An Invitation to Join Stop2Read for Daily Bible Reading

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Staying connected to God is critical for writers who are believers. He is our strength, our encouragement, and our source. One way I practice that personally is by reading and studying the Bible daily. 

Because of some personal challenges in our family in recent years, I've become passionate about the time I spend in God's word. I truly cannot make it through a day without first spending time in God's Word. But in addition to that—I want others to experience the life-changing process of a daily, deep walk with God. And that's where Stop2Read comes in. It's a community of others who make reading God's Word a priority.

How Stop2Read Began

In late 2022, I shared an idea I had for a group that read God's word daily with my friend, Cynthia Cavanaugh. And in January 2023, Stop2Read was born. 

This group spent 2023 and 2024 reading through the Bible. A lot of us have taken part in programs that read the Bible through in a year, but I wanted an opportunity to spend more time and go a little deeper. 

To say these past two years have been life-changing for me is a HUGE understatement. 

We opened our group to anyone who wanted to join us and ended up with approximately 300 committed members—men and women. Cynthia and I began writing commentaries on what we were reading every week-day, Monday through Friday. But quickly we were joined by our core team, Kirk Melson, Beth Vogt, and Beth's husband, Rob. 

Beginning in 2025, we will again be reading the Bible through in two years. This time around we're going to use a chronological method of reading. At the beginning of each month we provide a PDF of the daily Bible reading. Also, every day we provide a Bible verse reference that we recommend for writing in your journal. 

We have found that beyond reading and taking notes, writing out Bible verses, chapters, and even entire books, brings a depth to our relationship with God. We strongly encourage this practice in the group. 

We will still be writing commentaries 5 days a week, but they focus on context as well as application. 

Today, I'd like to invite you to join us on this journey. 

Details about Stop2Read

While we do have a website, www.Stop2Read.com and a private Facebook group, Stop2Read. Our commentaries and discussions take place on the Mighty Network in our private Stop2Read group there. We chose that particular group because we don't have to worry about censorship and can fully discuss what God's word has to say on any topic we choose without worrying about being banned or deleted. 

Here are some of the reasons we chose the Mighty Network:

• It’s free for all users
• It’s private
• It’s easy to use
• It allows those who choose to not use social media a way to interact without compromising

Every day—on the Mighty Network—we will post the Bible reading and a commentary (Monday - Friday)  from one of us. We encourage discussion and insight from all members.

The reading begins in the book of Genesis in January of 2025 and will end in the book of Revelation in December of 2026. Every month we provide several PDFs to help you manage your journey.

Needless to say, this group is open to men and women. We also don't have a required version or translation of the Bible. We believe the best Bible translation is the one you will read. 

This is the link to sign up for our email list and get an invitation to join the Stop2Read group on the Mighty Network. (This link takes you to the email list that Cynthia Cavanaugh curates). 

Below is an example of one of our commentaries. 

January 5, 2023

(Commentary by Edie Melson)

Genesis 6

Here we are, 6 chapters into Genesis, and God is grieved about the creation He had originally pronounced good. I find that incredibly sad how quickly human beings can get off track.

At the beginning of this chapter, there are several mentions of mysterious beings —sons of God and the Nephilim. No one knows who these were and the speculations range from angels and demons to aliens. This topic (about who they were) makes for some interesting conversation, but we must not let it derail us from the parts of God’s word that are understandable and critical to walking closely with Him.

I also find verse 3 interesting. Then the LORD said, 'My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.' I originally thought this verse told us that the life span of any given person would be limited to one hundred and twenty years. However, there are several instances that I can think of off the top of my head where this isn’t the case. For example, all the patriarchs from Noah to Abraham lived well over 120 years.

Reread this verse with me and consider that it could also mean that within one hundred and twenty years, God would destroy all those who were alive at that time. That is exactly what happened when He sent the flood—with the exception of Noah and his immediate family.

However as interesting as the beginning of the chapter is, I also want to discuss something that’s often misunderstood. Consider Genesis 6:6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. It’s important, I think to take time and really look at the word regretted. The Hebrew word for regretted is yin'nā'hem, from the root word nacham. This word is referring to emotions, like sadness and even pain. There is not, in this word, an implication that God felt He’d made an error with His creation. This verse is about the anguish He was experiencing at the sin embraced by mankind.

When our middle son was in preschool his shoulder was dislocated in an accident. I felt intense sadness and anguish at the pain the doctor caused as he reset the shoulder in its place. I did not regret that it had been done—only that it had to be done.

It’s so sad that God was the one grieved by the sins of men (and women) while they had no regret or urge to repent.

But God hadn’t given up on humanity completely. Verse 9 states that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. We go on to read how God warns Noah that he is going to destroy the earth and all that lives there. And He instructs Noah to build an Ark. I always thought an Ark was a boat. The original word is tebah, which refers to a box, chest or a basket. This specific word is used to describe only two things in the Bible, the ark that Noah built and the basket that carried Moses to safety when He was a baby. The word for the Ark of the Covenant is actually a different word, aron, although the definition is the same for tebah.

Back to the ark Noah is building. While we aren’t given all the steps taken to build it, notice that there are no references to oars, rudder or sails. The ark was built to float, not be guided by its inhabitants to a specific destination. It gave Noah and his family—along with the animals within it— protection and provision.

I’m getting long winded, so I’ll leave the discussion of the rest of the story to Cynthia tomorrow.

Write His Word Verse: Genesis 3:21

Study suggestions for those who want to go deeper:

• If you’re interested, dig a little deeper and see if you develop an opinion about what the Nephilim and sons of God are. We are tempted to think we live in an evil time—and I won’t debate that the world is going downhill fast. But read again what verse 5 says.

• I’ve heard it taught that there was no such thing as rain until the flood came. Investigate this statement for yourself by searching scripture and come to your own conclusion. Consider Noah’s faithfulness. Verse 22 tells us Noah did everything God commanded. Mark all the things God commanded Noah to do in your Bible.

Our team hopes you will prayerfully consider joining us in 2025. If you are interested, you're welcome to jump in now, for the December readings. Feel free to post any questions in the comments section below!

Don't forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

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An Invitation to Join Stop2Read for Daily Bible Reading from @EdieMelson and @CavCynthia (Click to Tweet)

Edie Melson & Cynthia Cavanaugh have discovered the incredible strength and peace that comes from studying God’s word daily. They’ve been through difficult times and each of them cites the time spent in God’s Word as the practice that helped them navigate through the chaos. Now they have a passion—formed in the crucible of need—to help others develop that same life-sustaining practice.