I am so excited to share my interview with Heather Erickson. Heather is a wife, mom, Bible teacher, author and worship leader. Heather is also a co-founder of The Chara Project, a ministry to help women of all faiths learn to study the Bible. Heather shares her insights on how you can find joy in the Bible as well as lead your children to Christ.
How to Listen
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Find Joy in the Bible
Heather starts off sharing how her parents’ love of the Bible made it easier for her to want to know the Bible and its teachings for herself.
She candidly discusses how at one point she questioned everything. Eventually, Heather said she read a scripture about loving God with all your heart, soul and mind. She dug in deep and realized when she loved Jesus with everything, she couldn’t turn away.
She said of this experience, “It took me being willing to walk away from what my parents believed, step into faith for myself, and say, ‘Do I believe what they have brought me up to believe?’ I see it embodied. I see it completely lived out. Am I willing to actually back it up? And when I backed it up with my heart, my soul and my mind, that’s when I realized, this is the real deal.”
Lead Children to Jesus
Her parents love of the Bible and their example of living its teachings set the foundation. As a result, Heather points out how her parents let her spread her wings and also find out for herself.
From her experience with her own parents, Heather shares advice to parents. She says to never give up, do the foundational things and let children navigate for themselves.
Towards the end of the episode, Heather shares what she has learned from teaching her children from the Bible. She agrees that many times the teaching happens in everyday moments.
Heather also talks about how studying the Bible herself has helped the teachings to be anchored deep in her heart. Understanding the why of the Bible and not just a checklist of things to do has helped her go from mom fails to mom wins in teaching spiritual things.
The Chara Project
Heather has been involved doing Bible studies with women of varying faiths in Utah for many years. She and two of her friends wanted to create a safe place to ask questions and help women learn for themselves. The Chara Project was born
The word “Chara” is a Greek word meaning “joy.” Since Heather and the other co-founders believe joy is what you get when you understand the Bible, the word fit perfectly.
After choosing the word Chara, Heather and her co-founders discovered they could also use the word as an acronym to teach a simple method of studying the Bible.
Listen the episode for all the details of the acronym but here is what each letter stands for:
C – Context
H – History
A – Author
R – Read
A – Apply
Using Different Bible Translations
I really loved the discussion Heather and I had about using different translations of the Bible. Heather explained that reading different translations is like looking words up in a thesaurus. Varied translations open up your understanding and help paint a better picture of what God is teaching.
Partner with God
Heather believes that aligning her heart to God allows her to have a closer relationship with Him. This relationship with God is something she believes she can mirror to the people around her, including her kids. Above all, Heather wants her children to see Christ through her and that journey has started with finding joy in the Bible.
Show Notes
Find out more about The Chara Project by visiting their website or following along on Instagram.
Listen to related episodes of the Spiritually Minded Mom Podcast:
- SMM 016: Practical Scripture Study for Moms + How to Go In Instead of Out to Find Peace || Courtney Casper
- SMM 040: How Simple + Consistent Gospel Teaching Can Unleash The Power of Families
- SMM 043: Build Spiritual Reserves || Part 2 of 5
Follow Heather
Instagram: @thecharaproject
Facebook: The Chara Project
Website: thecharaproject.com
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Podcast: Spiritually Minded Mom on Apple Podcasts