Have you ever wanted to study the Bible more deeply but found yourself thinking, I don’t really know enough?

Maybe you’ve opened your Bible with good intentions, read a few verses, and then wondered, What am I supposed to do with this?

Or perhaps you’ve started a Bible study before. You bought the book. You answered the questions. You were excited for the first few days.

And then life happened.

You missed a day. Then another. Before long, you quietly decided you’d failed again.

If any of this sounds familiar, I want you to know something before we go any further:

There is nothing wrong with you.

You don’t need more Bible knowledge before you begin. You don’t need to become more disciplined before you’re “ready.” And you don’t need to figure out how to study Scripture on your own.

That’s one of the reasons I created the ABIDE Method.

ABIDE was designed to give you a simple, repeatable way to slow down, study God’s Word, and grow in your understanding—one passage at a time.

As I’ve talked with women about the upcoming study in the Abide and Bloom Circle, I’ve heard many of the same questions.

So let’s talk about them.

1. Do I have to have a lot of Bible knowledge to join this study?

No.

And honestly, that’s the whole point of the ABIDE Method.

It was created for women exactly where they are—not for women who already have everything figured out.

You don’t need seminary training. You don’t need years of Bible study experience. You don’t need to be able to explain every difficult passage in Scripture.

You simply need a willingness to show up and open your Bible.

ABIDE walks you through the process step by step. The method carries you instead of expecting you to already know what you’re doing.

Whether you’ve never opened Genesis or you’ve read through the Bible several times, there is room for you here.

One of the biggest mistakes we make is assuming we need expertise before we’re “allowed” to begin.

So we wait.

We tell ourselves we’ll start when we know more, when we have more time, or when we finally feel ready.

But readiness rarely comes before we begin.

Sometimes we become ready by simply taking the first step.

2. What’s actually the “right” way to study a Bible passage?

You may have wondered this yourself.

Am I doing this right?

What am I supposed to look for?

How do I know what questions to ask?

There isn’t one universal way every Christian must study the Bible. But there are sound principles that help us approach Scripture carefully and thoughtfully.

That’s what the ABIDE Method provides.

It’s a simple, repeatable framework that gives you a path to follow.

You’ll learn to slow down.

You’ll learn to observe what’s actually in the passage before rushing to interpretation.

You’ll learn to ask better questions.

You’ll learn to consider context and meaning.

And you’ll learn to respond to God’s truth rather than simply checking a box that says, I read my Bible today.

It’s a method, not a mystery.

Many women assume Bible study should come naturally. When it doesn’t, they conclude they’re not good at it.

But what if the problem isn’t your ability?

What if you simply were never taught a method?

That’s exactly what ABIDE is here to help with.

3. I’ve tried Bible studies before and quit. Why would this be different?

I hear this one a lot.

And I want to be careful here because I don’t want to blame every Bible study you’ve ever tried. There are many wonderful Bible studies available.

But I’ve noticed something.

Many studies give us questions to answer without necessarily teaching us how to study the passage itself.

So we find ourselves completing someone else’s questions rather than learning how to open God’s Word and know what to do next.

That’s a very different thing.

ABIDE isn’t simply about giving you another set of worksheets.

It’s about teaching you a process you can eventually use on your own.

And you’re not going to learn it in isolation.

You’ll be learning alongside other women who are walking through the same process.

So if you’ve struggled with past Bible studies, I don’t want your conclusion to be, I must be the problem.

Maybe you weren’t given the tools you needed.

You haven’t failed at Bible study just because you haven’t yet been taught how to study the Bible.

4. Why do I feel so overwhelmed every time I try to read my Bible?

Because the Bible is a big book.

It was written across centuries, in different historical settings, by many human authors, in different literary genres and circumstances.

Of course it can feel overwhelming.

Especially when someone simply says, “Just read your Bible!”

That’s wonderful advice—but it doesn’t answer the next question:

“How?”

Feeling overwhelmed doesn’t mean you’re not spiritual enough.

It doesn’t mean you don’t love Jesus enough.

And it certainly doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of understanding God’s Word.

It may simply mean you’ve never been given a map.

That’s why I think learning a method can make such a difference.

Instead of looking at the entire Bible as one enormous mountain, you can learn to sit with one passage.

One paragraph.

One verse.

One truth at a time.

And suddenly, the mountain becomes a path.

5. What would actually help me stop starting and stopping?

Most of us know what it’s like to start with enthusiasm and then lose momentum.

We wait for motivation to return.

But motivation is a wonderful servant and a terrible foundation.

It comes and goes.

A method gives you something to return to.

ABIDE gives you a simple rhythm you can use even when your week is busy, your attention is scattered, or your motivation isn’t particularly impressive.

And there’s something else that matters:

Community.

There’s a difference between saying, “I should really study my Bible today,” while sitting alone at your kitchen table—and knowing that other women are opening their Bibles and walking through the same lesson with you.

We weren’t created to walk alone.

