I’ve been wanting to share for a while some resources that I like to incorporate into my quiet times. I’ll be the first to say you don’t NEED this stuff to have a meaningful relationship with the Lord but I’m grateful they’re available. The same way we don’t NEED a filet mignon to live but it sure is a treat when we get to enjoy one!
So below I’ve got some tools, books and other resources that have been helpful! I don’t use them all at the same time and try to keep it relatively simple but I do like getting to mix things up.
TOOLS
I get asked where I got my Bible, and I couldn’t really remember where I ordered it from, but I did some digging so I could share! Here’s the link! I love the soft leather. It does scuff but I like that. There are sooooo many options for translations and journaling so the limits are endless but here’s mine!
From Well-Watered Women – An organized way to record what you’re studying in the Word complete with questions to help you work through it.
From Cultivate What Matters – These journals are created according to specific topics with each day giving a verse on that particular topic to study. The collection is so pretty and it’s awesome to reflect on what God taught in different seasons of life. Topics include: worship, love, joy, the garden, PRAYER and more!
From Stormie Omartian – The Power of a Praying Wife, Woman, Parent, etc. I read all three of these books. Each has 31 topics along with a prayer. The prayers are fairly long and not something I thought I could do every day so I highlighted several lines of each and now each day I pray a prompted prayer for the girls, Tyler and myself. It has expanded WHAT I pray for us and I’ve seen God answer some things in very specific ways. Here’s a video about how I used to pair this practice with my to-do list app! I now keep it printed out so I’m not on my phone in the morning but still love this!
I mean obviously. : ) I use our prompted Yearly Prayer Journal to write out a prayer in the morning and track all the things I want to pray for each month in an organized way. It doesn’t require me to write something every day, but I can if I want to in the Conversations Section.
If you aren’t ready to mark up your Bible, this is a great way to study in-depth. I’m linking to the full set for New Testament but you can get them individually. I did this recently when I started studying 1-3 John and I love it!
I use this Bible app for different translations, Bible reading plans (we have a 7-day reading plan based on my book, Grumpy Mom Takes a Holiday!) and more. I did a whole post on how I get the most out of this app here.
I use this app for seeing the exact meaning of the original words. It’s not as intuitive, which is why I still love the YouVersion app too. I also love reading the commentary here!
HIGHLIGHTERS
They got their own section because I really like highlighters and I use them for different things! 😉
BOOKS
Seamless – A great Bible study by Angie Smith. It’s an overview of how the Bible is one big story!
66 Love Letters – Another overview divided by each book of the Bible and written from the perspective that each book is a letter from God.
Women of the Word – A practical book by Jen Wilkin about studying the Bible.
Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes – A reminder to ask questions and think about the original meaning of Scripture and not an Americanized version.
Out of Context – Another book to help you study Scripture without taking it out of context. (Haven’t read this one yet but it’s on my shelf!)
An Infographic Book – This is kind of just for fun but I love flipping through and learning fun details about the Bile. I actually got this one for the girls and love it just as much as the one for grownups!
Devotionals – I’m not a big devo person honestly because it’s easy for me to rely too much on that as my Bible-reading time and I want to really dig into the word. I’ve written two and it’s why they are pretty meaty even though they are short.
- Fresh Start Prayer Journal– A 31-day devo on prayer (with a month of prompts to test out our prayer journal format)
- Fresh Start for Moms – A 31-day devo on motherhood (with questions for morning and evening)
If you’re looking for ways to freshen up your quiet time routine, you know we can’t say enough about the importance of prayer over here! On Monday, October 21 at Noon CST, I am hosting a FREE live class called Where Prayer Meets Science.
We will dive into the surprising benefits of prayer, actual techniques to combat anxious and negative thoughts and get. you. praying! You won’t want to miss it! Grab your free spot right here.
There you have it! Now I’d love to hear, what are your favorite tools?
Leave a Reply
Comments (2)
Hi Val! What format did you use to print out the daily “Power of a Praying…” prayers? I liked using the to-do app too, but I’m trying to stay away from my phone as well.
Combing through spam comments and found this!! Just a whole year+ late! Yikes! I literally just highlight the most impactful portion of the prayers, type it out and print from word on like half a page to fit in my journal!!