When suddenly our schedule opens up. . .

I am pretty sure this is the longest amount of time I have been at home without leaving. We went into Shelter-mode today, but the reality is we've been practicing this since Saturday.  In many ways, I miss being able to just spend the day running errands or the freedom to actually go on an adventure, yet as hard as it is to stay at home, I am savoring this extra time with my boys home.  We are doing school and getting to play and build and it's pretty great!

A friend and I were just talking about the great things that can come out of this.  We are definitely spending a lot more time as a family just shooting hoops, playing games, and talking.  I'm pretty sure my favorite thing so far about today is just getting to talk with my boys on our walk.  Such great conversations are taking place.  This quarantine is pushing families to come together in ways that have been otherwise not happening regularly because of our busy schedules.  It's pretty great!

When it comes to studying God's Word, one of the most used excuses for not creating a daily (or even a semi-daily) routine, is that they are too busy.  Let's be honest here. Everyone's busy looks different, but it is still necessary.  It is our daily bread, our daily manna that God provides for us.  It brings encouragement and the reminder of who God is and how he has redeemed us.

If have been contemplating starting to get in the habit of reading your Bible on daily basis or even if your current Bible Study has had to stop meeting because of the COVID-19 situation, you might be on the lookout for some way to dig in.  I was already working on a list of ways to encourage my Bible Study gals to dig in on their own, but I thought I would share it with my sweet reader friends.

She Reads Truth/He Reads Truth
This probably my absolute favorite one.  I started doing these studies back when they just had a website and no app or printed books.  It's been really neat to see them grow because that means more and more women (and now men and kids!) are opening their Bible each and every day!  Right now, we are reading through Jeremiah as we walk these days of Lent before we celebrate Easter.  It's a pretty great study and I can't even remember the last time I just read the entire book of Jeremiah rather than a few verses here and there.  They also have a ton of past studies you can access through their website (free) and app (prices range from free to $3 for each study). 

You can find them here.

Women Living Well
This is a really neat study site that I found several years ago.  They have lots of resources for reading books straight through, with printable trackers, books that you can purchase, and for some videos some free video teaching.

 You can find them here.

Love God Greatly
This is a really neat Bible Study resource that I might try out soon.  You would need to purchase a book, but they are in the 10-15 dollar range.  They are beautiful books that the money used helps get God's word to other countries in their own language.  But, you can also download them.  These studies us the SOAP method, so the books are more of an organized journal for that book of the Bible or topic.  SOAP stands for Scripture-Observation-Application-Prayer.  They even have kids journals which is so cool!

You can find out more here.

Lifeway
Lifeway is more than a Christian book publisher! They always have certain studies that they open up the video series for on their website.  All you need to do is purchase the book and then watch the videos for free.  This is a really good resource if you are stuck at home and can't go to your normal Bible Study.

You can find the link to the online free videos here. 

Write the Word
Studies have shown that when we we physically write something down with a pencil or pen, we are more apt to remember it.  God's Word tells us to "write God's Word on our hearts" and one of the ways we can do that is by writing a verse or two daily.  One of my favorite ways to do this is to use Write the Word journals over at Cultivate what matters.  They are beautiful, they tell you what scriptures to write each day, but they also give you a place to pray God's Word.  It is one of my favorite things I started last year and I love it!

Here's the link to the website, but you can also order these on amazon.

Right Now Media
This is a great resource that our church has opened it up for all if it's people.  Right now, they are offering a small amount of their HUGE library for free since we are all stuck in our homes.  A lot of really neat studies have all their videos here as well as some other fun speaker series (like the IF conference. . . I highly recommend that one!).  For most of these it is as simple as ordering the book and watching the video online.  Thank goodness we still have delivery drivers as essential during this quarantine! 

You can find it here.

But, I am alone.
And finally, you might be asking the question: That's great, but I miss my people.  I miss getting into God's Word and discussing it with my group.  I know it's hard.  I know it's lonely.  I see and I hear you.  I am feeling that sadness a bit too.  The group that I was leading was wrapping up this week and now we don't even get to meet to celebrate the things that God is doing.  It plain out stinks!  But, I'd rather everyone follow the rules and stay healthy than finish as a group.

 So here are some ways to be social at a distance:

Facebook - I know that many of you might be UGH.  Don't say that.  But really, you can create private groups that you can go live in and also in real time chatting conversations.  It really is pretty great! 

Zoom - You can video in a bunch of friends over this website.  Pour yourself a cup of coffee and everyone can talk about what their study is about.  It's pretty cool.  My husband mentioned that it's pretty backed up due to the amount of people suddenly using it. 

Facetime your friend and do a study together via your iphone if you are craving that face to face interaction. 

I also want to mention that many churches are finding alternative ways to bring your Sunday morning gathering into your homes.  Our church will be going live this Sunday at 10. . . if you don't have a home church or your church doesn't have the technology to do this, here's a link to our youtube channel. 

I  hope that this helps you and encourages you to seek God during this crazy ordeal.  I hope and pray you are all healthy! 

I would love to hear how you are handling everything. . . what are some things you are doing to fill up all this extra time at home?  Any Bible Studies that I should add to the list?  Bring it on in the comments below. . . I'd love to hear from you!