93 | Overcome The Overwhelm: 3 Easy Ways To Start Bible Reading Today

Hey Girlfriends! 

In this episode, I’m here to help you overcome the overwhelm of approaching the Bible. If you’ve ever wondered how to get started or how to make Bible reading feel more manageable, this episode is for you! Whether you're new to the faith or a seasoned Christian looking to deepen your time in Scripture, these tips will help you connect with God’s Word more often and more meaningfully. I’ll be sharing 3 simple ways to kickstart your Bible journey and enhance your reading time, so you can grow even more in your faith. Let’s dive in!

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Transcript

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Today, we are going to kickstart your Bible reading journey. This is going to be a great episode for beginners who are new in their faith and of course for my friends who have been at this for quite a while, it will serve as a reminder for you to continue to show up. Reading the Bible can be incredibly daunting. And that is why I think you'll love this episode. The goal today is to make it less scary for you and more approachable as you open up the beautiful pages of scripture. I want to help you ditch the overwhelm when it comes to Bible reading, I cannot wait to dive into today's episode with you. So grab that notebook or pause and pray if you feel the need to, but we're diving into all of that right now. Hey girlfriend, welcome to the restored mind where we are learning how to get confidence that last that's right. Sustainable confidence. I'm your host, Caroline Thao, a Christian life and a mindset coach. If you are a mom struggling to find yourself again, or have ever wandered, if you're good enough, this podcast is for you. So grab your Bible, a breakout, that journal and get something to write with because we're doing this. Ready, let's go. Who here loves free resources. I know I do. And I know you can't say new, but I have my hands up. If you haven't already joined me in my free community for women, just like you. They are moms who are working hard to build their fees, that results in sustainable confidence. Imagine having confidence that lasts even through the hard seasons. Especially through the messy journey of motherhood. There are encouragement post in that group. That is going to motivate you to continue to show up. You also get the opportunity to take this conversation beyond the podcast, as well as connect with other mamas. That are within the same season as you. And honestly, there is a reason that Jesus sent out his disciples two by two. You are not meant to be on this journey alone. My friends will come join us. The link is in the show notes, but if you're already browsing on Facebook, which I'm pretty sure you are search the restored mind and be a part of this small, but mighty community. I remember as a new believer in my early twenties, how intimidating the Bible was for me now, I did not grow up in a church. I did not grow up in a Christian home, but eventually I converted. So when I had my son at the age of 24, I remember feeling very lost. I didn't know how to read the Bible. Or how to navigate it, or even how it applied it to me. I wondered how much of a difference would my life really change if I actually read the Bible? Let's be honest here. How many of us have had that question? Cross our mind. So I wonder why can't sermons be enough. Because let's be honest, it's so much easier to hear someone teach it rather than me actually reading it. And truth be told in the season, reading the Bible meant falling asleep as I grazed my eyes across the pages. And that is why I want to share with you three ways that you can make it easier and more fun for you to kickstart your Bible reading journey. So let's get started because point a is going to be about investing in a Bible. Bible study Bible. Basically what a Bible study Bible is, is it's a Bible, but it has all these references in it, like introductions, maps, and commentaries for you to use as a reference, as you're reading scripture. I've been at this for a while. And the hard truth is that sometimes you have to dig deeper than what's on the surface. It's especially true. When it comes to reading the Bible to grow your faith. You want you to nurture it. And so God's words are true and trustworthy. My friend, you know, that you can rely on what the scripture is saying. There's a lot of wisdom. Placed in there. And so the more that you take the time to understand. The message, the more you're going to grow. And so with that being said, what I love about the Bible study Bible is that in the beginning of each book, you get an introduction where you can read about the author, learn about the history. Their also maps in there too, for you to get an idea of where are these events have taken place? And you get to learn about the purpose of each book, along with so many other things, which is why I believe the introduction of the book is going to help you gather information. So yes, it can look daunting, but I think that you'll really start to appreciate these extra pages as you continue to grow in your faith. Another reason why I think it'd be a great investment for you is because the Bible study Bible not only has references, but as I mentioned earlier, it has commentaries, which is going to be super helpful. They're at the bottom of each page And it's correlated with each verse or each set of verse. Now I personally find it helpful when comparing my thoughts to what's been written as a way to reflect And also to check to see if I missed the point of the message, which