My Morning Faith / Bible Routine + Inspo for Yours!
Daily Bible reading was a habit that I really wanted to nurture as I moved slowly into 2022. Depending on how my day looks, I will work in at least one piece of Scripture at various times, but I love when I’m able to follow a peaceful, faith-based morning routine. So, in this blog post, I’ll be sharing what I like to do and how you can create a similar rhythm in your own routine.
My Bible Reading Setup
I love to handletter Bible verses, so I decided to get a Bible by Beautiful Word. This NIV Bible features beautiful Scripture art throughout its many pages and leaves space in the margins for you to add your own. I’m a big fan, so if you’re looking for something similar, then I’ve got an Amazon aff. link in the list below. You absolutely don’t need a specific type/translation of God’s Word to enjoy it, so whatever Bible you have or would like to get, I highly recommend incorporating that comfort into your own routine.
I did some research on what art supplies work well on very thin, fine Bible pages, so I’ve written down the ones I personally like to use in the list below as well.
My Bible and pens
Crayola Erasable Highlighter *I use the pastel pink one, personally
I also just started a new Bible study with a small group at my church and wanted to share the tips that our group leader offered us in case it could be helpful to you too.
Bible highlighting idea
Use one color to highlight repeated words or phrases to uncover their importance and emphasis
Use another color to highlight God’s actions in the story (i.e. “God said,” “God brought,” “the Lord did,” etc.) so you can see how He is working and is present
Use another color to highlight the main character’s or characters’ actions to compare them to God’s and see how they’ve changed or what they’ve learned
I really like this strategy for when I want to really dig into the details of a particular story. And, of course, if you’re like me and don’t want to mark up your Bible a whole lot, you can always print out specific texts and stories to study separately, visit them on your Bible app and highlight that way, or copy and paste them onto a doc so you can do this digitally. If you’re a fan of iPad notes, that could probably be handy too!
2. My Devotional and Morning Journal
These two books are also a big part of my morning faith routine. I talked more about both in my recent blog post about my journals and planners for 2022, so click here if you’d like to read more.
Overall, I like to pair a devotional with my Bible reading since sometimes it can be good direction for a particular verse to read or be a nice quick dose of something uplifting before I start my day. I utilize my morning journal for recording daily gratitude, what I’m praying for, a reflection on my devotional, and more.
3. My Ideal Routine
As I said in the beginning, not every day looks exactly the same depending on my schedule, but here I’ll lay out what my “ideal” routine would look like on a slower morning.
Lately, I’ve enjoyed diving into the Word before my devotional. I’ve been working on a chronological read of the Bible since mid-last year, so each day, I’ll just pick up from where I left off. Most of the time, I’ll either read one chapter or one section of a chapter. I’ll use my light pink highlighter just to highlight points that stand out to me.
If I have more time, I’ll take it slow in simply spending time reading the stories in front of me like I would any other book, just going from page-to-page, enjoying the story and its characters, going through as many chapters as I want. Sometimes I’ll also take a moment to handletter a verse that I like if there’s room in the margin.
When I’m finished, I’ll pop open my devotional to read, then write out and fill in my morning journal. Occasionally, when I finish a book of the Bible, I’ll add a reflection on its story to the bottom of my morning journal page.
Sometimes I’ll also go looking for something in the New Testament to read, since I’ve been in the Old Testament since last summer.
Finally, I like to end my session in prayer. Sometimes I’ll pray aloud, sometimes I’ll write it out on the back of my morning journal page. I’ll also pray silently while getting ready if I’m really rushed. When I think of it, I also like to pray prior to read the Bible for the Holy Spirit to enlighten me as I read and bring the text to life as I study it.
4. Bible Reading Ideas
If you’re not sure where you’d like to start, here are some ideas on different ways you can incorporate the Bible into your day depending on the time you have or what you feel called to read right now…
Read the Bible chronologically (from Genesis to Revelation)
Read the Old Testament
Read the New Testament
Focus on a specific book (i.e. Luke, Ruth, Joshua, etc.)
Choose a specific Psalm to “memorize” and/or dig into for a period of time
Chronological read, but journal/handletter a verse every day
Follow a Bible reading plan for a specific book or for the whole thing
Focus on stories that you feel relate to where you’re at in life at the moment
Just flip open the Bible and see what God has you land on to read!
There isn’t just one right way to read the Bible. If you’re still unsure of where to start, I encourage you to pray about it and God will lead you to what place in His Word He wants you to enjoy in this season.
Thank you for this beautiful photo by Lynne A.
5. Additional Resources and Inspiration
Before finishing up, I wanted to leave you with a few of my favorite resources for reinforcing my physical Bible reading or quick things I like to use when I’m especially pressed for time. I hope you find these helpful too!
Find a Plan on the Bible App; super quick and already scheduled out for you (free)
Go through the Daily section of the Bible App with a verse of the day, quick video, and prayer prompt (free)
Find or start a Bible study with some friends, fellow church members, or family
Follow accounts like The Daily Grace Co. on Instagram—believe it or not, if you truly curate who you follow on social media, you can truly saturate your feed with amazing doses of God’s Word!
If you have any more resources to share, please leave a comment below!
Help everyone get access to God’s Word…
Since we’re talking about the Bible today, I wanted to share an organization that I discovered recently. Learn more about the Footstool Project’s work to get God’s Word to the unreached people groups of Nepal’s Himalayas and exalt Christ at the top of the world by visiting them at www.tfp.asia.
You can also help get God’s Word translated into every language by visiting the Bible App’s '“Bible for Everyone” page here: https://www.youversion.com/bibleforeveryone/.
**this is not sponsored whatsoever; I’m very passionate about these two projects and wanted to share
I hope you found this blog post helpful! I had a great time sharing my morning faith / Bible morning routine with you today. Again, if you’d like to see more about my journal and planner setup for 2022, then click right here to read that post as well.
I have a lot of my favorite journals, pens, stationery, faith books, and more all in my Amazon Storefront, so click here if you’d like to check out some more of my faves.
Do you currently have a morning faith / Bible routine? Comment below!
Have a polished rest of your day,