Where to Begin
In my last post, I encouraged you, woman of God, to embrace the importance of daily interaction with the Word of God. There are so many benefits to help you grow in His truth through this spiritual discipline. It seems like a habit that should be really simple.
Except, just like exercise, it’s easier in theory than its practice. I believe many of us can attest that starting in Genesis often leads us to giving up really quickly by the time we get to Leviticus.
I have tried many different resources over the years to get into a better habit of reading the Word of God and engaging it practically. Some I have found have been easier to give up on (just opening the Bible and reading through it) compared to others.
Just like exercise plans (I know, you are sick of hearing me talk about exercise and reading God’s Word – some of you are probably groaning at the association–but both are SO good for your health!), what works for one person does not always work for another. It is important that you find what is going to keep you coming back to the Word every day and, more importantly, what strategy is going to help you learn.
The Bible App
One of the ways I have been able to consistently get into God’s Word every day is the Bible App (formerly YouVersion). It is available in both the Apple and Google Play stores, and most Christians tend to have the app on their phone.
Now, I want to discourage you against downloading the app and then just signing up for the daily verse. I know that it’s nice to get a verse sent to you every morning, but I do not believe that reading a single verse, with no surrounding context, is going to help you engage in the Word of God to the best of your ability. This is one relationship we should be putting our full energies into.
There are, however, many plans available on the Bible app. There are topical ones that allow you to read through the Bible and explore answers to questions you may have on your walk with the Lord. These often come with devotionals you can read ahead of the scripture verses to give you some perspective as to what was happening in the days there were written or to challenge you to approach the words a certain way. You can find book readings that allow you to go through individual books of the Bible. There are even plans that allow you to spend every day in God’s word, whether that is reading through the Old or New Testament in a year or even the whole bible.
In 2020, my old church’s leadership challenged the congregation to engage in a reading plan to complete the entire New Testament in the year. The daily plans usually gave the reader 2-3 books of a New Testament book to read a day, sometimes with commentary and sometimes without. I ended up completing that plan ahead along with the church It was a manageable way to get into daily bible readings
Last year (2021), the church was challenged to complete the Old Testament during the course of the year using one of the Bible Projects reading apps. I ended up doing my own reading based on the original division of the Old Testament (Torah [Books of the Law], Major Prophets, Minor Prophets, Books of History, etc.) and then completed the New Testament using a couple different plans.
This year, I am using the Bible Project’s 365 day plan to read through the Old Testament. I cannot recommend the Bible Project enough. Their devotionals are scattered throughout the plans and are videos you can watch (I often would put these on while getting ready in the morning ahead of sitting down and reading the Scriptures). These videos often go over themes, timelines, or cultural concepts that are addressed in whatever is being read for the day, week, or month. I have learned so much about the bible and what the author was trying to convey to the original audience, as well as historical events that were going on around the time the book was written. The videos have also helped explain some Hebrew concepts or rituals (the video series on the Shema is particularly insightful as a modern Western reader).
I would encourage any reader using the Bible App to look up one of the Bible Project’s plans. They have some that are as short as a week and others that take the entire year. This year I am completing their Biblical Storyline Reading Plan.
Getting back to the app as a whole, the Bible App is also especially helpful for accountability. You can adjust notification settings to have the App remind you to get your daily reading done (it’s saved me a chaotic morning or two). You can also complete daily reading plans individually or as part of a group. When you read with others in a group, you can add commentary or ask questions and interact with other readers. This makes it simple to engage with an accountability partner across the country. They can see if you completed the reading for the day and ask questions of your understanding. If you are someone who would benefit from someone holding you to get your reading done everyday, this is a great option for you!
The Bible App also keeps track of streaks for weeks and days of reading. While this can be a perfectionist’s nightmare (I’ve had to learn to reframe how I approach this) it can also be a way of celebrating how often you’ve been able to stay faithful to reading God’s Word. If you’re goal oriented, like I am, it can help you stay on track of reaching your reading goal for the year as well (remember– you can make your beginning goal as simple as reading God’s word every day for 14 days…you don’t need to start with a year!). Last year, my goal was to read every single day and was able to clock in 364. I engaged every week, though, for 101 weeks straight today – which is almost two years total of engaging in God’s word every single week! It might not have been daily, but it was still something I was able to consistently complete.
