Although Advent and Lenten seasons prompt special meditation, and holy days like Christmas and Easter invite us to deeper reflection and celebrations, the most significant encounters I have had with God have been amid the “ordinary times” of my life.

God gives some grain for us to have for our needs and some for us to have so we can experience the joy of giving to others. Like the mother who gives her young son a dollar to buy his sister a birthday gift, so God gives to us so we can give to others.

As we grow in faith and develop the practice of daily Bible reading, sometimes we can reduce the discipline into a less-than-meaningful habit. Here are a 31 refreshing ways to approach Scripture and gain deep, life-giving insights.

The women, it seems, were disrupted mid-stream in planning for the burial. They found the tomb and prepared the spices. But as an unwelcomed interloper, the Sabbath, came with its unrelenting rules. And so, "On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment." The rest of the work would need to wait until after the rest from the work.

With even greater simplicity, Jesus reminds us that we should care for those society has given up on, such as the naked, the hungry and the imprisoned, as though we are caring for Him.