The Journey Begins

by Ashley Armijo

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed and exhausted that you couldn’t catch your breath? That was me in college. I was knee-deep academically, working toward my undergrad degree in biblical studies at the Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago. I was also on a “hamster wheel” of commitments outside my classwork. For months, I said yes to every social and academic opportunity offered to me and ignored the signs that my emotional, mental, and social batteries were running dangerously low. I couldn’t catch my breath, to say the least.

When the world shut down due to the unexpected worldwide pandemic, I finally had time to take a deep breath. But when I stopped, I crashed hard, like I had been running at full speed toward a brick wall. When the shock wore off and the stillness and silence finally set in, I realized it was the wake-up call I needed.

Being forced to slow down gave me time to reflect on where I was actually at: burnt out, stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed. I was a mess, but I knew that God is not afraid of our messes; He takes pleasure in embracing us exactly where we are. In my weakness, I turned to God, and He met me in my deepest needs. Quarantine became a new opportunity for me to seek God on a deeper level through prayer and Bible study. I took full advantage of the hours I could spend with Him.

During this time, God refilled my empty cup. The still and quiet moments I had at Jesus’ feet refreshed my soul and inspired me creatively. Taylor (my sister), our mom, and I came together to create content for our online ministry, Coffee and Bible Time. Our goal was to help women worldwide come to know Jesus in a deeper way through Bible study.

One sunny spring morning, I sat at my desk with the windows cracked open and my coffee-stained Bible on my lap. I opened up my journal to a fresh page that was ready to receive all the creative ideas that had been brewing in my head. I was reflecting on our online community’s needs, specifically, their struggle to read and understand Scripture. My heart was filled with compassion, and I deeply desired to create a tool to help them get into God’s Word and experience it like I had. I scribbled down my thoughts fast and furiously, which is how the EASY Bible Study Method was born.

After creating and refining the EASY Bible Study Method, we shared it on YouTube. It quickly became our number one downloaded resource. Not only have we seen our online community thrive using this method, but we have introduced it to friends, mentees, and small groups, and have been blown away at how this tool has helped them learn how to study the Bible in a deeper and more personal way.

What about you? Perhaps you’ve had some of these thoughts when attempting to read the Bible before:

I don’t understand what’s going on. Where do I begin? I get bored too fast. I feel overwhelmed. I’ll get to it later. I don’t have the time.

If that’s you, I promise you are not alone in your thoughts. We have been there too. The EASY Bible Study Method was created so you can finally overcome those roadblocks and give Bible study a new and fresh go!

And friend, I know there is a desire within you to get into God’s Word! It is God who gives you a heart to know Him (Jer. 24:7). He transforms us through the Holy Spirit to know Him and understand truth (Phil. 2:13; John 16:13). The desire you have to read Scripture is ultimately from Him because He loves you and wants a relationship with you. (How incredible is that!) It is my prayer that your hunger and thirst for God’s Word (1 Peter 2:2–3) will only continue to grow. That you may taste and see through the pages of Scripture that He is so good (Ps. 34:8) and long to return to it as your daily source of nourishment (Matt. 4:4).

As you go through The EASY Bible Study Method, imagine we are getting together weekly at a coffee shop and teaching you how to study the Bible step by step in a very simple way. By the end of our time together, you will have the basic tools you need to study Scripture with the help of God’s Spirit that lives within you.

Perhaps the greatest blessing my mom, sister, and I have seen with the EASY Bible Study Method is that anyone, no matter where they are in their faith journey, can learn how to study the Bible. We have heard stories of people who never thought they could study the Bible, learn that through the help of the Holy Spirit, Scripture can be understood, grasped, applied, and something to delight in!

Friend, this can happen to you as you pick up God’s Word and dive deeply into it. Just like the psalmist, you will be able to declare, “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Ps. 119:16).

Adapted from The Easy Bible Study Method by Ashley Armijo, Taylor Krause, and Ellen Krause (© 2025). Published by Moody Publishers. Used by permission.

Ashley Armijo is cofounder of Coffee and Bible Time, a ministry that helps women learn how to delight in God’s Word and thrive in Christian living. She is an alumna of the Moody Bible Institute with a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Ministry Studies. It is Ashley’s passion to teach women how to study and delight in God’s Word whether that is online through Coffee and Bible Time or opening up her home to young women in the community.