A Downloadable Resource for Studying Ezra & Nehemiah
Or things that used to be scribbled in my journal that I couldn't stop thinking about. Now you can hold it in your hands.
Sometime back in 2022 I started studying the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Old Testament and found myself captivated. Like most historical narrative from the Hebrew bible, these books offer a mosaic of people and problems not wildly dissimilar from today. The context is different. The humanity—not so much.
The stories enchanted me in such a way that I invited a small group of women to my home to walk through some of my notes. I printed handouts from a Google doc and we sat around my dining room table. A year later I stood in the lobby of our church building in front of round tables filled with women I’d rounded up through a few scrappy Instagram posts. Once again neck-deep in the post-exilic narratives, I found that I couldn’t get enough and sharing it with other made it better. Last Fall I decided the materials needed to live somewhere they could be utilized independent of me so I rolled out a Substack version of the study that you can find here: Stack Study: You Have Done Great Things.
It was such a gift to have subscribers respond.
You emailed me a reflection from that week’s lesson. You sent me a voice memo while you were on a walk. You stopped me at school pick-up to ask what comes next. All that feedback was tiny deposits in my heart and mind whispering “Make something they can hold in their hands.” That’s always been my hope—something you can hold in your hands.
So it’s with all the hype I can muster that I’m sending you the first downloadable portion of You Have Done Great Things—an 8 week study covering Ezra Nehemiah. Here’s a little preview.
The Introduction and Lesson One are available right now to download. Feel free to print it off, use it on your iPad, or share it with a friend. And be sure to tell me how you’re using it—this is the stuff I desperately want to know. Here you go!
The full version (all 8 weeks) will be released to all my paid subscribers next week.
If you’re already a paid subscriber, you’ll see this in your inbox on Thursday.
If you’d like to get the full version (all 8 weeks), you can become a paid subscriber to We Have This Hope right now and I’ll add you to the list.
P.S. I also don’t ever want a paywall to get in someone’s way. I’m still learning how to best distribute resources and would really value any thoughts on the best way to do that. If you’re curious about my rationale or have another idea, would you please send me a DM to chat more? 🤎
This is beautiful, Emily. I LOVE how your passion and interest on these books turned into something physical, tangible. And now you're sharing it with others. Bravo, friend!