Bible Study Resources & Tools

The right tools makes anything easier, right?  My husband always says - 'make sure you start with the right tools for you and for the job in front of you, as it will save you so much time and energy.'

This is so true and it addresses every aspect of life.  From those times when you need to cut down/trim back a tree limb or to write a budget sheet for the new year, the right tools make SUCH a difference in the quality of the task you perform.  It is SO much easier to use a chain saw or electric limb cutter than a dull saw, right?  The first two will get the job done in a fraction of the time and save you a VERY sore arm/back later.  Your budget is going to be SO much more effective (and you avoid the stress headaches) if you gather the tools and supplies ahead of time, instead of pausing half way between to go hunt down an elusive bill.  Or worse that receipt that you forgot to write down the total of and now there are two similar charges listed and you can't remember which one is the one you needed to turn in for a reimbursement.  (btw: is it just me or do these things always happen mid-way through crunching numbers?!?)

This idea is equally true for your personal Bible study time.  The right tools make a HUGE difference in how you not only interact with the Word of God, but also are instrumental in how you apply it to your life.  

The following is a list that I am going to be using in 2025, and besides the first one, they are in no particular order:

1) Prayer - I am embarrassed at how often I forget this step.  This is THE most important step - everything else just makes it easier - this is the ONE thing though that makes or breaks your time in the Word.

Dear God, thank you SO much for your patience with me.  Please open my eyes and my heart and enlighten my mind so that I can clearly see who You are, understand what You desire for me to know today, and strengthen my will and change my heart so that I can walk out Your will.  

2) Bible Hub and/or The Blue Letter Bible - I use Bible Hub more often than I use The Blue Letter Bible, so I am MUCH more comfortable recommending Bible Hub as a GREAT Bible study tool.  But I will say this, the Blue Letter Bible is SO SO SO SO much better on a computer than in the app. 

3) A good Bible dictionary.  There are SO many good ones out there, either in physical book form, or free ones through apps/websites like BibleHub, but my favorite dictionary to use isn't a Bible dictionary per se.  It is the Webster's 1828 dictionary.  It comes in physical book form or you can simply google it and use the site for free.  It often includes scripture references when giving examples of definition.

4) A good set of pens.  Again this is all about preference, but my favorite pens to use for Bible study are Pilot Knock Gel Ink Extra Fine Ballpoint, Juice Up 04, 10 Color Assorted.  They range in price from 14.50 to 17.99, I try to catch them when they are closer to the fourteen dollar range.  I used one set all the way through my Bible last year and I took LOTS of notes and underlined a LOT.  I did not color code, I just liked seeing the different colors.  My method was this : I chose a different color for each chapter, just constantly rotating through nine of the colors (I saved the black one for when I needed to emphasize something that I underlined or to draw attention to notes I took).  Also a cheap set of colored pencils is a GREAT resource to have.  They never bleed through - no matter how thin the paper is in the Bible you are using.  

5) Something to organize and carry your pens in...and whatever other craft/office supplies you choose to use.  I use a large pen bag that has Pooh Bear on it 😊 and includes the following :  the pens I mentioned, post-it notes, washi tape, stickers, a small ruler, and a set of four marker/highlighters that I only use on the thickest of papers as they totally bleed through and ruin everything else.  (Faith Womack from How to Faith a Life had THE best idea to prevent those nasty surprises.  Use those extra pages at the beginning or end of your Bible that aren't terribly important and try out the pen or marker you want to use to make sure it won't bleed through.)

6) Commentaries.  There are SO many *usually very strong* opinions on whether to use a commentary or not.  I don't have a very strong opinion either way.  I use the free ones on Bible Hub *most frequently gravitating to Matthew Henry, but I am new to using commentaries and do not have a wide range of knowledge about them.  I would say this though, read through the Word on your own, pray through it, struggle through it, before you reach for what someone else says about it. 

7) A good journal.  Something you aren't afraid to spill coffee or tears on (I do both regularly 😐).  It can be as fancy as a Moleskine journal or as simple as a spiral bound you find on sale...but a journal is important.  You may want to take all of your notes in it (some people do NOT like to write in their Bibles) or you may want to use it as a spot to record prayers, definitions, verse maps etc;  The how and why you use it are completely up to you, I just recommend that you have one.  (This year as I do the chronological read through I am using a workbook that Growing4Life created.  It has a spot for prayers, a Bible reading check-off sheet, and a spot for a daily entry for you to summarize what you just read. It is a great resource.)

8) This last one - it won't be for everyone - but I find it so helpful.  Find people you admire (on social media, blogs, y0u tube, in person classes etc;) - follow them or attend their classes, whatever platform they use, plug yourself in to it.  I am personally SO encouraged by four things of this sort right now :  How To Faith a Life on Y0u Tube, SheLovesBible on Inst*gram, sermons linked to the book of the Bible through The Blue Letter Bible site (for example right now I am in 1 Timothy and under the study section there are four sermons by Paul Washer that are SO helpful in my study of this book of the Bible), and an in person Bible study we attend in the fall and spring.  

