The Amen journal
Notes on the intentional life.
Field notes, guides, and the thinking behind Amen.
Latest · 7 min read
Why You Can't Remember Sunday's Sermon by Tuesday — and How Scripture Actually Sticks
If you've ever asked why can't I remember the sermon by Tuesday, the forgetting curve has your answer — and it changes how you should meet Scripture all week.
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More from the journal
- 02
Reading the Bible When You're Lonely: Why Scripture Can Feel Like Company — and What That Feeling Really Is
You can feel lonely in a full church. The psychology of reading the Bible when you feel lonely — and why the company you find in scripture is real, not a trick.
2026-07-13
7 min read
- 03
Reading the Bible When Life Is Good: Why You Only Open It in a Crisis — and What That Costs You
Reading the Bible when life is good feels optional — until the next crisis finds you with empty hands. Why fair-weather scripture matters more than emergency scripture.
2026-07-12
7 min read
- 04
No Time to Read the Bible? Why the Calmer Week You're Waiting For Never Comes
No time to read the Bible? Research on future 'time slack' shows the calm week you're waiting for never arrives — and why three real minutes today beat it.
2026-07-12
6 min read
- 05
Reading the Bible When You're Grieving: Why Borrowed Words Help When You Have None
Reading the Bible while grieving feels impossible when you can't even pray. Why borrowed words work when yours run out — and which psalm to open tonight.
2026-07-11
6 min read
- 06
What to Do When the Bible Says Something You Don't Like: Reading Verses That Offend You
When you disagree with the Bible, your mind starts building a case against the verse before you finish it. Here's what to do with verses that offend you.
2026-07-10
7 min read
- 07
Reading the Bible When You Have Doubts: Why Pushing the Question Away Makes It Louder
Reading the Bible when you have doubts feels dishonest — like performing belief you don't have. Here's why suppressing the question backfires, and what to do with it instead.
2026-07-10
7 min read
- 08
Reading the Bible When You Feel Like a Hypocrite: Why Shame Keeps You Out of the Book You Need Most
Reading the Bible when you feel like a hypocrite feels dishonest — so you don't. Here's the psychology of why shame locks the book you actually need, and how to open it anyway.
2026-07-10
7 min read
- 09
How to Apply Bible Verses to Your Own Problems: Why You Give Better Advice Than You Take
Learning how to apply Bible verses to your own problems is hard because you're too close to them. The psychology of self-distancing explains why — and how to fix it.
2026-07-09
7 min read
- 10
Comparing Your Faith to Others: Why Everyone Thinks They're the Only One Struggling
Comparing your faith to others makes your own life look thin. The reason isn't pride — it's a documented glitch in how we read a room. Here's how to break out of it.
2026-07-09
7 min read
- 11
Which Bible Verse Should You Read Today? Why Too Many Choices Keep You From Opening It at All
Wondering which Bible verse to read today? The problem often isn't willpower — it's choice overload. Here's how fewer options gets you reading again.
2026-07-07
6 min read
- 12
How to Pray Scripture: Turning Bible Verses Into Prayers You Actually Mean
Learn how to pray scripture — turning Bible verses into your own prayers. Why praying the Bible back to God makes it stick, and how to start when words won't come.
2026-07-07
6 min read
- 13
Should You Read the Bible in Order? Why Jumping Around Isn't Cheating
Wondering if you should read the Bible in order? The science of attention and motivation explains why the passage you're curious about beats the one you feel you're supposed to read.
2026-07-06
6 min read
- 14
How to End Your Bible Reading Time So It Stays With You
How to end your bible reading time matters more than length. The peak-end rule shows why the last two minutes shape whether you come back tomorrow.
2026-07-06
6 min read
- 15
Which Bible Translation Should You Read? Why the Version You Understand Beats the One That Sounds Impressive
Which Bible translation should I read? What the science of comprehension says about choosing a version you actually understand — and why harder English isn't holier.
2026-07-05
7 min read
- 16
Why Bible in a Year Reading Plans Fail by February — and How to Read at a Pace That Actually Lasts
Most Bible in a year reading plans quietly stall by late winter. Here's the psychology of why ambitious plans collapse — and how to build a reading rhythm that survives a missed day.
2026-07-04
6 min read
- 17
Reading the Bible on Your Phone: What Screens Change About Reading — and How to Make It Stick
Reading the Bible on your phone isn't a lesser habit — but screens change how we read. What the research says, and how to make Scripture on a screen sink in.
2026-07-04
6 min read
- 18
Listening to the Bible vs. Reading It: Does Audio Scripture Really Count?
Listening to the Bible vs reading it: what research says about audio scripture, attention, and memory — and how to listen so the words actually stay with you.
