Tag: Bible Study

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Bible Study Faith

Bible Reading Update…Again

I did not expect to do another update so soon.  While I am still doing my daily deep dive chronological Bible study, God has dropped it in my heart that I need to add in the Psalms.  At first, I was satisfying my need to read the Bible (in addition to studying it) by reading the four gospels in one month.  But after doing it for the first month, it was almost like God was telling me this isn’t where He wanted me at the moment.  So I am making a shift.  I am going to read one Psalm a day.  That’s it.  I don’t plan on doing anything in-depth unless I am led.  I most likely won’t write any posts about it on the blog.  I will probably go back to sharing it daily on social media and in my stories.  Feel free to read along with me!

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Bible Study Deeper Chronological Study Faith Judges the Word of God

Deeper OT Chronological Study 2: Judges 1:1-18

This is a long one.  This is the day that I talked about in this post when I mentioned 18 verses in one passage.  So it took me a few days to get through, specifically answering the questions that I had and the cross-references. This is Study 2.  As a reminder, I am studying the Bible chronologically and starting with Judges.  That means the death of Joshua comes beforehand even though it is in Chapter 2.  You can catch up here.

Reading

Upon my first read through this passage, I realized that it was a lot of information that I consider “all else.”  Meaning it doesn’t fit into what I thought to be my main focus when reading and studying scripture.  A couple of things jumped out, though. The Israelites went directly to the Lord with their question of what to do next.  Judah was to go first (remember Jesus comes from the tribe of Judah).  And it was the Lord who gave them victory (and He even told them this before they fought the Canaanites).

Studying

And this is where I realized how wrong I was when I said most of this passage didn’t fit into my main focus.  There was a lot to unpack here when it came to the names of the two tribes mentioned, the people, and the different places mentioned.  Let me tell you, chasing down all of these meanings was a bit fun.  And it is impressive how deep the definitions are to their legacy (Judah and Simeon) or how descriptive they are (the places) or how simple they can be (Adoni-bezek means the lord of…Bezek lol).  You won’t hear me breaking out into Hebrew anytime soon, but it was a great lesson seeing how words are put together in the Hebrew language.

Thoughts and Questions

Because I was interested in the meaning of the names and places, I had a lot of questions or areas I wanted to dive deeper into with this passage.  Using the combination of my Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible NASB and the Blue Letter Bible app helped so much during this process, and I now have it streamlined in a way that truly works for me and has me understanding what I am reading.  Because this passage was 18 verses, this section, along with the cross-references, took a bit of time.  One thing that I realized I am probably messing up with my notes is how I type names and places.  Obviously, the spelling of the words is different than what is in the actual Bible verse that I read in English.  I haven’t taken the time to look into switching to a Hebrew keyboard.  I have been using the transliterated word spellings but without all of the symbols.  But I do think I am going to change that.  While I haven’t tried pronouncing the words, maybe I will want to one day.

Cross-References

There were a ton of cross-references!  As to be expected with a longer passage.  One thing I learned this week, that really reading the Bible chronologically helps us see, is that there is a lot of repeated information in the Bible.  For example, verse 12 talks about Caleb.  I then had 4 cross-references that made mention of how Caleb was one of two who would be saved from the wilderness to actually see the Promised Land.  Also, while I did this in Study 1 as well, underlining the part of the cross-reference that relates to the initial verse helps tremendously when it comes to connecting the dots between the scriptures. And remember where I talked about second-guessing myself with starting in Judges and missing out on the first 6 books of the Bible?  Well, the cross-references provide me with plenty of reading in those books.

Summary

One thing that Israel did here was asking YHWH, who should go first in the quest against the Canaanites.  And is it a coincidence that the Lord said He gave them victory over the land and the land only?  Judah partnering with Simeon, had me looking into the 12 tribes of Israel a little bit.  So you may know that the 12 tribes of Israel came from Jacob, aka Israel and his two wives Rachel and Leah.  Well, Judah and Simeon are actually full brothers since their mom was Leah.  I also learned that Jacob’s blessing spoke about Simeon’s violence and that they would be scattered and dispersed.  Welp, not only were they not mentioned in the blessing that Moses gave, but they also weren’t mentioned in the song of Deborah.  It seems like the tribe was indeed scattered and dispersed.

Now Judah was victorious.  Specifically in Jerusalem, where they followed God’s advice by completely destroying the people and the city.  We also see Othniel, who will end up being a judge.  After a successful battle, he won the hand of Caleb’s daughter in marriage. Acsha decided to ask for an additional gift from her father, springs. This made no sense to me until I found out that Negev was a very dry land, so the upper and lower springs that she was given allowed her to have water.

Prayer

YHWH, allow me always to come to You first and seek Your guidance.  Thank You for the victories that You have given me.  For allowing me to be successful over my enemies.  God provide me with the courage to set fire to my enemies and completely destroy their idols and altars.  Help me see the gods in my life so I can set fire to them.  Open my eyes to the things around me that you are asking me to destroy.  Lord, help me see the dry land in my life and give me the courage to ask for springs to revive the land.  In Jesus Name, I Pray, Amen.

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Bible Study Deeper Chronological Study Faith Judges the Word of God

Deeper OT Chronological Study 1: Judges 2:6-9

I talked about starting to share on the blog my Bible study time, so I can expand more on what I am reading, researching, and learning.  This post is the first of what I just decided is going to be a series called Daily Bible Study: Deeper Chronological Study of God’s Word.  That may change, but for now, it works.

For this more in-depth study, I started with six different Bibles and a commentary.

  1. Chronological Life Application Study Bible NLT
  2. Tony Evan’s Study Bible CSB
  3. Tony Evan’s Bible Commentary CSB
  4. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
  5. The Message Devotional Bible
  6. ESV Student Study Bible
  7. Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible NASB

 

No, I am not crazy.  I just know that God has been calling me to study His Word deeper for about three years now, and I have been a bit disobedient.  I also prefer a paper Bible instead of using the app on my phone to prevent distractions.  My initial reading and studying are done in those Bibles and commentary, and then I move to my computer to type up my notes, look up answers to questions I have, and give me somewhere to have all my notes in one place.