honestly can happen. And that is normal. So if you are reading the Bible study Bible or reading the Bible, that's great. But I also encourage you to invest in inviting someone to come alongside you and preferably someone that you truly trust, I do think that it'll help aid you in your growth, and this is going to make learning so much more fun because. You don't have to do this alone. And yes, reading the Bible can be so daunting and it can feel like a heavy chore because if you're coming at this, especially for someone who is new in their faith, didn't grow up in a church like me then. It can be intimidating to understand what is being written. And it also can be hard to grasp of what you are reading. So the Bible study Bible is going to help you And inviting someone to come alongside you is also going to help you if you are wanting or needing someone like that, join my Facebook group, where we are growing and learning together. This is the perfect time also for you to make connections and grow. Now I know that the Bible study Bible is really big it can be heavy and more intimidating. Then the smaller or regular Bibles, but I encourage you any way to browse your Christian bookstore. Whenever you get a chance and take a look at the Bible study Bible, you can open it up and just kind of explore it in the store. You'll be amazed at what you're reading and how it's laid out. If you're able, I would encourage you to make that investment and purchase the Bible study Bible. And once you get home with it, Take a deep breath because I know that you're probably thinking, am I really going to benefit from this or perhaps you're just a beginner. And so this purchase probably feels like a rushed purchase. Now I know personally for me, I have been there too. And so when I decided to purchase the Bible study Bible, I was already far along in my journey, but still even then, I felt like maybe I wasn't far enough. In my journey to purchase one, but I'll be really honest with you. I grew more significantly when I started reading from the Bible study Bible. So I encourage you not to let where you are. Stop you for learning and diving deeper into the word of God with the Bible study Bible. Now I have to pause here and clarify that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a regular Bible. Is that as what was gifted to you, if that is all that you have or can't afford at the moment, use it. I still encourage you to continue to spend time with God reading his true and trustworthy word you can also Google up questions that you may have to help you understand what you're reading and also get background of history on that too. So your resources are there for you. I just really like that the Bible study Bible is already there and it continues to encourage me to read and also reflect., Which is a great thing to do as you're reading. Now another way that you can make your Bible reading. More fun and even more creative. Is to make or buy Bible study tabs. What these things are. Are there tabs that you can use to mark where each book is located in the Bible? so say bye-bye to not knowing where to flip to when someone's referencing a book in the Bible, these set of tabs are going to be so helpful. So why do you need this? Because it helps you stay organized. It also lets you see where a certain book is like I've mentioned and the tabs are going to be such a time-saver in church and small groups. Or even as you're reading by yourself. Again, no more flipping through the pages. Wondering if you've passed the book, simply look at your tab and flip to that specific book. They also come in many designs. If you're someone who prefers to buy pre-made ones there's so much that you can choose from. You can even customize yours on Etsy or do it yourself. and this is honestly where you can get creative. Now I have seen of all the ones that I've looked at, that they are permanent. So my only suggestion is that when you make that purchase or when you are thinking about. Creating your own tabs. You want to make sure that it's something that you really, really like. Because once it's on, it's on for good. Your Bible tabs should come laid out. And the order in which it's laid out in the Bible, so he should be correlating, but I would recommend that as you're placing your tabs accordingly, just pay attention to the tab and the book in the Bible so that you're not mixing it up because again, Once it's on, it's on. And if your pages are thin, it's going to rip. That's already happened to me, how to use tape to doctor it up. But Hey, I was new at this and I didn't know what I was doing. but that's okay. We are going through anyway and it's still readable. Now there are also templates that you can use to help you place your tabs any certain way. If you want to have it that way. I personally just started from the top and worked my way to the bottom and then repeated the process. So we kind of looks like a waterfall. There's again, so many ways that you can place these tabs, but I went for the simplest and the easiest method, because that's how I roll. If you know, you know, and then the last thing that you can do, which I personally think gets overlooked a lot and becomes an afterthought. Is a stationary. You want to get a stationary that you enjoy using go ahead and grab that cute notebook or that cute journal, a pen that. Feels good when you're writing highlighters or markers that you enjoy using. This is important. Because while it is probably an afterthought to many people, Your notebook and all of the things that you have are going to help keep you engaged as you're reading, it's going to help Motivate