Behind The Margin

So, Why “The Margin”?

Because margins are small spaces that somehow end up holding some of our biggest discoveries.

Questions. Connections. Definitions. Cross-references. Thoughts. Revelations. Sometimes just a date beside a verse because this time, when you read it, something was different.

And there probably isn't a margin wide enough to hold everything we can discover in God's Word over a lifetime.

Our experiences, seasons, healing, upbringing, questions, knowledge, and maturity can affect what catches our attention when we read Scripture.

The Word hasn't changed.

But sometimes we have.

And suddenly, we notice something that was sitting there all along.

There Is Room for You Here.

The Margin isn't here to replace Scripture or do the studying for you.

It's here to help you engage it.

Think differently. Question carefully. Investigate what's confusing. Explore what's simple. Notice what's repeated. Make connections. Create. Reflect. And keep coming back to the text.

Some days you'll have a lot to give.

Some days you won't.

You may be surprised by what God can do with the little you're willing to bring Him.

Bring your Bible. Bring your questions. Bring your curiosity. Bring whatever capacity you have today.

There's room for it here.

Welcome to The Margin.

Why I Made Room

The Margin started with a personal problem: I wanted to consistently study the Word, but I didn't always have the same capacity to study it the same way.

  • I have found myself in a lot of different seasons—angry, sick, depressed, scared, focused, thoughtful, curious, and investigative.

    Through all of them, I kept running into the same problem: consistency.

    I would start Bible plans, devotionals, and structured studies genuinely wanting to finish them. Sometimes I made it a few weeks. Sometimes a few months. Eventually, somewhere between losing interest, feeling overwhelmed, not knowing how to study, or simply trying to do too much too fast, I would fall off.

    It wasn't that I didn't want God or His Word. I was beginning to realize that my desire could remain while my capacity changed.

  • I love structured Bible studies. I love devotionals. I love a good Bible-in-a-year plan.

    But what worked beautifully when I was focused didn't necessarily work when I was exhausted. What challenged me when I was curious could overwhelm me when I was already carrying too much.

    I needed to stop treating Bible study as though I had to show up with the same amount of energy, attention, and emotional capacity every single day.

    So instead of only asking, “What should I study?”

    I started asking:

    “How can I study today?”

  • I began looking for ways to study that weren't dependent on one method.

    Could I investigate one word?

    Could I listen instead of read?

    Could I draw something?

    Could I follow a question?

    Could I spend twenty minutes digging into context when I had the capacity—and spend five minutes closely observing one verse when I didn't?

    The goal wasn't to lower the value of studying Scripture.

    It was to learn how to adjust the method without abandoning the Word.

  • Room to be tired and still study.

    Room to be curious and investigate.

    Room to have questions.

    Room to create.

    Room to process.

    Room to sit with something I don't understand yet.

    Room to give God what I genuinely have today instead of giving Him nothing because I couldn't meet the standard I created yesterday.

    That room became The Margin.

  • The Margin began as something personal—a way for me to find different ways to study and apply different levels of effort while still making intentional time for God.

    But I believe that, in many circumstances, what God develops in us isn't intended to end with us.

    Someone else is tired.

    Someone else wants to study but doesn't know how.

    Someone else has started and stopped more plans than they can count.

    Someone else is hungry for the Word but needs another way into it.

    So what began as my personal study tool became something I wanted to make room for others to use too.

How To Use The Margin

Leave a Note for The Margin.

Have a question, an idea, feedback, or something you’d like to see added to The Margin? There’s room for that here, too.