2026-07-04
7 min read
- 19
When Bible Reading Feels Like a Chore: How to Move From Have-To to Want-To
When Bible reading feels like a chore, more guilt isn't the fix. What motivation science says about have-to versus want-to — and how real desire quietly grows.
2026-07-03
6 min read
- 20
How to Get Back Into Reading the Bible When You've Fallen Off
Missed a week, a month, a year? How to get back into reading the Bible without guilt — and why one skipped day never actually breaks the habit.
2026-07-03
6 min read
- 21
Is One Bible Verse a Day Enough? Why Reading Less Scripture Often Means Keeping More
Is one Bible verse a day enough? The psychology of memory suggests less Scripture, read deeply, stays with you longer than chapters skimmed and forgotten.
2026-07-02
6 min read
- 22
Why Highlighting Bible Verses Doesn't Help You Remember Them — and What Does
Highlighting Bible verses feels productive, but research on the illusion of fluency shows it rarely makes scripture stick. Here's what actually does.
2026-06-27
6 min read
- 23
How to Connect the Bible to Your Own Life: Why Personal Reading Makes Scripture Stick
Learning how to connect the Bible to your life isn't a willpower problem — it's a memory one. Here's the quiet psychology that makes a verse stay with you.
2026-06-27
6 min read
- 24
Why Talking About the Bible Helps You Remember It: The Science of Learning by Teaching
Talking about the Bible is one of the most reliable ways to make a verse stick. Here's why explaining Scripture to someone else cements it in your memory and faith.
2026-06-26
7 min read
- 25
Reading the Bible When You're Anxious: How Naming What You Feel Changes the Way Scripture Lands
Reading the Bible when anxious often feels like nothing goes in. Here's why naming the feeling first — backed by affect-labeling research — lets the words actually land.
2026-06-26
6 min read
- 26
How to Understand a Bible Verse: Why Putting Scripture in Your Own Words Makes It Click
Learning how to understand a Bible verse? The generation effect shows why paraphrasing Scripture in your own words helps you grasp and remember it.
2026-06-26
6 min read
- 27
How to Read the Bible as a Story: Why Narrative Reading Helps Scripture Move You
How to read the Bible as a story instead of a rulebook — narrative transportation, why getting absorbed in the scene changes how Scripture lands, and a gentle way to start.
2026-06-24
7 min read
- 28
Where to Read the Bible at Home: How a Dedicated Spot Helps Scripture Sink In
Where to read the Bible at home matters more than you think. Here's how context-dependent memory turns one chair into a place where Scripture actually stays with you.
2026-06-23
6 min read
- 29
Reading the Bible When God Feels Distant: How to Keep Going Through a Dry Season
Reading the Bible when God feels distant is hard but not hopeless. Learn why spiritual dryness happens and how to keep showing up to Scripture without forcing a feeling.
2026-06-23
7 min read
- 30
Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible: Why Curiosity Makes Scripture Stick
Learn how to study the Bible by asking questions. The simple habit of interrogating a verse — using elaborative interrogation — turns passive reading into understanding that lasts.
2026-06-23
7 min read
- 31
Scripture Journaling: Why Writing a Verse Down Makes It Stay With You
Scripture journaling isn't about pretty notebooks. It's about the generation effect—why writing a verse in your own words helps it sink in deeper than reading ever could.
2026-06-22
6 min read
- 32
How to Read the Bible in Context: Why a Verse Means More When You See Its Surroundings
Learn how to read the Bible in context so verses stop feeling random. A simple, five-minute habit grounded in how the brain actually builds meaning from a text.
2026-06-22
6 min read
- 33
What to Do When the Bible Feels Boring or Confusing
What to do when the Bible feels boring or confusing: the reading-science reasons it happens, and a slower, context-first way to read that makes the text come alive.
2026-06-21
7 min read
- 34
How to Meditate on Scripture: Turning One Verse Over in Your Mind
Learn how to meditate on Scripture by sitting with a single verse instead of skimming chapters. A research-grounded guide to biblical meditation and slow, attentive reflection.
2026-06-21
7 min read
- 35
How to Start Reading the Bible When You Don't Know Where to Begin
If you don't know how to start reading the Bible when you don't know where to begin, the problem usually isn't faith or discipline — it's choice overload. Here's a calmer way in.
2026-06-18
6 min read
- 36
How to Build a Daily Bible Reading Habit That Sticks
Struggling to build a daily Bible reading habit? Here's the behavioral science of cues, anchors, and why willpower keeps failing you — and what works instead.
2026-06-14
6 min read
- 37
How to Memorize Bible Verses That Actually Stay With You
How to memorize Bible verses so they last: a memory-science approach using retrieval practice, spacing, and the generation effect to keep Scripture by heart.
2026-06-13
6 min read