DUI- wanting to jumpstart my walk

People make mistakes, it happens so don't kick yourself too hard for it (obviously don't do it again ether )

Obviously graduating is an important thing, but God has the best in mind for you, so just have faith God will keep you safe and you'll be fine. God loves you!

I can't really help with the reading the Bible thing (because Im not good at it myself). Something that should help in your Christian walk is to show more love to people around you, have faith in what God can do in your life and act from your prays, and hope for the future. Also to pray and be open to the Holy Spirit's guidence.

Just a few thoughts

hey kitty,
don't feel too bad,
everyone makes mistakes

the important thing is that you won't do it again.

i do believe it is no coincidence that this incident happened, right around when you decided to 'jump start' your relationship with Christ.

it is the devil playing his little song.

as for your question,
i would advise you to (especially if you're a new christian) to read the gospels first.

the gospel is the historically accurate, eye-witness accounts of Jesus Christ.

the gospel of John is the one my church recommends as the first gospel to read.
from there, read acts (which is what happened in the early church), romans, etc.

i like to think of Romans as the legal aspect of Christianity.

it is also very useful to buy a bible commentary.
i don't have one myself, but if you google, there are commentaries for free on the internet.

it is also very useful to pray, and ask for a spirit of wisdom and a spirit of revelation (as set out in Ephesians 1) before reading the bible, and ask the holy spirit to help you understand.

Hey. I guess the best advice I could give is to get involved in a good contemporary bible believing church around the area. I reccomend getting a message translation of the bible. It really brings the bible alive in a fresh way that is easy to understand. I found it so hard to read the New King James bible so the Message was brilliant for me.

Most importantly I guess is just to commit your life to jesus and pray for strength to live for him.

Blessings.

I think, the most important thing to keep in mind in all of this, is that you truly are free. I know from my personal experience when I make a huge mistake and sin horribly, the temptation is to sulk for a while in grievance of my sin. I think when I do this I am somehow trying to 'pay back' for my sin. I think if I make myself feel guilty enough I am somehow atoning my own sin. Remember, God sees us as perfect, He has ALREADY payed for our sins. (all of them) We are set free in God, free to pursue Him, unhindered by guilt of past sins and unhindered by our insufficiency to follow God's law.

What I'm guessing by your immediate response of 'I need to read the Bible more' is that it may still slightly be motivated by guilt or a sense of 'this will keep me from sinning.' (at least in my case it often is) I would encourage you to remember the Gospel. Remember that you are a daughter of Christ, and your Father loves you dearly. God only wants the best for us. (even if it means we must suffer) We are already justified. Christ did not die so that we could live lives of constantly 'trying to do better', but He died to save us from God's wrath so that we could pursue Him intimately and freely. (and in pursuing Christ, we naturally turn from our sinful desires)

As far as a reading suggestion, I'd say Galatians. It has personally been a very important book in my life reminding me of the freedom that God has given me as a son of God. And if you do plan on going through a book, remember to couple it with prayer. Ask God to keep you from falling, as only He can, (our own will to 'try harder and not sin' will always fail.) and to constantly remind you of His great love, and to kindle in you a passion for Him and His glory so that you intently pursue Him.

It was meant to happen to shake you up maybe? I think most of us make mistakes kitty. You just learn from them and pray it makes poisitve changes and others see what could happen.