This Bible Study Station idea might just change your life by making it much more convenient to sit down and read The Word. And all supplies are at Dollar Tree!
I’ve figured out something about habits as I’ve gotten older and my responsibilities have grown: if the supplies I need to do the thing aren’t easy to grab, the habit usually doesn’t happen.
And this could not be truer when it comes to studying the Bible.
It’s why I created my own Bible Study Station using supplies from Dollar Tree.
Honestly, it’s the difference between semi-daily Bible reading and opening the Good Book once every month.
Removing friction matters more than motivation sometimes.
It sits on the floor next to my side of the bed. BUT – and here’s the key part – it’s easy to grab and move to a different room, to the car when I know I’ll be waiting somewhere, or to the next 2-hour kid sports event I’ll be sitting through.
The Bible Study Station
What is a Bible Study Station?
A place to gather those free bible study printables you always find excitedly, download, print out…then fail to go through.
To keep those specially colored highlighters so that you can do the Bible color-coding method.
Where you keep a small candle and lighter to add to your meditation and reflection, the next time you sit to read from the Word.
Something about lighting a candle, grabbing your highlighters, and opening your Bible from the same little station each time makes the habit feel inviting instead of like another thing on your to-do list.
Let me be clear: you don’t need any of these things to read your Bible or to spend time with God.
It’s just a nice-to-have, and something that can be quite convenient (as it’s easily portable!) for people in a busy season of life who are on the go a good bit.
And you know what else? It makes a wonderful gift for fellow believers in your life: your mother, your friends, a neighbor going through a hard time, etc.
This would even make a great bible study group activity – have everyone gather their supplies plus some craft pieces from home (like stickers), and you guys can build your bible study station together one Wednesday evening!
Dollar Tree Bible Study Station Supplies
Your Bible Study Station should be completely personalized to you (or the person you’re gifting it to).
For example, I took a free class at my church last summer, where I learned a highlighting bible study method. And let me tell you – it really opened things up for me.
SO, I designed my Bible Study Station to make this method easier to use in real life – especially during random 30-minute pockets of time between appointments, errands, and kid activities.
And I included the free printables in the back.
For a highlighter bible study method, I suggest the following Dollar Tree supplies:
Shower caddy to hold everything
Candle & mini lighter to help create a sacred space
Prayer cards (Dollar Tree does a fantastic job with these – I like to leave one at restaurants for waiters to pick up once we’ve left)
Pen
Highlighter colors to use with the bible study guide
Folder with three holes to organize the free printable bible study plans and bible study breakdowns
A small bible (optional – these are sold at Dollar Tree, and it could be a good idea in case you’re hesitant to highlight your main copy)
Hint: Dollar Tree has this fantastic line of beautiful Prayer Cards. Grab several packs! I like to keep a few in my purse so that I can leave one at our restaurant table for a waiter or cleaner to pick up and keep once we’ve left. They’d also make a wonderful inclusion in a meal train from church volunteers.
Want to get into Bible journaling or Bible Art Journaling?
I would also include some stickers (maybe some fun rhinestone stickers!), stencils, and you might even find some stamps from the Dollar Tree.
FYI: the small bible you’ll find at the Dollar Tree does NOT have room in the margins to draw or make notes in.
Gifting this to a new mama? Include a single-serve snack (Dollar Tree has lots of those!), like a Snickers, Gourmet Garlic Pretzels, Kettle Popcorn, etc.
These would also make lovely gifts for the elderly in nursing homes! You could include a package of vintage candy they likely will remember (Hobby Lobby and Michael's Craft stores – both by the register – have a great collection of these). OR, if they can't have candy, you could include something helpful like this really cool cold wrap for muscles and joints I found at Dollar Tree.
Finally, you could make this a kid's bible study station (FYI: the Dollar Tree has a fantastic selection of kid's Bible study books and activity books).
Of course, there are some additional supplies you can get that you won’t find at the Dollar Tree.
I just love these magnetic last-word bookmarks so that I can know exactly where I finished reading to pick up from during my next bible session
The Last-Word Bookmark (since there are SO many words on each page, and I used to constantly forget which paragraph/sentence I had ended up on when I pick things back up)
Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Frugal Confessions. Over the last 17 years, her money work has helped people with how to save money and how to manage money.
She's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, LifeHacker, Real Simple Magazine, Woman's World, Woman's Day, ABC 13 Houston, Keybank, and more. Read more here or on LinkedIn.