I’m going to use this first passage to walk through my process.  I told you in this post that I was starting in Judges and why.  I also said I was starting in my Chronological Bible, so that is how this study will flow.  While the first chapter of Judges talks about the Israelites and the Promised Land, the story of Judges really starts with the death of Joshua, which is told in Chapter 2 verses 6-9.  So that is where we begin.

Reading

The first thing I do is read the passage and use my reading highlight method in the Chronological Life Application Study Bible NLT.  What sticks out for me is the Israelites serving the Lord through their leader’s lifetime.  Those leaders actually saw “the great things” the Lord had done for Israel.  Joshua had the honor of being called the servant of the Lord.

 

Here is a reminder of my reading highlight method.

 

 

Studying

Here is where I created a new process.  I used the same methodology as I did for creating my reading highlight method.  What did I want to get from this passage?  What is important?  What will help me dive deeper?  There is some overlap with what I highlighted above, but that just shows how important it is.  I decided on Application, People, Places, Time, Prayers, God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.  I assigned these colors that I can use to underline in my Bible, but most importantly are how I will be color-coding my notes.

 

My studying highlight method.

 

For me, seeing the people and places are really important in the Old Testament because I learned that the names have particular meanings.  Those meanings often help you dive deeper into the understanding of why and how certain things happened and take place.  So in this section, it helps to change the color of the people, places, and even the name of God used.  Then in the next two parts, is where I dive deeper.

Thoughts and Questions

I also wanted my thoughts and questions to standout.  So I assigned them colors as well.

 

As mentioned above, the questions that I had here were mostly related to the meanings of names and places.

Most commonly, my question was, “What Does LORD Mean?” and this is because there are so many different ways to say God/Lord depending on what you are trying to say.  So far as a Christian, I’ve really only heard or say God, Lord, and recently added Abba. But I’ve learned that there are so many more names for God that are typically phrases.  LORD in all caps here, reflects Yehovah/Jehovah or the proper name of God.  Self-Existent or Eternal.  YHWH.  I eventually want to do a study of the different names of God, but for now, I just want to know the meaning of each one.

Meanings

I used a combination of my Hebrew – Greek Key Word Study Bible NASB and the Blue Letter Bible app to determine the meanings.  I started with trying to find the meaning of Joshua in the Bible, but the order of the Old Testament dictionary is based on the transliteration of the Hebrew spelling.  So because I do not know Hebrew, I needed help.  I pulled up the Blue Letter Bible app and used the Interlinear/Concordance Study, which I learned from Katie Orr.  This allowed me to pull up the verse, select the word in the verse, and then find the Strong’s number.  I then went back to my Bible to look up the Strong’s number.

This was also when I decided that I will probably only use the dictionaries in this Bible instead of the Bible itself.  When I try and use the Bible, because I am starting in Judges, the Strong’s number isn’t always next to the word that I need, if it has been used previously in the first six books of the Bible.  So I am now down to five Bibles, one commentary and technically, a dictionary.

Extra Resources

Finally, in the study portion, I read all footnotes, study notes, and any extra resources that any of the Bibles I am using provides.  I usually note alternate spellings, meanings, or words.

*The bolded purple doesn’t have a meaning.  I just picked a random color for my text.  And I underline what I feel is important in the passage or sometimes what repeats.*

Cross-References

Next, I look at the Bibles that have cross-references, and I document them. At this time, I was questioning what a cross-reference was.  The passages seem to be similar in topic or theme with the verse that I am studying.  So I grab the full verse of the cross-reference from YouVersion Bible and underline the part that speaks to the verse I am studying.  I honestly wish that I could use one Bible for this, but I realized that out of the four Bibles I am using that have cross-references, each one uses different ones. But I don’t mind looking at all four because it is fascinating to see how the Bible connects to itself.

Summary

In my Bible, there is a piece of the book of Judges (2:6-9) that parallels and follows the end of the book of Joshua that outlines his death.  It also shows how the Israelites followed the Lord throughout his life and that of the leaders who outlived him.  If you know anything about Judges, you know it’s a book of cycles where Israel failed to obey the Lord and continuously needed to be delivered.  What was it about Joshua and these leaders that made it easy for Israel to follow their lead in following the Lord?  Why weren’t they able to do the same when that generation passed away?

Do you identify with the Israelites? Especially now in quarantine, do you find yourself not following the Lord in the same way you did before when you were going into the church building every Sunday or meeting up for small groups?  Do you have a relationship with God, or do you just follow others that have a relationship with God?

Prayer

YHWH, help my faith depend on You instead of the leaders and those in my community.  Help me to let them guide me but to know that ultimately You are the one I should rely on; that way when they are no longer there, I can still follow You.  In Jesus Name, I Pray, Amen.

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Bible Study the Word of God

Bible Study Update

Behind the scenes, I started my Bible study of the book of Judges last month.  And while I began to share the Bible study tools I am using on IG, I have yet to share anything from my actual study time.  I wanted to share why.

I mentioned here that I didn’t really know what my studying would look like because I was going to let the text lead me.  I could be doing 1 verse a day or 1 chapter a day.  I wanted to dive into cross-references, really sit with my questions, use commentary, and other trusted resources like Kay Arthur and BibleTalk.TV.

But can I share that I was struggling a bit because I was a bit unorganized?  Going from knowing precisely what I am going to read every day, what I am going to highlight, and then spending some time reflecting and talking to God about what I read and how I should apply it seemed so easy.

I know my current process will be/is a lot for many people.  Not everyone is meant to do a study like this.  I mean, I am using six physical translations of the Bible and a commentary.  But God has been calling me to go deeper into His word since 2017, I think.  And real talk, I’ve ignored it mostly until now.  Because who am I to do this?  Like I have zero plans to be a pastor and am 99.9% sure that isn’t my calling or gifting.  As of right now, I have actually no idea what will come from this in-depth study.  But I couldn’t ignore it anymore.  I repent for this disobedience, by the way.

I really think my habit has just been shaken a bit, and that is why I feel discombobulated.  As of now, my studying has been broken up based on the subheadings provided in the primary Bible I am using.  The headings are not God’s Word, but they do help set up what is about to happen in a passage.  (My last chronological Bible didn’t have these.)  Starting off, this gave me 18 verses one day and 17 verses the next day, which was a lot with how I am doing my studying.  Which would then have me dragging my studying of one passage over a day or two.  But I would want to start a new passage each day (I have no clue why I set this for myself), so even if I weren’t finished, I would move on.

