Bible Reading Plan with Very Specific Daily Readings
Greetings and Advent Blessings!
I have signed up for a year-long Bible reading podcast narrated by Fr. Mike Schmitz at:
https://ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear
The format of this reading plan is two or three readings per day, following a very specific schedule. Here is a sample of the plan itself:
I would like to create this exact reading plan in Logos/Verbum 9; on some days there are two readings whereas on others there are three. Because of this variation, it does not look like I can use the usual reference ranges (Gen-Mal, Mat-Rev, etc.) to maintain the exact sequencing. What is the best workflow that I can use to create this exact reading plan in Verbum? I can pop it into an Excel spreadsheet easily enough, but getting it into Verbum is quite a different task.
Possibly one of my problems is that I do this so infrequently that I do not easily remember how I did it before.
Side note: I absolutely LOVE the new dark mode (I use macOS)!
Comments
-
You could approximate the plan with reference ranges, but you would not get the variation of sessions with two and three readings. I think you would have to use a fully Custom Reading Plan and input the ranges for every session (from Docs > New > Reading Plan).
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
0 -
I think you would have to use a fully Custom Reading Plan and input the ranges for every session (from Docs > New > Reading Plan).
This would work, but require very much manual input (a thousand references). If the actual readings/references are available electronically, there should be a way to save this time.
I can think of two ways to make this faster, but haven't tested those:
- build a CSV for the plan in Excel, like the old sample files (rather: copy paste samples) for all kind of weird Reading Plans in the wiki. They accommodate multiple readings per day. It's maybe a bit cumbersome to find the exact syntax, but should work very well.
- alternatively, if you want to go Logos, build one plan for every column and then merge the plans. Here's the trick (and I know this part works because I regularly build a fully Custom Reading Plan that has one reading per day): Custom Reading Plans accept "Add from Passage List" as input. A Passage List of 365 entries will build out a complete Reading Plan - one reading per day - with one click. And you can build a Passage list from the clipboard, so if you have the reading plan in a table where you can select the column, it's a piece of cake. Subsequently, you should be able to merge the column-specific Reading Plans into one.
Have joy in the Lord!
0 -
Is there any technical reference guide to the syntax used for creating passage lists? I know that pipes ("|"), commas (".") and semicolons (";") all have specific functions in creating passage lists for reading plans. From what I can gather, my guess is that the following syntax may give me what is shown in the screenshot above:
Day 1|Gen1-2||Ps19
Day 2|Gen3-4||Ps104
Day 3|Gen5-6||Ps136
Day 4|Gen7-9||Ps1
Day 5|Gen10-11||Ps2
Day 6|Gen12-13|Job1-2|Pr1.1-7
Day 7|Gen14-15|Job3-4|Pr1.8-19
Day 8|Gen16-17|Job5-6|Pr1.20-23
...and so on.
Note that the first few days have double pipes to handle only two readings for that day.
I have several questions about this:
- Is this syntax correct?
- Do I need to terminate each line with a semicolon?
- Is the first column (Day 1, Day 2, etc.) needed?
0 -
Is there any technical reference guide to the syntax used for creating passage lists?
Maybe some other can point you forward, or you may want to look up the information on complex reading plans in the wiki. I just want to point out that the contents of a Reading Plan are not normally referred to as Passage Lists, those being a type of Logos Documents in themselves. Just in case you misunderstood my second bullet.
Have joy in the Lord!
0 -
Is this syntax correct?
Not if you chose Docs > New > Reading Plan > Generate a Reading Plan.
See https://wiki.logos.com/Reading_Plan_$28Basics$29#Reading_specific_parts_of_a_Bible
Is the first column (Day 1, Day 2, etc.) needed?
No.
To enter readings for each session/day, you choose Docs > New > Reading Plan > Custom Reading Plan.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
0 -
Oh my goodness! I think I am on the right track with this, but it does not quite work. I made this short video showing the steps I took with this:
Can any of you see what I am doing wrong? I remember doing something very similar several years ago, and it was successful at that time. But since I do this so infrequently, I cannot remember for the world of me how I did it back then.
