Used the SOAP method for 7 days:

What I liked:

I love that you need to sit down focus on diving into the word of God. I did decide to dive into 1-2 verses at a time so I could really immerse myself in that verse and what makes it important. There is just something about taking a small piece of the master piece that is the Bible. There is so many nuggets of gold. And while there are such amazing popular verse there is so many other verses that are also world altering.

For example I dived into John 19:11, right before Pilate tells Christ “ I have the authority to release you or crucify” and Christ responds with “Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it has been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.””

How often do I forget that no one had authority over Christ but the Lord. Honestly all the time, because I never think of it to be honest. I never really think of what and who has authority over him, but of the joy he brings my life and the sacrifice. But what an amazing thought. Death had no claim on him because he was the Lords. Only our Heavenly Father had power and control over him.

Which means that if we follow Christ then only God has authority over us. If we follow him and give him our lives the world and temptation will have no claim since we are the Lord’s and I LOVE that.

I have gotten so many new thoughts that were prompted from just soaking in my own thoughts and the Word. I started to become honestly more into reading the Bible. I was SO much more excited not just to cross off reading the Bible before I read something else or started to work. No, I was just as excited to open my Bible and live in the words on the page as I am with my other books. (And let me tell you I LOVE to read, I LOVE other books. My mom had to limit my reading as a child, I am that nerdy. So me wanting this over other books is a big deal!)

I woke up with such excitement to see what verse would stick out to me and then be my rod through out the day to keep me from straying into temptation. The more I keep Christ in my heart the easier my days go, the more I ponder the verses I read, the closer I was to him. It was this beautiful circle. The more time the better person I was. The better of a person I was the better I felt. The better I felt the more I want to read the Bible and then the more I read the better person I began as I immersed myself in the Bible. And repeat.

What I disliked:

Ugh, nothing. Truly how can you dislike dwelling longer in the word. I loved spending more time devouring the Bible and giving more of it to think about and to help keep the Bible in my head longer. To keep what I read lingering through the day. To learn to apply more things to my day to day life. BUT don’t get me wrong I was doing this with 3 kids 4 and under and a couple months pregnant with baby #4 (!!!!!). I try to study and read my bible in front of the girls to show this is a priority and something that is important to me. So while it is hard to do with 3 little kids I continue to try. To set the example but it is hard. Which isn’t bad, just a fact of life with little people who need me a lot.

I do not dislike demonstrating to my children the importance of Bible study and that you need to read your Bible often and to really think on its words. But I can say I dislike my sweet babies cranky and having a hard time. Which then makes it harder to spend as much time dwelling in the Bible as much as I like. My goal is 1-2 chapters a day. It is the time that I know my kids can seem to handle.

Is it sustainable:

Yes and no. Anything is sustainable if you make it a priority. It is harder to make anything stick with kids, I totally get that. I worked hard not to let grumpy babies and toddlers stop me this week and while some days were harder it was doable. If your goal is to dive into the word and spend more time with the Lord and gaining a stronger and more sustainable relationship with Christ. Then yes this is manageable, it will take time to make this a habit. But it has not taken a lot of work to do so. It has been blissful spending more time with the word.

Making new habits even if they are good for you and amazing is hard. Especially as a momma, kids don’t understand and you are their whole world. You are doing the role God created for you by being a mom, but that does make it hard to spend time with Him. Making the change and the mental shift that this is none negotiable then this will be sustainable and it will be second nature.

Find a way for you that can make this habit sustainable, things I know I need to do I try to do in the morning. My Bible reading is no exception. I have 3 beautiful little girls who are morning people, they are the happiest to self entertain from 7:30-12 SO I need to put my big things like bible study and my main work to do list then. This is what helps makes this sustainable for my life.

I know what works for our scheduled enough that I know where I can add things or move them around. Knowing your routines and your kids routines will make this more sustainable.

Is it helpful:

Yes. Truly it has been so helpful to be able to slooooow down and dive into the Bible. I often read several chapters and I gain a good relationship with the Bible, but with doing SOAP I have been choosing to read the chapter and focus on one specific verse to absorb. I have just loved it. It makes that verse stand out in my heart for the rest of the day and I feel like I get to tuck away something precious and beautiful to draw strength from through out the day.

Even if you don’t use SOAP, it is helpful to just read the Bible. It is just helpful to spend time with our Lord. What a beautiful thing that we can do for ourselves, our live, our kids. Just by reading. I pray everyday that I am able to read. Reading the Bible and really in general has changed my life. It is so helpful that we have been blessed with the opportunity to know to read and that His commandments are so accessible.

What I learned:

Honestly I know that studying the Bible is important. I am aware that spending time with the Word id amazing and the best thing you can do during the day. But I guess I would also just read a chapter and then think about the big lessons, the big blessings of Christ. And I didn’t think to take a bit of one verse and just chew on it all day. Seriously though spend time with single verses longer. I literally loved it. You will get a huge understanding of the word and quicker.

I spent so much time during the day continuing to break down the verses and continuing my lessons and what I learned from them. And the Lord will always send you what you need when you need it. I read the verse about the world hating Christ before it hated us Christians. I needed that verse so bad recently. I had a huge falling out with a friend and the break down of the friendship had a lot of religious ties, so being able to pull on this. It is OKAY to be disliked by the world and I needed to not back down on my stance when I know I am right. Christ did not back down and the world hated him for it. So it was so nice to take that verse and tuck it close to my heart while I processed the loss.

Will you get anything out of it:

Yes. Always there will never be a time that you won’t get something out of studying the Bible. And especially with diving in and really savoring the time with the Lord. If you spend more time using SOAP to study the Bible then you will hands down get something out of it. SOAP is so simple and yet so life changing.

If you decide, I need a change and that change is spending more time with your Lord I promise you will get something out of it and you will never regret it. It is so blissful to be able to just live in His love and understanding what He needs us to do. I can never recommend reading the Bible enough.. It is world altering. It is the best book to ever be on this planet. Give it time to work through you and watch your world be changed through the words of Christ.

You got this!!