters! I was not about to break my streak!
The great thing is, once you do your initial plan set up, a process that takes less than a minute and just a couple taps on your phone, you’re all set. The app does its algorithm thingy and boom! Your personalized Bible reading plan is set up and ready to go!
The interface is lovely, the swipeyness and tappiness is intuitive, and here’s one of my favorite parts: THE STATS ARE SO MOTIVATING!
I’ve been beta testing the app for the last few weeks, and here are my stats!
If you’re like me, this will encourage you and motivate you to read ahead even more. Once you’re ahead by one day, you are rewarded with 1) having read more Bible (yayyyy!) and also 2) options for how to proceed! I love this. For my plan, that means I can move my end date earlier, spread it out so my daily readings are a little shorter, or just leave everything as is and have a one day buffer in case I miss a day.
This also means that if you are falling behind, you have options to 1) change your end date to be later or 2) spread out readings so you still make it by your goal date. I totally know the feeling of, “Ugh, I haven’t read for three days. I don’t have time to catch up on 3 days of reading right now. I’ll do it later.” Which quickly morphs into, “ACK I’m like two weeks behind. I’ll NEVER catch up!” –> discouraged. Never fear! Awesome Bible reading app is here! Just select the option to spread out your sessions and it’s like starting fresh (without actually having to start fresh). You don’t have to feel discouraged, and you don’t have to feel like you have a mountain of reading to catch up on before getting “back on track.” It just recalculates your reading for you and makes it manageable and doable again.
That’s the main thing I want to say about this app. It makes daily Bible reading doable and realistic for me. And really, I have been doing it! I’ll admit that, for the last two years, I fell into the pit of new mommyhood and even the slightest barrier (like actually having to turn the lights on) kept me from reading. Now it’s on the screen I stare at all the time anyway, feels super doable, and is motivating all at the same time.
You can find A Lamp Unto in both the Android and iOS app stores now! It is free, it is super awesome, and you will never look back.
5 responses to “Awesome Bible Reading App!”
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How come you get a cookie and I only get a thumbs up!?
Not gonna lie, those stats definitely help motivate me to read. Miiiiight not be the best or appropriate motivator for reading my Bible, but if the end result is me being in the Word, I’m ok with that. And hey, I’m only human! Besides, I can’t break my 9 session and counting streak!! ?
This is so great, I will definitely check it out. I just went through about 10 Bible apps this past year to pick one I really love. I’ll definitely be checking out A Lamp Unto!!
Sweet! Let me know what you think! You sound super researched on this! =)
Love it so far! What really struck me was how little time I was actually investing in reading – I need to read more!
Right? It’s like… hey, that’s just ten minutes? I can do that! So glad you love it! He welcomes any feedback! 🙂