Welcome to The Story Behind the Story.

If you’ve ever wondered why we made certain decisions, how this ministry came together, or what God was teaching us behind the scenes…

…you’re in the right place. This isn’t where I teach the Bible. It’s where I tell the stories that shaped the ministry. The unexpected turns. The answered prayers. The ideas that worked. The ones that didn’t. And the countless moments where God quietly reminded us that his plans are almost always better than ours.

So grab a cup of coffee.

Pull up a chair.

Today, I’d love to tell you the story behind building the New Narrated Study Bible.

The Beginning

When most people open the Bible… they read sixty-six separate books. Genesis. Exodus. Leviticus. Matthew. Romans. Revelation. That’s how most of us were introduced to Scripture.

But somewhere along the journey, I found myself asking a different question. “What if we experienced the Bible the way it actually unfolded?” Not book by book… but story by story. Chronologically. As one continuous account of God’s relationship with His people.

I couldn’t shake that thought. The more I studied, the more I realized how many people struggled to connect the pieces. Kings appeared before prophets in our minds. Events felt disconnected. Stories that belonged together were separated by hundreds of pages. I began praying. “Lord… how do I help people see the whole story?”

 

The Turning Point

Then something beautiful happened. The Lord wasn’t asking me to rewrite His Word. He was asking me to rearrange it. Not changing a single verse. Simply changing the order – connecting the Old Testament to the New Testament, and the New Testament to the Old Testament throughout Scripture.

Suddenly… the Bible became one magnificent unfolding story. Creation. The patriarchs. The kings. The prophets. The exile. The return. Jesus. The Church. Revelation. Everything connected. Everything flowed.

But something still felt unfinished. I could understand the story. Would everyone else? That’s when another unexpected idea arrived. Ann and Irene. Two ordinary women. One asking the questions. The other discovering the answers.

At first I resisted. Dialogue? Inside Bible teaching? Really? It felt unusual. Maybe even a little risky. Then I started writing. One conversation became another. Soon I wasn’t simply presenting information. I was inviting readers to sit at the table with us. Instead of saying, “Here’s what happened.” It became, “Come with us… let’s discover what happened together.” That changed everything.

The New Narrated Study Bible (NNSB) was born.

What We Learned

Looking back, I smile because I thought I was writing books. God was actually building a bridge. A bridge between people and Scripture. A bridge between information and understanding. A bridge between reading the Bible… and experiencing it.

I also learned something about creativity. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is stop asking, “Has anyone ever done this before?” And start asking, “Lord, is this how You want me to do it?”

That question gave me tremendous freedom. The chronological format wasn’t the destination. Neither was connecting the two Testaments together at every verse. Neither was storytelling. Each became tools. Tools to help people fall in love with God’s Word – His love letter to His people.

And if readers finish an NNSB book – seven volumes – talking more about Jesus than about my writing… then we’ve accomplished exactly what we hoped.

 

Where We Are Now

Today, NNSB has become the foundation beneath almost everything we do. The books. The YouTube channel. The Reformation LANE. The Bible Studies. Even the conversations Eric and I have while planning future projects. Every lesson begins with the same question. “How do we help people see the story?”

Because the Bible has never been a collection of disconnected events. It’s one beautiful story. One faithful God. One unfolding plan of redemption. And somehow… the Lord invited me to spend the last decade helping people see that story more clearly. I still find that incredible.

 

One “Yes” at a Time.

Reflecting back, every step of this ministry reminds me that God rarely shows us the whole journey.

He simply asks us to trust Him with the next step.

That’s how this ministry has been built.

One “yes” at a time.

Until next time…

Thank you for letting Eric and me share this journey with you.

– Lori Ann

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This week’s step:

Share this with one person God puts on your heart.

Then comment DONE so I can pray over you.

 “You may never know what your share starts — but Heaven will.”

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