Then after four days and getting into the second chapter of Judges, I took some time off to “try and catch up.”  But I was all over the place so I would keep saying I would come back later.  Even though I would have the urge to study the Bible, I would push it off because I wasn’t comfortable with my process.  So here is the thing about Bible study.  It’s going to look different to everyone, but what is essential is that you are doing it in a way that works for you.  So when something doesn’t work, you have to figure out what the issue is.  Because if I keep going down this path, I am going to do more than take some time off.  I’m going to quit altogether.  That’s the enemy’s goal.

I looked at what didn’t feel comfortable to me.  What was making me feel unorganized and confused?  Here is what I recognized:

  1. I didn’t have a plan.
  2. I didn’t have a process.
  3. I didn’t have a place

I didn’t have a plan

Although I was using the passages as guides on what to read each day, it honestly required too much thought to figure out where I left off (hello brain fog). So I realized I needed a loose plan that tells me what I should cover over the next 30 days.  So for whatever reason, I have this idea that I would do a passage a day.  Well, I think if I saw what verses I was covering, I would feel better.  But I could also easily see where I may need to add a day or two extra to spend more time on (hello 18 verse passages).  I took a moment to do this while watching a YouTube video one day.  It took me less than 10 minutes to plan out Judges and planned out a minimum of 40 days worth of studying.

I didn’t have a process.

What I knew was I wanted to use all six bibles and the commentary that I had.  I knew that I wanted to use my highlighting method in at least one of those Bibles.  I wanted to check cross-references, etc.  But when it came down to actually being in my study time, I was lost.  And when it moved to a second day, I couldn’t remember what I had already reviewed. So while I don’t want my time with God to be regimented and become legalistic, I know my learning style.  I need checklists and “procedures” until I build the habit even if I am the one creating them.  Again, hello, brain fog.  I don’t want to waste time trying to figure out what I need to do or where I left off.  I want to be able to immediately jump into the text and allow the Holy Spirit to guide me.  Just a reminder, my personality is very much Type-A.  So for me, doing all of this doesn’t take me off my purpose.  It actually helps me accomplish my purpose.  Because as you can see, when I get overwhelmed, I’m ready to quit.  My time with God is too valuable to abandon.  As I did above, I put on a YouTube video and started typing up my process.  It took me about 5 minutes because, honestly, after I wrote it out for one Bible, it was a copy and paste situation for the other Bibles.  And just a small tweak for the commentary.

I didn’t have a place.

I’ve mentioned in some other posts that I am currently deep cleaning our home room by room (or at least I was).  I didn’t want to do my studying in my office because I knew I would eventually get to cleaning it, and one of the projects was redoing the tops of my desk.  So I was most comfortable doing my study time on my bed.  But I couldn’t leave everything on my bed, so it was starting to become a bit of work to pull everything out.  Now that I have finished my desk (see the pics here), I have the space to spread out, and I feel physically comfortable again.

Another struggle I had was I started second-guessing myself with beginning with the book of Judges.  I was feeling a bit guilty about missing Genesis through Joshua.  And I have been really wanting to get into some Psalms lately. (I’ve been reading them randomly to satisfy this.)  Well, this is the benefit of me doing a chronological study and using cross-references.  The cross-references are sending me back into the Pentateuch and Joshua to get background information.  And while I won’t come across any Psalms in the book of Judges, once David comes on the scene in 1st Samuel, my craving to go deeper into the Psalms will be fulfilled.  Plus the fact that I love reading the Psalms in a chronological Bible because I better understand why the Psalm was written.

Getting Started Again

After taking a bit of time off, going through all the emotions and feelings with the current atmosphere in our country, and just plain old missing my time with God, I decided to start over.  I now have my plan, process, and place altogether.  I made some adjustments, and I now feel comfortable again.  I won’t say that in the future, I may not need to make changes, but right now, this is working.  Which means I have a starting point if I do need to make changes.

Another thing I finally settled on, with the help of a friend, is I also now know how I am going to share my studying with you all.  While I knew I wanted to share on social media like I usually do, I felt this type of studying required more dialogue then social media allows.  So I will be doing a blog post to accompany each passage.  This will enable me to go into depth about the questions I am asking, what I am finding, etc.  I hope you join me.  Keep an eye out for the first blog post on my Chronological study starting in Judges.

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Faith the Word of God

Instructions, Decrees, Precepts, Statues, Commands, Words, and Ordinances

I’ve mentioned a time or two that I have finished my Day by Day Chronological Bible after I finished reading the full Bible for my All 66 Books series.  So it was time to think about what I wanted my Bible time to look like going forward.  I knew that I wanted to spend the majority of the time studying because so much of the past year has been focusing on reading.  But I was stuck on what I wanted to study.

Topical Studies

I knew that I didn’t want to do topical studies.  Not that there is anything wrong with them, and I believe that in some seasons, they are necessary.  But for me, I’m really trying to focus on the metanarrative of the Bible.  I want to read it in as close of a manner as it was written without the chance of potentially taking verses out of context.

Chronologically

Which leads me back to chronologically reading.  Do I want to find a way to study the Bible in chronological order?  Can I admit I am not all that excited to study Genesis?  Or really much of the Torah/Pentateuch.  This makes me feel kind of bad because there is so much to learn from those books.  But I know from previous experience that if I start with those books, I will, without a doubt, not continue with my habit or reading and studying God’s Word.  But I know that if I pick a book that holds my interest first, then the habit will be built.  And then if I wanted, I can go back to the Torah/Pentateuch.

Old Testament vs. New Testament

When I think about where I want to start, I often think about the Prophets and the Epistles.  The Epistles because they are the closest to how we should be living life today as the church.  But I have officially read through them at least twice in the past 12 months alone.  And while I would love to do an in-depth study, I am kind of ready for something different.  The Prophets because I’ve never studied them before, but I feel like I am called to them.  But one thing I learned from reading the Bible chronologically was that the prophets are very much intertwined into many of the history books.  So if I am going to read the Prophets, I really need to go back to Judges and start there.

My Decision

So I think that is what I am going to do.  I am starting with the book of Judges.  I am drawn to Judges because I believe it was the first book where I had my ah-ha moment when it came to the Bible.  I was clearly able to see the cycle of sin, crying out to God, God sending a judge, repentance and then sin again.  And I strongly feel that we are repeating history and doing the same thing.  Except God has already sent Christ to forgive us of our sins once and for all.  Plus God is the only Judge we need and now the only one we have.