0 -
Michael I happened to come across this thread where someone was doing something similar, in short he had each daily reading in a separate column (NT and OT), and he created two reading plans and merged them. I wonder if something like this would work for you?
0 -
Hi there, @Pater Noster!
I tried your suggestion, and as expected, for the second reading, got this:
Since not every day has the second reading, the paste stripped out all of the blank lines.
0 -
Ah that's too bad. I noticed the original poster had trouble with days with no reading as well.
Maybe someone smarter than me or a FL person will chip in if this is possible, if you really want to get it going by Jan 1, maybe for the days with no 2nd reading, make them all something you'll obviously recognize and can easily/quickly mark as read like "Gen 1:1-1:2"?
0 -
Michael I happened to come across this thread where someone was doing something similar, in short he had each daily reading in a separate column (NT and OT), and he created two reading plans and merged them. I wonder if something like this would work for you?
Very useful, but it can work with only one reading plan for Michael:
- Create a Passage List for all the First Reading ==> as in the original post
- Create a Passage List for all the Second Reading ==> as in the original post
- Create a Passage List for all the Psalm / Proverbs ==> as in the original post
- Choose Docs-->Reading Plan-->Custom Reading Plan
- Name the Plan something like "Fr. Mike Schmitz Plan"
- Leave the starting date as today, or choose another date for Day 1 of the readings.
- Adjust the reading session date to Day 1 of the readings.
- Click Add, "...passage list" and choose the First Reading list from #1.
- Adjust the reading session date to Day 6 of the readings
- Click Add, "...passage list" and choose the Second Reading list from #2.
- Adjust the reading session date back to Day 1 of the readings
- Click Add, "...passage list" and choose the Psalm / Proverbs list from #3.
- Click Done
Now you can follow this Plan in your preferred Bible.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
0 -
Thanks Dave - but no answer to the "days without a second reading" issue I guess?
0 -
Thanks Dave - but no answer to the "days without a second reading" issue I guess?
That's where you enter the Passage List for the Second Reading by adjusting the reading session date to Day 6 instead of Day 1 (I'm assuming that only the first five days are without this second reading).
If you want more control over the number of readings per Day (or session) and want to introduce breaks, you will have to enter the passages manually:
- use Type in a reference to enter all the passages for Day 1 (one at a time as multiple passages are not recognised)
- click Add Session
- use Type in a reference to enter all the passages for Day 2 (one at a time)
- click Add Session
- repeat for Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, etc.
- adjust the reading session date when you want a break
- e.g. after 5 weekday sessions, skip 2 days
- if you make a mistake:
- hover over the entered session and click the x with red background to remove it.
- adjust the reading session date to the date of the session you removed
- re-enter the passages
- click Add Session
It's laborious, but you get breaks and mistakes can be fixed.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
0 -
Dave, this is exactly what I needed, and many thanks for sharing this!
The second reading in this plan has many different breaks dispersed throughout the year, and I have attached the Excel file here:
5023.the-official-365-day-reading-plan-for-the-bible-in-a-year.xlsx
Your methodology for manually entering each reading session is the only way that will work for me in this scenario. It may be a bit tedious, but does give me the chance to ensure that the correct passages are chosen by Verbum/Logos. I discovered that the program does not always accept what you paste in (i.e. a range like 2 John - 3 John), so having this ability to scrutinize every entry is really nice.
I am very grateful for the level of detail that you in included in your last post here, even in the steps for correcting mistakes, for this was immensely helpful to me! Since there are so many nuanced steps in this process, I am thinking about creating a tutorial that shows all of the steps here.
Question: Since the dates appear to be hard-coded into the sessions, is there way to reuse this plan for 2022?
0 -
Question: Since the dates appear to be hard-coded into the sessions, is there way to reuse this plan for 2022?
MIchael you can create a new custom reading plan, set the 'Add a reading session....' date to Jan 1 2022, and then from the top left choose Add->...another reading plan.
