What is ROOTS?

As you move through the assigned chapters, pay attention to what catches your eye. Notice moments of prayer, listening, repentance, or obedience. Notice where God shows up — and where people miss Him entirely.

Then choose one verse. Just one. The one that made you pause, the one that felt like it was written for you today, the one you just can't shake. Write it down. Sit with it. That's your verse. 📖

Ask yourself: What scene or verse draws your attention? What made you stop and read it twice?

Now we dig in! 🔍

This is where you get to be curious. Look at the verse from every angle — the historical context, the culture of the time, what was happening in the surrounding chapters. Pull in a commentary. Look up a cross-reference. Let your imagination go there. Information is you friend, here.

Ask questions like :

• Who is listening to God in this passage — and who is not?

• What characteristics reflect God's heart?

• Why do you think this verse connected with you today?

There are no wrong observations here. The Holy Spirit is your best commentator. 😊

Personally, I like to underline four sections: Personal Thought, Historical Context, Commentary, and Cross References. If I’m lucky, there’s a video that can help expand my thoughts.

Ask yourself: Why do you sense a connection to God through this verse? Where does your imagination go when you sit with it?

This is the gratitude stop — and it's one of our favorites. 🥹

After reading and observing, we simply pause and thank God. Thank Him for this verse. Thank Him for the way He speaks — sometimes loudly, sometimes in a quiet whisper over time. Thank Him for meeting you exactly where you are today. Let Him be your Father during this stage.

Colossians 2:7 says we should be overflowing with thankfulness — not dripping with it, not occasionally dabbling in it. Overflowing. Even if it's just one sentence of gratitude, offer it up. He loves to hear from you. 🤍

Thank God for the ways He speaks and moves — even quietly and over time — through this verse.

Here's where it gets personal. 😌 This step asks the honest question: where might God be inviting you to trust Him rather than control the outcome?

Is there a situation in your life that connects to this verse? A relationship, a decision, a fear, a dream? God's Word has a way of putting its finger right on the thing we've been white-knuckling. This is the moment to name it — and consciously place it in His hands instead of yours.

Trusting isn't the same as not caring. It means you care deeply AND you believe He cares even more. 🙏

Ask yourself: Where might God be inviting you to trust Him rather than control the outcome?

There is no wrong response here — and that's the beauty of this step. 🕊️

God meets you exactly where you are, and only He knows what this verse is meant to do in your life right now.

Silence it. 🤫 Would this verse remain just between you and God? Sometimes He speaks something so tender and personal that it's not meant for anyone else — at least not yet. Ask Him to quiet your thoughts, sit in His presence, and let Him reveal how He wants you to apply it. Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is simply be still and let Him work.

Share it. 🕊️ Or maybe He's nudging you to pass it on. Maybe someone in your life needs exactly this verse today — as encouragement, as confirmation, or just as a reminder that God sees them right where they are. Don't talk yourself out of that nudge. It might be the very thing they've been waiting to hear.

Surrender it. 🙏 And sometimes — this verse puts its finger on the very thing you've been white-knuckling. The situation you keep trying to fix, control, or figure out on your own. This is the moment to open your hands and say "Lord, I can't carry this anymore — it's Yours." Surrender isn't giving up. It's trusting that He's got it far better than you ever could. 🤍

Ask yourself: Is God asking me to be still, to speak up, or to finally let go?