Dear Students, Dear Me

THE BIBLE RECAP

In 2019, Tara-Leigh Cobble (TLC) launched a year-long, chronological, Bible-study podcast, and prayed that 300 people would listen.  She says the idea for The Bible Recap stemmed from her own frustration in reading some passages of the Bible she found unclear or even boring.  "I started this project because I had spent much of my life trying and failing at reading through the Bible.  And the one time that I finally succeeded, it was because a pastor friend who had read through the Bible several times offered to answer my questions along the way," she told Kirk Cameron on his TBN program, Takeaways. 

The morning after The Bible Recap debuted, TLC was amazed to receive 300 emails from people in the U.S. and around the world.  "I was blown away.  I had no idea.  I was so encouraged by the fact that so many people wanted to read the Bible,” she explains.  Since then, The Bible Recap team has grown - by word of mouth, no marketing – from Tara-Leigh alone to a full team.  They’ve produced 365 daily podcasts, accompanying videos, books, and guides, resulting in 267 thousand YouTube subscribers, 400 million downloads, and the top spot on Apple Podcasts.  "Never did I imagine the No. 1 spot in Christian podcasts, much less all podcasts.  It's one of those things, when we talk about God, who does exceedingly more than all we can ask or think or imagine, that verse comes to mind," she says. 
   

Tara-Leigh believes The Bible Recap has struck a nerve with so many people because they feel like she once did.  “I spent so much of my life following this God that I thought I knew, but I didn’t really know Him.  And once I turned the corner on that, I uncovered so much joy, and peace, and things I’d tried to cobble together over the years through my own means, and I found it in Him.  Many people feel like there’s a joy in Christianity that they can’t quite access.  You know what?  I discovered how to get to it, and it’s by trying to find God in His Word.  It brings me so much joy to see somebody who’s story is like mine come alive when they read the Word.”    
 
BIBLE RECAP KIDS’ DEVOTIONAL

 To introduce and engage children in God’s Word, Tara-Leigh has released The Bible Recap Kids’ Devotional: 365 Reflections and Activities for Kids and Families.  It correlates to the adult version of The Bible Recap, with a 365-day, chronological reading plan, but connects the story of Scripture with kid-friendly learning points, and fun, engaging activities for each day.  “The Bible is the most amazing book ever written, and we want kids to be excited to dig into it for themselves!” she says.  “The Bible Recap Kids’ Devotional is designed to help children love God’s Word and understand its value in their lives.”  The devotional also provides parental guidance alerts for more mature content in the Bible.  “As your child starts reading this book alongside the Bible, you’ll all soon learn that no matter where life finds you, ‘He’s where the joy is!’” Tara-Leigh says.  “That’s a phrase you’ll see frequently in this book because we believe it to be true, and we think digging into God’s Word is one of the best ways to tap into the joy that He brings.”    
 
ISRAEL: BEAUTY, LIGHT, AND LUXURY

For ten years, Tara-Leigh has been leading teaching trips to Israel.  She says she loves to watch people be awed by the story of the Bible as they experience Israel firsthand.  Knowing that not everyone will be able to go physically to the land of their Christian heritage, TLC purposed to compile a coffee-table book to provide a deeper connection to the living Word of God.  Her desire is to take readers on an immersive, unforgettable voyage through the Holy Land with hundreds of gorgeous photos, short devotional readings, and explanations of the significance of each site.  For example, readers will see the natural harbor where the disciples docked their boats; the remains of King Herod’s massive fortress, Masada; the olive trees shading the Garden of Gethsemane, and the rough rock basin where Jesus washed His hands.  Of the latter, TLC says, “The hands that formed these rocks washed in them, taught from them.”   
 
LIFE AS A SINGLE

Tara-Leigh, like most single people, has often been asked the question, “So why aren’t you married?”  She likes to address the question to encourage others, having wrestled with it herself.  In an interview on Houston’s KSBJ The Midday Show, she said, “I think people mean it as a compliment … (as if to say) ‘How can someone as amazing as you still be single?’  ‘Why hasn’t somebody snatched you up?’  One of the things I’ve had to lean into is trusting the goodness and sovereignty of God over the story of my whole life, which includes the story of my singleness.  What that means is, God’s best possible gift to me, in this specific moment, is my singleness.  I do hope that there will be a day when His specific gift to me is marriage.  I would love to have a different gift, and when He sees fit, I’m sure He’ll give me a different gift, and I’m going to keep rejoicing in this gift for now, and keep hoping that I get a different gift someday.  For me, there’s this tension between wanting to be content and joyful and grateful for the gifts I have and where I am, and looking at the things that I long for, and still having enough hope to ask God for those things.  I have to trust that somewhere between the space of contentment and desire, there’s a space for me to choose to trust and surrender to God and trust Him.  The way I’m going to live well in that tension is trusting God, by knowing Him, by spending time with Him, by being in His Word, being around His people, by engaging in the intimacy of my relationship with Him.”
 
For more information check www.TheBibleRecap.com for her books, apparel and more! 

Author of ISRAEL: Beauty, Light, and Luxury  (Bethany House, 2023) andThe Bible Recap Kids’ Devotional: 365 Reflections and Activities for Kids and Families  (Bethany House, 2024) / Wall Street Journal bestselling author, creator, and host of The Bible Recap book and podcast, with more than 400 million downloads / Founder, D-Group International, an international network of discipleship and Bible study groups / Host of the daily radio feature, The God Shot / Guide of luxury tours of Israel