Furthermore, the Bible App is helpful because it allows the reader access to hundreds of versions of the Bible across multiple languages. This can help a person get a better understanding of what the Scripture is trying to say to the reader by providing the Word in their native language.
I strongly encourage you to get the Bible App on your phone, if you don’t have it already. The only thing I’d like to see them develop is a way for you to turn off notifications or alerts for other services while you are in the app. It can be distracting if you have people bothering you in the middle of your reading. You can probably negate this by turning on airplane mode while you are reading, or keeping track of what you need to read for the day and using a physical bible (I usually did this last year).
She/He Reads Truth
Another extremely beneficial ministry to help make bible reading a daily practice is the company She Read Truth. Funded by Raechel Meyers and Amanda Bible Williams in 2012, their goal was to encourage women to get into God’s Word every single day. They did this by creating aesthetically pleasing devotionals that broke down parts of the bible into manageable daily sections. Sometimes the readings have questions for you to engage with, but the pages always leave places for you to highlight and respond to the readings.
She Reads Truth has both digital and physical copies of their plans. I have always received the physical copies because I believe that engaging with the text physically is better (and, as a former English teacher, I have research to back that up). I am not very familiar with the digital platform and, truthfully, found it a little awkward to try to navigate. I know that there are plenty of readers who get a lot of useful encouragement and accountability out of it, so if you are younger and tech savvy, it’s probably the way to go!
Studies are released every month (depending on how long the study is, there may be one that takes up an entire month or there could be 2-3 plans over the span of 4-6 weeks). It is subscription based, so you can either order the books for the next month or sign up for a recurring plan. The plans are read by every subscriber for the month and are what the ministry highlights on their social media platforms.
Each She Reads Truth study has the same weekly set up for engaging the bible. The week starts on Monday with a commentary, the passage for the day, and potential questions to help you engage with the text. This repeats every weekday. Saturdays are memory verse work days . and then Sundays are “catch up” or rest days. The predictable schedule allows you to figure out how to set up your week. For example, if you want to start on a Wednesday because you work a non-traditional work schedule, you can have your “weekend” fall on whatever days off you have.
Studies are based on different topics. Some of them read through an entire book of the bible, others are topical, while some are seasonal (I have received their Advent study the past four years and have enjoyed it). Plans include historical or cultural information that allow the reader to further dig into the text or the topic. There are often recipes, crafts, and songs included in the devotionals to encourage aesthetic beauty in our lives as well as daily engagement in the Word. Each week you also focus on a verse to memorize, so that you can also hide God’s word in your heart (something we should all be engaging in more).
On top of the studies, She Reads Truth also has a bible they released that has reading plans, fun devotionals, and is overall just a beautiful piece of art as well as a functional bible. I ended up replacing my 10 year old Bible (that was in shambles) with their version last year and have thoroughly enjoyed the change.
She Reads Truth has also expanded over the past couple of years to include He Reads Truth, which is the male version of their books. They coincide with the She Reads Truth topic for the current time period and were originally meant to be read and engaged with as couples. I did order one for my now husband (my boyfriend at the time) for the book of Luke to correspond with what I was reading. The book was more masculine looking and didn’t have the crafts that the women’s copy came with. It was also smaller in size. I am not sure how the study ended up, as my husband ended up not being interested in continuing with the study when we tried it out (I don’t think it worked for him). My husband and I do not engage in devotionals or bible reading together, but I know couples that use She Reads Truth and He Reads Truth for couples devotionals and seem to enjoy the bond it brings. If daily bible reading together is something you and your spouse are disciplined on, this might be a good option for you as well!
She Reads Truth also launched Kids Read Truth which is helpful for mamas who want to teach their kids about biblical truths. Again, I am not as familiar with their products because I do not have children at the moment, but I know several women who have used their products to introduce their littles to the beauty of the truth of God.