Then I am going to read the Bible in chronological order from there.  I think after I finish the Old Testament, I am going to go back later to read the Torah/Pentateuch before I move onto the New Testament.  I’ll share my day to day study on IG/FB in my current Bible reading post that I do each day.  Here is the thing.  I don’t know what this will look like.  I don’t know if I will do 1 chapter a day.  Or 1 verse a day.  Because I am going to allow the text to guide me.  I’m going to look at cross-references.  I am going to follow my questions.  I’m going to look at multiple translations.  I’m going to look into Inductive Bible Studying and BibleTalk.TV lectures.  But I really do want you to follow along with me if you can.  So I will try to be as organized as possible with this.

One final thing that I will be doing is reading the four gospels monthly and in different translations each month.  I’m mainly doing this because I know me, and I will most likely end up craving more time in God’s Word.  Adding in a reading plan allows me not to push myself too far ahead in my studying.  I got this idea from Eva Kubasiak‘s Bible Study Summit, where Kelli Cross said that she is following along with Annie F. Downs to do this plan.  Although I didn’t start in January, it gives me eight months to read through the Gospels 8 times.  I can’t wait.  I created this snapshot for me to use while doing it.

So I do hope that you join me.  I would love to talk to others about what we are studying.  Let me know in the comments if you will be joining me.

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Faith Family Planning Productivity

Getting My Life Together

There was a meme recently that said, do you ever feel like you want to get your whole life together at 2 am? That’s me.  I consistently think of all the things I forgot to do and all the things I need to do in the middle of the night.  I can’t do this for another month.  I have got to get my life together!

Back in the day, I had it all together.  Or at least I thought I did when I was a planner.  I loved all things planning.  I liked knowing what to expect.  It became like a brain dump for me and allowed me to take stuff out of my mind and put them somewhere before I forgot them.

I remember using the agenda’s they gave you in school from a very early age and usually had a cheap one anytime I was taking college classes.

I graduated to the big leagues of planners when I got my first Erin Condren back in 2013/2014, and I haven’t looked back since when it comes to paper planners.

I also, over the last year or two, have found a love and appreciation for using technology to plan.  My google calendar tends to keep me on schedule with its alerts and reminders.

But as a housewife and a budding entrepreneur, I don’t have a strict schedule that I am forced to adhere to anymore.  That has shaken up my planning routine a bit.  I’m mostly relying on to-do lists (or completed lists) and just don’t feel as productive as I could be.  With me wanting to be intentional with keeping my home and faith a priority while working on my entrepreneurship adventures, I know planning for me is what will help me find the harmony in doing all of those things.

I decided to sit down and plan the month of May.  But I wanted to go a little beyond what I have been doing as of late, which is just writing down appointments, meetings, and webinars.  I looked at what I wanted to accomplish this month:

  • I want to keep home a priority
  • I want to keep my relationship with God a priority
  • I want to make sure our finances are stable
  • I want to cook from what I have in the house already before my next grocery order
  • I want to be more consistent on the blog and social media

 

I knew these would be things that I need to “schedule” in if I wanted to accomplish them.  So I grabbed May’s calendar from my Erin Condren binder system and stared at it.

How do I get this blank calendar to bring me comfort with the five things that I had listed?  Let me break down my thought process for each one and show you what I did.

Keeping Home a Priority

How do I do this? For me, it is making sure our house is clean, and our home has a calming atmosphere and is a sanctuary for us to relax in.

I’ve decided to follow the FlyLady program again when it comes to cleaning and decluttering our home.  So I will use her routines and calendar to help me focus on what needs to be done cleaning wise.

Keeping God #1

The way that I build my relationship with God is by spending time in His Word, praying, and worshiping.  I also attend church each week.

Bible reading and studying is a passion of mine.  I love learning more about God and what His plan is for His children.  For me, this is a daily practice.  At the end of April, I finished my Day by Day Chronological Bible, which is what I was using for my daily reading.  But now that I have read the full Bible (and the NT twice), in less than 12 months, I decided it’s time to really add studying to my routine.

In May, I want to focus on one to two chapters a day for my studying.  I want to allow room for God to truly teach me His Word and see what fruit comes from that knowledge.  I will most likely be using the Dayspring Illustrating Bible.  And because I know I prefer to also get in additional reading, I am following along with Annie F. Downs and reading the four gospels each month, in a different translation.  In May, I am starting with the NASB translation and am just using the YouVersion Bible app.

I want to do better with praying for groups of people.  I currently have a list in my reminders app and want to be more consistent with praying over it.  My list includes The Church (body of Christ, church leaders, and missionaries), Chris and our future children/legacy, family, friends, unbelievers, our nation, and the world.

I also want to go back to the practice of reviewing the sermon and my notes from Sunday.  I use to try and rewatch the message during the week, make sure I didn’t overlook any relevant notes, and then transfer what I learned to my ESV Journaling Bible.  I haven’t done that in a while, and I miss the reinforcement of the message from my pastors.

Keeping Our Money Healthy

If you have seen our budgeting spreadsheet, you probably think it is a beast to maintain.  And while that can be the case, thanks to me doing budget reviews every week, it isn’t that difficult.  In less than 30 minutes, I update it with the previous week’s transactions, have a conversation with Chris, and set our goals and intentions for the next week.

 

We Have Food At Home

I hate meal planning mostly because I cook based on our cravings.  I try to keep a variety of items stocked at the house to make that possible.  But I haven’t been doing a great job lately of making us balanced meals.  And I’ve been stuck on more than one occasion on what I should cook.  So I decided to venture back into meal planning.

Consistency is Key

I have no idea why I struggle so much with this.  Well, I kind of do.

Honestly, I am 75% over social media.  I have worked hard to curate what I have coming into my feeds, but there can still be a lot of junk.  And because I don’t want to see that, I stay away from the apps.  Which is a problem when I love sharing and connecting with others.

And as for my blog?  Perfectionism, my friend.  This is draft post number 46.  Now to be fair, some of those are future projects.  But a lot of them are ideas that I have for a blog post, and during the process of fleshing them out, perfectionism has paralyzed me.

So I need to overcome this by planning out my content for the month and sticking to it.

