“For the word of God is alive and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow;
it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
My house is quiet. Hubs and baby are asleep. Just me and Jesus (and coffee!) sitting on the floor. #shereadstruth #freshstart
I posted that picture with that caption on instagram last week, and it sparked some conversation that made me so happy. I’ll tell you more, but first you have to get a little back-story. My Dad is a pastor, (and my Grandpa… and Great-Grandpa…) and I grew up in a home where I was encouraged to read God’s Word. And as a result of that I learned to love God’s Word. I mean, how can you read it and not come to love it?! But even though I enjoy reading my Bible I don’t necessarily like doing “women’s Bible studies.” A big part of it is because a lot of the ones targeting women are a little cheesy. Why is that?!?
So over the last year or so I’ve seen a lot of people mention She Reads Truth through various social media sites, and here’s what I thought. (Go easy on me. I’m being really honest here.) I thought, “Great another cheesy, feel-good study for women that compares God’s loves to household chores. ‘God’s love is like an iron. It gets all the wrinkles out of your life’ or ‘Sin stinks up your entire home like a dirty diaper’… blah blah blah.” I know. Such a bad attitude, but I honestly had no interest in it. Then at the end of last year (like two weeks ago!) I saw it mentioned somewhere else and was curious enough to do some research. And I LOVED what I saw on the She Reads Truth website. The devotion content isn’t feel-good or shallow at all. It’s all about digging into God’s Word. And that’s when God showed me where to stick my bad attitude! So I decided to begin the Fresh Start reading plan on January 1st. And I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about reading God’s Word. I’ve posted about it a little obnoxiously over the last week and encouraged other women to do it with me, and they are! Yay! I’m so proud of all of you! Then I started getting emails asking, “How do you read your Bible?” and “I’ve never read my Bible and don’t even know where to start.” I was so thankful that people had the courage to ask those questions and was more than happy to try to help a little. Then I started thinking that there are probably others with similar questions who just don’t feel comfortable asking them. And that’s what prompted me to write this post.
A lot of people do their “quiet time” with God differently. And I don’t really think there’s an exact formula, but I’ll tell you what I do… for what it’s worth.
– First of all, most people will tell you that you need a set time that you schedule your quiet time every day. That’s a great idea, but it doesn’t work for me. I’m not a structured person, and I get all stressed when I feel like I have to sit down and read my Bible and pray at 10 am no matter what, DANG IT! It just doesn’t always work out. Especially when you spend a lot of time with a toddler every day! So I just do it when the time is there. Sometimes that’s mid morning. Other times it’s during nap time and last night it was late, right before bed. The important thing is that you do it. Also, if you miss a day. Don’t freak out! Just start back the next day.
– I love the Bible iPhone app, and I follow the She Reads Truth plan through that app, but I like to actually read the verses in my Bible. That is a total personal preference. I don’t think it matters, but there’s something about opening it up and asking God to speak to me through the pages. I also like to write notes or highlight verses, because it’s always cool to come across a passage years later and read what God used at a different time to speak to me! So I get out my Bible and just ask God to use his Word to speak to me. Then I look up the passage for the day and read it. Then I read the devotional content that goes along with it. Sometimes I keep reading. And other times I don’t even read all of it. If God uses a certain verse to speak to me I like to focus on that verse. It’s not about how much you read, especially if you’re not getting anything out of it.
– Also, my favorite translations of the Bible are the New International Version (NIV) and The Message. It’s actually the 1984 NIV. There’s a newer one that I don’t like as much. Picky, picky. The Message can be a little weird sometimes, because it’s such modern wording, but I think it’s so great to get a fresh prospective when I’m trying to study a passage and learn all I can from it. Find one that you understand and can easily read. The King James Version is great, but sometimes it drives me crazy. I feel like I’m watching a British television show and can’t understand anything the characters are saying!
If you’ve never really read the Bible or just need a fresh start I want to encourage you to check out She Reads Truth today. You can just go to the website everyday or you can follow the plan through the Bible app on your phone. And if that doesn’t sound good just start reading the book of James or John. Those are two of my favorites! Reading the Word can and will change your life, but you have to open the book!
*How do you study the Bible? Do you have a favorite Bible study? I’d love to check it out! And if this post left you with even more questions feel free to leave them below or send me an email. I’ll try to help!
I have started using the Bible Gateway app and I looooove it! I saw on Instagram that you were doing She Reads Truth and I was intrigued by it, but I also really like the app I’m using too. It sets up my reading for me every day. Last year I used a plan I found online and it was horrible. One day it would have me read 3 verses (literally, just three) and then the next day I would read 150! Definitely not very balanced.
Bible Gateway is great though! I am just reading from beginning to end in the year. Despite the unbalanced plan I had last year I still finished and I plan to be able to say the same about this year 🙂
Love your blog! You inspired me to start my own!! 🙂
Michelle, Thanks for telling me about that app. I’ll check it out for sure!
Lynds, I am so proud of you! I love God’s word too! Keep it real. God is using you!
Lyndsay, Thanks so much for writing this. I’m one of the girls who emailed you about what bible translation to buy. Thanks so much!
So thankful that you don’t have a “hand me down” faith. One of the greatest joys of parenting is seeing y’all get it for yourself. Y’all are such a blessing. OK I’m stopping before I start balling. Love you.
Love you too, Pop! 🙂
Started reading with She Reads Truth too! Thanks for sharing it 🙂
I did the very first She Reads Truth devotional. It was at a very dark and difficult time in my life. The timing was perfect. I did the entire study. It was good stuff. GOOD GOOD STUFF! I did a few of the others ones but slacked off towards year end. But I’m back on it now. Enjoying this fresh start too.
For me, I read at night before bed. I like to read the devotional first, then I read it (in my bible—-i like to take notes on my bible page) and then I write something out in a journal. Sometimes its similar to the devotional, sometimes its my own take. Either way, we’re in the Word and that’s what matters. I try to think about what I read the next morning so I can think about it through the day!
xoxoxox
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