The Abide and Bloom Circle gives you both pieces:

A method to follow and a community to walk with.

6. Is September 7 too soon? Will I be ready?

Let me take some pressure off your shoulders.

You don’t have to prepare for ABIDE before ABIDE begins.

September 7 isn’t a test.

It’s a starting line.

You don’t need to spend the next few days trying to learn everything you think you should already know.

You don’t need to read ahead.

You don’t need to become a “better Bible student” before joining.

Bring your Bible.

Bring your questions.

Bring your willingness to learn.

That’s enough.

Sometimes we spend so much time preparing to begin that we never actually begin.

You don’t have to wait for a future version of yourself to start growing in God’s Word.

Start where you are.

7. What do I do when I read a verse and have no idea what it means?

First, take a breath.

You’re in very good company.

There will be passages you don’t immediately understand. There will be verses that make you stop and think, What does this mean?

That’s true for beginners.

It’s also true for women who have studied Scripture for decades.

Not understanding something immediately isn’t failure.

Sometimes confusion is simply an invitation to slow down.

Instead of rushing to Google or giving up, ABIDE teaches you to ask questions, examine the surrounding context, look more carefully at the words, and dig deeper.

You don’t have to have an instant answer.

You can learn to be comfortable with the process of discovering one.

That’s an important part of becoming a student of Scripture.

8. Will this actually be different from every other time I’ve tried?

Maybe.

But not because ABIDE is some magical formula.

The difference is in the approach.

Instead of simply giving you something to read and questions to answer, ABIDE teaches you a framework you can keep using.

And instead of asking you to figure it out by yourself, you’ll be learning in community.

For many women, the missing ingredient hasn’t been desire.

They already want to know God more deeply.

It hasn’t necessarily been effort.

They’ve tried.

What may have been missing is structure and support.

That’s what I want ABIDE to provide.

A clear path.

A simple method.

A community.

And the freedom to learn without pretending you already know everything.

9. What if I get busy and miss a few days? Do I just quit again?

No.

Please hear me on this one.

Missing a few days doesn’t erase everything you’ve already learned.

Life happens.

Grandchildren need you.

Family needs you.

Appointments happen.

Work gets busy.

Some days simply don’t go according to plan.

ABIDE isn’t built around perfect streaks.

It’s built around a rhythm you can return to.

If you miss a day, pick it back up.

If you miss a week, pick it back up.

You don’t have to make up for your absence by beating yourself up.

And you don’t have to quietly disappear because you’re embarrassed that you fell behind.

The Abide and Bloom Circle is meant to be a place where we encourage one another—not a place where we keep score.

There is always an invitation to come back.

10. Is this really for someone at my level, or will I feel behind?

This may be the question underneath all the other questions.

What if everyone knows more than I do?

What if I ask a silly question?

What if I don’t understand something everyone else seems to understand?

Friend, you are not behind.

The ABIDE Method is designed to meet women at different places in their Bible study journey.

Some women may be brand new to studying Scripture.

Others may have been studying for years.

That’s okay.

You don’t have to know everything to belong.

You don’t have to keep up with someone else’s journey.

You simply need to be willing to take the next step in yours.

And that’s one of the things I love about studying Scripture in community.

We get to learn from one another.

We get to ask questions.

We get to encourage one another.

We get to celebrate those little moments when something we’ve read many times suddenly becomes clear.

And we get to grow together.

You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out

If you’ve been waiting until you’re more knowledgeable, more disciplined, more consistent, or more prepared before you begin studying the Bible, I want to encourage you to stop waiting.

You don’t have to know more to begin.

You don’t have to be perfect to begin.

You don’t have to have your Bible study routine completely figured out.

You just have to begin.

That’s why I’m inviting you to join me in the Abide and Bloom Circle as we begin the ABIDE Method study on September 7.

I’ll walk you through the method step by step.

We’ll learn how to slow down and observe God’s Word.

We’ll learn how to investigate its meaning.

We’ll dig deeper.

We’ll consider how God’s truth should shape the way we live.

And we’ll do it together.

My hope isn’t that you simply finish another Bible study.

My hope is that you learn a way of approaching Scripture that stays with you long after this study is over.

Because ultimately, ABIDE isn’t about becoming an expert.

It’s about learning to sit with God’s Word long enough to hear what He has given us there—and then allowing His truth to take root in our lives.

So if you’ve been wondering whether you’re ready…

If you’ve been wondering whether you know enough…

If you’ve tried before and are afraid you’ll quit again…

If you’ve opened your Bible and felt completely overwhelmed…

Come anyway.

Come exactly as you are.

Bring your questions.

Bring your curiosity.

Bring your Bible.

And let’s begin.

September 7 is not a finish line.

It’s simply the place where we begin to ABIDE.

Come Study God’s Word With Me

The Abide and Bloom Circle is where the ABIDE Method study will take place.

Join the The Abide and Bloom Circle before September 7 and let’s learn to study God’s Word—together.