Day 8 – Still, She Reads – Jan 8, 2026

Guys, I am on fire. I can feel the energy pulse through me. I love to study.

One of my goals this year was to begin my doctorate. I struggled in school. I was never considered academic, yet here I sit holding a master’s degree, moving very slowly toward something I once thought impossible.

Why am I doing it? I honestly don’t know. I don’t need it. No job requirement in my foreseeable future is pushing me forward. I simply know that I feel more grounded, more alive, when I am submerged in deep study.

Right now, I am taking a class, journaling, and taking notes. I made a simple commitment to myself: at the end of each seven-day period, for as long as it takes, I will write a two-page reflection on what stirred me most. Everything I study is viewed through one guiding lens: recovering women as theological agents in Scripture, not merely objects of doctrine.

Today, I completed my first cycle. I cannot believe it. I actually completed a cycle.

There are two takeaways I cannot stop thinking about.

First, Scripture was understood as a designed story, not a random collection of ideas. Meaning was not pulled from isolated verses but discovered by tracing movements of thought across time, failure, hope, and reflection. When Jesus taught His disciples after the resurrection, He did not ask them to locate Him artificially in every passage. He walked them through the story until understanding emerged. This challenges our modern habit of proof-texting and gently returns responsibility to the reader.

It is you and I who must read and wrestle and remain accountable for our interpretation. Once again, Scripture points us toward relationship, not religion. Which brings me to the second takeaway.

This distinction mirrors patterns I have noticed through my own lived engagement with Scripture. As I journal and study, certain themes repeat. Women’s participation is often relational rather than reactionary. Change occurs when truth is named early and calmly, not through escalation. Boundaries appear as expressions of moral clarity, not rebellion. Contentment functions as a quiet form of spiritual authority, allowing influence without force. Fruit grows where hostility is removed, not where intensity is pursued.

So I ask myself, historically, who has been known to stay calm, set clear boundaries, avoid rebellion, move without force, and evade hostility?

It is interesting.

A woman’s role becomes not only visible, but vital.