You might have heard the Bible been called "an instruction manual for life" or something along those lines. Now, that is true... but I also think that phrase can paint the wrong image of the Bible – meaning an image of God's book being all about the do's and don'ts of life rather than the story of God's people and his redemptive plan for humanity.

The Bible contains law, but it isn't all law. If we only see the Bible as law, then we might start to only see God as a distant judge in the heavens disconnected from (yet ruling over) humanity.

Jesus said he didn't come to abolish the law; he came to fulfil it. Let's talk through what that means in today's episode.

I'll talk you through the following:

• Types of biblical law (and what still applies today)
• The difference between God's written law and the added oral law of the Jewish people (based on teachings of the prophets and traditions)
• The intention of the law and how Jesus ultimately fulfilled it
• Why we shouldn't ignore Old Testament principles, even if we live under the new covenant law of grace
• A Confetti Recipe with questions to ask, as you read some biblical law this coming week

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Book Mentioned:

• Five Wealth Secrets 96% of Us Don’t Know by Craig Hill

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

Your brain loves a good story. In fact, a really clear narrative has the ability to cut through every other distraction in your life (of which there are many).

A captivating story has the power to make you pay attention, focus, and sync up with the words and emotions of the storyteller. A story can also change you, move you, and motivate you to live differently.

And the Bible is filled with stories about real people who faced real struggles and overcame real obstacles. It's the narrative found within scripture that invites us to step into the biblical world, to meet the characters, and to understand how history has a way of repeating itself.

In this episode, I'll unpack the following:

• Why stories captivate our minds
• The types of narrative you'll find in the Bible, including biography and tragedy
• Questions to ask yourself as you read biblical narrative
• The difference between exegesis and eisegesis
• A Confetti Recipe to explore a narrative heavy book this coming week

Enjoy, my lovely listeners!
Darcie

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

If the aim in analytical reading is to fully understand a book as a singular book written by one author conveying their point of view, then the aim of syntopical reading is much different. In Level 4 of reading, we now have to ask: How do all of these books individually form one bigger picture and present one key over-arching storyline? How do the authors present the same message in various ways, at various times, to various groups of people? Do all of these books together verify the story of Jesus Christ or are there any disagreements since the books were written by 40+ different authors across 1,500 years?

Let's level up, y'all! This is the highest form of reading, so it requires the most out of you. Now, you're actively trying to put puzzle pieces together to form a clear message. It requires intentional engagement, yet it also brings the most rewarding revelation.

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In this episode, I'll cover the following:

• Why we should rely on a core hermeneutical principle that believes "scripture interprets scripture"
• An in-depth look at the art of "Syntopical Reading"
  • 5 clear steps, as defined by Adler and Van Doren
  • 1 bonus step, as the Bible asks more of you than any other book
• An example of how to walk through those steps
• A Confetti Recipe to do a synoptical read based on a question you're wrestling with
• A free worksheet outlining the steps for synoptical reading if you subscribe to my newsletter Cup of Confetti: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

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Sermon Mentioned:

• Signed, Sealed, Delivered (preached at Replenish Women's Conference 2026): https://youtu.be/7EzWGlc3RFo?si=1dDpSdwmo4-38HlC

Book Mentioned:

• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

Don't let the Bible simply be a verbal memory that you recite emptily. Don't fall victim to verbalism where you can quote the Bible but not explain the very words you just quoted.

Our aim in reading the Bible is not about gathering information (although it's packed with it). It's not about being entertained (although parts are VERY entertaining). Our ultimate goal is transformation and the renewing of our minds, because that will change our lives for the better. THAT will lead us to becoming more and more like Jesus.

So, today, we dive into Level 3 of reading any book: Analytical Reading. This is a stage of reading that starts to impact you on a heart level, because you'll start to see how the story arc of the Bible is playing out in your own story with God.

The more you read the Bible, the more it starts to read you.