For as helpful as the ministry is, there are a couple catches with She Reads Truth. The books are only available in the Christian Standard Bible version (the same with their bibles). This means that if you prefer one translation over another for bibliological reasons, you will need to read along with your hard copy bible or your preferred version on the Bible App. Furthermore, I have noticed in their bible book studies that they sometimes do not end up including the entire book for you to read in the daily sections (I noticed this with the book of Ephesians, which had you reading about 90% of the book but did not include some chunks of verses).
The study is mostly subscription based, and the point is try to read along with the community as often as you can, so you can keep accountable to reading. The ministry releases podcasts throughout the weeks so you can also listen and learn more about the current studies as you engage with the rest of the community. I found that the studies went far too quickly for me to keep up, especially as I was usually focusing on another study at the same time. I also found that the subscription was a little bit pricey every month. But if you are using this as your sole platform for finding studies, you are not paying for other resources.
I also am usually underwhelmed with the commentary and support with understanding the Scriptures. I find this ministry is a good way to get into the habit of reading the Bible every day, but it may not help you always grow in your understanding of the Scriptures.
She Reads Truth is a good platform to make Bible reading a daily habit, and there are different resources that can be utilized to help you get into the habit of reading and supporting your understanding of the Bible. You can also get encouragement on the social media platform by following both their Instagram and Facebook.
While the subscription can seem costly, the platform just introduced a points reward system. You earn points that can be used to reduce the cost of your future purchases by spending money on the platform or referring others to the ministry.
If you would like to order your first She Reads Truth book to try, use my referral code so that both you and I can earn some extra points!
Bible Studies
One of the best ways I have enjoyed engaging in God’s word is through using workbook bible studies. I have done these as part of a church program, in small groups of women (we’re talking 6-7 people), and on my own. Most of the studies I have completed were a pretty common workbook set up where you watch a video to get information on the reading for the week, have 5-6 days of “homework” that require you to dig into the bible and answer questions, and then have discussion guide questions you can use when you meet with your group.
While my most loved way of completing these studies is a very small group in someone’s home, I have learned just as much about God and how to grow in my spiritual walk both in larger church supported platforms and on my own. Each group style has their drawbacks, but you will get something from your study, no matter how you approach it. As a mama of young kids, it may be difficult for you to complete homework and get readings done following a larger group platform because you may need to cut your homeworks in half to get them completed each day. As a single individual, trying to complete the assignments on your own may be easy, but you may lack the need for community in that season of life and being supported by other women in a group setting you might not otherwise have.
Regardless, I encourage you no matter where you are, to give a workbook bible study a try. You can always find ways to adapt and to find what works for you once you begin to engage and commit to daily reading the Scriptures.
When it comes to choosing a study, I hope I can be helpful. There are many Bible studies I completed and really loved– and a couple speakers I will usually go to if I know I want to learn about a certain topic in depth. Just like the Bible app plans, you can find a bible study on almost anything. And the beauty of the digital age is that you can also usually get studies with video portions more inexpensively by buying or renting the weekly videos on the a digital platform instead of paying for hard DVD copies (which, some women I know in my generation, don’t even have DVD players anymore because of the prevalence and ease of streaming content). Or get lucky, like I did, and rent them through your church or loan them from a lady who’s been leading bible studies for decades.
A personal shout out to Carolyn Norris who is in the arms of Jesus now– she provided me so many DVDs when I was completing these on my own and with a few other girls after college.
Several teachers and bible studies t I would recommend because of their soundness in Scripture include:
Priscilla Shirer: Priscilla is becoming one of my favorite teachers. She has a way of using the Scriptures and remaining faithful to the original audience of the passages, while also making rich connections to how the lessons connect to believers today. She is a no nonsense, eloquent speaker. I would LOVE to see her live some day!
