A year or so ago, a friend connected me online with Tabitha from Everyday Faith Study.  I was so moved by her unwavering conviction that what women most need, above anything they they think they need, above all the things available to encourage, challenge, and potentially distract us from God’s call on our lives, is daily time reading the Bible.  I believe this to my core (and as usual, I’m preaching it to my own self): In order to grow, women need to know how to build a daily Bible reading habit.

So I asked Tabitha recently (after months of watching her share as she consistently built her own Bible study habit on social media!), if she’d give us some pointers on it.  Side note: Tabitha’s also a ballerina.  It’s a little-known fact that I danced ballet from 2 years old to my young adult years, and I miss it.  MUCH.  (My earlier blog is called Dancing With My Father.  I still love that name.)  So I also asked her to talk a little about how moving her body has affected her life as well… and now I wanna dance.

How to build a daily Bible reading habit From Tabitha:

Hi friends! I’m Tabitha, the founder and creator at Every Day Faith! My ministry’s mission is to support women in establishing, maintaining, and growing their #dailywordhabit in order to stay connected to Jesus and live a life that is empowered to THRIVE! (John 15:1-11)  I’ve been friends with Angela of Everyday Welcome for about a year now and her heart for all the people is beautiful! When she asked me to share a post encouraging and equipping her community to spend time with our Creator every day I was honored! So let’s get to it and talk about why and how we spend time with Jesus!

Finding Why

Information does not equal transformation. Just because we know that something is good for us does not mean we will do it. People still smoke cigarettes, right? Real change, or transformation, comes with value shift. When the value we place on something is increased, decreased, or shifted, we experience genuine change in our lives. So we gotta get honest with ourselves and ask, “WHY do I want to set a daily word habit? What will this give me that I really want? What need does this meet? Why is this important enough to me to make sacrifices in order to have it?” These seem like easy questions to answer if we’re just speaking Christianese, but if we really ask ourselves to be brutally honest the Spirit will show us what our “why” is.

For me, it was that I was desperate to live without fear. I knew I needed to believe deep in my bones His promises so that I could more easily refuse and let go of fear, and in order to do that I needed to trust Him.  To do THAT I needed to spend time with Him every day. So it became a priority. The value of my time with Him INCREASED beyond my value of other things and created transformation in my life. Which of course is all initiated by the Holy Spirit! Read Romans 8 for more on that!

**From Angela: Check out this 5-day “Renew” study in Romans with Tim & Kathy Keller!

Identify Obstacles

And the more honest you can be with yourself, the more this question is helpful.

The number one reason I hear from women is, “I don’t have time.”

I’m gonna dish up some tough love for a moment: that’s not a reason, that’s an excuse.

We all have enough time, but it’s how we use it. This is where it’s incredibly important to identify unrealistic expectations, the power of technology distraction, and the deeply rooted mis-value of entertainment.

Are your expectations of your Word time realistic for your life?Are you willing to post-pone that 20 minutes of scrolling until AFTER 20 minutes of the Word? Click To Tweet Yes, we need recharge time; why do we think that being in the Word ISN’T recharging?

The second reason I hear is, “I don’t know where to start or what to do!” This is super real! But again, not a reason. You have a tiny computer in your palm most of the day with unlimited access to studies, tools, and resources galore! Not to mention that if you use the YouVersion Bible app you can instantly find scripture studies based on exactly what you’re going through in one quick search.  Getting real about your obstacles and your expectations will FREE you to make your #dailywordhabit accessible, manageable, and totally do-able!

What Works

Chances are good you have other habits in your life. How did you get those in place? And can any of those same techniques work in implementing this Word habit?

• Work with what you know of yourself!
• Work with what’s realistic for your schedule!
• Get out of the limiting idea that quiet time has to be quiet!
• Ask the Spirit to show you what would most benefit YOU!

I am not a morning person. If I ask myself to do meaty Bible study in the morning my brain is just not ready for it. I do a morning routine that invites Him to be the focus of my day, but I don’t do Bible STUDY until bedtime!

No Condemnation

Here are some truths for you:

• You are not a terrible person for not having consistent Word time.
• You are not a bad Christian for not having consistent Word time.
• Our time in the Word is FOR US to be empowered to THRIVE because His living Word gives us life and always succeeds in what He purposes! (Hebrews 4:12, Isaiah 55:11)
• There is therefore now NO CONDMEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 12:2 ) You have been freed from that.

In the parable of the sower (Matthew 13), we’re told that the enemy is always trying to steal the Word from us.  But we’re also told that we have authority over all darkness through Jesus (Luke 10:19).  So, when those condemn-y thoughts come, kick them to the curb by stating what is true: I am a daughter of the highest King and He wants time with me no matter what!

If we give in to the lies that we messed up word time again, that we’re always failing, it’s too hard, or that it’s too hard to understand anyway, then we’re defeated before we’ve even started.

