God’s word in her hand
Rebekah's husband knows all is well with the world when he sees this...
Lessons from a veteran
When I started Bible Copy Club, I had a simple idea: copying scripture by hand might just be the thing that helps me slow down, focus, and truly engage with God’s Word.
I know from our growing list of subscribers (now in the 1000's) that I'm not alone. I created BCC to make it easy for people like us to create a scripture writing habit that was easy to form and easy to follow.
In addition to the pleasure I get from the work of creating each series, I also enjoy the many encouraging emails I get each day and meeting other kindred spirits. And every so often, I stumble across someone whose journey with scripture writing is so rich and inspiring that I have to share it.
One of the highlights of my year was meeting Rebekah Matt who is, as you're about to discover, a true inspiration.
Rebekah lives in the St. Louis area and has been hand-copying scripture for over six years. Growing up, she dreamt of writing mystery novels and went on pursue a three-decade career as a freelance writer and editor in medical publishing and creating Christian educational curricula.
Yet, despite her love for words and language, her relationship with Bible reading wasn’t sticking the way she wanted it to.
“I could not stick with reading my Bible every day. I really wanted to do it—it was something I had always wanted to do. But I would sit down in the morning, and I could only keep it up for a few days at a time. Or I’d read, and it just wasn’t sticking in my head.”
That’s when she stumbled across a friend Debbie’s monthly topical three-year scripture-writing program.
Like BCC, the daily passages were short, just two or three verses a day, and the simplicity of the plan gave Rebecca the space she needed to create a sustainable habit.
“Before I knew it, I had fully developed a habit, and I started looking forward to doing scripture writing every single morning.”
Rebekah's approach is straightforward. Using a set of printed guides and a tracking sheet, her time spent scripture writing varies day-to-day—some mornings it’s five minutes, others it’s fifteen. There’s no rigid schedule, no daily quota. Instead, she writes until a natural stopping point appears, and she stops without guilt or pressure.
Rebekah's tracking system
One of the things Rebekah loves most about this practice is how it allows her to engage with scripture at her own pace.
“If I want to stop and camp out on my study notes that morning, I can do that. And maybe I’ll only write three or four verses, but that’s okay. Or maybe I’ll be going along, and I might write a half a chapter or even a whole chapter, and that’s fine, too.”
For Rebekah, scripture writing isn’t just a daily routine—it’s been transformational.
“Nothing has transformed my spiritual life the way scripture writing has.”
Over the years, she’s filled notebook after notebook with the words of the Bible, each page a testament to her daily habit of showing up and slowing down.
Rebekah's journals
But it’s not just about what Rebekah has gained spiritually. There’s also something deeply personal about her notebooks. “I don’t know that any of my kids will want them but one day they'll see them and say ‘Oh, look at this. What mom has left. She copied out the Bible!' It’s a legacy.”
When I asked Rebekah about the advice she’d give to others starting out with scripture writing, her answer was simple and encouraging:
“Stick with it for a month. Let it become a habit before you decide whether or not it’s for you. And don’t worry about how it looks. It’s about what it does in your heart.”
You can read more about Rebekah in her own words on her blog, www.greatandnobletasks.com.
Her blog articles on handwriting scripture are here, here and here. This last link contains an extensive set of tips to help you keep up the habit.
If you'd like to hear Rebekah discussing here approach, she recently discussed in depth with Moody Radio Florida. Listen here (16 min.)