See What I Did There?

My blog and social media are how I share and connect with people.  I share what I am currently going through and what I am currently working on.  So when it comes to planning out the content for May, I kind of just did that with this post.  My blog and social media posts, in a way, help keep me accountable.  If I know that I want to post what I learned from the sermon on Sunday, I have to be sure I did the review of my notes.  Now, to be clear, I am not doing these things for the blog or social media.  I am doing these things for me and am choosing to share them after the fact in hopes that they help others that may be struggling with finding harmony with all the things they are trying to manage in life.

Finally, since I used my Erin Condren monthly pages as my draft, I went ahead and added these to my Tanisha Rhenáe google calendar.  Now I know what my end goal is and can set up alerts to help me remember.  If you read this post here, you know that I am using time blocking to help make my day more productive.  That means instead of just randomly jumping from task to task, I put like items together and focus on only those items until the next block.  So while the doing of my five goals will be done in either my Homemaking or Admin block, I will use my Content Creation block to build these out for my blog and social media.

Let me know in the comments below what your biggest struggle is with planning?

*I included my Erin Condren referral link in this post.  In addition to you getting $10 off your first purchase, I earn rewards as well!

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases using the links included in this post.

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Resources Writing

Hope Writer’s Recap Part 2

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of signing up for 15 Tuesday Teaching’s from Hope*Writers, and last week, I shared the first half of the teachers.  I included what stuck out to me the most and what I plan on using to create action steps and execute here on the blog and in future endeavors.  Here is the rest of the teachers and what I was able to learn from them.

Erin Loechner was another author that I was not familiar with before I started to watch these teachings.  Emily noted that her blog was a great example of voice.  What I think most will find fascinating about Erin is her current schedule.  She gets up every morning at 2 am (she goes to bed at 6 pm) and writes.  This is what works best for her and her husband during this season with small children.  What I love about this is, it isn’t traditional.  She isn’t trying to force her family to fit into “normal,” and they created their standard.  Also, only 2-3% of what she writes actually gets published (on her blog or in her book).

Regular advice that you receive is to write what you know.  But once I started writing what I wanted to know, I started to uncover my voice.

Writing vs. publishing requires a different person.  Writing is filling, theraputic, quiet.  Publishing is emptying and promotional.

Another newbie to me, Jennifer Allwood, seems to be owning her Facebook platform.  She helped me understand how
important it is to understand who your ideal client is.  She advocates for having what she calls a business therapist.  And she is very vocal about realizing that you can’t and shouldn’t do it all and to not be afraid to hire help.  And that is in your business and your home. I enjoyed how she broke down her justification for hiring a housekeeper.  She paid $150 for 6 hours and was able to work on something that earned her $100-200 an hour.  For her, paying the $150 for 6 hours was worth it when she made $600-$1200 in that same 6 hours.

Just by being fully me all the time, I never have to worry about pretense.

We have a responsibility to a calling and fear does not release us from that calling.

Deidra Riggs was someone else that I was not familiar with before this week, but what I enjoyed the most was her openness about her struggles with her last book.  She speaks about the business side and, unfortunately, the politics behind selling a book.  A well-known author endorsed her book, and there were plans to put that endorsement on the front cover.  Until that well-known author came out that she was divorcing her husband and marrying a woman.  Her publishers, recognizing that vendors wouldn’t carry the book with the endorsement, removed it.  That didn’t sit well with Deidra and has impacted sales and promotion.

Her agent advised her that a book multiples the ministry of your message.

Was this the moment for it? Maybe not.  Maybe it’s moment has yet to come. (In regards to her second book and her disappointments with it)

Believe in your heart who you are.  And then be who you say you are.

My favorite quote from all 15 teachings: But I’m also an introvert so I don’t try very hard.

I know I keep repeating this (and probably will one more time), but I wasn’t aware of who Crystal Paine was before the day I watched her teaching.  But she gave some really good insight on blogging since that is her primary platform.   I am looking forward to incorporating some of her points into the blog here.

 

You want to solve a problem, meet a need or provide hope.  But try to do all three.

Focus on and finish one thing at a time.  Test it out for about three months.

People want to connect with a person not a platform.

Study others who are doing it well.

Now, Sally Clarkson, I am familiar with.  Not only is she the author of dozens of books, but she is the mother of Sarah Clarkson, who is also a writer.  She spoke a lot about the changes in her message and publishing over the years.  She focuses on adapting to her audience and not being afraid to bring in a new audience and ways to connect with them (for example, Millenials).

 

Really good writing comes out of our own heart conviction.

If people took their eyes off of other people, they would have more authentic voices.

You can’t face your reader and critic at the same time.  To speak to one is to turn your back on the other one.

Don’t dispise the days of small things. (an adaption of Zachariah 4:10)

This author, S.D. Smith, I couldn’t connect with at all.  It appears he may be the author of children or teen fiction.  And while I may not be his target audience, I was hoping that I could get something out of his teaching.  But unfortunately, I didn’t get anything from it but maybe one sentence.  He seemed to be all over the place with his message and talked a lot about who he was and specifics about his books.

When you look for light, darkness will be there.  You are going to have to fight.

Another blogger turned author who I was introduced to, Kendra Adachi spoke a lot about the mistakes that she made along the way.  She also touched on somethings that she did right that was pure blessings.  She gave pointers like always including an email sign up even when your website is still “coming soon.” I also loved the landing page for her website, where it lists all the different ways to connect with what she offers without you having to hunt for it.

Don’t be afraid to pivot.

Don’t let your inability to explain where you’ve been suck or what you are doing, keep you from moving forward.

The last and final teacher is probably the best known.  Beth Moore is the author of so many books and Bible studies, including a few that sit on my bookshelves.  The best part of this whole interview was the fact that Beth Moore didn’t know she was on camera until maybe the last 5 minutes of a hour-long teaching.  She assumed that only Emily could see her.  I don’t recall ever hearing Beth Moore teach before, but she is so comical and felt so down to earth.  She is a daily journaler (which she calls her private relationship with Christ), who has her own journals coiled with the paper she likes at her local supply store.  She is also an avid tweeter and broke down when she knows something is a tweet, blog post, teaching, or a book/bible study.

I belong to Jesus.  Everything else, I don’t need to understand.

The best writing is understanding we are traveling.  Write from where we are now, as we are becoming.

