The “But First, God” 3-Day Bible Plan With Julie Chen MoonvesUzorak

Hi, I’m Julie Chen Moonves. Thank you for putting God first by using this 3 day Bible plan. The easiest way I find to put God first is to start everything I do with prayer. So let’s get right to it!

Heavenly Father, thank You for the power and privilege of prayer. When we come to You first, all things are possible. I pray that everyone who is listening, draws nearer to You and finds their purpose in life. In Jesus’s name I pray amen!

Please know, it’s never too late to start a personal relationship with God. Take it from me, I didn’t start mine until I was 48 years old. And when I started it, I was so green, I didn’t even know the number one and greatest commandment of all. Yes, I knew some of the 10 commandments like the obvious ones: Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife but the rest I couldn’t quote. And worst of all, I didn’t know the very first and most important commandment. It’s stated right there in Exodus chapter 20 verse 3: You shall have no other gods before me.

This same commandment is expanded upon in Mathew chapter 22 verse 37 when Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment in the Law? He replies: “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind”

And that was the commandment I was breaking everyday as you’re about to hear in this excerpt from my audio memoir But First, God:

Before I became a mom, I never wanted to become a mom. I was married to my work. That was my baby. Work was my false idol, and I always saw becoming a mom as a way of slowing down my career. When I was younger, I wanted to be the next Barbara Walters, and I thought she had no kids. It turns out she does have a daughter, but I didn't know that then. I also wanted to be the next Diane Sawyer, and I knew she didn't have kids, and I thought, see, she's so successful because she doesn't have kids.

After I got married, my husband, I remember five years into our marriage, him saying, you know, Jules, you're not gonna deny me if we don't have a child together. But I know you, and if you don't do this, you're gonna regret it.

At that point, I was in my late thirties, so even the notion of getting pregnant was not going to be easy, or so I thought. But what I know now is when God has a plan, He has a plan.

I mean, think about the Bible. Sarah in the Old Testament, I think she was like in her eighties or nineties when he finally blessed her with her child. And I wasn't quite 80 or 90, but I was almost 40 when Charlie Moonves was born. I was three months shy of my 40th birthday.

Even when my son Charlie was born, I was not taking to motherhood easily. I was juggling Big Brother and The Early Show, and I was still making work my priority.

I was outsourcing raising him with baby nurses, nannies. I was always running off to work. I didn't care about anything but getting that next assignment and doing it. For example, I was offered this assignment that required me to be in China and away from my family for 11 days, and my son Charlie, was only five then. And they say you should be only away from your child for one night per how old they are. Five years old, only be away for five nights. I hesitated at first, but ultimately it didn't stop me from going. My job and my career was in first place at that point in my life, I put it ahead of even my family.

It wasn't until I started to read scripture and study the Bible and get to know Jesus, that I learned loving God is exactly why he created us. He has to come first above all else, and my responsibility to Charlie as his mom is to teach him that

Thank you for listening to day 1 of this 3 day Bible Plan. Let us close in prayer:

Father God,

May we all acknowledge false idols in our lives, be it work, money or anything else…and knock them down. They separate us from you. May we always stay close to you and put you FIRST above all else. As stated in Isaiah 9:6 You are our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Thank You for Your undying love, mercy and grace. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen 🙏

Please join me again tomorrow for day 2 when we learn how putting God first, teaches us how to forgive.