What's In My Bible Bag

I love to sit at the dining room table every morning and have my quiet time. I'm blessed beyond measure to have all the time I want for prayer and Bible study, and I've learned so much over the past few months.

On the flip side, I also hate clutter, so I decided to put all of my study tools in one bag. Now it can be moved from room to room and everything is tucked out of sight. It's also all in one place so I don't have to wander all over the house gathering up the things I need.

I also started setting everything out on the table the night before. It's the same mentality as putting your workout clothes on as soon as you get up in the morning - the less work and thinking you have to do, the more likely you are to do it.

My Bible goes with me from room to room as I write devotions, study passages and look up Scriptures. It's usually the last thing I put in at night and the first thing I pull out every morning. I started a new Bible in February, and it's been such a blessing. It seems as though there are new Scriptures to find every morning - ones that weren't in the other one! There's something about clean pages and lots of space to make notes that give you new perspective on God's Word.

Inside my Bible bag are two notebooks - one for my daily Bible study notes and one for a master list. I'm currently studying through Matthew Henry's commentary on the book of Matthew, so those notes are in the smaller notebook.

The bigger notebook has an important note or two from all of my daily reading. I have three daily devotionals I'm reading through right now, and I make a note for each one. Then, at the end of the day, I can read back through those notes and refresh my memory about what I read.

This week I'm studying in the devotional from Faithbox (If you haven't heard about them, check it out!), quotes from Abraham Lincoln and the book Having a Mary Heart In a Martha World. They're all fascinating and uplifting, so they're a great way to start the day.

I use several different colors of pens to write out my notes so I can clearly see each thought. Those pens, along with highlighters and pencils, are kept in my Stone&Cloth bag. It was in this month's Faithbox, and I absolutely adore it.

I also have my prayer journal handy, which holds all my permanent prayer requests (friends, family and the church family) and updated prayer lists from the church.

Then there's my iPad and a cup of cappuccino. One is for the commentaries and one for my sanity and clarity of thought. You figure out which one's which!

This is what works for me - what works for you?

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