‘The Bible in a Year’ with Fr. Mike Schmitz — Reflection on Day 1
Thoughts and reflections on Day 1 episode of “The Bible in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz, which included Genesis 1 & 2, as well as Psalm 19. Both use poetry to point us to God.
Listen to the Day 1 episode of “The Bible in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz. He reads the first two chapters of Genesis, which share the “macro” and “micro” story of how God created the heavens and earth (and us!). He also reads Psalm 19, which I believe reflects the innate sense of worship we feel when we experience awe at an expansive night sky; we marvel at the creator as we experience his creation.
➡️ ‘Bible in a Year’ Fr. Mike Schmitz Resources: Why I bought the Companion (study guide), Bible, and notebook
Genesis 1 & 2: ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.’
There is so much to unpack here! But first, what the heck is a “firmament?” I hadn’t heard that word before. Essentially, it’s the vast expanse of sky, which is also described in some Bible translations as a vault.
“A vault?” I asked my husband as we discussed “The Bible in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Day 1 episode. “That doesn’t make any sense either. Like a bank vault?”
“Like a boundary,” he said. “It separates the waters from the sky from the waters beneath.”
I once heard that this was where God stored the water that rained down during the flood. That hasn’t happened yet, and I suppose it makes sense if you don’t interpret it literally.
And you shouldn’t take Genesis literally, Fr. Mike Schmitz said during his explanation, which always follows the daily Bible reading. Genesis is Hebrew poetry.
Poetry is still truth. It’s just a different way of expressing truth than a line-by-line, fact-only historical account.
Biblical poetry teaches us how to pray and worship — and so much
The Book of Psalms is also poetry. When I first started reading the Bible in my 20s, I was often confused — until someone told me that the Bible is a library of books, a collection of various genres that, when taken together, make up the story of God and his people. There are historical accounts and biographies, but there are also books of law, prophecy, wisdom, and poetry.
You shouldn't read a narrative book the same way you would read a song, which is what I appreciate about “The Great Adventure Bible” timeline that Fr. Mike Schmitz is following in his “The Bible in a Year” podcast.
I love the Psalms. In my 20s, I decided to read one Psalm per day as a morning devotional. Just one. I’d read it, reflect on it, and over the next 150 days or so — it took me the better half of a year — the songs written in that book changed me.
How do you describe how a song changes you? Or how poetry reveals a truth you didn’t previously have words to express?
Reading the Bible’s poetry taught me so much about how to have a relationship with God. The Psalm writers brought their worries and concerns to him. They didn’t hold back their fear or anger, or their overflowing sense of love as they expressed praise and worship.
King David wrote many of the Psalms, but not all of them. Psalm 19 is attributed to David. Following “The Great Adventure” timeline, if you’re willing to read along with me, we’ll learn more about him during the “Royal Kingdom” period of this Bible timeline.
➡️ ‘Bible in a Year’ Fr. Mike Schmitz Resources: Why I bought the Companion (study guide), Bible, and notebook
The northern lights were seen in Iowa in November 2025, and we marveled at how God seemed to pain the sky with streaks of color. It’s an example of how the heavens point to God, as it says in Psalm 19, which we read on Day 1 of “The Bible in a Year” with Fr. Mike Schmitz podcast.
Psalm 19: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’
A few months ago, the northern lights made it all the way down to Iowa. I’d been lucky enough to see them in northern Minnesota last year, but I never imagined that I’d see them this far south, or that they’d be even more brilliant than they were up north.
My husband and I drove into the countryside, pulled onto a dirt road, and then spent the next half hour marveling at the heavens. The northern lights seemed divinely inspired, as if God himself were painting in front of us.
We felt similarly when we traveled to Oregon this summer. We climbed to the top of a smaller mountain and marveled at Mt. Hood’s majesty. The sense of wonder I felt was a natural reaction to the beauty of God’s creation before me. The creation pointed to the creator. Psalm 19 affirms that:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
— Psalm 19, 1-4 (NIV)
If you’ve ever looked at a sky that seemed too strikingly blue not to be of God, you’ve experienced the divine brushstrokes of the master or all artists.
What’s beautiful about this piece of poetry — this prayer of worship — is how it recognizes the innate sense of awe we feel when we marvel at the heavens and earth. But it doesn’t stop there.
Psalm 19 describes how the heavens and earth point to the one who made them.
When people say they believe nature is a (lower case) god, I think this is where they get confused. They’re seeing the painting and start worshiping the creation instead of taking a step back and worshiping the divine painter.
A view of Mount Hood from a hike we took this summer. We marveled at God’s creation, as it says in Psalm 19 (NIV), “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
Discovering God’s story in both the narrative and poetic books of the Bible
God’s story has intrigued me for years, and I’m excited to follow “The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz” podcast as it weaves together the threads of God’s story — a story I believe he’s still actively writing in the world today.
When I teach faith storytelling (I’m so passionate about it that I wrote a book!), a core concept of storytelling that many people miss is action and reaction.
When telling a story, many people describe an action that impacted them, but they don’t describe their reaction. They neglect telling us how they felt.
The best storytellers, including the divine storyteller, doesn’t skip the reaction. That’s because how we felt drives the story forward; our emotions are the fuel to the plot’s engine.
For every action, there’s an equal reaction.
Jeff Cavins, who created “The Great Adventure Bible” timeline, has done that right on Day 1.
He paired the action of God creating in Genesis with how — when we see God’s creation — we innately react with awe at how it points to him.
Psalm 19 covers so more ground, of course, as does Genesis 1 and 2. But as I reflected on today’s reading, I couldn’t stop thinking about how God is the master of all storytellers. And I can’t wait to read more of his story.
I’m on Day 1 of “The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz,” which shares the greatest story ever told. A story I believe God is still actively writing in the world today.
Will you join me for Day 2?
➡️ ‘Bible in a Year’ Fr. Mike Schmitz Resources: Why I bought the Companion (study guide), Bible, and notebook
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Mackenzie Ryan Walters is the author of “Faith Storytellers: Unleash the Power of Your Story,” which shares Christian testimonies and stories, as well as curated lists about Christian books, gifts, and more. A national award-winning former journalist who’s covered a presidential campaign, been inside NASA, and reported on education and schools, Mackenzie now edits the Faith Storytellers website and is passionate about lifting up and sharing the story God is writing in the world.
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