Notable studies:
Elijah: This study is invaluable, especially for church members in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic. A rich study on the life of Elijah and how we as modern Christians can learn to live boldly because of the prophet’s examples – and mistakes. I did this as part of a group study and, oh my goodness, we had something to talk about deeply every week
Armor of God: This study challenged me in ways no study has ever donebefore! Not only did I learn about each piece of the armor of God, but I also learned about the importance of prayer. I want to do this study again because I could only soak up so much in the first round!
Gideon: A really good study on such a “small” character in the Bible, but one that shows the importance of following God through everything– and what happens when we give that up. This was the first Priscilla Shirer study I did and after completing it, I knew I wanted to do another one by her.
Beth Moore - I would stick with Beth’s older studies (before 2020); they have provided me with so much information on cultural and historical relevance of the Scriptures, giving me appreciation for the Old Testament and its relationship to the New Testament.
Notable studies:
The Quest: One of my favorite studies by her. This one is best completed individually, in my opinion, and is a great way to learn the disciplines of daily study and the importance of prayer
Breaking Free: One of her OGs. It’s a really good study on how to break free from negative sin patterns, and addresses heavy topics such as addiction and abuse. It deals with the nitty gritty and Beth does not shy away from the fact that she herself was a sinner deeply in need of grace.
The Patriarchs: An amazing study on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It taught me so much about the foundation of the Jewish nation and the importance of these men in the ultimate story of Jesus Christ
A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place: If you want to learn about the importance of the Tabernacle and how to read the building of it in a richer way, I HIGHLY recommend this study.
Lysa Terkeurst: Lysa is someone who does a tremendous job approaching mental health within the church and addressing what happens when we have to live in a broken world that greatly affects us. I began her Best Yes study a few years ago, but never was able to finish it due to life circumstances. However, her most recent works have been phenomenal and have really helped me in some dark places of discovering sins others have committed against me and how to deal with, and begin to heal myself, as a result of them.
Notable studies:
It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: I haven’t done the study for this book, but I read the book and I know I want to do the study someday. It is so good, and it deals with the question we often ask – if God is good, why is everything falling apart? If anyone would want to do an online Bible study of this, I would be happy to facilitate!
Forgiving What You Can’t Forget: This study is one that every woman who has dealt with abuse or betrayal in their life needs to complete. It is one of the hardest bible studies I have ever done and one where I shared very little of the homework I completed with the other women in my very small group because it was so personal, but the work was life transforming. I ended up buying the journal that went along with the book and study to complete at a later time. The focus on forgiveness and healing is immense while compassionately addressing the emotions that come about when we do everything right, yet the person who hurt us still has power over us and is causing us to suffer. It is amazing and I think more churches should engage in this work, along with betrayal trauma support groups for women. Especially in light of the growing number of men in the church with pornography addictions and other affairs.
The Take Away
Obviously, this is not even close to an exhaustive list of the studies that are out there. I want to engage in a couple more studies myself in the next year, especially from different teachers that I haven’t sat under before.
The benefit of most studies is that there are usually 5 days of homework and then a video day. This means that if you follow along on the schedule, you are engaging in the Word at least 6 days a week. Some homeworks can be split in half and completed over a couple of days.
The one piece of legwork you should do before you end up diving deep into a study is to see how often they have you going into the word of God. All of the studies I listed above have you engaging in the Bible every single homework and lead you on a path to engaging the Scriptures in a powerful way. They often do the work of asking you what you learned from the passage and how you can apply it in a more indirect fashion that requires you to really meditate on the questions. I believe Bible studies are also a really important way we can engage the cultural and historical importances of Scripture to inform ourselves better about the story of God.
Regardless of what you end up choosing to engage in, as long as you are consistently returning to God’s word and seeking its impact on your life, there is no “right” way to approach it.
Hopefully some of the resources I listed above can assist you in establishing a daily habit of Scripture reading. If you have any questions on the process or about any resources, please comment below! I am more than happy to help you find ways to engage God in your everyday life.
And I think it’s just as important that you share – what resources or techniques have helped you make Scripture reading a daily discipline? Share your thoughts below!