How I Reflect on My Bible Study (And Why It Finally Started Changing Me)

God speaks. I listen. I write it down. I live it out.

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I’m going to be honest with you. I grew up in church. I’ve sat in pews, sung the hymns, gone through the motions, and I had never read the Bible cover to cover. Not once. I knew the highlight stories. But actually sitting down and reading it, start to finish? That was never on the cards.

Until last year.

And I don’t say that lightly. Last year has genuinely wrecked me, in the best possible way. Because reading it, with context and commentary and an open heart, it hits completely differently.

So I wanted to share how I reflect on the Bible. Not because I have it all figured out, but because this simple process has become the most sacred part of my day, and I think it might help you too.

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First, the Set Up

Nobody is up. The house is completely still. I’ve barely brushed my teeth. I’m somewhere between asleep and awake, that hazy, quiet place where the day hasn’t rushed in yet and my phone is still face down on the nightstand.

I make my coffee. In winter I’ll get my SAD (seasonal affective disorder) light on. I then usually throw a load of laundry on just for the background noise, and your girl needs to keep the house work ticking. And then I sit down.

That’s it. That’s my setup. No fancy routine, no elaborate ritual. Just me, my coffee, and God, before the world gets a single second of my attention.

This is my quiet time. My protected time. And it has changed my life more than I ever expected.

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A Bit About My Bible Journey

I was born in a Catholic family, my parent ensured we went to mass weekly and on all major events, and this just part of who I am. When I started my reading journey, I right where I was with my ESV (English Standard Version) and somewhere along the way, through the commentary I was reading, I found myself transitioning to the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version). They’re similar in a lot of ways, but the nuances in the wording matter more than I ever realised. That discovery alone told me how much I still had to learn.

The commentary that changed everything for me? Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz from Ascension Press. It’s free, it’s brilliant, and even if you’re not Catholic, I genuinely think you’d get so much from it, I follow it on my Apple podcast.

When you get to the books that feel like just names and lists, Numbers, Chronicles, the genealogies, the commentary is what unlocks it. Without it I would have given up. With it, I couldn’t stop.

Because here’s what I didn’t expect: when you understand the characters, the culture, the original words, the full arc of the story, it stops being a book you read and starts being something that reads you.

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My 7-Step Reflection Process

Now don't get overwhelmed with this number, I do have a 4 step hack, most of these are just because I am also a YouTuber! To start with, I have put this into a simple one-pager you can download and keep, grab it free at the end of this post. But here’s the full breakdown:

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1. Read & Receive

I start in Scripture. Before I read a single word I ask the Holy Spirit to open my heart and show me what He wants me to see. Not what I want to find. What He wants me to receive.

Scripture is the foundation. Everything else builds from here.

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2. Guided Commentary

This is the step that transformed my Bible study.

I use the Bible in a Year with Father Mike Schmitz to give me context, history, and depth. Reading the Bible raw, especially the Old Testament, without any context is like walking into a film halfway through, who is everyone and what's the cultural context.

Commentary gives you the beginning. It gives you the why.

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3. Write It Down

I’ll be real with you, I’m not a notebook person. I use my phone notes. That’s it. Simple, always with me, no friction.

I jot down the verse that stopped me, the thing that convicted me, the promise I want to hold onto, the action I feel called to take.

If you prefer pen and paper, any notebook works.

Writing makes it real. Whatever tool you use, write it down. Annotate you Bible.

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4. Record in My Journal

You don't need to do this

I take it one step further and actually speak it out loud, recording my reflections so I can hear myself process what I’ve read.

Something about hearing your own voice say it back to you makes it stick in a way silent reading just doesn’t. This gets my raw ideas.

Speak it. Hear it. Keep it.

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5. Reflect Across Scripture

You don't need to do this

I ask myself: Where else is this truth in the Bible?

I start connecting the dots, across books, across testaments, across stories I thought I already knew, across life.

This is where it gets exciting. When you see the same truth echoed from Genesis to Revelation, something shifts in you.

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6. Sit With It & Pray On It

I pause. I put the phone down.

I bring what I’ve read into prayer and ask for revelation, application, and the courage to actually be obedient to what I’ve heard.

Not just to know it. To do it.

This is where transformation happens, not in the reading, but in the surrendering.

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7. Close With a Psalm on Wisdom

I always end with a Psalm. Not to add more information, but to settle my heart into wisdom before the day begins.

My go to Psalms for this are:

Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd

Psalm 121: I lift my eyes to the mountains Your Word is life

Use any psalm that speaks to you.

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What Keeps Me Grounded

On the days when it feels hard, when consistency feels impossible, I come back to this:

Consistency over intensity

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Download the Free One-Pager

I pulled this whole process into a free one-page printable so you can stick it in your Bible, your journal, or save it to your phone.

It’s everything above on one simple sheet.

👉 Download it free here

If you’re sitting somewhere this morning, coffee in hand, wondering where to start, start here. Start small. Start before the world wakes up.

To God be the glory. 🤍

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Let’s Continue the Conversation

This space was never meant for a monologue, I’d love to hear what stood out to you most. What’s your Ruth moment? What has God shown you in this story?

And if this post blessed you, I’d be so grateful if you shared it.

Use the form below to share a comment, question, or reflection.

Every few weeks, I’ll gather some of your responses and add them here, in a section I call ‘Community Notes’. It’s our way of holding space together, even across different lives, countries, and days.

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