summer bible study options (for locals and non), and some other fun ideas

I was thinking about summer bible studies just recently when I ran into a friend at Kroger this week.  I thought I'd reach out to those who live near me in this area, and to ones who do not. 

For those of you who are local to me, my church (Collierville First Baptist Church) will be meeting all summer long for the chronological bible study.  This is one you can jump into at any given time.  There is a bible they read from during the week, where the days are all laid out for you, and then on Wednesday nights, my favorite teacher of all time teaches something from that week's reading.  Mrs. Barbee does such a great job at making the reading come alive, and I always love to hear what she has pulled out for that week.  I was in another bible study beginning in January, but when that one finished, I jumped into this class.  Some weeks I read along with them, some I did not.  Last night was my last night for the summer, though, because starting next week, I will be doing an advance study and review on Galatians that the women in my church will start in August. 

They will have a new meeting room starting next week, so if you're reading this and are interested, comment on here for details or email me at allboys@gmail.com.

For anyone NOT local to me, check out the Lifeway Women online community.  They always do a free online bible study, and they'll load the videos for you to watch each week as you do the homework.  It's free, but you'll have to purchase the bible study book.  I can't remember which one they have available right now, but I think they are just starting up another study.

And if you don't want to do any of those, but are interested in maybe hosting a study of your own, the options are limitless.  There is one out right now called  Just Open the Door, by Jen Schmidt, that I have heard is excellent.  You can purchase the book and leader set, or you can purchase the videos online, for a minimal price, if you don't want to do the DVD set.  It's worth looking into.  Here is a link for you. 

Another favorite study of mine of all time is by Priscilla Shirer, and it's The Armor of God.  

This whole study is based on Ephesians 6:10-18, and it is one of the best studies I have ever done.  I've gone through it twice now, and I'll do it again in a few years, I'm sure.  

Some other ones I've either completed or heard about are:

The Book of Job by Lisa Harper.  Click here to watch a promo video.

Finding I Am by Lysa Terkeurst.  Here is a promo video for this.  (I loved this one!)

Psalm 23 by Jennifer Rothschild.  I have heard great things about this, and I love her.  Here is a video.  

Those are just a few, but the options are limitless.  

My current favorite way to study is just picking a book that is relatively short or a passage of scripture and just going verse by verse.  I am excited about starting Galatians, because this is how we will study. 

Another fun thing to do in the summer months is to host a book club.  I recently read a great article about this that Modern Mrs. Darcy shared about on her blog.  The article isn't written by her, but she mentions it in her blog post.  Click here to read the article for yourself, and be inspired!  (Also, if you're bookish at all, follow her on Instagram.  She is a blog writer and published author, and I love her posts and the book I've read by her called Reading People.)

I've been in some successful and some non-successful book clubs.  The recent one that has worked has been going on intermittently for two years now, almost, and there are only four of us.  One of us lives in the country, so we invite ourselves to her house, we share a delicious meal, and then we talk about the book and go off on rabbit trails.  It's always so much fun, and we are going to start up again in a couple of weeks.  We all met for dinner this week, and that was fun.  Read that article I shared above, and seriously plan on being inspired.  

And if NONE of all this appeals to you, but you crave time with women, maybe start a supper club.  Pick a small group of girlfriends and go out once a month, or host them at your own home.  I would totally do this if not for our dogs.  I'm rolling my eyes at that.  I love spending time with my friends!  It's always more fun in the summer.  

Thanks for reading my blog!  Love to all.