Shelfie: Women of the Word

The title caught my attention scanning through a list of newly released books after we came back from Africa in August. I was a little behind on current events, books, and music. Playing catch up, I came across this book- Women of the Word. How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds. The hearts and minds part got me. By nature, meaning because I'm a girl, I handle most things subjectively or with my heart. Logically, I want to build up my weaknesses.

In the first few pages of her book I was hooked. Statements like, "Women, in particular, are leaving the church in unprecedented numbers." Or, "When women grow increasingly lax in their pursuit of Bible literacy, everyone in their circle of influence is affected." Why? They weren't reading the Bible with their minds as well as their hearts. We have to have an equal balance of objective (truth) and subjective (feelings) in our relationship with God.

Throughout the next chapters Jen went through why Bible literacy is important, steps and questions to study your Bible, and how to pull it all together.

At first, I was a little overwhelmed with her process of studying the Bible. There was a general theme and smaller themes, 3 questions to ask yourself, and then five things that pertained to the text you were reading. Plus continually reading the same text over and over for a period of time.

However, as I got further into the book it made more sense. Imagine that! It was a new way for me to study the Bible. Things for me to look for that I may have never realized before.

Jen Wilkin challenged me to know God better and to be more Bible literate. Who doesn't want that? Consider any relationship you hold dear, is there anything you wouldn't do to build on that relationship? What if not knowing the most important person in your life well affected everyone else?  Is there anything you wouldn't do to know them better or love them more? The answer is no. It should be the same in our pursuit of God.

As a result, I have renewed perspective on my personal Bible study and quiet time. Right now, I'm going through Genesis 1-11 again. After that I plan on doing Genesis 12-50. Plus, I get the added bonus of sharing with my husband and daughter new truths as I learn them! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to study the Word deeper and know more about God.

You can buy your copy of Women of the Word here.

*Crossway provided me a complimentary copy of this book for my review. The opinions are my own.*

In His Love,

                                         Jennis