Jen Hatmaker - A Modern Girls Guide to Bible Study: A Refreshingly Unique Look at Gods Word

If you are satisfied with the same old, same old in your choice of Bible study books, put this book down and return to your regularly scheduled stuff. If, however, you would like a fresh trip through truth from someone who talks with you instead of at you, get a copy for yourself, one for each of your best girlfriends, and make a standing appointment to ingest dangerous carbs and share what you learn in these pages.

ANITA RENFROE, comedian; musician;
author of The Purse-Driven Life and
A Purse-Driven Christmas

Jen Hatmaker writes a creative, funny, down-to-earth book that will encourage and equip women (and even a few curious men) to read and actually understand their Bibles. This fresh study will change your life as you cry, Word of God, speak.

ED YOUNG, senior pastor, Fellowship Church;
author of You!The Journey to the Center of Your Worth

Stick close to Jen Hatmaker and youll soon be skydiving into Gods Word in a not-for-sissies faith adventure. Her passion for knowing God is contagious and wonderful!

VIRELLE KIDDER, conference speaker; author of
Donkeys Still Talk

A Refreshingly Unique
Look at Gods Word

JEN HATMAKER

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

For a free catalog go to www.NavPress.com
or call 1.800.366.7788 in the United States or 1.800.839.4769 in Canada.

2006 by Jennifer Hatmaker

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from NavPress, P.O. Box 35001, Colorado Springs, CO 80935. www.navpress.com

NAVPRESS and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

ISBN 978-1-57683-891-4

Cover design by Wes Youssi, The DesignWorks Group
Cover photo by Wayne Stadler
Creative Team: Terry Behimer, Karen Lee-Thorp, Kathy Mosier, Arvid Wallen, Kathy Guist

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the New American Standard Bible ( NASB ), The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Other versions used include the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ( NIV ), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, all rights reserved; THE MESSAGE ( MSG ). Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group; the Holy Bible, New Living Translation ( NLT ), copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved; The New English Bible ( NEB ), 1961, 1970, The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press; GODS WORD is a copyrighted work of Gods Word to the Nations Bible Society. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved; and the King James Version ( KJV ). All italics and [bracketed phrases] in each of these versions are the authors.

Printed in the United States of America

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1. Im Less Intimidated Reading Shape Magazine
Common Insecurities About Studying Gods Word

2. Nair, Diet Pills, and Other Things That Dont Work
Ineffective Strategies for Connecting with Scripture

3. Codependency That Doesnt Require Therapy
Learning to Lean on the Holy Spirit

4. The Container-Store Theory
Every Mess Can Be Organized

5. The Forest and the Trees
Grasping the Main Idea and Inspecting the Details

6. Tweezers, Velcro Rollers, and Other Tools for Girls
Bible Study Tools You Have to Know About

7. Its Not Just for Nerds
How Understanding Relevant History
Makes All the Difference

8. Its All About Me
Discovering Your Amazing Personal
Connection with Scripture

Welcome! I already feel as if I know you. Were that generation who raise our kids while running businesses and keeping the church afloat. (You know we do.) And, as for me, I feel more like a girl than anything else. Girls snort when they laugh, and they sometimes watch reality TV. My mom and her friends are women.

Ive prayed and prayed for this moment for you: a new beginning. I hope by the end of this trip you will have learned, been freed, grown, gained confidence, laughed out loud (because Im a bit off), fallen in love with Scripture, and been changed forever.

Just a quick note: If you will be using the study guide with a small group, partner, or on your own, turn to it first before you begin reading. It paces your reading out over the course of five weeks. If youre the lucky girl who got roped into leading a small group, theres a leaders guide back there, too.

This is for us Modern Girls. I wont call you beloved. I dont use phrases like flying on the tender wings of angels. I might have even used words like boobs or loopholes to submission (both of which have problems). But I do love Gods Word desperately, and I pray that you will, too. Lets link arms like modern girlfriends do and walk together.

For my favorite God: Thank You for using a silly girl to champion Your Word. I love You so dearly. My heart overflows with a good theme.

To my Girlfriends, my special companions on this journey. Thank you for teaching me, laughing at me, cheering me on, ingesting Benadryl at Christis every Thursday, loving the Word, driving with me (and sending me) to New Mexico, editing without cutting my favorite stories, test-driving all this material when you didnt have time, enduring my self-absorption, and allowing me to flaunt your lives in print. As my mom always tells me, You have exceptional friends. Dont run them off. I love you as much as any girl has ever loved her friends. You know I do.

Thank you, husband of mine. Youve been a believer since the beginning when I was a swirling vortex of uncertainty. That mattered so much. And thanks for genetically endowing our three kids with much insanity, as they will be an endless source of material for both of us. (I suppose we collaborated on the DNA buffet: You gave them impossible cowlicks and OCD tendencies; I gave them a propensity for drama and road rage.) I love you forever.

I am so grateful to my Lake Hills Church family. You have been my safe place to learn, to sprout wings, to crash and burn, and to grow. For your patience, support, unconditional love, and countless opportunities for me to make or break your various events, I love and thank you.

And thanks to Rachelle Gardner, who set this thing in motion based on an instant connection that was neither proven nor safe. Im clearly high risk. To Karen Lee-Thorp, Terry Behimer, and my new friends at NavPress: Its a true pleasure to work with the varsity team. This JV writer thanks you for a fabulous initiation.