In this episode, I answer one of the commonly asked questions I receive: “Where should I start studying in the Bible?” You’ll hear faith based neurodivergent encouragement and how I decrease decision paralysis in studying the Bible. Transcript: 0:02 - 0:41 Hello, hello, it's Denea, your host of the Neurodivergent Bible Teaching Podcast. I hope that you, um, are having a great day, being kind to yourself. I have to share a joy with y'all, so I've, um, I did a Substack post just about how, you know, this is a— this is a tough season. I'm in the middle of a lot of chronic health conditions. Sorry if y'all heard that. 0:41 - 1:12 I'm sitting— I'm sitting on one of our— I don't know what you would call it, I guess ottomans. And I'm in the closet, you know, for acoustics. And I realized I just moved and it just made all this noise. So I'm sorry if that got to you on your end, but I'm just in the middle of a lot of chronic health testing. I don't know if I've really talked about the chronic conditions that I'm experiencing. 1:12 - 1:46 So I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, PCOS, endometriosis, scoliosis. Uh, I feel like I'm forgetting, not mentioning one or two. Um, I'm in the middle of like a lot of sleep study stuff too. It's already been confirmed that I have sleep apnea, but I still— my doctor wants me to do another, uh, different type of sleep test. So just kind of in the middle of a lot of that stuff. 1:47 - 2:26 Um, you know, just dealing with that in the midst of like going to OT and, and parent coaching And I'm writing a book, writing a devotional for neurodivergence. And just in that rhythm of like doctor's appointments, OT, call insurance, right? Like, just that daily, having that rhythm. I have really been trying to intentionally seek just joy and whimsical moments, whimsical things, sitting outside. Um, journaling outside. 2:26 - 3:13 I usually go for a lot of walks, um, and I really wanted to start hiking. However, I'm, I'm wearing a boot right now for— because I have tendonitis in my foot that has flared up, and so I'm not really able to do that. But anything that I can be doing outside, in a hammock, blowing bubbles— and y'all, I made the executive decision last weekend to start crocheting, and I'm thrilled. Like, the beginner set, it just got here before I started recording, and I feel like this is gonna unlock something in my brain, you know? Like, I feel like, I feel like this is going to unlock— I don't know, I'm just so excited to see what comes from this. 3:14 - 3:57 I look forward to any opportunity where I can be creative just because And like, I'm, I'm so excited, y'all. And so I hope that today that you give yourself permission to do that. I don't know, buy some stickers and decorate, and decorate a notebook or a mirror that you have, or wear a bright color, or talk to God in, in nature, or experience nature just by, you know, not with your phone. I do that all the time, like I take pictures and I'm like, oh, look at the cloud, look at that cloud, look at that flower. And then I'm like, oh wait, wait, Denae, put your phone down. 3:57 - 4:29 Um, you know, experience. I hope that you experience something, um, just in such an authentic way that allows you to be true to who you are. Um, I hope that you don't have to put on a performance today. You know, I hope that you can, can take down the mask today. What would that look like for you to just authentically engage with joy and whimsy as you are who you are for maybe a few minutes today? 4:29 - 5:05 I hope that you can give yourself that gift. Um, today's episode is all about A common— a commonly asked question that I get, um, it is like, where do I start studying the Bible? How, how do I start studying? Um, I've done episodes before on, um, biblical literacy practices. I've done an episode on like using the SOAP method, um when you're studying scripture. 5:06 - 5:46 I have a resource on my website all about like studying the Bible when you have ADHD. I also think it's a great resource if you— maybe you're not ADHD, maybe you're autistic, maybe you have OCD, maybe there's a— you have another neurodivergent experience. I talk a lot about, um, stimming and just what it looks like to be to get our brains ready to actually focus. Um, but this is going to be specifically like where— I get a lot of questions like, do I just pick a scripture? Uh, you know, I'm gonna read the Bible a lot more this year, that's a goal, but I don't know where to start. 5:46 - 6:07 Or I've never read the Bible before, where do I start? Um, so this— that's what today's episode is going to be all about. And let me say, I do want to preface this with two things. Number one, after you hear this episode, or while you hear this episode, pray. Ask God to give you wisdom. 