There is a difference between giving someone a beautiful Christian gift and giving her something that may actually help her grow closer to the Lord.
When I think about gifts that encourage daily Bible reading, that is what matters most to me.
I don’t simply want to give someone something with a Bible verse printed on it. I want to give her something useful—something that may help her open God’s Word, pray, serve others, and remember the goodness of God in her everyday life.
Because the real gift isn’t the journal, Bible case, notebook, or highlighter.
The real treasure is time spent with the Lord.
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” James 4:8 KJV
Why Is It So Hard to Read the Bible Every Day?
I believe one of the biggest reasons Christian women struggle with consistent Bible reading is very simple:
Life is busy.
There are children to care for, meals to prepare, work to do, church responsibilities, appointments, laundry, errands, and people who need us.
It is so easy to become distracted.
I understand that because I struggled with consistency when my own children were young. There were seasons when I was not reading my Bible every day like I should.
Over the years, however, we began reading through the Bible every year. That commitment is what helped bring me into the habit of daily Bible reading.
Sometimes we have to intentionally set aside a time to steal away quietly with the Lord.
For a mother, that might mean getting up a little earlier than her children in the morning. For another woman, it might be taking a few quiet minutes after everyone has gone to bed.
The important thing is making room for the Lord in the middle of real life.
God Speaks to Us Through His Word
As I became more consistent in reading the Bible, I noticed something happening.
I was growing closer to the Lord.
God speaks to us through His Word, and we speak to Him through prayer. If we do not have that conversation with Him regularly, it is difficult to grow close to Him.
Certain passages of Scripture also stand out at different times in our lives. You may have read a passage many times before, but then you walk through a particular trial, decision, blessing, or season, and suddenly those words speak directly to what you need.
That is one reason daily Bible reading is so precious.
Psalm 119:105 says:
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
His Word guides us.
If you don’t have your Bible nearby, an online KJV resource such as King James Bible Online can also give you access to the King James Bible and Bible-in-a-year reading resources.
But whenever possible, I still love opening a physical Bible, holding God’s Word in my hands, marking meaningful passages, and writing down what the Lord is teaching me.
A Bible-Reading Gift Should Help Her Build a Habit
If I were choosing a gift specifically to encourage a woman to read her Bible every day, I would look for something that helps remove obstacles.
That is one reason I created the My Walk with God Reflection Journal.
Our KJV journals and notebooks collection includes the Spiritual Growth Journal for Women, which was designed to help a woman intentionally spend time with the Lord rather than wondering where to begin each day.
The journal includes a Bible-reading plan with daily checkoffs to help you read through the Bible in a year.
But I want to make something very clear:
The goal isn’t the checkmark.
The goal is spending time with God.
The checkmark is simply a tool that helps us develop the habit.
What If You Fall Behind on Your Bible-Reading Plan?
This is where I think we sometimes make Bible reading harder than it needs to be.
Suppose you miss several days. You look at all those unchecked boxes and immediately feel behind. Then you think about how much reading you need to do to catch up. Before long, discouragement takes over and you don’t read anything.
Don’t do that to yourself.
I would encourage you to simply start where the reading program says to start today. Skip the portion you missed. If you have time later, go back and fill it in.
Don’t allow yesterday’s missed reading to keep you from today’s time with God.
Consistency does not mean you will perform perfectly every day.
God knows us. He knows our hearts and our intentions. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He even knows the number of hairs upon our heads.
Jesus said:
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30 KJV
He knows we aren’t perfect. We are trying to grow in Him. So begin again.
A Journal Can Encourage More Than Bible Reading
Daily Bible reading is incredibly important, but our walk with the Lord doesn’t stop when we close our Bible.
That is why I wanted the reflection journal to encourage several areas of Christian growth.
It gives you a place to:
- Follow a daily Bible-reading plan.
- Write down your prayers.
- Mark prayers when God answers them.
- Plan three purposeful Hearts of Service each week.
- Record five things each week for which you are grateful.
Together, these habits encourage us to read, pray, serve, and give thanks.
Write Down Your Prayers—and Remember the Answers
There is something special about being able to look back at prayers you wrote months ago and see where God answered them.
Sometimes we pray so many prayers that when the answer comes, we move on to the next need without stopping to remember what the Lord has done.
Writing our prayers down gives us a record. And marking those answered prayers gives us another opportunity to praise Him.