9) (bonus one) A Journal Bible.  This has been a game changer for how I interact with the Bible.  I use NIV Journal the Word Bible.  I now have two.  Last year I used the hardback/cloth covered version.  This year I tried the leather one and I actually prefer the hardback as it will lay flatter, making it so much easier to underline and take notes.

The Year in Review

True to form, we are knee deep in a horrible virus.  I don't know what it is about this time of year, but even as a kid, I was always sick.  Unfortunately, it seems like genetics are stronger than any preventative vitamin or anti-bacterial and washing of hands, because my kids (young adults) are, as per usual, knee deep in the trenches with me.

*sigh*

It has been over a week of coughing, sneezing, sleepless nights, runny noses, fevers, aches and pains, and now tummy issues.  I am SO tired of laying in bed, but don't feel like doing much else.  I feel like my tongue will forever just taste halls cough drops.

I haven't read anything this week, I have fallen asleep re-listening to A Soul Cold as Frost, but as I have slept off and on I don't feel like I can accurately log it as read.  So, I am going to do a year-in-review post because I don't want to forget the good books I have read, the things I have learned, and the things I have most enjoyed...

First of all - favorite reads of 2024 : 

(I originally set my reading goal at 104 books, but the year started off VERY rough and we had a LOT going on, so I shortened my goal to 75 and ended up reading over a hundred anyway.)  

My favorite part of 2024 was completing the Chronological Bible read through.  I know I have said this before, but at the end of last year I'd already met my reading goals, our Bible study was on break from before Thanksgiving until mid-January, and so I was left with this pocket of time that I didn't want to waste.  I decided to try to complete a 90 days jaunt through the Bible.  But this time I was determined to conquer the chronological plan.  I had tried (and failed) to read chronologically through the Bible in 90 days several times.  I can do the regular plan (and have several times) but there is just something about the chronological plan that I could not complete.  I printed off my check-off sheet (but preferred the app for the old testament plan) and off I went.

What happened was unexpected.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED it.  God met me on the pages and as I slowed down, used a journaling Bible, and wrote as I read - it was MIND blowing.  God is so incredibly faithful and His Word proves that over and over and over again.  So this was my favorite part of 2024 - the time spent in His Word. (*note about B90 at bottom of post)

My favorite fiction reads : The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt and Christmas in the Castle Library by Ann Swindell (btw - I asked and it WILL be out on Audible late January!!)

My biggest regrets: Every year, no matter how old they get, I always get a Christmas picture book for my kids and this year I bought The Christmas Blessing by Erin Guendelsberger and it is THE WORST CHRISTMAS picture book!  It warped the Gospel, did not even mention God (not once!), did not mention Jesus by name (THE ENTIRE NATIVITY IS ALWAYS AND ONLY COMPLETELY about Jesus) and it was JUST TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE.  Complete waste of money and time. 

Spying on Miss Mueller and Cinderella in Skates were two others that I wish I had skipped and not read.

Prayers answered : so many of these are too personal to share here and are not my story to tell, but God's faithful love and provision are MIND blowing.

New things I discovered this year:

W@l-MaRt's Gingerbread coffee (this is SUPRISINGLY soooooo yummy!!)

How to Faith a Life on you-tube.  I LOVE this channel.  And her Bible!  

Snackle boxes - have you heard of these?  We ran across them first on Am@zon, but found them cheaper at W@l-MaRt.  Google these - they make THE PERFECT DIY fruit or veggie tray type thing.  Add carrots, broccoli, cheese chunks, mini pretzels...etc;.

Job 36:21 - this verse - it was featured in an article written somewhere about patiently enduring hard times.  It hit me - the warning in this verse - just because you are overwhelmed or tired or anxious for a hard season to draw to a close - there is NO excuse for turning to anything outside of God.  Especially, guard against this temptation when you are weary of the hard season.

And lastly.  Heard THE BEST idea yesterday - instead of New Year's Resolutions and goal setting this year and instead of choosing a word of the year - why not choose an attribute of God to govern your year?  Here is the post : click here.

*B90 is a good way to get a overarching view of the Bible.  The way it is set up, the volume of reading you are required to do per day, it forces you to plow through and see the overarching themes in the Word of God, but it is NOT a good way to dig in and dig deep.  I think everyone should do B90 at least once in their lifetime, BUT I will say B90 is a HORRIBLE way to do the chronological read through.  The Chronological is (in my opinion) designed to be read slowly and read deeply and to ask a LOT of questions along the way.  I would NOT recommend it as a B90 plan.  

