This Bible study was truly a gift. I was anxious to dive in, but Teresa presents the information in an easy-to-read, straightforward manner without feeling that at the end you will feel or believe a 'certain way'. In fact, in the beginning, she explains that her goal is to provide information so that "we learn to study for ourselves and not have a faith that is spoon-fed to us."

Each week consists of five days of study and all include a reading lesson, insights, pertinent questions, and plenty of space to write your thoughts. I especially appreciated the multiple free apps that were recommended to search further in regards to the meaning of the scripture as well as historical references. Throughout the 7 week course, there are "History Lessons" that relate to the text being studied and are a great addition to the study.

A PERFECT Bible Study for those, like me, that were intimidated to participate in a Bible study as well as for those well versed in scripture for an in-depth historical view of the Word.

Thankful to Teresa Swanstrom Anderson for my copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this study so much. It's written in a friendly way that made me look forward to the next day's study. Teresa walks you through the literal translations of the original Greek and Hebrew in a way that made me understand the true message. She weaves in the back story with a bit of history to keep you engaged. The bible comes alive and energized my relationship with Christ, exactly what you'd hope for in a bible study. The author shares resources you'll use forever after in your bible reading. I'll be adding her other studies in the series to my list for sure.

First time reading a book from this author. Took a little to get into reading. Overall, good book covers a great topic.

I am so impressed with the Bible studies written by Teresa Swanstrom Anderson. They are detailed studies that will enable you to more fully apply you are learning throughout the study. This review is more of an overview of this Bible study. Here’s my disclaimer: I read through much of the content, but I did not actually do the full Bible study itself before writing this review. However, because I did read much of this from an ebook copy, I want to buy a printed copy and schedule a time to do this Bible study with a small group. It looks like an excellent, detailed, thoughtful study of the book of Philippians. I loved the fact that before the author actually begins the study, she took the time to explain in detail how to do the study and provide links to excellent additional resources, She also discusses some the different translations of the Bible, and I found this very helpful. This study will make you dig deeper into your Bible and take the time to absorb all the lessons along the way. I’m guessing it would take 20-30 minutes each day to complete a lesson. As I said before, this one is going on my list of next year’s Bible studies.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Great book, broken up into sections that are easy to read. I love Swanstrom’s commentary and perspective. She also provides short history lessons that give greater meaning and context to passages. I will definitely be reading her other Bible studies because this one was such a hit.

I am often a skeptic of women's Bible study guides as I find them very shallow or too "hey girl, hey" in their style. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth and quality of this study by Teresa Anderson. This study through Philippians had significant depth - encouraging readers to use apps to look up original Greek and accompanying passages. The author dove deep into historical context and other meanings, but her style was simple, straightforward and easy to read. I appreciated the way she integrated the study with practical application that would be applicable to women in every life stage. I will definitely be recommending this study!

Living for What Really Matters
7 Weeks in the Book of Philippians
by Teresa Swanstrom Anderson
The Get Wisdom Bible Studies help women connect with Scripture in an accessible and energizing way. Teresa Swanstrom Anderson guides with a winsome style that is rich in depth, but still approachable for newer readers of the Bible.
What Are You Hustling For?
We glorify busyness. We hustle, hoping to gain approval and find acceptance. Yet for most of us, we simply hustle our way to burnout. But what if it’s only pointless hustle that leads to burnout? What if meaningful struggle can lead us to growth and depth and even joy?
The apostle Paul understood hustle—and struggle—better than most. But in prison, where we’d expect him to be burned out and depressed, he wrote a letter to his Philippian friends seeking to build them up, a letter filled with thankfulness, generosity, and joy.
Focused on Jesus rather than concentrating on his own discomfort, Paul’s actions brilliantly display what happens when hardship is used for the glory of God.
We might feel that life is trying to bury us . . . but what we forget is that we’re a seed. Philippians will show us how we can grow deep roots and blossom by finding the meaning in our struggle.
Impressions: I enjoy reading about Paul and this was an insightful study of Paul’s time with the Philippians.
Liked: I liked the length of each day’s study and feel they had enough to think on to keep me until the next day.
Disliked: I did not care to use the BLB app and would have preferred to just define the words in the text.
Learned: “I need to make sure my first guide is God, rather than humans.”
“I am in chains, but the gospel is not!”
Quotes: “God doesn’t give the hardest battles to His toughest soldiers; He creates the toughest soldiers through life’s hardest battles.” - Unknown
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Living for What Really Matters: 7 Weeks int he Book of Philippians is one of three new studies by Teresa Swanstrom Anderson, and you are not going to want to miss a single one! It is absolutely brimming with new insights, helpful charts, thoughtful questions, all of which get you digging deeper into Scripture than before. Not only does Teresa lead you into Philippians, but she also teaches you how to study and introduces other resources that can help you as you grow. I have done my fair share of Bible studies over the years, and while others have left me disappointed with a shallow outline or overwhelmed by being all story and no scripture, Teresa's studies are a breath of fresh air and exactly what I was looking for! I cannot recommend them enough!