I would actually recommend that once you have built you plan, you do this for 2021 also. It is very easy to accidentally hit 'adjust plan from here'. and that will totally ruin all your dates for the rest of the year. If you did this with the original, you would have to build the whole thing again, if you did it with a copy of the original, you could just recreate it and choose 'catch up to here'.
0 -
Your methodology for manually entering each reading session is the only way that will work for me in this scenario. It may be a bit tedious, but does give me the chance to ensure that the correct passages are chosen by Verbum/Logos. I discovered that the program does not always accept what you paste in (i.e. a range like 2 John - 3 John), so having this ability to scrutinize every entry is really nice.
While I still think that some csv might be possible, if you're good to go with manual: fine. Since you shared your Excel, I tried my alternative method via Passage Lists and having Logos build the Custom Reading Plan automatically from that. First Reading and Psalm/Proverbs are easy & quick. The free weeks in Second Reading made me build six individual passage lists for those, which I build into a plan for Second Reading.
What threw me off, though, was my assumption:
Subsequently, you should be able to merge the column-specific Reading Plans into one.
Seems this is not true. When adding from another Reading Plan, Logos did not respect existing dates in that plan, but just put the readings behind the last entry, like it does with a passage list. This is either a bug, or a feature that hasn't been designed to the end. So I found no semi-automated way to build multiple readings per day. Ending up with three reading plans instead of one may not be too bad, though. I shared those with public, so you can get them if you want:
(or look in the Docs menu, Public tab)
Have joy in the Lord!
0 -
Subsequently, you should be able to merge the column-specific Reading Plans into one.
Seems this is not true. When adding from another Reading Plan, Logos did not respect existing dates in that plan, but just put the readings behind the last entry, like it does with a passage list. This is either a bug, or a feature that hasn't been designed to the end.
I was able to combine your reading plans:
- Create a Custom Reading Plan
- Set the Read starting and reading session dates to Jan 1, 2021 (Day 1 of the Plan)
- Add... First Reading plan
- Set the reading session date to Jan 6, 2021 (Day 6 of the Plan)
- Add... Second Reading plan
- Set the reading session date back to Jan 1 (Day 1 of the Plan)
- Add... Third Reading plan
See 365 Day Combined Reading Plan in your Docs > Public section.
However, the Plan could have been built in a similar manner from the Passage Lists
- Create a Custom Reading Plan
- Set the Read starting and reading session dates to Jan 1, 2021 (Day 1 of the Plan)
- Add... First Reading List
- Set the reading session date to Jan 6, 2021 (Day 6)
- Add... the first of the Second Reading Lists
- Set the reading session date to Mar 30, 2021 (Day 89) ==> get the date from alignment with the First Reading passage
- Add... the second of the Second Reading Lists
- Set the reading session date to Apr 30, 2021 (Day 120)
- Add... the third of the Second Reading Lists
- ...
- ...
- ...
- Add... the sixth (and last) of the Second Reading Lists
- Set the reading session date back to Jan 1 (Day 1 of the Plan)
- Add... Third Reading List
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
0 -
I was able to combine your reading plans:
- Create a Custom Reading Plan
- Set the Read starting and reading session dates to Jan 1, 2021 (Day 1 of the Plan)
ah! I tried with the "Read starting" but didn't change the reading session - maybe it was too late - thanks!
Have joy in the Lord!
0 -
If anyone is still interested, I did the whole custom reading plan. I cannot guarantee that there are no mistakes, but I tried to be as careful as I could. This is the link to the reading plan:
If anyone finds any mistakes, let me know!
0 -
Hey Edgar,
I just found this, and I am currently going through Bible in a Year. However, it says the document has been deleted. I would love to be able to use it.
0 -
Hey Edgar,
I just found this, and I am currently going through Bible in a Year. However, it says the document has been deleted. I would love to be able to use it.
0 -
Hey Edgar,
I just found this, and I am currently going through Bible in a Year. However, it says the document has been deleted. I would love to be able to use
0 -
Thanks for letting me know. I am not sure why it was delteted. I just shared it again:
0
