In the Beginning…
The Pandemic brought with it a lot of bad, but it also brought some good. I wrote a novel and a Free Bible Study. You can grab the Free Bible Study Workbooks for Adults here. This past year, thanks to a global pandemic, has resulted in a lot of down time spent at home. For me, it was spent finding my new normal being home more often, my husband’s new normal as he transitioned to working from home full time and figuring out how to keep two young kids happy and occupied while they were stuck at home for long periods of time. It was definitely a growing experience for everyone. I am not going to lie and say I had everything figured out, or every craft project I found on Pinterest or social media was a hit. There were certainly times we needed our alone time and our own space to make it work, and thankfully, everyone was able to ask for that when they needed it. I specifically focused my alone time on two things: finishing my Christian fiction novel and my relationship with God.
At a Crossroads…
I spent a lot of time diving into the Bible and growing my relationship with God. The feeling He had a specific purpose for me during the down time was evident, but it took me a minute to figure out what it was. Once the final pages of my novel were finished, I had no idea what I would do with it. Do I seek out agents and publishers to have it traditionally published, or do I self publish? The good news is I had options, but the bad news is I didn’t know enough about my options to make an informed decision. I started to get nervous and worried about what to do, but I felt God tell me to just put the finished product aside and just wait. It would be a lie to say I was excited to wait, but waiting turned out to be the best option of all because it gave me the time to realign my purpose with God’s purpose for me.
Ready and Waiting to Start my Free Bible Study Journey…
I opened myself up to anything and everything God had ready and waiting for me. Joining some free Bible study groups I found on Facebook like Rooted and Established in Love, and following more Christian Podcasts like the Made for This podcast with Jennie Allen and Shine with Frannie proved to be great for me and my journey in my relationship with God. Another great and unexpected piece of my journey was stumbling upon another podcast called The Bible Recap which walks you through reading the entire Bible chronologically one day at a time for a year, and I’ve really been enjoying the insight it brings. This year, I was on fire with all of my new outlets for digging deeper in learning about God and our relationship grew stronger. Attending the virtual IF Gathering with Jennie Allen was a blast, and I signed up for the Elijah Bible Study with Priscilla Shirer, because let’s face it, she is AMAZING!
A New Journey Begins with my Free Bible Study Workbooks for Adults…
The more I waited, the more I felt God calling me to write a Bible Study which is absolutely not something I ever thought I would do, but it’s like the saying goes, If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. With that in mind, I started trying to figure out the topic of the Bible study. My Christian Fiction book, The Journey Home, centers around the topics of guilt, shame and God’s forgiveness. That seemed like a great place to start, so I started looking for people in the Bible I could highlight who had flaws, made mistakes, had a negative past, etc. and were forgiven and went on to do amazing things. I think these characters tell us so much about God and about our future in Christ. The Beauty of His unending love for us isn’t lost on me, and I hope everyone who does my Bible Study won’t gloss over that part either. You can grab these Free Bible Study Workbooks for Adults here.