In case you are interested : Blue Letter Bible has a great chronological plan, as does one I found on a Bible app (it is literally called : ReadingPlan App) and you will find the plan I like under the default plans. (it was created in 2009 by John A. Battle.)  This year though I am going to try Growing4Life's Chronological Reading Plan and on her blog she includes a free pdf of this, so click over to this post to find it.

The Perfect Christmas

by Debbie Macomber

I don't know quite how this started, but this is an annual read for me now.  Every Christmas (or at the very least as close to Christmas as I can get) I read this cute, sweet story.

I do not read Debbie Macomber - I know she has a deep fan base and there are people who have read through her entire book series (seriously, I think she has published like over 800 books!).  I have read one or two other Christmas stories that she has published, and while they were also sweet and cute, they weren't this one. 

This book is like an old friend you call up for coffee.  You know the ones that you haven't seen for a while, but it feels like just yesterday?  You simply pick up where you left off and chat away over the cups of coffee.  Coincidentally I have a "coffee friend" and I absolutely love when we get together.  It is simply the best.

Anyway - this book - there is nothing earth shattering in it, it is just one of the sweetest, coziest reads for the holiday season. I have the audible, kindle, and paperback version of it, so no matter what is going on during any particular year, I have a chance to read it during the holiday season.

This will probably be my last book post for 2024, I have signed up (or are waiting to) for some 2025 reading challenges...

So far I am committing to :

Brighter Winter 2025

2025 Classics Reading Challenge

52 books in 52 weeks (she hasn't posted sign-ups yet, but I am eagerly awaiting it)

2025 Chronological Read Through (I don't agree with all of her theological viewpoints, but I am SO excited to join this!  I read through the Bible chronologically 2023-2024 and it was AMAZING.)

Christmas in the Castle Library

by Ann Swindell

Oh my.  This may very well be my favorite, FAVORITE book of 2024.  I LOVED the story, the author's choice of words swept up my mind and heart until I felt like I was nestled into one of the cushy armchairs that old castle libraries simply MUST have.  Watching Ellie knee deep in research in the Letherby castle library, as she learns how to live and love and trust God, all over again, has been the best thing I have read in a long, long time.

I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this book.  It is AMAZINGLY beautiful and the perfect Christmas read.

Brighter Winter 2025

Registration Opens Today!!!!!!!!  There are three bonus packages available - BUT - you can still do the challenge for free if you don't want to sign up for bonus packages.

Click on the picture or simply google Brighter Winter Reading Challenge 2025.  💖

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!  🦃

Our theme for what some people term "Christmas School" is The Nutcracker.  My husband and I spent many Christmas seasons rehearsing and performing in The Nutcracker ballet, so, I was a bit surprised when I realized for all the themes we have covered through the years, we have never once chosen The Nutcracker as our Christmas school theme.  We have a lot of fun activities lined up and lots of great books, I CANNOT wait!  But I also wanted to read a re-telling in my personal time, and so I chose Winterdream by Chantal Gadoury.  

I was initially a bit disappointed because I could not find this book in print or on kindle, so I had to listen to it through audible (which means the only time I have to do this is at night, it is not as easy to tuck reading time throughout the day when you only have audio as an option).  BUT - the narrator did a FANTASTIC job!  I liked the backstory, the different ways that Chantal Gadoury chose to unfold the story,  yet I was thankful that she chose to keep many of the common points that most Nutcracker stories contain.

I cannot believe that we only have one month of the year left.  The days have been REALLY long this year, but the weeks and months have sped by.  

(Well except for the summer: the HOTTEST days tend to crawl  by and leave such a horrible memory that it feels like that is the LONGEST part of our year.  I DO NOT like the summer.)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!  

One of my very favorite verses in the Bible

This morning I was prepping one of my husband's stocking stuffers - it is a journal with Bible tabs for each book of the Bible with a small synopsis - author, date, setting and what the book is mostly about with a small chapter outline.  And in doing that I remembered this verse from Genesis that I absolutely LOVE.

Genesis chapter 50 verse 24-26 says this:

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die.  But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land He promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."  And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place."

So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten.  And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

and THEN the fulfillment in Exodus 13:19 😍😍😍

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear an oath.  He had said, "God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place." 

THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD blows my mind.  

Can you even imagine this?  Joseph has been the favored child, the despised brother, sold, enslaved, accused but innocent, imprisoned, released, promoted to a position second only to pharaoh, reunited, forgiving, and at the end still trusting in God's promises to such an extent that he makes his brothers = the people of Israel, swear an oath to carry his bones out from Egypt when God rescues them (while currently living in Egypt as a form of God's rescue from starvation).  Can you even imagine?  Blows. My. Mind.

God is SO so good.  He is faithful.  His Word is truth.  It will happen and unfold JUST like He says it will when He desires it to.