Month: July 2019

Two things that kept me from reading the Bible – and what changed my tune

Guilt and Frustration

I thought I should read it, then felt guilty when I didn’t. I would try, but I’d get frustrated. I didn’t understand what I was reading. I couldn’t find anything. When the pastor or Bible teacher said, “Open your Bibles to…  (fill in the book),” I couldn’t find it and felt stupid. That’s a lot of self-condemning for something that’s supposed to be life-giving.

If I was doing homework for a Bible study, I would get frustrated when I had to look up a bunch of Bible verses. I didn’t know if something was in the Old Testament or the New Testament. I especially dreaded having to look up a bunch of scriptures in different places of the Bible. It suddenly made just looking up one passage more palatable.

A Little Child Shall Lead Them

Everything changed when I taught a children’s choir. I sort of fell into the role, but I believe it was God’s plan for me. There’s a good chance it’s why I’m writing about the Bible now.

I teach violin and I sang in choirs and was asked to lead the children’s choir. The third graders were getting their Bibles that year. After singing various seasonal songs in November and December, I thought it might be fun to have the kids learn songs that taught them the books of the Bible.

Wee Sing Bible Songs (children’s songs) has the best songs for learning the books of the Bible – “Books of the Old Testament” and “Books of the New Testament.”

Over the course of a few weeks, the children memorized both songs. On the big day, one of the third graders proudly told everyone she was going to read Habakkuk. That’s an Old Testament Minor Prophet in case you were wondering.

To this day when I look for a specific book of the Bible, I hear those songs in my head faithfully guiding me.

Do What Works

I’m sure there are other songs out there which are more hip or contemporary. These happen to be the ones that helped me find those elusive Bible books. Pick the melody that aids your search. You may soon find this method of scripture search is music to your ears.

I found my childhood Bible

I received it in the 4th grade. My name was on it in gold nail polish. No engraving on that one. It’s traditional Bible red. I think it has red letters inside. I’d have to check. It’s full of memories: a note in German from a high school exchange program, a few post-its marking scripture passages, a four-leaf clover, and a black and white photo of “Christ in the snow” from camp the summer I really experienced Jesus for the first time.

I don’t honestly know how much I’ve read it though. I didn’t understand it when I tried to read it as a kid. It contains no chapter introductions. The wording is a bit complicated for my taste. It does have the prerequisite maps in the back though.

I find it funny that I know what memories it holds, what’s inside it… but I don’t know what’s inside it.

In the past several years I’ve found new Bibles out of a hunger to learn just what was inside. I’ve looked at study Bibles and picture Bibles. The more I look, the more I find.

I encourage you to find your Bible. It’s the first step in finding your way.

What if understanding the Bible were as simple as opening it up?

Hi, my name is Susan. I’m glad you stopped by. This morning I picked up my Bible looking for a specific book inside. I started just opening it to see if I could consistently locate the book of Isaiah. I found it part of the time, but what I did discover was a quick way to navigate my way around the Bible.

I’ve struggled over the years with thinking I should read my Bible, but closing it not long after opening it, because I wasn’t getting anything out of it. Yes, there’s plenty in there. I just didn’t know how to find it and couldn’t understand what I was reading.

Thanks to a group of friends who were having the same issue as me, we read through the Bible together. I’d like to share some of the tips and tricks we learned along the way that helped us better understand what’s inside the Bible.

More importantly, I’d like to show you what we found as we read. My hope is that you will make some discoveries of your own.

Thanks for joining me on this journey,

Susan