Beginning: Writing Genesis in 2024!

Have you ever begun a new year with high hopes and plans to be in the word of God more intentionally and methodically? Did you start off with a fresh new notebook or study guide, excited to mark up the pages and expecting to grow by leaps and bounds? Maybe you started the year on fire, but as January stretched on, that fire began to sputter and fizzle. Life happened. Your child got sick, your job’s demands increased, you went on a trip and forgot your book, the arthritis in your hands was especially painful for a few days. The dog chewed your book! You went to bed one night, having forgotten your study that day, and when you opened your notebook the next day, that glaring white page sprouted eyes, stared at you with disapproval and shouted, “You’re already behind! You might as well give up!”

Me too, friend. Me too. More times than I care to recall.

However, just within the last few years, I have found that simply copying scripture has been life-changing and transformative for me. I’m confident that this is something that will change your life, as well. Scripture writing has been the first methodical study that I’ve managed to “stick with”. There is something comforting about the simplicity of copying scripture word for word. It is the mind and heart of God on paper. It’s not someone else interpreting or explaining or guiding for me. It is God’s word. It is simple, but at the same time, it is deep. I can slow down and pay attention. I notice things I’ve never seen before. I am able to stay in the context of what I am writing. I take the time to define words biblically. While I write, I think about the authors and their unique experiences and perspectives as they fit into the Bible’s timeline and God’s plan.

A word of caution, though: it is possible (and on some crazy days, it’s likely) to mindlessly copy without paying attention to the words. It’s possible to write the words and then immediately turn to a commentary or study guide to let someone else explain it to us. Those things can be helpful, but it’s essential to pause first and pray. We have to remember to carefully handle the word and treat it reverently. It’s so good for our soul to meditate on the word and let it soak into our hearts. It is always good to remember the context and ask ourselves, “what is this passage teaching me about God?”

Some days, we may have only five minutes, and all we do is write the passages for the day. But that five minutes will bless you! You’ll never regret any time you’ve spent in the word. Other days we may be able to take a deep dive and focus intently on the scriptures. It’s fun! It is so fulfilling and valuable and worthy of our time. You’ll never regret time spent in God’s word.

Many people have been copying scripture for years and years. My friend Kathy spoke recently about Diana Johnson, who has copied the entire Bible! I know many have benefited from scripture writing for generations long before me. And there are some beautifully designed scripture writing programs available, including some from the Ruffled Mango, here. 

I’m excited about 2024 and our “Write On My Heart Every Word” group. We are going to take the entire year to write the book of Genesis! The book of beginnings. What a tremendous saga – a “long story of heroic achievement”! It covers so many familiar Bible stories that many of us have known since childhood. Adam and Eve. Noah and the Flood. Abraham and Sarah…Isaac and Ishmael…Jacob and Esau…Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptian Pharaoh. We will see both the frailties and the strengths of these people…as well as their tragedies and triumphs. This is so important: to recognize that from the beginning, God’s people were both frail and strong. They, too, experienced trials, tragedies and triumphs.  Writing through Genesis will solidify the truth of these accounts in our hearts and minds. We will investigate people and map out places. We’ll have more firm footing in Bible history and, most importantly, we will know more of God.

You have a lot of options when writing scripture. Of course, you can choose your own book to copy! You may also want to look at some of the past years. In 2020, we wrote many of the psalms, and other selected passages. Here is a link to the very first year I put together the book.

2020 was quite a year, and one where I saw so vividly the power of God’s word in my heart. It led to the creation of the 2021 Scripture Writing book. If you’d like to read about how that happened, look at this blog post.

In 2022, we wrote the gospel of Luke, then Jonah, Micah, Haggai and Ruth.

2023 has been full of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1- 3 John, Esther, and Romans.

My completed notebooks full of scripture and study are some of my greatest earthly (and yet spiritual!) treasures.

If you’d like, you’re welcome to download any or all of these PDFs as well, and write what you think will be best for you, in your current season of life.  

The stats from my blog tell me that since this program began four years ago, the scripture writing PDFs in their different formats have been downloaded nearly 52,000 times! And people in such places as Canada, Singapore, Israel, the UK, Australia, India, Columbia, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, Japan, Spain, and even China have downloaded the writing plans. That is so encouraging to me. God told us that His word has power, and I can see it! All glory certainly belongs to Him. It is HIS word.

Here are some important details:

First, it is important to me that you know that I do not personally sell anything. I want this to be freely available for anyone and everyone. The book that I create will continue to be free, and you can simply download the full book PDF or the two-page checklist and use your own paper. You may choose to download the PDF of the book into your tablet and write with your electronic pencil. Or, you can have a physical copy printed from our brother and sister in Christ, Jim and Debbie Meinsen, who own TCI Graphics. They have offered to print copies for a much better price than we could find elsewhere. What a blessing!

To order a copy, please go to tcigraphics.com (if you can’t connect through this link, type the link into your browser) and click on “Write On My Heart 2024”. There you will find the different ordering options. If you have your own binder and would like your pages simply “3 hole punched”, you’ll have that option. If you want the entire year in one book, you can choose that. My personal favorite is to have the book printed in two volumes (January through June and July through December…much more manageable to carry around!) 

TCI Graphics would prefer to take all orders online, but if you absolutely can’t manage it, you can call the shop at 417.865.6805. Also, I found out recently that there were at least fifty books last year that were not paid for! I was so sad to hear that…I imagine there were some of us who simply forgot to pay. If that might have been one of you, I hope you’ll take care of that.

Please read the information that you’ll find on the first few pages of the book/download. There are some instructions and suggestions. I think they’re very helpful and important!

I’m so grateful to my dear friend, Paige Waddell, who created this year’s cover art! I would love for you to support her beautiful artwork. Go and look at her art page here: Paige’s Palettes. She is also on Instagram as @paiges_palettes.

I am also so grateful to my sweet friend Seow Hui Ho, who has, for several years, volunteered to create the two-page checklist that makes it SO MUCH EASIER for those who like to use their own paper! 

You might also consider joining our Facebook group, called Write On My Heart Every Word. It is a large group full of people from different backgrounds, but all are interested in growing in the word of God.

I’m excited for January to begin, so that we can begin copying this book about beginnings! I’m so glad you’re thinking about jumping in! I’ll be praying that God blesses our study.  HERE ARE THE 2024 DOWNLOADS!