6:07 - 6:54 Ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. And I think that is so important whenever we're taking in advice in general in life, right? Um, but also whenever, even when we're seeking like wise counsel um, even when we're talking to our friends or, or whoever with a faith-based, faith-based question, I think it's so important to filter their, um, opinion, their expertise, uh, through God's wisdom, through the Holy Spirit's discernment. And that person, right, may be well, well-meaning But maybe God is like, maybe this isn't the season for you to try it that way. I'll give you an example. 6:55 - 7:05 So, um, I love routines. That may or may not be a surprise to you, uh, but I love routine. Oh my goodness. 7:07 - 7:35 However, um, it was— this was a point like 2 years ago maybe. I was trying to figure out how to, how to get us into a structured morning What, what would that look like? We are a neurodivergent family. I'm neurodivergent, our son is neurodivergent. And so I started listening to all of these, I guess, influencers. 7:36 - 8:21 I mean, also people who are qualified, like, you know, therapists and stuff on YouTube and social media who had suggestions and ideas of what to do. In the morning, and I, you know, would try to implement, implement, and it didn't really seem like anything was sticking. And like, I noticed one of the, the common theme was that a lot of the people that I was seeking advice from, they weren't in a similar season of life that I was. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I just think that we have to be aware of like of that fact, because I know for sure what I was doing was I was taking advice, trying to implement something for somebody who didn't have to navigate waking up as a neurodivergent. 8:22 - 8:59 Like, I was taking in advice, um, from people, you know, well-meaning people, um, who were giving great advice, but maybe they weren't a parent, or maybe they didn't have a neurodivergent child, and maybe they themselves also weren't neurodivergent. Like, there were so many layers, and I was internalizing the failure. I was like, why can't this stick for us? And God was like, well, Denae, they're not— you guys aren't building the same house with the same materials. You can't— don't beat yourself up. 8:59 - 9:35 And he said it a lot more lovingly than that. But so that's why I think it's so important after you hear this and maybe you try to implement it, maybe you try to do it yourself, before you do that, seek wisdom with God and ask the Holy Spirit to give you discernment. The second thing that I want to preface this and say is that these types of questions, if you, if you Google it or if you ask people, you will get a variety of answers. And so know that this is not the only solution by any means. This is just a solution. 9:35 - 10:06 You know, this is just mine. So let's just say that you do try it and it doesn't work out for you, uh, know that there, there are other ways to approach like the solution to those types of questions. Okay. With that being said, I think that one of the best things, um, about one of the best things that is not talked about enough when it comes to teaching neurodivergence the Bible. Is our love and our need for context. 10:07 - 10:42 As neuro— as an autistic individual, ADHD, OCD, complex PTSD, I rely heavily on context. I don't want to speak for all neurodivergents, but I know that there are a lot of us who do, just in our conversations, in our daily life. Um, if you have ever Googled the restaurant before you've gotten there to see what the parking situation was, that you're seeking context. Have you ever Googled a restaurant to look at the menu before you've gotten there? Seeking context. 10:43 - 11:26 Um, when you're around people and you're trying to maybe figure out if somebody's in a, a good mood, like there are certain maybe body signals that you're, you're trying to figure out. Like, context. We absolutely love context. And I think that is such a great thing to lean into Bible study with because it allows us as neurodivergents to support our neurodivergent needs, stay true to who we are as neurodivergents while practicing biblical literacy. Because context is a big part of biblical literacy, whether it's biblical, historical, cultural context. 11:27 - 11:54 It can help us study and comprehend and apply the Bible as God intended for us to do so. So whenever someone asks me like, what— what— where should I start? Should I just pick a scripture? Um, should I start in Genesis? Here's my response: if you are neurodivergent, I— my suggestion is to always start in the book of John. 11:56 - 12:18 And I say that because I think it gives us great context. I really, really do. Again, if you ask anyone else, I— they will probably have a different answer, and that's okay. But that is just my answer. I think the Book of John, it gives us a deeper look into Jesus's ministry. 12:18 - 13:24 I also think there's just a lot of— there's a lot of background information in the book of John, just about Jesus, um, and how he approached humanity and why he ca