Plan to Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus
One of the parts of the journal that is particularly important to me is the Heart of Service section.
Each week, you write down three purposeful ways you intend to serve someone.
Why write them down?
Because good intentions are not always enough.
If I decide I’m going to prepare a meal for someone, writing it down reminds me that I need groceries in the house. If I want to send an encouraging card, I need to have the card and a stamp. If I’m going to visit someone, I need to make room in my schedule.
Writing it down turns “I should do that” into “This is what I’m going to do, and this is when I’m going to do it.”
As I sometimes say, it’s not enough to tell someone, “I meant to send you a card while you were out sick.”
James 1:22 says:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
Bible reading should eventually affect how we live.
Practice Gratitude Until You Begin Looking for God’s Goodness
The gratitude section of the journal encourages you to write down five things you are grateful for every week.
I try to make mine five different things every week. I don’t simply write the same five things over and over.
And I’ll tell you—it becomes more difficult as time goes on!
But that is part of what makes the exercise valuable. It makes me look.
What did God do this week? What small blessing did I overlook? Who did He put into my life? What prayer did He answer? What ordinary thing should I stop taking for granted?
I believe true joy grows from gratitude. When we intentionally look for reasons to thank the Lord, we begin noticing His goodness in places we might otherwise have hurried past.
A Bible Case Can Make Daily Bible Study Easier
Another gift I believe is important is a good Bible case.
First, it helps protect the Word of God. But it can also solve a very practical problem for a busy woman: keeping her Bible-study supplies together.
When Grace finally finds 20 quiet minutes to spend with the Lord, she doesn’t need to spend the first ten minutes searching the house for her notebook, pen, highlighter, and sticky notes. Everything can already be waiting for her.
Our women’s KJV Bible covers collection was designed with organized storage so a woman can carry her Bible and the things she regularly uses for Bible study or church together.
I like having room for things such as a cell phone, writing pens, a slim notebook, highlighters, sticky notes, and other small Bible-study supplies.
It is a simple thing, but sometimes simple things remove the little inconveniences that keep us from doing what we truly want to do.
What Should You Put in a Daily Bible-Reading Gift?
If you want to encourage a daughter, granddaughter, friend, young woman, or new believer to develop a daily Bible-reading habit, I would not begin by asking: “What would make the prettiest gift?”
I would ask: “What will she actually use?”
Consider putting together a purposeful Bible-reading gift with:
- A King James Bible
- A Bible-reading or reflection journal
- A protective Bible case
- A slim notebook
- A good writing pen
- Highlighters or sticky notes for marking meaningful passages
You can also browse our KJV Scripture cards, pens and highlighters collection for small Bible-study tools that can be paired with a Bible, journal, or Bible case.
The purpose isn’t to give her more things. It is to make it a little easier for her to sit down, open God’s Word, and spend meaningful time with Him.
What I Would Tell a Young Woman About Reading Her Bible
If I were handing this gift to a young woman who had never developed the habit of daily Bible reading, I would want her to understand something much more important than how to use the journal.
I would tell her:
God speaks to us through His Word, and we speak to Him through prayer.
A relationship requires conversation.
If you want to grow closer to the Lord, spend time with Him. Read what He has said. Talk to Him. Tell Him about your worries. Tell Him about your family. Tell Him what you’re afraid of. Thank Him for what He has done. Ask Him for wisdom.
And then keep coming back tomorrow.
Growing a relationship with the Lord brings joy, peace, love, and harmony into our lives.
If You Haven’t Read Your Bible in a While, Begin Again
Maybe you’re reading this article because you want to encourage someone else to read her Bible.
But perhaps you are the one who needs encouragement.
Maybe your Bible has stayed closed more days than you want to admit. Maybe you’ve started a Bible-reading plan three times and stopped three times. Maybe you look at women who seem to have perfect morning routines and wonder why you can’t be that consistent.
Please don’t allow guilt over yesterday to rob you of time with God today.
God knows your heart. He knows your intentions from afar off. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows that you are not perfect. You are growing.
So tomorrow morning—or tonight after everyone has gone to bed—steal away quietly for a little while.
Take your Bible. Open His Word. Pray.
You don’t need a perfect routine. You don’t need a perfect record of checkmarks. You simply need to begin again.
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” James 4:8 KJV
And then tomorrow, come back and do it again.
