Hi! I'm Alli.

I'm a follower of Jesus, a wife and beagle mom, a public school educator, and a seminary student.

I grew up in the church and can probably tell you lots of Sunday School answers about God and the Bible, but years ago I began to know God beyond just the informational level. I began to know him at a relational, hands-and-feet level.

As I navigated a season of intense personal suffering a few years back, I had to finally come to terms with all the things I believed about God. All the Bible verses I memorized growing up, all the churchy answers I said out loud, and all the faith-based practices I participated in for so long were now laid bare and I had to put my money where my mouth was as I was hurting, disoriented, and not sure what my future would look like. Would I still believe the same things about God? Would I still trust what the Bible had to tell me about life, love, and why I'm here?

In that season, I asked all the questions. The dumb ones, the existential ones, the angry ones—you name it, I probably asked it. I threw my proverbial punches at God and the Bible in my frustration, and what came back at me every time was God's unending faithfulness, love, and truth. In that season, the Bible began to no longer exist in my life as an informational how-to guide that I would exhaustingly follow to get good outcomes. Instead, I finally saw it for what it truly was—the holy, God-breathed book that makes me wise for salvation in Jesus and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:15-17). Ultimately, the Bible began to reveal God to me in ways I never recognized him before, and the more I beheld him, the more I loved him.

That's why I started Alli Asks. I want that for you, too. If there's any part of you that feels like you have to pick up the Bible instead of getting to joyfully pick it up, if there's any part of you that feels like it has no relevance for all that life is throwing at you today, or even if the Bible's gone quiet in your life for whatever reason and you'll take whatever you can get to help you encounter the living God again through the words he's given us, then I'm here. Take off your shoes, explore the Bible with me, and learn to love the God who wrote it. See the life he has in mind for you.

Here's what you can expect from Alli Asks.

• I'll explore the story of the Bible, question by question, book by book.
• I'm not exploring just to provide information. Instead, the hope is that you will learn about the God of the Bible and the life he has in mind for you.
• I'll have 3 key ways for you to engage with the Bible each week, all based around the same question and biblical text:
  • a free blog post
  • a free podcast/Youtube video series
  • a subscriber-only Bible study plan that helps you explore the text that week with my 9-square Bible study format

I'm glad you're here. I'm glad you're hanging out with me. I'm pumped that the door's at least a little open for you to explore the Bible. Whatever brought you here, however small or large your relationship with the Bible might be, you're welcome here—and so are your questions. Let's start exploring together!