Hey, I started E2M, but yesterday, my husband said something that made me think – “Lord have mercy!” He said, “All that is is South Beach.” He’s pretty much right. I don’t see any reason to pay to do South Beach (that is why I’m making the face in the pic above.) Plus, they lost me when they said I can’t have fruit. Seems to me all weight loss things are pretty much the same – protein, veggies, and water. I hate that it didn’t work out for me because I like structure. So, I’m back to the South Beach diet and intermittent fasting. Though I cannot have fruit, I can have it in a few weeks. Oddly enough, this is not what I’m writing about today. I will write about something the Lord directed me to do, and it has been transformational! It was Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips.
If you’re a blogger, you know about the algorithms that guide you to where the internet wants you to go. A person of no faith would say because I listen to Christian content on YouTube, the algorithm guided me to Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps. But, I say it was the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t do anything – the Holy Spirit does. He orders our steps and directs our paths.
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Today, I started studying 1 Samuel in the Bible and using Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips. Wait! If you are unsure what I’m talking about, here is a video.
I loved it! I love the Word of God!
Reflecting on scripture is awesome! It’s a way to dive deep into the timeless wisdom of the Bible and see how it totally applies to our lives today.
It’s like taking a moment to chill, open our hearts and minds, and let the words of scripture speak to us in a real way.
When we reflect, we get these amazing insights, guidance, and inner strength from the Bible’s stories, teachings, and promises.
It’s like a chance to connect with the big guy upstairs, get some real understanding, and apply what we learn to our own spiritual journey.
Whether we’re looking for comfort during tough times, seeking direction when we’re lost, or just want some daily inspiration, reflecting on scripture can seriously transform our relationship with God’s word and give us clarity, comfort, and a boost in our faith.
Actually, this isn’t “new stuff.”
Essentially, Priscilla Shire’s 5 P is sort of what we already know we should do when studying the word, but it provides a terrific structure for doing it.
For instance, with weight loss, we all know what to do too. For instance, you know you need to eat fewer calories (like chicken, fish, and veggies) and exercise to lose weight.
However, we don’t do it until we have a structure or until it is packaged the right way – at least, that is what is true for me.
Just as the South Beach diet gives me the structure or order to lose weight, Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips can give me the structure to read my Bible in a way that personalizes it, challenges me, and holds me accountable.
I love the points it hits.
Let me tell you what Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips are:
1) Position yourself to hear from God.
She says positioning yourself is putting yourself in the right posture to hear from God—for example, a quiet place at a quiet time without outside distractions. The spiritual posturing is having a heart ready and anticipating hearing from God.
In the video above, she speaks of the expectation associated with hearing God. I love that because, by nature, I am an enthusiastic person. It is my personality! I get excited when the trash is picked up! I’m exaggerating a bit, but it really doesn’t take much for me to be excited! It’s part of who I am.
I love that she said you can be “positioned” to hear from God in your car, get up early – which God did for me today – or hide in a part of your house when you need to.
This morning, God woke me at 5:00 a.m., eventually leading me to listen to Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips. Again, the algorithm didn’t do it; God did. Anyway, I’m so glad He did that. He woke me from my slumber. Frankly, I laid in bed a while before realizing the Holy Spirit woke me. Haha, I’m such a dork. 😀
That speaks to His presence in our lives. He’s so active and involved – we just have to be open and obedient.
Next time you wake up, go to Him. It might be Him getting ready to lead you to or reveal something life-changing!
2) Pour over the passage and paraphrase the significant points
Secondly, she said to meditate on the passage God leads you to read and study it.
Now is a good time to say she doesn’t suggest you pull random verses from the Bible. No, that’s never a good idea.
You have to select a book of the Bible or at least a chapter. Then, gradually work through it – one verse at a time.
See, a chapter can give you some context into God’s intention for that verse. That way, you can rightly divide scripture and understand it in its entirety. – I do that sometimes – but NEVER just a verse unless you’re already a seasoned Christian and have a footing into the context you are reading about.
But, WAIT, Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips go further…and get deeper. They sort of remind me of a thermostat that gets warmer and warmer.
3. Pull out the Spiritual principles.
This is where it gets interesting to me.
I’m the type of personality who always wonders, “Why is this important?” Because of that, I love that she encourages us to pull
The thermostat is starting to warm up a bit more – especially with number four. Yes, the fourth one is the one of Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips that really gets me and gives the Holy Spirit an opportunity to enable me to critically think about what God is saying in the passage and what he is saying to me.
