Last week marked my participation in the fourth annual Pursuit Conference in Rome, Georgia and I’m still trying to pull it all together in my brain.  How to sum it up and articulate what God did in a few tidy bullet points.

I’ve been somewhat silent on this blog for a good part of this year.  Ok.  A lot silent. My next study is writing itself in my quiet times, and most of these months have spent introspectively.  Digging and chewing and discovering and peeling back more layers of God’s character by studying His word deeply.  Intently.  Until my brain hurts.  And then coming back for more.

Some of that time was spent studying Psalm 84.  I feel like the word “study” doesn’t do it justice.  I’ve picked it apart word by word.  Phrase by phrase.  Looking at historical context, modern day applications, more commentaries than I can count and cross-references galore.  And last week, I stood on stage and taught 200 women the highlights of what I had learned.  Together, we picked apart a psalm that has so much personal significance to me.  A psalm that articulates the craving a man who is separated from the presence of God and desperately misses it.  The Hebrew language in the very first verse refers to the tabernacle and dwelling place of God as lovely.  Well-beloved.  A close friend.  But not just any friend.  A friend who has become family.  A friend who, sometimes, is closer than family.

When was the last time I craved God that deeply?  When was the last time we craved God that deeply.  I’ve been thinking about devotionals lately.  Don’t get me wrong – I love a good devotional.  But the devotionals these days?  They are a bit fluffy.  Light.  Not containing much meat at all.  And they are easily accessible on our phones.  Devotionals are a fantastic resources to use alongside the Bible, but these days, they have practically replaced the Bible altogether.  We open an app and get a quick read while we wait in the carpool lane.  Or the drive-thru coffee line.  Or while we’re on hold.  Or while our computer is restarting.  It’s an after-thought of our day and we are slowly but surely starving ourselves spiritually.  And last week, I challenged all 200 women:

Get off the five minute devotional diet!

Let’s pick up our Bibles and put down our phones.  Let’s let scripture explain scripture and not a third-party interpretation.  Let’s get to know God’s voice and stop relying on someone else’s.  I reiterated during my second message that there is a place for devotionals.  I even quoted two of them as I stood up there.  But over and over, I admonish women to prioritize God’s voice above any other voice.  Any other writing.  Any other commentary.  Seek His Word first and then everything else second.

I taught for three days at the Pursuit Conference and covered the entirety of Psalm 84.  And throughout the week, I heard one overwhelming question:

How did you learn to study that way?

Last summer, I held a webinar on How to Study Scripture where I taught my method for digging deep.  It was born out of an overwhelming amount of information flooding my brain and a need to organize it.  And it was rooted in a deeper yearning for more.  More depth.  More knowledge.  More understanding of His Word.  Everywhere I go, it seems that there is a unifying theme: we know as Christians that we need to have a daily quiet time.  But most of us have never been taught how to make that happen.

Rather than doing another webinar, I’ve decided to take everything I’ve learned and put it all into one comprehensive e-guide that anyone can read at anytime.

Introducing: the How to Study Scripture e-guide!

This e-guide includes all of my tips and tricks to cultivate a rich quiet time.  It starts with the five biggest obstacles that prevent us from reading our Bibles daily (and the verses you can pray to combat them).  And it continues with the step-by-step of how I got where I am today.  I describe what triggered the curiosity that turned into a deep hunger that remains today, over a decade later.  I break down the different ways of studying scripture.  And I describe the study-Scripture system I still use every single morning.