10 on Tuesday {Faith Resources}

Hey y'all,

A while back I asked for comments for posts you would like to see and I received one regarding sharing my faith and faith resources. I am a Christian and I attend a Southern Baptist Church here in the Triangle called The Summit. I attend a weekly small group from my church where we study the Bible, build community, and discuss various topics like accountability. I would highly recommend finding a church where you can plug in.

I have a group of friends who all serve the same service in different roles (myself in the kids ministry) and we get together after church to discuss the sermon, eat dinner (we attend on Saturdays) and enjoy one another.

Here are 10 resources that might help you in your personal study of the Bible.

one. A bible you enjoy.

I love both my She Reads Truth Bible (on sale for under $30) and my ESV Study Bible (currently on sale for under $25). Both the ESV and CSB translations are easy to read and understand in my opinion without becoming an interpretation of the text. I would recommend looking at different translations through the Bible app or bible.com to find the translation that works best for your personal study. You can also read this page from Christianbook.com on translations.

I love the SRT bible since it is the text with wide margins to add a few notes and it does not have any notes on the page. Some of my bible studies in the past reccomend using a bible without study notes so you study the word alone before looking at the "cheater notes." The SRT bible is my go-to daily bible and the bible I take with me to church and small group.

I do however, like having the ESV study bible for those days I want to dive deeper in the historical context of the text. There are often images, maps, etc. in the notes section that can add to my personal study.

two.Val Marie Paper prayer journal.

I received my first VMP prayer journal for Christmas 2017 and loved walking through 2018 writing down prayers through the monthly section's guided prompts. I didn't use the notes or gratitude section often though. This year, I have been using the notes section for my weekly sermon notes or small group notes and I have loved having them compiled all in one place especially if the sermon sparks a reminder for prayer or a prayer request, I can quickly add to that month's list. I am still working on using the daily gratitude section. The 2020 journals go on sale for pre-order in August if you need to prompt someone for a gift.

three. Cultivate What Matters write the word journals

I have been using the CWM WTW journals since they originally launched back in 2015. I love this simple way to start my quiet time. You simply write out the verse listed and then there is a page to journal on. I often write reflections from the verse, prayers, or add notes from the other readings I complete in my quiet time.

Yes, I keep my journals in rainbow order with the first three being the original Volumes I-III

If you do not want to purchase a journal, Shannon puts out monthly scripture writing plans on her blog. She has plans going back to 2016 and you can easily select months based on the topic, like March 2019 - Waiting on God.

four. journal for notes.

My favorite journals for notes for sermons or if I am doing a scripture writing plan are the May Designs journals. They can be personalized, are a great size, and I can typically fit a year of sermon and small group notes in each journal so they can all be kept in one place. I get the lined journals and I like that I can easily fold them to write on each page. They are also not bulky when placing them on top of my bible when sitting in church. Here are some of my journals from the past.

five. books of the Bible tabs.

I picked up this set of Bible tabs from Illustrated Faith in January and it has helped tremendously in quickly turning to the word. I think it can be intimidating to flip through the bible especially when you can only remember if a book is in the Old or the New Testament. I have been that girl looking at the index to find Nehemiah in my bible. These were easy to put on and also come in a neutral and uniform size set if that is more your style.

When I recently ordered my new Cultivate What Matters journals I did receive their new bible tabs and added those to my study bible. This set is all uniform in size and includes a Old and New Testament tab.

Giveway: I am giving away a set of the new Cultivate What Matters colorful bible tabs to one lucky reader. All you have to do is comment on this post and you will be entered to win. The giveaway closes on August 7th at 12:00 pm EST. I will announce a winner on August 9th in my Five on Friday post.

six. personal study guides - apps

My favorite faith apps are the Bible app/You Version and the First 5 app from Proverbs 31 ministries.
The Bible app allows you to quickly find the text if you don't bring your full bible to church or small group and even has reading plans. I have started the chronological plan on the app but I always get stuck in the Old Testament but I plan on picking the plan back up soon. You can also do the plans with friends and comment on each day's reading on the app.

The First 5 app is from Proverbs 31 ministries and gives you a daily reading and short devotion. The premise is that you should devote your first five minutes of each day to the Lord.

seven. personal study guides - websites.

There are a lot of good personal studies you can easily find on the internet for free or very little cost. I have enjoyed studying with Good Morning Girls, Proverbs 31 ministries, She Reads Truth, and Love God Greatly. You can also find some of Jen Wilkin's studies available online for free. I am currently reading through the Foundations of the New Testament with this plan.

eight. personal study guides - books

I highly recommend every woman read Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin. This book has really challenged my faith and was a helpful reminder that I need to know the word deeply myself so I can spot truth or false teachings. My small group just finished Jen Wilkin's None Like Him as a group and I also enjoyed that book delving into attributes of God.

I am not a devotional fan since I often times feel like you are reading one or two verses out of context and then a lot of reflection. I prefer delving deep into the text directly.

Christian authors that I enjoy reading as a supplement and not in place of my bible reading include Annie F. Downs, Rebekah Lyons, Lysa Terkeurst, and Liz Curtis Higgs.

nine. worship music.

I am a big fan of praising the Lord through worship music. I listen to both KLove and His Radio in the car but I would also recommend checking out a few Spotify playlists (Top Christian Contemporary, Mandisa radio, BSF PPL Pt 1, and Worship at Work. I often turn on Spotify on my Amazon Fire Stick, light a candle, snuggle under a blanket and begin my quiet time on the weekends.

ten. local bible studies.

I love the accountability of having an group of women to study the bible with weekly. I would suggest looking at your church's events to see if they have a women's weekly study you can join. My church has our small groups as well as women's discipleship bible studies. I also have enjoyed studying the Old Testament last year in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF).

Let me know if you have any favorite faith resources in the comments so we can all learn together!

Best,