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A year ago I attended my first multi-day writers conference. Keynote speakers Kim Meeder and Robin Jones Gunn inspired and encouraged me through their messages to the group and gracious interactions one on one. The schedule was packed with coaching classes, writing workshops, and opportunities to hear from industry professionals. I came home filled with knowledge of writing and publishing. The information was great, though it was a lot to absorb all at once. With so much to remember, it was easy to forget the details of the experience.

The first year everything was new – all the information and the process. Now as I prepare for this year’s event, I have a better context for what I am learning.

The same goes for the Bible. We can easily overwhelm ourselves thinking we need to know everything all at once or remember everything we read, but that’s not true.

Learn in layers. Come back to it often. Absorb a little more each time. It’s more fun that way.

Once I had a song in my head to remind me where to find specific books of the Bible, I opened the Bible more often. I gained a sense of where some of the main books were located:

Genesis – at the front of the Bible, right at the beginning

Psalms – in the middle of the Bible, at the heart of it

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – the start of the New Testament – remembering the names of these four books in order helped me geographically locate the front of the New Testament

Incidentally, those four books are the Gospels, or Good News. They tell the story of Jesus, who puts the “New” in New Testament.

Geographical Navigation

It’s really cumbersome to look for the table of contents near the front of the Bible. (Have you searched for it before?) I decided I wanted to find a more tactile way of locating specific books of the Bible.

When I open my Bible in half I most often land in Psalms. It varies which number it lands on of the 150 written by various authors. That means I have a greater chance of landing in the middle of Psalms than somewhere else, say Proverbs, which comes right after Psalms. I don’t usually run into Job (rhymes with robe), the one that precedes Psalms, but it is helpful to know it’s on the left side.

Job – Psalms – Proverbs

I think it’s poetic that Psalms is at the middle or the center of the Bible. The Psalms are the songs of the Bible and at the heart of it. These songs written by David and other authors speak from the heart and reflect the heart of those who wrote and read them. Songs of praise and thanks, sorrow or anguish, those that tell a story of remembrance or reflect a physical or spiritual journey, all spoken from the heart and to the heart of God.

These sacred Psalms give words to communicate with God in those moments of life that crave a connection for comfort, counsel, or celebration. I’m grateful that when I don’t have the words to express what I am feeling, I can turn to the Psalms and God will place the words I need on my heart.

I’m getting ready for a writers conference. It’s funny because two years ago I hadn’t even considered myself a writer. Sure I like to write, but that’s different. Is it? So how did I make the leap from writing to calling myself a writer?

I was having lunch with some leaders from church when the woman next to me mentioned that she was working on a children’s book. I had no idea she was a writer. I started to ask her questions because I had recently started thinking about writing a book about the Bible. (Go big or go home, right?) I wanted it to be something that would help people read the Bible. It had really been a tentative thought, one that’s not voiced for fear of the listener’s reaction. But here I was sitting next to a very kind woman who had just disclosed to me that she is a writer. She proceeded to tell me about an upcoming writers conference through an organization she belongs to. I had more questions. She graciously answered them. One day later I was registered for my first writers conference a mere two days away.

I don’t think I would have found that conference if she hadn’t shared that she was writing. That conversation and conference were turning points for me.

I recently led a group of people through the entire Bible. It started much the same way. A casual conversation after church in the entry way while eating ice cream. Four of us were gathered chatting when questions about the Bible came up. “Is it in order?” Well, technically, because it starts with Genesis and ends with Revelation. I like to think of it more like a library with books in groupings.  A library doesn’t shelve its books based on first acquired. Books at a library are shelved by topic and category. The Bible is too. Sure there are some history books that are in order, but there are also groupings of books like the Prophets in the Old Testament and the letters in the New Testament.

As they asked more questions I suggested maybe we could gather and read through the Bible as a group, figure this stuff out together. They liked that idea and our journey began.

Do you know someone who is also interested in learning about the Bible? Do you know someone who is already reading it? Simply mentioning your interest to someone you know may bring you one step closer to opening your Bible. Can’t think of anyone? That’s ok, too. We’ll do this together.

I received it in the 4^th 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.

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