If it is a short term passion, it is probably a tweet (if words only) or a facebook post.  If it goes away, that is it.  But if it keeps buring, write a blog.  If it stays, speak on it.  If still burining, it will be a book or Bible study.

Ask God to manipulate my desires.  Take my heart and take over my passions.

It all gets said to God but not always written or spoken.

I don’t know a lot but I want to share with someone else what I do know and what I have learned in case it is a help to them.

The kitchen is hot.  If you can’t take the heat, this ain’t the kitchen you want.

You gon’ on ahead.  I’m not going there with you.  But I’ll be here when you get back.

When dealing with extreme pain: when you are still hemoraging is a great time for journaling.  It is not the time for publishing.

The midpoint of our pain is a beautiful place to write.

If you can’t tell, I thoroughly enjoyed the 15 teachings that Hope*Writers gave away for free during this time of social distancing while dealing with the coronavirus.  I can’t wait to start implementing what I learned!  I thought long and hard about possibly joining their membership, but while I enjoyed the teachings and saw the value, I’m not sure if I am that serious enough of a writer at the moment to justify the cost.  I would love it if they had an option to get access to the 80+ teachings they currently have in their library.  Leave me a comment down below on what your favorite quote was from the teachings I shared today or let me know if you are a member of Hope*Writers.

*All images from Hope*Writer’s website and emails.

Categories
Resources Writing

Hope Writer’s Recap Part 1

This past week, Hope*Writer’s was one of the companies that offered some of their resources for free while we have been practicing social distancing.  They gave everyone that signed up access to 15 of their Tuesday Teaching’s, which they said were handpicked by their community as the best of the best.

I’ve heard of Hope*Writer’s from their founder Emily P. Freeman, author of The Next Right Thing.  It is a membership service described as “a community of working writers dedicated to the success and creativity of each member.”  I’ve always been interested in it but don’t consider myself a serious enough writer to pay the $47 a month to join.

I learned quite a bit from the teachers this week and wanted to share with you some of my notes.  I plan on creating some action steps and executing them here on the blog and in future endeavors.

Jo Saxton

I had never heard of Jo Saxton, but immediately after watching her teaching, I went right to her social media to follow her.  Her leadership skills were evident in her speaking, and she was so down to earth.  Here are a few of my favorite things from what she said.

Your passions arrive before the work does.

There is a colloboration even in the book you wrote yourself.

If you want to level up your leadership, you need to build your village (relational and professional).

You need two sets of people.  People who give you roots that support and encourage and are a relational investment that gives you the courage to write.  And people who give you wings who actually help you get things done and help you build the career.

When I was starting out, I had opportunities because other leaders got out of the way.  Those smaller amounts were blessings in my beginnings.

Jeff Goins

Jeff Goins was another author I had not had the pleasure of knowing beforehand.  What was interesting about his interview was that he is venturing into the ghostwriting arena, and he named some pretty big names who are ghostwriters as well, like Ryan Holiday.  Some of my favorite advice from him was less about being a writer and more on how to be a mentee.

I end things so I can begin the next thing.

The best deadlines are honest deadlines.

Assume the future you is lazier than the current you and you will never be disappointed.

A question from Seth Godin that he uses, “Why can’t you just do it until it stops being fun?”

If you want to get into anything, you have got to fall in love with the word “yes”.  Yes, I can do that and here’s how.  And then find a way to make it work.

Any time you are meeting with someone who you preceive their time is more valuable than yours: 1. always take notes and 2. send an email immediately saying here is what I got out of the meeting.  Then follow up once you have done it.

The only thing I know how to do reasonably well is not quit.

I’m free to succeed because I don’t need the success.

You cannot love something you are trying to control because control is about fear and fear and love does not go together.

Katherine Reay

Now Katherine Reay is someone I was familiar with.  I read her book, The Printed Letter Bookshop.  While I have no plans to be a traditional author in the sense of writing a book, I know if I ever do, it will most likely not be fiction, which is her genre.  And while I didn’t get as much from her teaching as some of the others, it was interesting to see how she structures her week to get her writing done.

You cannot create and edit at the same time.

Get the words out as fast as you can on the paper without your editorial mind.  Then go in and edit it.

Annie F. Downs

Annie F. Downs is one of the more prominent names (at least to me) that was one of the speakers.  Her book, 100 Days to Brave, has been all over the place.  Including my bookshelf even though I haven’t read it yet.  She gave a lot of details on creative ways to get your books in people’s hands and how to start speaking.  And while again, I don’t plan on being a book author or a speaker, it was great to learn the business behind her brand.

The actual thing you want to do forever is being you.

You need to have a thesis statement.

Every January make a yes or no list.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. (Psalm 16:6 CSB)

Not all callings are created equallly; not all personalities are the same. – Emily

Kelly Minter

Before this week, I knew that Kelly Minter was a Bible teacher, but I can’t remember where for the life of me I heard of her from.  I am just going to assume social media right now because it doesn’t appear she was a speaker at the Enjoy God’s Word Bible Conference.  The funny thing is, when I look at all the speakers and who I think I could closely relate to work-wise, it is Kelly.  I love Bible reading and studying and could see myself one day doing a Bible Study.  I may have been so wrapped up in what she was saying I didn’t take many notes.  But she gave some pointers that I will share.

To get your insight, follow your questions and start digging.  Look at the cross references before commentaries.

Look around at people who are already doing it well.

Be a student of Bible studies.

Use a pilot group to review your studies.

Michele Cushatt

Michele Cushatt is another author that I hadn’t heard of before her session.  She wrote what appears to be a deeply personal memoir and touched on how to write about hard topics and when to share.  This was especially important to me because my blog is personal, yet it is crucial to know what not to share with the world.

People don’t connect with perfection, they connect with pain

It’s always the right time to write; it’s not always the right time to share.

When trying to determine how much to share, ask yourself the following: What’s my objective? Who is my audience? How much time do I have? What parts of my story is necessary to my objective’s? Do I have permission to tell this?

Ashlyn Carter

YouTube introduced me to Ashlyn Carter a while ago but more so because of her planning and productivity videos.  I knew she was a writer, but that isn’t the content I paid attention to.  Man, oh man, did I waste my time.  I learned the most information from Ashlyn’s session. So much so that it’s been hard to break it down to a couple of lines like the others.  Ashlyn is a copywriter, and I realized that gave her a unique insight into the blogging world, social media captions, and newsletters.  All things I would love to learn about and get better at.  There was just so much information that I am hoping to put into practice right away.  And I have immediately subscribed to her YouTube channel and can’t wait to binge-watch!

