5 Tips For Reading Your Bible and Loving It!

When I was around 14-16 years old I really struggled to read my Bible. But I really wanted to read it and understand it. I also didn’t know where to start. When I opened my Bible I just stared at the pages feeling lost and confused. I told myself, “You have to start somewhere.” I had heard from the Bible all my life. I was born in the church, my parents were faithful in teaching us the word and reading it to us, but to read it for myself was so hard most days. I was learning in youth group that I needed to take on my own faith and not just live off of my parents faith. There comes a time when you have to take responsibility for your own beliefs and relationship with Jesus. I was ready to dive in and try this whole reading your Bible thing.

Tip #1 Start! 

Where did I start? I started in Psalms! Since I loved worship music, and writing my own songs, I really loved reading the Psalms. I would read a little here, and a little there. Until I started to fall more and more in love with the words! I started to create songs that went along with them which also allowed God’s word to slowly enter my heart. So tip #1 is to just start! Start somewhere. And just read! Even if you don’t understand yet, just read it and let it sink in. Don’t be overwhelmed by all the words, just read a verse or chapter. You got this!

Tip #2 Make it fun! 

Now, you don’t have to just pull out your Bible and read then put it away and be done (unless that’s what you like). But for me, I loved to be creative. When I was younger the Journaling Bible started to become a huge trend! As I would scroll Pinterest and search Bible verses I started to see people draw beautiful art on the sides of their Bible. It looked like so much fun! I also loved taking notes and highlighting. So I dove right in, got a journaling Bible off of Amazon and made so many fun pages in my Bible. You can also get a cute case for your Bible, and tabs for the sides with the names of all the books so you can find them easily. Make it fun, be creative! If you’re not the drawing type, they have Bibles with verses already drawn on the sides so all you have to do is color! Or you can just do calligraphy, or take lots of notes! So possibilities are endless! Make it fun! And spend time with Jesus.

Tip #3 Listen to the Bible! 

Some people just have a hard time sitting and reading. I totally get it! When I became a mom my Bible time changed a lot. I had to be creative with getting God’s word in daily. That’s when I found the YouVersion Bible app! And the app has gotten a lot better over time. You can listen to whatever translation you want, click play on what you want to read, and it reads it to you! Can’t get any easier the that! And you can choose the speed so you can have the person read it at a normal speed or speed it up. Pretty neat! They also have a ton of different Bible plans which are like devotionals. You can find video ones, read it to you ones, or ones you read on your own. You can do a plan with a group of friends or by yourself. They also have plans that direct you how to read through the Bible in a year which I did in 2019 and it was awesome! I highly recommend that!

Tip #4 Write down scripture and hang it up

Maybe you want to take it slow? Take a verse here or there and memorize it. Back in 2020 I started to write down verses about being brave and casting out anxiety. I wrote them on pretty paper and read them out loud whenever I started to feel anxious. God’s word is like medicine! It truly helps! It renews your mind and reading it out loud is powerful. Plus, it’s fun to write!

Tip #5 Read it with friends

When I was younger, my best friend and I loved doing Bible journaling together! We would just sit and listen to worship music and talked about life while we drew. It was such a special time. My mom and sister also loved to Bible journal so we would get together with friends, go to a cute coffee shop, and Bible journal together while we drank coffee and hung out. You don’t have to do it alone! And friends can help to inspire you and sharpen you as you talk about scripture together!

I hope these tips were helpful for you! Get in the Word! You won’t regret it! I’m always here if you want to message me! Let God’s word get in your heart and mind daily!

Written by Olivia Mancini