This bible study/devotional uses a mix of personal stories, external learning through apps to teach historical context, questions to answer on your own, and a variety of translations to work through the book of Philippians. I enjoyed how there was so much context before the actual study even began and how the use of other apps helps to learn what the words meant in the original Greek.

The stories and questions helped to contextualize the scripture reading and because the study is 7 weeks and Philippians is a shorter book you are really able to dig in deep as each day is only a few verses.

Overall I really enjoyed this study and felt like it helped to bring the book into new light and I learned a lot.

In "Living for What Really Matters," Teresa Swanstrom Anderson guides women through Philippians, drawing on both Scripture and external sources to provide spiritual, social, and political context for Paul’s writing. She provides guidance on how to use commentaries, cross-references with other parts of the Bible, and includes assignments to look up Greek words to understand key concepts from Philippians in their original language. Anderson keeps this book accessible to both new and experienced Bible-readers, and does a great job combining in-depth study with chatty personal stories.

I greatly enjoyed this study’s emphasis on the history and social context of the early church. Most of the information that Anderson covered was familiar to me, but since so few studies delve into the cultural background and life situations of Biblical authors and their audiences, I greatly appreciated the historical sidebars. Teresa Swanstrom Anderson helps readers understand what the text meant to its original hearers while also applying it to modern situations and concerns, and my only complaint is that she overused The Message. This paraphrase has a very loose and modern take on Scriptural text, and even though I know that other people find it helpful, I found it distracting and preferred it when she based her analysis on traditional translations.

This is a very achievable study, despite its in-depth focus on language and history. I often lag behind in Bible studies, but I completed this in just three weeks, and was often able to do two or three days in one sitting. Because Anderson focuses on the essentials and does not fill pages with busy-work, this Bible study is a great option for individuals and groups who are looking for an in-depth, meaningful study that does not require an excessive daily commitment.

I am currently working through this study on Philippians and have already learned so much. I’m amazed at how perfectly timed this study’s launch is given what’s happening in the world right now as Anderson leads us to find deeper meanings behind our struggles.

I love how Anderson points us to look to the original language as well as to commentaries and various Bible translations and Bible apps to take a deeper dive into each verse. I love that there are many questions with ample space to write my answers. Her questions will lead you to dig deeper and won't just be found within the pages of her study, which I appreciate.

Anderson's studies are written in such a way that I feel like she is sitting right beside me, guiding, encouraging and challenging me every step of the way.

I highly recommend this study!

A new series for your bible study repertoire. The author writes in a friendly, fun voice; using the blue letter bible app to assist the reader in digging deeper into original words. It’s written in short chapters with application questions for the day to day. Not heavy on homework, just commentary and questions to facilitate your reading.

Just what I've been looking for in a bible study book! I am halfway through this study and I am learning so much. I love the way Teresa writes because I feel like I am having a chat with one of my friends about the bible. I can't wait to dive into the other 2 studies when I finish this one up!

I'm halfway through this study and I love, love, love it so far. First of all, I appreciate the encouragement and instruction to read, study and research the Bible for myself. I love how this study is not only teaching me more about Paul and the book of Philippians but is also encouraging me to assess my life and ministry. At the author's nudging, I've been thinking & praying about many questions that she cannot answer for me. ~ What might I be missing that He's called me to? Where do I struggle to live authentically? What does God call women to in the church? What does it take to rob me of my joy and how does that reflect upon my spiritual maturity? How can I lift up other women around me? Is my life truly fruitful? I cannot wait to dig into the rest of it!

