There are some ideas that simply won’t leave you alone.

You think about them while you’re making dinner. They come to mind when you’re praying. You jot them down on a piece of paper, thinking, Maybe someday.

That’s how the idea for the Alpha and Omega Scripture Writing & Prayer Journal began.

God laid it on my heart to create a Scripture Writing and Prayer Journal that would help us slow down, get into God’s Word, and actually stay with it.

Not just read a verse and move on.

Not just check a box on a reading plan.

But read, write, pray, and listen.

And then I did something that always makes an idea feel a little more real.

I challenged the ladies in my Bible study to take the journey with me.

Just one month.

One month of committing to open God’s Word every day, read one chapter, and write a small portion of that chapter.

Would they join me?

They did.

And somehow, that one month became a journey through the entire New Testament.

One Chapter at a Time

The idea behind Alpha and Omega was intentionally simple.

Each day we would read one chapter of the New Testament and then choose a small portion of that chapter to write by hand.

It wasn’t about writing an entire chapter.

It wasn’t about seeing how much we could accomplish.

It was about slowing down enough to notice what God was saying.

There is something different about writing Scripture by hand.

A verse that might have slipped past us while reading suddenly has our full attention when we have to write every word.

And as we wrote, we prayed.

Sometimes the prayer was connected to what we had just read.

Sometimes it was about something completely different that God was bringing to our hearts.

Sometimes our prayer was simply:

Lord, help me understand this.

Lord, show me what You want me to see.

Lord, help me live this.

That simple rhythm—read, write, pray—became something I looked forward to.

And I wasn’t doing it alone.

What Happens When Women Stay in the Word Together?

Looking back now, I think this is one of my favorite parts of the journey.

We started with a commitment to one month.

But along the way, something beautiful happened.

We kept showing up.

Day after day.

Chapter after chapter.

Book after book.

Matthew.

Mark.

Luke.

John.

Acts.

Romans.

Corinthians.

Galatians.

Ephesians.

Philippians.

Colossians.

And on through the New Testament.

There were days when we were excited.

There were days when we were tired.

There were days when life was busy and opening the Bible required an intentional choice.

But we kept going.

And that is an important lesson in itself.

Faithfulness doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it looks like opening your Bible again today.

Looking Back on the Year

As I look back on this journey, I’m reminded that God’s Word does its work over time.

We may not recognize what is happening on Tuesday morning when we’re simply writing a few verses.

But six months later, we may realize that God has been changing the way we think.

He has been reminding us of His character.

He has been correcting us.

Comforting us.

Teaching us.

Encouraging us.

And drawing us closer to Himself.

That’s what I love about Scripture.

We don’t have to manufacture transformation.

We simply need to keep coming to the One who transforms us through His Word.

What the Women Said

I want to add a few reflections from the women who walked this journey with me:

I have found that writing Scripture has helped me to think more deeply aabout the verses. Most of the time, I read around the Scripture as well as the footnotes in my study Bible. Also with doing the writing in a group pushes me to do it regulary.

I have grown stronger in the Lord by writing His words down. It is a time of only focusing on Him and what He has to say to me. An important part in my life now.

I love writing the Scriptures. It helps me to understand it better. I know I haven’t done it for a few months. I miss writing them.

First of all I did not realize that it had been almost a year. No wonder I have so many pages. I have really enjoyed it. You have to go slower and this allows me to comprehend it better. It seems like it comes more alive and you see things you never have seen before. The key is to keep a little ahead because if you get behind it takes forever to get caught up.

Their words mean so much to me because they remind me that this wasn’t simply about completing a journal.

It was about creating space for God.

Alpha and Omega

The name Alpha and Omega became especially meaningful to me as we worked our way through the New Testament.

Jesus is the beginning and the end.

The One who was, and is, and is to come.

And our journey through Scripture reminded me that the Bible isn’t simply a collection of individual chapters.

It is one unfolding story.

God’s story of redemption.

His faithfulness.

His holiness.

His mercy.

His plan.

And ultimately, His Son.

Every chapter gives us another glimpse of the God who has been pursuing His people from beginning to end.

We Aren’t Finished Yet

When I started this journey, I wasn’t thinking about what would happen when we reached the end.

I was simply thinking about the next chapter.

That’s probably another lesson God was teaching me.

We don’t have to know everything about the journey to take the next faithful step.

And now we’ve reached the end of our New Testament journey.

Our scheduled completion date for Alpha and Omega is September 17.

But I don’t want September 17 to be the end of our time together in Scripture.

I want it to be a turning point.

Because on September 18, we’re going to begin again.

This time, we’re heading into the Psalms.

From the New Testament to the Psalms

If you’ve been part of Alpha and Omega, I hope you’ll continue the journey with us.

And if you haven’t participated in Alpha and Omega, you are still welcome to join us for what comes next.

Beginning September 18, we’ll begin working our way through the Psalms.

The Psalms are different from the books we’ve just traveled through.

They give us words for the places where we often struggle to find our own words.

Joy.

Grief.

Fear.

Praise.

Confusion.

Hope.

Waiting.

Worship.

Trust.

They teach us how to bring our whole hearts before God.

And I can’t think of a better place to continue our Scripture-writing journey.

Will You Join Me?

Maybe you’ve been faithfully writing Scripture all year.

Maybe you started strong and fell behind.

Maybe you’ve never tried Scripture writing at all.

Wherever you are, you can begin again.

One chapter.
A small portion.
A few minutes with God.

That’s all I’m asking.

Let’s keep making room for God’s Word.

Let’s keep learning to slow down and notice.

Let’s keep writing His truth on our hearts.

And on September 18, let’s open the Psalms together.

I’ll be there.

I hope you’ll join me.

Come abide in God’s Word with me.

Alpha to Omega… and Now the Psalms

When God first laid the idea of a Scripture Writing & Prayer Journal on my heart, I wasn’t sure where it would lead.

I simply knew I wanted to create a way for us to slow down with God’s Word.

So I created Alpha and Omega and challenged the ladies in my Bible study to take the journey with me.

Just one month.

One chapter a day.

Read it. Write a small portion. Pray over it.

One month became a year.

And now, we’re scheduled to finish our journey through the New Testament on September 17.

As I look back, I’m amazed at what God has done through something so simple.

We showed up.

We wrote His Word.

We prayed.

We encouraged one another.

And we kept going.

I’ll be sharing some of the ladies’ reflections in my upcoming blog post because I want you to hear what this journey has meant to them, too.

But here’s the exciting part…

We’re not stopping.

On September 18, we’re beginning a new Scripture-writing journey through the Psalms. ❤️

The Psalms give us words for so many seasons of life—joy, sorrow, fear, praise, waiting, worship, and hope.

So if you’ve been walking with us through Alpha and Omega, come continue the journey.

And if you haven’t been with us this year, this is a beautiful place to begin.

One chapter.

A small portion.

A few minutes with God.

Let’s keep abiding in His Word together.

Who’s joining me in the Psalms on September 18? 💕