4. Pose the questions
In the video, Priscilla Shire gives some sample questions you can use to further critically analyze the scripture passages you are reading. I like hers, but I have my own questions I tend to pose. Here they are:
- What is happening in this passage? What is being done or referred to (i.e., they are disobeying God.)
- What is God saying to me- as an individual?
- How have I done (or am I doing) what the scripture refers to (i.e., how have I been disobeying God?) Is this an area I need to confess and allow the Holy Spirit to help me fix?
- What do I need to do/remember/stop doing?
Oh boy, this is the one of Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips that set the thermostat on high! Girl! It’s getting hot in here!
[Below are notes I took just this morning.
I had not planned to share them, so sorry if you cannot read them.]
5. Plan obedience and pin down the date.
As you well know, planning is the foundation of success in any endeavor, right? So why not plan to obey God and think about what that will look like in your life?
Planning to obey provides a roadmap to achieve your spiritual goals, enabling you to navigate challenges effectively. Trust me, when you plan to obey the Lord, Girl, challenges and obstacles will come.
Also, I think through planning, we can anticipate obstacles, allocate resources efficiently, and set realistic timelines.
It ensures that our efforts are purposeful and well-organized, reducing the likelihood of wasted time and energy. Furthermore, planning anything fosters a sense of clarity and direction, enhancing our ability to get [whatever God is telling us to do] done.
Setting goals with specific target dates can be incredibly impactful. They give us a sense of purpose and urgency, allowing us to stay focused and committed to what God is telling us to do.
I also think deadlines create a feeling of accountability, motivating us to avoid procrastination and make steady progress. This is why I hate them, but setting a date always keeps me on target – so they are good for me.
I am working on setting dates for my goals. I need to do that with my weight loss goal. Hmm, why haven’t I thought of doing that yet? It may be because I’m afraid it won’t hit it. I don’t know.
The beauty of having a deadline in mind is that it instills a sense of motivation and accomplishment as we reach each milestone, propelling us forward toward our ultimate goal in Christ.
Don’t worry, Holy Spirit will help you.
Example:
For some time, I had been wanting to get up early to pray. Doing it in the evening wasn’t working, but I wouldn’t change back to morning because I liked sleeping in -sad, but true.
anyway, morning, I woke at 5 am. I don’t “need to wake up normally until 7:30 am or so.
The morning I woke up, I knew it was Holy Spirit. For one reason, I knew that I could not fall back asleep. All the things I was concerned about flooded my mind. Not in a “stressing out” way – but a reminder of them in a way that prompted me to take those burdens to the Lord. I’ve been getting up ever since, and the morning fellowship and Bible study are so sweet!
BONUS: Relating Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps Bible study tips to my Weight Loss…
In order for me to succeed at this weight loss journey, I need to do a lot of the same principles that Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps shares.
I won’t spend a lot of time here but as part of my Christian lifestyle blog I always want to share a little bit about my own journey. This includes specific areas of my life.
So the first key to my success in this weight loss journey is going to be to position myself for success.
I’m going to need to do simple things like keep my sneakers next to the treadmill. I work in the same room the treadmill is in so that will be a visual cue for me to get up and move a little bit.
It’s also important that I not bring things like a lays potato chips into my house. This always positions me to fail or to bench. No good.
The pouring part is kind of difficult to align with this journey. But what I will say is I will read books that will help me with this journey. One book that I really like and have been reading is “The Shift” by Gary Foster Ph.D. and I learned about it back when I was doing Weight Watchers.
I am working to pull out the principles of the book and so far it’s pretty and lightning. Maybe I’ll write about that later.
What area that is easy for me to align with my weight loss journey from Priscilla Shire’s 5 Ps is to ask myself the questions. I know it sounds weird, but I need to ask myself why do I eat more than I need to? Or why do I eat the worst things for my health? Why is it so hard for me to not control my eating? Why do I sabotage my own success?
Finally…
I can tell you I have been using these tips by Priscilla Shirer, and they have been an amazing blessing to my life so far. I am so grateful that she took the time to share this approach to Bible study. As I’ve mentioned it has lots of implications outside of Bible study and is just good old-fashioned wisdom in a step-by-step format!
Thank you Priscilla Shire!
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