Keep Starting

Habits become habits through repetition. Didn’t do yesterday’s reading?  NO BIG DEAL. Just start today. Every day is just this day, not a running record of all the days. Just keep starting and continue the process of finding your #dailywordhabit groove and it WILL HAPPEN. Also, let’s remember the super importance of inviting the Holy Spirit to support us in setting this habit!

True story: I got serious about my Word habit in October of 2017. I was incredibly dedicated and it still didn’t “stick” until February of 2018.  So, just know that habits change slowly! Just. Keep. Starting.

**From Angela: One of the most transformative habits I’ve had to “keep starting” is actually memorizing scripture.  I have an awesome free tool for scripture memory here.

My Word Time

Wake up:

As I wake up I say, “Good morning, Holy Spirit, today I choose to turn my thoughts back to you over and over again!” I turn on the Daily Prayer by John and Staci Eldredge of Ransomed Heart Ministry and pray along with the audio as I wash my face and make the bed. Then I turn on worship music that declares Jesus and His victory as I make tea and sit down to read and write out the verse from the Daily Scripture Guide that I create and share. All of this takes about 20 minutes TOPS.

I’m a ballet dancer which means that my body is constantly needing to stretch, breathe, and be strengthened. I am part of a ministry called Holy Ground (by Teresa Hoffman) that pairs scripture with breath and movement to create a time of moving meditation on His Word! I use this movement practice to focus my mind on scripture like the Armor of God, the Fruit of the Spirit, going through a time of repentance and giving forgiveness, and covering me and my household with the blood of Jesus. I don’t do this every day, but when I do it takes anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes depending on the day.

Most days I take my dog for a walk in the woods! I live in Big Bear, California, which is in the mountains near LA, and it is beautiful here. As I walk Thora, I use an app that dings every 60 seconds to remind me that I’m praying, because let’s be real: it’s work training our minds to focus on being present with Him in prayer! It’s called the Echo Prayer App and it’s a fantastic tool! We’re usually gone about 45 minutes and it’s an amazing time of listening to God while enjoying His creation.

Because I set my mind to return to Him over and over throughout my day,  the Spirit empowers me to do that.  I find myself turning to Him through my day for guidance and for strength. When I’m confronted with life, I get to choose to use the Fruit of the Spirit and His wisdom given to me to respond.

**From Angela: This 14-day devotional on prayer from Tim Keller is available on The Bible App.

Bedtime:

It’s usually not until much later in the day that I have really meaty Bible time! If you choose to follow my account on Instagram you’ll see how frequently my #dailywordtime is at like 10:30pm! I have a devotional  that I love to use to get started in the Word, but inevitably the Holy Spirit takes me on a verse trail with one scripture leading to another, uncovering the beautiful tapestry of His Word full of promises and confirmation of who He Is. This can end up being 30 minutes to 2 hours, friends. All depends on my needs and His leading!

I have SO MUCH MORE that I could say to encourage you, but ultimately it’s about you and the Holy Spirit. He promises to teach us all things, to bring to our memory all Jesus said and did, to guide us to the truth, and to tell us what’s coming (John 14:26, John 16:13), so ASK HIM TO LEAD YOU in setting and keeping this life giving habit!

I look forward to getting to know you! I might not know you by name (yet!) but I have prayed over this post and I know that the Spirit is giving you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your hearts are enlightened, and that you know more and more of the hope to which He has called you! (Ephesians 1:17-21)

Blessings on you all, 

Tabitha

Over on Instagram @everydayfaithstudy shares the Word in posts and stories, offers tips and tricks to making the habit.  She also offers a FREE Daily Scripture Guide to give you a starting place in the Word every day! You can find out more at her website.

From Angela:

One of my favorite things Tabitha mentions is “…inevitably the Holy Spirit takes me on a verse trail with one scripture leading to another, uncovering the beautiful tapestry of His Word full of promises and confirmation of who He Is…”  This is one of my favorite parts of studying the Bible, too.  It’s WHY I think it’s so important for us as women to discover how to build a daily Bible reading habit.  The more time we spend reading the Bible, the more intimate we grow with the Truth of who God is.  The more intimate we grow with His truth, the more we walk in His leading and the more able we are to recognize when something doesn’t ring true.  I love, love, love that He leads us through His story in scripture – because ultimately, our lives are all for the purpose of His glory.  We are most who we are meant to be when we “everyday, welcome” His leading for our lives.

Inviting {Word-rich, joy-filled} welcome,

Angela

More resources:

• Tabitha’s Every Day Faith Daily Scripture Guide 
• Find Tabitha on Insta 
• Everyday Welcome’s Bible study resources page and women’s devotional resources
• Ransomed Heart App
• Echo Prayer App
• An awesome daily devotional that coordinates with a daily Bible reading plan
• Here’s an excellent free PDF on daily quiet time from Redeemer Presbyterian Church
• A great post on how to build a daily Bible reading habit from Tim Challies