Use formula’s: Problem, Agitation, Solution

The word “YOU” can be so powerful.

Listen to what people want and then say it back to them.

Facts don’t care about your feelings.

Alright, I am going to end this post here cause it’s getting long!  Stay tuned for the final post outlining the other speakers and teachers!

*All images from Hope*Writer’s website and emails.

Categories
Down The TBR Hole

Down The TBR Hole # 41-60

I had so much fun doubling up last week that I decided to make it a thing. So welcome to Down The TBR Hole #41-60.  What is Down The TBR Hole, you ask?  It is where I grab 20 books from my ridiculously long TBR list on GoodReads and decide if I am keeping or removing the books.  Want to catch up? Click here to go to the last post.  As a reminder, here are the rules:

I am starting with 4,676 books this week, and honestly, I have a ton on my kindle app just waiting for me to add to my TBR list.  But maybe I should wait until I remove some more first.  Or I could read them and then they won’t ever have to make it to this list.  I’ll try that one.  Let’s get started.

 

1. Everyday Peace: Standing Firm in His Provision by Katie Orr

You saw another one of Katie Orr’s studies last week.  I have had the pleasure of doing the Philippians study with Katie and love the FOCUSed15 method.  I can always use some peace in my life, so I am keeping this one.

 

 

2. Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado

I believe I got this book one month in my Sparkle Hustle Grow box.  I don’t subscribe to it anymore, but it was great getting a new book each month.  Most of the time, they were geared towards business owners.  I have heard good things about Max Lucado, so I look forward to reading this book.  I am keeping it.

 

 

3. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher

Apparently, I own this book.  But I am not interested in reading it.  I am removing it and maybe one day since I own the physical copy, I will get to it.

 

 

 

4. Critical Chain by Eliyahu M. Goldratt

This book was going to be a book club read, but we never made it to this one.  I honestly don’t think it will be something I want to read, so I am going to be removing it.

 

 

 

5. God at Work: Live Each Day with Purpose by Ken Costa

I think I heard about Ken Costa from a podcast; I’m not sure which one.  I always see his books on my shelf and say I need to read them, and it just hasn’t happened yet.  I am keeping this one even though I am not in a traditional work environment at the moment; it may still come in hand.

 

 

6. Know Your Why: Finding and Fulfilling Your Calling in Life by Ken Costa

I am okay on calling books for a while, so I am removing this one.

 

 

 

7. Rick Warren’s Bible Study Methods: 40 Days in the Word by Rick Warren

I always love a good book that can help me dig deeper into the Word, and I am a fan of Rick Warren.  He is a great Bible teacher, so I am keeping this one.

 

 

 

8. Marriage and the Family: Biblical Essentials by Andreas Kostenberger

Marriage is the hardest thing I have ever done so I will take all the knowledge and wisdom anyone has on marriage.  I am keeping this one.

 

 

 

9. Becoming a Woman of Influence: Making a Lasting Impact on Others by Carol Kent

I am not sure where this book came from or how it ended up on my list.  I’m removing this one.

 

 

 

10. The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor

This book has been recommended quite a bit in some groups I am in on Facebook.  Unfortunately, when I downloaded it on Hoopla and started to read it, I couldn’t get into it.  Maybe it just wasn’t the right season.  I’m removing it.

 

 

11. Insights on Romans by Charles R. Swindoll

This commentary was added when I took a free Romans from Dallas Theological Seminary.  I didn’t end up needing the book, so I’m removing it.

 

 

 

12. Capital Gaines: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff by Chip Gaines

I absolutely loved The Magnolia Story by the Gaines, so it was a must that I added Chip’s book to my list.  He is so funny on the show and in the book, but it’s also clear how smart he is. I am keeping this one.

 

 

13. Living Life on Purpose: Discovering God’s Best for Your Life by Lysa TerKeurst

This starts my long list of Lysa TerKeurst books.  I love her.  I’ve had the pleasure of hearing her teach.  I’ve enjoyed I believe 1 or 2 of her books.  But the last book I read from her, I did not enjoy as much as I expected.  Which makes me wary of the others.  With that said, I am removing this one.

 

 

14. Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa TerKeurst

Although I do love food, its not that big of an issue for me to read a book about overcoming it.  I do have a physical copy of this book though, so maybe one day I will read it, but for now, I am removing it.

 

 

 

15. Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions by Lysa TerKeurst

I am the first to admit that I sometimes let my emotions get the best of me.  Even though I know I am not to be led by them.  So I am keeping this one to learn more about how to control them.

 

 

 

16. It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered by Lysa TerKeurst

This is her newest book, and I already resonate with the title so much I know I will be reading this one hopefully soon.  I am keeping it on the list.

 

 

 

17. What Happens When Women Say Yes to God: Experiencing Life in Extraordinary Ways by Lysa TerKeurst

I am removing this one.

 

 

 

18. What Happens When Women Walk in Faith: Trusting God Takes You to Amazing Places by Lysa TerKeurst

I am removing this one.

 

 

 

19. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport

I have always been such a big believe in hard work and that getting you where you need to go.  Which is probably how this book ended up on my list.  Now I believe you can do what you are passionate about AND work hard.  So even though this is on almost all recommended list, I am removing it.

 

 

20. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This book has me on the fence.  The reviews are some good and some bad.  But the synopsis is just mysterious enough that it makes me want to read more.  It seems like it will be more of a philosophy book, and I haven’t had much luck with those lately.  But I’m keeping it, and we will see.

 

Final Count: Removing 11; Keeping 9

TBR down to 4,665

Have you read any of these books?  Think I made a mistake removing one?  Leave me a comment below and let’s chat.

*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases using the links included in this post.

Categories
Down The TBR Hole

Down the TBR Hole #21-40

Welcome to Down the TBR Hole #21-40.  Have you been feeling inspired to go through your list of books that you have to read?  Or have you maybe found some books that I mentioned to add to your list?  Need to catch up?  Head here to see the last post.  As a reminder, here are the rules:

I am starting this week with 4,678 books.  Not sure how I ended up with more books than I started with last time.  I’m sure this reading slump I am in is not helping.  But of course, there is never a shortage of books to add to my list.  I also skipped last week so let’s double up this week.  Let’s get started.

