How Personal Bible Study Became the Faith Room in The Crafty Homestead
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There was a season of my life when people kept giving me the same advice:
“Read more of your Bible.”
The advice was well-intentioned. The problem was that I already was.
I grew up in ministry. My father was a preacher. Both of my grandfathers were pastors. My mother led children’s ministry and music. My parents served as youth pastors and assistant pastors. By the time I was old enough to graduate from the classes I attended, I was already helping teach them.
Over the years I served in children’s ministry, youth ministry, Sunday school classes, outreach events, and eventually preaching opportunities. Today, I’m continuing that journey through ministry credential classes with the Assemblies of God.
Scripture was never absent from my life.
Yet during one of the most difficult seasons I have ever experienced, something wasn’t working.
Looking for Answers
Several years ago, life felt like it was falling apart.
There was grief. There were disappointments. There were questions I couldn’t answer.
And like many Christians, I kept hearing the same encouragement: “Spend more time in God’s Word.”
So I did. I read devotionals. I followed study plans. I worked through Bible studies. I consumed more and more content than I ever had before.
But eventually I realized something surprising.
I was spending a lot of time around Scripture, but I wasn’t always walking away changed by it.
I wasn’t looking for more information - I was looking for understanding. I was looking for direction. I was looking for a deeper conversation with God.
Studying Like I Was Going to Teach
At some point, I decided to change how I approached Bible study.
Instead of reading another devotional, I started studying passages the same way I would if I were preparing a lesson for someone else. I would ask myself "What would I pull from the text to give to someone in my position as encouragement?"
I slowed down. I asked more questions. I dug deeper into the context. I looked for practical application.
And something unexpected happened.
I started learning again. The Bible became less of a reading assignment and more of a living conversation.
As I learned, I started sharing short reflections on Facebook. Those reflections slowly became mini devotionals. The mini devotionals became PDF devotionals. The PDF devotionals eventually became formal devotional projects.
Without realizing it, the foundation of what would eventually become the Faith Room was beginning to take shape - even before I knew The Crafty Homestead was going to be a part of my life.
Then I Created a Different Problem
For a while, everything felt productive.
I was writing. I was studying. I was creating resources. I had started ministry school. I was building content designed to help other people grow in their faith.
Then one day I realized I had drifted into the opposite problem...
I had become so focused on creating content for others that I wasn’t spending enough time studying simply for myself.
The person who had once struggled to find meaningful study time had become someone who was always preparing, always writing, always learning—but not always resting.
I had gone from too little intentional study to too little personal connection. The balance had shifted again. But still not into the direction I needed it.
The Conversation That Changed My Perspective
One conversation with my fiancé helped put words to something I had been feeling, but hadn't been able to name.
We were talking about the Sabbath. Specifically, how easy it is to spend an entire day doing "church work" without actually experiencing rest.
You can serve. You can teach. You can volunteer. You can prepare lessons. You can create resources. You can stay busy doing good things for God.
And yet still miss the relationship those activities are supposed to support in the first place.
That conversation reminded me that faith isn’t only about learning more. It’s also about slowing down enough to spend time with God personally.
Not as a teacher. Not as a content creator. Not as a ministry worker.
Simply as His child.
Finding a Better Balance
That realization changed how I approached the Faith Room.
Today, my goal isn’t just to create devotionals. It’s to create tools that help people build a sustainable relationship with Scripture.
That’s where our Read • Reflect • Respond • Record framework comes from. It’s why I created the 5-Minute Scripture Study Pack. It’s part of why the FaithOS app began taking shape when I started building systems for the other rooms of The Crafty Homestead.
What This Looks Like Today
Over the past few months, I’ve been building the kinds of resources I wish I had during both of those seasons—the season when I felt disconnected and didn’t know where to start, and the season when I was so busy learning, teaching, and creating that I overlooked making space for personal time with God.
That’s why the Faith Room is continuing to grow beyond written devotionals. Inside the Faith Room and FaithOS, you’ll now find:
- Written devotionals and downloadable devotional eBooks
- Audio devotionals for those who prefer to listen
- YouTube devotional videos
- The 5-Minute Scripture Study Pack
- FaithOS tools and resources designed to support personal study and reflection
- And many more tools yet to come for disciples, teachers, and preachers
Not because everyone studies the same way. But because different seasons call for different tools.
Some days I sit down with a Bible, journal, and coffee. Some days I listen while driving. Some days I need a simple devotional to help me refocus.
The goal has never been to create more content. The goal has always been to create more opportunities to spend meaningful time with God.
The Lesson Behind It All
If there’s one thing I’ve learned through this journey, it’s this:
There are many ways to become disconnected from Scripture. Sometimes it’s because we don’t spend enough time in God’s Word. Other times it’s because we’ve become so busy doing things for God that we’ve forgotten how to simply spend time with Him.
The goal isn’t more activity. The goal is relationship.
And that’s the story behind the Faith Room.
If any of these resources help someone build a more consistent and personal relationship with Scripture, then they’re accomplishing exactly what they were created to do. I’m grateful you’re here, and I hope something in this space meets you right where you are.
Explore the Faith Room
If you’d like to explore the resources we’ve been building, you’ll find devotionals, study tools, audio content, and FaithOS resources waiting for you. They were created because they’ve helped me —and I hope they’ll help you too.