you to write your thoughts down and things that you learned. This is an incredible way for you to engage with. What you're reading, but also a good way for you to track your progress. It's also a great reminder of God's truth at times when you need it. Most, I can't tell you how many times I flipped through an old journal and have been reminded of God's truth. And that's encouraged me to continue to go to God first or to remember how he showed up in that season of my life. And so it makes me reflect on where my heart posture is that, and if I'm an unbelief in that season, so there's a lot of conviction that can happen. A lot of truth that can be revealed to you. I encourage you 100% to work on engaging in scripture. And a really good way of that is honestly pen and paper, highlighters, markers, all the things you can even get created that add stickers to that. I want you to have a notebook completely separate from your server notebook. Or the notes that you write down in churches or your planner? It has to be completely separate because this is going to be dedicated to your specific engagement with scripture. I want you to write verses that, stick out to you and why it spoke to you. Breakdown versus my friend. If you need to write out your thoughts that come to mind, how it affects you and what was revealed to you in that time. And I also encourage you to not be afraid to write down any questions. You may have literally any question, if you read something and you don't understand it, write down, what does this mean? Question mark. What is the point of this question? Mark? What was the message? Question, mark. No question is too silly. No, one's going to read this. You're not turning this into me. You're not turning this into your. pastor, this is specifically for you so that you can have prompts to dig deeper into what you are reading Go, as far as trying to find the answers. you want this notebook to be personal and intentional. The pens and on highlighters are the adornments on the pages. So make the pages pretty draw. What comes to mind if that's how you connect with scripture, highlight verses and the important notes that you've written down. My notebook, I've gone through many, many notebooks. And they are full of highlighters stickers drawings here and there. I'm not the best artist, but there will sometimes be an image that comes to mind. And once I've gathered my thoughts, I will go back at etch that picture into my page. So let it feel you, my friend, I want it to connect and I want it to bring you so much life now. Of course, the stationary, it is all optional, but it is so important. you definitely don't have to go and buy a fancy notebook or a fancy pen. If all you can get is one from the dollar tree right now, then use that. Just make sure that it is something that you are using solely for the purpose of engaging with scripture. Again, these are not requirements, but I do encourage them so that you stay engaged So to recap, the three points and today's episode on how you can kickstart your Bible reading journey and not feel so overwhelmed is to one invest in a Bible study Bible that is going to give you back on information to help you dig deeper into the word of God. And then there's the Bible tabs that I talked about. This is going to help you stay organized. This is also your time to get creative. You are going to be saving so much time. Once you start organizing your Bible it's going to help you familiarize yourself with the layout of the books in the Bible, just make sure that you are paying attention as you are matching up the tabs to the books in the Bible, because once it's on, it's on for good. The last thing that we just talked about is your stationary. Which is the notebook, highlighters, pens, stickers, really anything that is going to help you engage with scripture. It is a great place to gather all your thoughts and ask questions. That's going to prompt you to dig deeper. I would encourage you to use it every time you're reading the Bible. My friend. I hope that this releases some of the overwhelm that you may have had. When you're thinking about reading the Bible. Remember that you are never too new to open up the Bible or never too far gone to ask for the Lord to come and work in your life engagement. It's so important because it builds relationship. That's going to build trust. And it's so important that you read scripture for yourself so that you can grow. And yes, bring a friend along someone that you know is going to want to grow with you. And alongside you. it is good to listen to sermons. It is good to join small groups But as I've said many times before we are all flawed, we're human. And at some point we may fall short. But the word of God is constant. It is steady and true and trustworthy. So use that as your number one resource and know that. No matter where you are in your journey, there's always room for growth. I know that it can be hard. but my friend. You can do hard things. Hey girlfriend, if this episode encourages you to show up in confidence and finally start making moves to kick doubt to the curb, share this podcast and leave a five star written review on Apple podcast. It brings me so much joy hearing from you and allows the show to be seen by other mamas just like you. Don't forget to join the Facebook page the restored mind. The link is in the show notes as well as all the links on how you can connect with me. Thank you so much for being here today. I had a lot of fun. Sadly, this is where we part ways, but I look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday as we dive into another juicy topic. Go in peace.