Hey hey!! I am so pumped about bringing y’all this new blog series! For this first edition, I wanted to center around what I believe to be the most important area of life, faith. I have been a Christian all of my life, born and raised in the Lutheran church, but truthfully, it was always something I took for granted. I identified as a Christian, believed in Jesus, and went to church, but I didn’t always make it a huge priority outside of that. Over the past few years, however, beginning my last year of college, and recently in my first couple years of marriage, I have really begun to dig deep in the area of my personal walk with God. I’ve asked myself, and continue to ask the hard questions of, “What does it really look like to be a follower of Jesus?” and “How am I living out my faith every single day?” Throughout this journey, I have found several resources – books, podcasts, blogs, instagram accounts (yes, social media can be a positive thing), etc. that have really been helpful in molding who I am and what I believe, which is why I wanted to launch this series by sharing with you a few of those resources. Are you ready? Let’s get to it… 

To Read // Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin

When I was in college at Texas A&M, I attended a weekly ministry on campus called Breakaway. It was here that I first heard about Jen Wilkin. She was the guest speaker one week and although I don’t remember the specifics of her talk, I do remember that she had this deep knowledge of the bible that left me wanting to hear more about her approach on how to study God’s word. I knew I should read the Bible, and I did, but I wanted to learn how to really read the Bible in a way that deepened my understanding of its meaning and context. Enter her book, Women of the Word. This book is an easy to read, practical approach to Bible study. The subtitle of the book is “How to Study the Bible with Both our Hearts and our Minds.” It walks you step by step through each of the five “P’s” of Bible study: Purpose, Perspective, Patience, Process, and Prayer. Jen explains how each of these apply and how to incorporate them into your daily study. It completely changed my approach to how I read and study God’s Word. f you are looking to dive deeper into your Bible I highly recommend picking up this book. I’m actually rereading it right now! 

To Listen // “Women of the Church” Podcast

This new podcast launched in August and it has already been so good! I really enjoy learning about history, so when one of my favorite people to learn from, Phylicia Masonheimer (who I’ll be telling you more about next), recommended their podcast, I couldn’t wait to try it out. It did not disappoint! The goal of “Women of the Church” is to share stories of Christian women who have been gospel influencers in the home, the church, and society. The first season of the show is dedicated to telling the the story of the abolition of the slave trade  and slavery in the British West Indies. Christian women played a critical role in fighting against slavery and the stories that are told of these persevering women will encourage your heart and most importantly point you to Jesus, and show you how he has been working all throughout history. Even if you think you don’t like history, I encourage you to give it a try! Most of the women they talk about I had never even heard of, so it was really encouraging to learn about these amazing women and how they changed the history of the church!

To Get Inspired // Phylicia Masonheimer

Alright y’all, I found Phylicia on Instagram this past summer and whoa! She is so knowledgeable on church history, theology, and the Bible in general. She has a very active social media presence on Instagram and Facebook, writes a blog, where she also offers two free courses on Bible study and productivity, and a new podcast that is launching in 2020. Phylicia is also a speaker, founder of the yearly women’s Verity conferency, and author, with a new book releasing in 2020! Her goal across all aspects of her work is to teach Christians how to discern truth and discuss the deep stuff. I have really enjoyed learning from her. One of the things I love most about Phylicia is that she teaches you about all views or sides of an issue, belief, or topic, and gives you tips, resources, and encouragement to do your own research to form your own view. She believes it is important for every Christian to study the bible for themselves, understand church history and theology, and define what they believe. If you are looking to dive deeper into your faith or learn about who Jesus is go check out her work. You can find her instagram here and her blog is phyliciamasonheimer.com.   

To Use // Crossway ESV Study Bible

Last December, my husband, Chad, and I began reading through the bible together so for Christmas he surprised me with a new study bible. It was so thoughtful and will forever be one of my most cherished possessions. On the outside, the Crossway Study Bible has a beautiful TruTone Walnut cover with a Celtic Imprint Design on the front. When you flip open the cover, not only is it filled with the words of God, it is also packed full of a wide array of study tools. At the beginning of each book is an introduction full of background information, including authors, dates, purpose, themes, literary features, and an outline of the book. As you read, you will find, on the bottom of each page, notes broken down by verse giving you more information to deepen your study. Additionally, there are hundreds of full color maps, illustrations, and charts to enhance your time in the Word. I am so grateful for my sweet husband, his thoughtful gift, and the way it has blessed my walk with Jesus. If you have the desire to take the next step in your own study of God’s Word, I can’t recommend this bible enough!

To Support Your Wellness // Frankincense

Last but not least, the oil I want to tell you about this week is frankincense. All of my recommendations this week have centered around faith, so I thought this oil was the perfect addition. Frankincense has a deep connection to the Bible; it was given to Jesus as a gift by one of the Wise Men after his birth! Today, frankincense is known as a powerhouse oil. Diffused by itself, or with lavender,  is a great way to create a calm + peaceful setting in the evening or during your morning quiet time. At night you can also add 1-2 drops to your moisturizing cream, or better yet, just pop a roller top right onto the bottle and roll it straight on your face; frankincense is amazing for your skin!!! One way I love to use it daily in my immunity roller, made of frankincense, thieves, lemon, + oregano. Those are just some of the easiest ways to add frankincense into your life. The options are truly endless! 

Well, there you have it, the first edition of The Friday Five! My hope is that you enjoyed reading through these recommendations and have either, found some new reading material (seriously y’all go check out Phylicia’s posts) or added a couple of things to your Christmas wish list! I’d love to hear which category you liked the best or which one you are most excited to try! 

Thanks for reading along! Until next time,

Kirsten