This study is awesome - I was a history major in college, so I LOVE the way Teresa includes little history lessons to give context to the world Paul lived in and wrote in. I am also really loving the way she's teaching me to dig deeper into the original language and explore the meanings of certain words & phrases for clarity or just to know more. Her writing is super approachable, yet very obviously well researched and theologically sound. I can't wait to dive into the Joshua & Psalms studies next!

The author Teresa Swanstrom Anderson has you diving deep into the book of Phillipains in this 7-week study "Living for What Really Matters." She guides you through digging into the meat of what Paul is saying through historical context and studying the greek and Hebrew language. In doing this the richness of the scriptures is illuminated as we study. Each week's topic from Choosing Joy to Living like Jesus has spoken to me in the season I am in. I can not recommend this bible study enough.

I’ve never reviewed a Bible study before, but while perusing through NetGalley’s offerings, the cover of Living for What Really Matters: Seven Weeks in the Book of Philippians caught my eye. In fact, all of the covers in the Get Wisdom Bible Studies caught my eye—for their simplicity and hint of diversity. ‘Sweet!’ I thought to myself, ‘finally, a Bible study by a Black author!’

Well, not exactly. Although the covers show diversity, the author, a pink-haired woman, doesn’t appear to have a drop of diverse blood running through her veins. As I read through the introduction to the study, I realized that Teresa Swanstrom Anderson does embrace diversity (her four adopted children hail from Ethiopia) and she spent time living in Guatemala. I felt better. Sort of.

I shouldn’t let a book’s cover distract me from the words inside, but I confess to feeling as if the publisher chose the covers in a token attempt to appeal to an audience of readers seeking to learn from underrepresented voices.

So, if you’re reading this, NavPress, know that Christian women out there WANT to read Bible studies by Black, Asian, and Indigenous voices. Having a book with a Black or Asian on the cover doesn’t go far enough. It’s like publishing a Bible study by a white male and putting a pretty woman on the cover.

Now, for my review. Despite my disgruntlement at the cover/author dissonance, I really enjoyed the Bible study. The author taught me how to use the Blue Letter Bible app (something I had downloaded and promptly given up on a few years ago). The bible study has five lessons in each of the seven chapters. Each chapter has a good mix of personal anecdotes, biblical teachings, reflection questions, and challenges to keep either an individual or a group of women immersed for seven weeks of study into the book of Philippians.

I’ll use the skills the author taught me as I continue to dig deeper into God’s word. But I still wish I had read a Bible study by a Black author so that I could learn from someone with a different perspective from my own. Our lives would be so much richer if we sat at other culture’s feet and learned their ways of seeing, doing, and thinking.

I rate the book 5 stars for the author and one star for the publisher.

Wow, Teresa has gone above and beyond to make all the books in this study approachable for someone who is just starting out with digging in deep. It’s easy to follow, not intimidating yet packed full of truth. A life changer.

While I'm still in the process of reading this study, I can already tell you that it is a compelling, user-friendly, educational way to actually READ the Bible. But the best part is that it isn't JUST about picking up and reading your Bible - you can do that without this book, right? But what I personally struggle with (whether from lack of motivation or know-how) is discerning some of the embedded messages and making connections from the Bible to the NOW. Teresa helps to do this in a very humble, authentic, positive way. One of my favorite aspects of this study (and her writing in general) is that she interjects real examples from her own experiences. Let me say it once more, this feels like a REAL account of living the Bible in the now - her words are encouraging and motivational, but also empathetic and understanding (she's married and a momma of SIX kiddos, and her joys, struggles, and all the in between are represented in her work).

I love the letters Paul wrote to the churches and when I saw this book I had to request it because one, it hinted at what it means to hustle as a woman and a bit on burnout which I am very familiar with.
So, I'm posting this review when I have cruised through to the fifth week- because I've been taking notes, asking myself questions and reading Phillippians differently- I'm paying more attention to Paul's words of both praise and caution and reflecting on my life, work and how I go about my duties.
This is a hands-on book and the pacing is done just right.
I truly hope more women will be blessed by reading and actively re-evaluating their live's decisions as they read this.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.