1. Business Boutique: A Woman’s Guide to Making Money Doing What She Loves by Christy Wright

In a past life, I was all into finance and financial planning and thought that would be my career.  I also owned my own business for a bit. I found Christy Wright by way of Dave Ramsey and started listening to her podcast. I started reading this book, but for whatever reason, I didn’t finish it.  But from what I remember, it was good. I own it on Audible, so I’m keeping it.

2. The Secrets You Keep by Kate White

My best friend recommended this book to me.  I think it took 15 years for me to realize that we no longer have the same taste in books.  She leans heavy into suspense and psychological thrillers while I am more into non-fiction books and romance.  But that doesn’t mean I won’t try and read one of her recommendations.  But I wasted an audible credit on this one. Thirty minutes in and I could go further. I’m removing this one.

3. Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy

This book was recommended to me by an SVP that I admired at my old job.  She continuously kicked butt in a male-dominated world and specifically with a couple of challenging males that I had to work with daily that she had previous experience with.  I’m forever thankful that she took the time out to help mentor me. I started to read this book after she recommended it, but we were so busy my projects took over my life, and I had to put the book down. But I have a physical copy of this book plus the Audible version so I’ll be keeping it.

4. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt 

This was the first book that we were to read as a team at my old job. Recommended by the same SVP from above.  The only problem was my team was crazy busy.  We kept having to move the meeting that we had to talk about the book.  I’m not even sure I had time to finish one chapter. I do remember that it had an interesting concept, and I also happen to own a physical copy and the Audible version.  I think I will be keeping this one.

5. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

This book has been on almost every recommendation list for businesses owners that I have come across.  So I downloaded it on Audible.  I feel like building habits is part of my theme for the year, so I am keeping this one.

 

6. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

Like the book above, I have yet to come across a list that didn’t have this book recommended. I think I downloaded this one on Audible at the same time as the last one.  But it’s another one I haven’t had a chance to listen to. It’s a book on habits and fits my theme, so I’m keeping it.

7. God, Are You There? by Kay Arthur

I discovered Kay Arthur last year through Right Now Media and the inductive Bible study method. I instantly fell in love with her style and how her message of just using the Bible to interpret the Bible was so clear. I went on a hunt and ordered a few of her books (as you can tell).  I did read one of them and enjoyed it so I will be keeping this one.

 

8. Lord, Teach Me to Study the Bible in 28 Days by Kay Arthur

While I think I understand already what she will teach in this book because of watching her studies, I am keeping this book since I have a physical copy of it.  I also think it will be a quick read.

 

9. Discover the Bible for Yourself: Helpful Introductions to Every Book, Practical Approaches for Study, Applications for Everyday Life by Kay Arthur

You guessed it; I’m keeping this one.

 

10. Don’t Settle for Safe: Embracing the Uncomfortable to Become Unstoppable by Sarah Jakes Roberts 

First and foremost, I stan for Sarah Jakes Roberts.  If people can stan for musicians and actors, I can stan for a pastor.  What I love about her is she keeps it honest.  She made mistakes, and she had to work through them.  I’ve read another book of hers and probably every sermon she has preached.  Plus I’ve had the pleasure of seeing her teach in person.  I’m keeping this one.

11. Brave Enough to Succeed: 40 Strategies for Getting Unstuck by Valorie Burton

My previous business mentor recommended this book to me.  I’ve never connected with Burton based on what she posts on social media, but I was willing to give this book a chance.  I wonder, would this help me with my reading slump?  I’m feeling kind of stuck.  I’m keeping it.

 

12. Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul by Bill Hybels

This was the second book that was recommended by my business mentor.  I was a Professional Organizer, so a book about organizing your soul? I’m all for it.  I’m keeping this one.

 

13. Battlefield of the Mind Bible: Renew Your Mind Through the Power of God’s Word by Joyce Meyer

I started to read her book by the same title and knew I wanted to get the Bible as well.  But I have the Bible and was using it when reading the book.  I don’t think it belongs on this list anymore.  I’m going to be removing it and putting it on my read list

 

14. Hebrews Bible Study Book: The Nearness of King Jesus by Lisa Harper

This is a bible study that I started but never finished.  Honestly, the turnoff was I had to either rent the videos or pay a large sum to own the videos.  For some reason, Lifeway has the video studies priced so high that I can’t always justify the cost. It was a good study, and I love Lisa Harper, especially after hearing her in person.  I’m keeping this one with the hopes of one day being able to complete it.

15. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Home: No-Nonsense Advice that Will Inspire You to Clean Like the Dickens by Thelma Meyer

I went through a phase where I was trying to do a better job at setting the atmosphere of my home. I already loved having a clean house, so I was open to see if there were alternative ways to doing things.  So I felt like I was buying all the cleaning books.  I’m removing it, but it will make some cute decor.

 

16. Clean My Space: The Secret to Cleaning Better, Faster, and Loving Your Home Every Day by Melissa Maker

Another book from my home cleaning phase.  I’m removing it from my list but will keep it for decor.

 

17. How to Start a Home-based Professional Organizing Business by Dawn Noble

I might have mentioned a time or two that I previously had a Professional Organizing business. So although I bought this book while doing my research, I found so much info online that I didn’t need it.  I’m removing it.

 

18. Stronger than the Struggle: Uncomplicating Your Spiritual Battle by Havilah Cunnington

I bought the study for this book after hearing Havilah speak.  I enjoyed the study and wanted to read the book behind it, so I purchased it.  I enjoy listening to her preach, and I expect the same from her books.  I’ll be keeping it.

 

19. Anonymous: Jesus Hidden Years…And Yours by Alicia Britt Chole

A friend recommended this book to me after they enjoyed it.  I haven’t had a chance to start reading it yet, but I do like the concept. I have a physical copy of this book, and I am keeping it.

 

20. Everyday Hope: Holding Fast to His Promise by Katie Orr

Now that I have done a study with Katie (Philippians study), I want to do all of her studies.  She is an amazing Bible teacher.  You will see next week that I have a few of her studies.  I’m keeping this one.

 

Final count: Removing 5; Keeping 15; TBR down to 4,674

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