Book Club Archives - (in)courage

Meeting God on the Pages of My Bible

by Anna Rendell Jan 29, 2019 in:(in)courage Devotional Bible

I want to wake up before the rest of my household wakes.

I want my sleepy-eyed kids to stagger downstairs and find their mom at the table, hot coffee in hand and Bible open before her.

I want to connect with my husband about the Scripture I read during quiet time that morning.

I want to meet with God before picking up my phone.

I truly want to do this. But morning quiet time is just not how I am wired. It is a miracle if I make it downstairs before my kids and husband. My body clock keeps me up later at night and wants me to wake later in the morning. I’ve tried to fight it before, and let’s just say . . . read this story about what my little boy says I’m like before my morning coffee.

But I truly do desire a time to connect with the Lord — a time where it’s just me and God, where God’s Word and hearing from God is my sole focus. I’ve just found that my time with God will likely not be in the wee hours of the morning.

And that’s okay.

“Quiet time” has to work for who we are. Can it be a sacrifice of time and preference? Certainly! For my schedule and life right now, I need to meet with God in the afternoons. After work is (mostly) finished and before my kids come home from school, that’s my God-time sweet spot. I make a cup of decaf (if I have caffeine after 12:00pm I’ll be up even later than normal!), grab my beautiful (in)courage Devotional Bible, settle in the chair next to the front window (so I can keep an eye out for the school bus) with my favorite lap blanket, and ask God to meet me.

I ask God to meet me on the pages, in the stories that over 100 women have shared in the 300+ devotions peppered between pages of Scripture. I ask God to lead me in whichever of the ten reading plans I’m working my way through.

And let me tell you, the reading plans are my favorite part of this Devotional Bible. I didn’t really understand how they worked until I held the Bible in my hands and thumbed through, so let me share with you what they actually are. You’re going to love this too — I just know it!

The (in)courage Devotional Bible has ten reading plans included in the back. Each reading plan is focused on a singular topic — for instance, Better Together, Everyday Leadership, and Daily Grace. Each plan takes you through five to seven weeks, and includes six daily Scripture readings and their related devotion, with the author, title, and page number listed. You just choose the topic you’re most drawn to and read the Scripture and devotion each day. This Bible is a quiet time and/or Bible study all in one resource, and I am here for that!

Back to my chair. Once I’m in that comfy chair, I open the Bible, invite (sometimes implore) God to meet me, and then I read. I meet Him. I meet women of courage. I meet the authors who have contributed their stories. I meet my need to connect with God’s heart.

And when that big yellow school bus pulls up, I close the Bible and meet my kids with more grace than I had before I opened up those pages.

If you haven’t heard yet, we are hosting our very first Online Bible Study here at (in)courage! It’s a twelve-week study, and we will be working through three of the reading plans from the (in)courage Devotional Bible. We can’t wait!

We truly hope you’ll join us as we read through the (in)courage Devotional Bible and meet many women of courage — together. Don’t delay, because we start February 1st!