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In this episode, I'll cover the following:

• Why quoting scripture is not the same as understanding and explaining scripture
• An in-depth look at the art of "Analytical Reading"
  • Rules for finding what a book is about
  • Rules for interpreting a book's contents
  • Rules for criticising a book as a communication of knowledge (intellectual etiquette)
• When to pick up a commentary (intrinsic vs. extrinsic reading)
• A Confetti Recipe to do an analytical read of a book within the Bible
• Free worksheets outlining the steps for analytical reading and a worksheet outlining the major themes in the Bible if you subscribe to my newsletter Cup of Confetti: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

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Books Mentioned:

• Living By the Book by Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks
• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

Have you ever started a Bible reading plan that just felt so disconnected, so you were left feeling lost and confused? Have you ever set a goal to read the Bible in a year, but then you fell behind and got discouraged... so you started to speed-read to catch up but started to miss what God was trying to show you, because you were aiming for quantity of pages read instead of quality of time spent in his Word?

Yeah, me too, my friend.

Everything used to feel so disconnected until I understood the unity of the whole book. It took time to discover how to read the Bible well, including a lot of trial and error on my part.

In the words of Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren, “When we speak of someone as 'well-read,' we should have this ideal in mind. Too often, we use that phrase to mean the quantity rather than the quality of reading. A person who has read widely but not well deserves to be pitied rather than praised. As Thomas Hobbes said, 'If I read as many books as most men do, I would be as dull-witted as they are.'"

With that said, let's learn how to read well.

In this episode, I'll cover the following:

• Why not every Bible reading plan sets you up for a win
• The 4 Levels of Reading, as defined by Adler and Van Doren
• An in-depth look at the art of "Inspectional Reading"
• A Confetti Recipe to do an inspectional read of your Bible, with a free worksheet if you subscribe to my newsletter Cup of Confetti: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

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Books Mentioned:

• Living By the Book by Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks
• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

My relationship with God changed in a beautiful way when I started to spend intentional time with him like I would a friend. It all started with a coffee date – just me and my Bible sitting in a public cafe.

Unashamed. Fully present. No longer just bringing a list of requests to God... now, I came with questions and allowed him to guide me to the answers. I now saw the Bible as alive and active, just as Hebrews described it.

Hebrews 4:12 – "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

If reading a book is about the meeting of minds between the author and the reader and if reading is meant to feel conversational with the author, then we need to now ask ourselves: How do we talk to the ultimate author of the Bible who is God?

In today's episode, I'll tell you how to talk to the author as you read his book. I'll give you some tips on how to start to engage in an active conversation as you wrestle with meaning. We'll talk about different styles of note-taking and ways to reflect on the words that you've read.

And if you're wondering whether or not God wants to speak to you or hear from you or sit with you... the answer is a resounding YES. You don't have to go through a priest or a pastor to hear the voice of God. You can hear from him as you sit with him in a busy cafe just like I did, if you're willing to open up the Bible.

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Books Mentioned:

• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
• Living By the Book by Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

Reading the Bible can first feel like a lot of information... but if you truly start to engage with the author and understand God's perspective and see His heart through every page, it will lead to transformation.

My husband once believed the Bible was part of the problem with Christians. He was a cynical atheist who was convinced Christians were delusional and the Bible was an utter waste of time.

But when he eventually approached God with a sense of impartiality and a genuine pursuit of truth, his whole life changed. His worldview changed. His career path changed. His cynical heart was softened and surrendered to the transformative truth of His Creator.

This is Part 2 of our chat, and I hope it blesses you and inspires you to give the Bible a chance. It just might change your life too.

Love,

Darcie (and Frosty)

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Book Mentioned:

• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doreen

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti

My husband wasn't raised with a knowledge of the Bible. So, he didn't have a true understanding of Christianity. In fact, he hardly knew any Christians at all. Yet, at his core, he believed that any Christian was completely delusional.

So, he set out to do his research in order to argue with Christians and rescue them from their delusion.

Along the way, he realised he was completely wrong about Christians, about God, and about the Bible.

Now... he's a pastor of a church and leads people to Jesus every single week.

He had a modern day Saul to Paul conversion where he went from trying to destroy Christians in an argument to now devoting his life to building the church.

This is Part 1 of our chat, and I really hope you enjoy it :)

Love,

Darcie (and Frosty)

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Book Mentioned:

• How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doreen

Connect with me on Instagram: @carryconfetti

Sign up to Cup of Confetti, my monthly newsletter: https://carryconfetti.kit.com/b58e8ac914

If you'd like to support the podcast or say thank you for a particular episode, you're welcome to buy me a coffee or purchase a poetry print here: https://buymeacoffee.com/carryconfetti