.jpg)
How Can I Approach Bible Meditation Playfully, Prayerfully, and Rhythmically?
The Bible is a collection of 66 love letters that call out to the childlike hearts of the children of God—the children of the Most High. Therefore, around these soul care streets, we not only pray, we play in Scripture—rhythmically as women who align with the wisdom + beauty of our sacred, feminine embodiment (more about our rhythmic feminine embodiment is in the link section at the end of your reading).
Bottom line: We enter the kingdom by being as a child and by receiving as a child: “But Jesus called them to him, saying, 'Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God'”–this goes for how we interact with the Scriptures.
The invitation to integrate rhythmic play in scriptural meditation goes beyond acquiring information, it's about abiding in Love as a beloved + nurtured child. We long to experience the depths of divine encounter—being nourished + cherished by the parental goodness of God beyond a sermon, book, Bible study, podcast, retreat, etc.
We desire + have been designed for Divine Encounter... through a multifaceted, sensual experience with and in our bodies, nature, work, rest, relationships, and Scripture. When it comes to Bible meditation + study, I believe resources are beneficial, but the first and foremost resource to draw upon God's heart is our heart, all other resources should serve to enhance our childlike receptivity, not obstruct it.
Pause + Breathe that in.
I created the Color + Journal Experience™ Bible Study Notebook to serve as a companion to enhance our childlike receptivity as we honor our feminine focus + flow.
Unlike any other Bible study notebook, I integrate a cyclical feminine journaling approach as you color + scribble your devotional discoveries.
For many years, I've taught through a 4-part play + prayer framework - the L.I.V.E method. It's rooted in coloring, journaling, and breath work, specifically Breath Prayer. A breath prayer is a short prayer of praise or a request to God that you pray silently while breathing deeply.
For example:
Exhale — “The Lord is…..”
Inhale — “…my strength and song” (Psalm 118:14)
or
Exhale — “Thank...”
Inhale — “…you”
Many breath prayers only contain 2-6 brief words of prayer and are easy to stop and practice in our everyday life. This meditative act combines the spiritual (prayer) and the physical (breathing) for a profound spiritual connection with Yeshua/Jesus and oneself.
A Quick Look at the L.I.V.E Method
Listen
Insight
Voice
Empowered
#1 Listen - Shema: Hearing the love letter
In Hebrew, "shema" means to listen with the intent to obey.
Journal the passage verse(s). I recommend reading aloud to hear the sacred text and/or listen to an audio via your phone or your computer ... soak it in through as many senses as you can.
#2 Insight - Hagah: Chewing the love letter
Meditation in English is too nice a word.
The word “hagah” means you are very persistent, chewing, and wrestling with the word. The word “hagah” also means to emit a sound, verbalize, mutter, to speak in an undertone; it was not silent. This is the same word that is used in Isaiah 31:4 to describe a lion “roaring” over its prey. Meditation is the outward verbalization of one’s thoughts towards God, talking out loud as you pour over the love letter.
Journal out the passage(s). Ponder the following: Things Emphasized, Things Repeated, Things Related, Things Alike, Things Unalike. This is where you have fun digging + discovering in the soil of Scripture! This is equivalent to a child jumping in puddles, playing in the sandbox or mud, twirling in the rain, walking hand in hand with a patient Parent who delights to answer all the questions.
#3 Voice - Shuv: Praying through the love letter
In Hebrew, "shuv" means to restore or return.
Examine the way you are going in light of your musing + meditation, then, offer up the sweet-smelling aroma of your prayer. This serves to evoke a liturgy of intimacy within your heart, soul, mind, and strength. It’s an alignment of all of you, not part of you.
#4 Empowered - Menuchah: Resting in the love letter
In Hebrew, "menuchah" is a multi-layered empowerment to rest...
rest in a love freely given, a rest of truth and sincerity, a rest in peace and tranquility, in quietude and safety.
This rest invitation is for you as you bring your study to a close.
Rest allows you to savor + digest the scriptural parts as a whole.
Rest allows you to let revelation unfold over time, unhurriedly.
Rest allows a space of shalom for a Divine embrace + encounter no matter what phase of life you're in—like the moon, it's whole even we see a sliver or its dark new moon silhouette.
Rest allows you to just be—be unsure or assured. God is not put off by our complexities.
Rest allows you to apply + interpret Scripture by synthesizing + metabolizing the energy output of listening, chewing, and responding to the love letter.
A Journal Benediction in Psalm 128:1
Join me and journal along as I play + pour over the words: happy and fear from verse one. The Hebrew word for blessed is synonymous with happiness, "esher." See the images below of my journal responses (you'll notice I only filled out the first page, I did not complete the entire framework in one sitting. It's about a grace pace not grinding).
Happiness is sustained attention to something you love.
My happiest times are those in which I bring sustained attention to something I love. A creative act. Self-acceptance + compassion. A work of literature. Daydreaming. Scribbling poetry. A certain way of gathering with family and friends. Moon bathing. Taking ritual baths. Tending to my plants, playing games with my family, etc.
Do you remember what you love? There have been times in my life when I couldn’t. It’s okay to be in one of those times. Start journaling, start remembering, start curiously + bravely experimenting, and answers will come.
Do you have that window of time and space to give sustained attention to something you love? If not, how can you carve it out? Perhaps just once or twice a week to start. Baby steps. What conversations do you need to have with loved ones to change things around to open up that time? Or what might you need to delegate, simplify, or drop off the to-do list for now?
What distractions or compulsions keep you from giving sustained attention to something you love? (I’m looking at you texts & email!) What boundaries do you need to put in place around that?
The Hebrew word for fear in this verse is, "yirah."
In the biblical Hebrew, there are several different words for fear. I chose to limit it to two: the first, pachad, “projected or imagined fear,” in contemporary terms, it causes a survival-trauma response fueled by asphyxiating thoughts, oftentimes, they're protective, irrational thoughts from our wounded places - wounds are invitations into healing encounter, not exile.
There is a second Hebrew word for fear, yirah. It's the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to, inhabiting a larger space than we are used to inhabiting. It is also the feeling we feel when we are on sacred ground. It's about the hospitality + sanctum of reverence.
Next time you are in a moment that brings fear:
1. Ask yourself: what part of this fear is pachad? Write down the imagined outcomes you fear. Remind yourself that they are just imagined, and that pachad-type fears are irrational.
2. Savor yirah. Ask yourself: what part of this fear is yirah? You’ll know yirah because it has a tinge of exhilaration and awe -while pachad has a sense of threat and panic. Lean into–and look for–the callings and leaps that bring yirah—deep reverence.
Shop with Soul
Shop the Color + Journal Experience™ Bible Study Notebook
See our complete collection of shalom-making stationery in the soul care boutique + be inspired to pause with some soulful + restful sashayin’!
Rhythmic, feminine being + living
Bible study tools I use: Blue Letter Bible and Bible Hub
Download the free PDF
Bonus pages are available to Forum members only
Discover the SOS (Space of Shalom) quarterly membership
