I don't tell you this to brag. I tell you so you can see what happened next.

One day, over the lunch table with my family — seven of us — I was being my usual joyful self. An absolute firecracker, running on nothing but youthful energy and hours with God.

I can't remember the exact joke or the words that tumbled out of me first. But I will never forget the sudden shift in the room. I caught the look on my father's face — a quiet, heavy disapproval that felt like cold water thrown over a blazing fire.

In a child's heart, shame is a heavy anchor. In that single split second, something inside me locked up tight. A voice whispered a survival rule I would follow for decades:

And that is exactly what I did. A complete, self-imposed shutdown. I learned to swallow the firecracker. Gradually, that effervescent spark and the ravenous hunger for the Word of God withered away in the dark. The door to my room stayed shut, the picture-book Bible gathered dust, and the joy unspeakable I had known so early in life was simply... lost.

Fast forward 28 years, and what the enemy meant for harm — God meant for good.

It's an early morning, September 1st, 2022 — coffee in hand. My father has recently passed on to be with Jesus, and I'm watching a video by one of my mentors, John Paul Jackson. At the close of the broadcast, he prayed a Father's blessing. (Video below)

What happened next I will never forget.

I could feel something rising from deep down within me — a million sparks colliding as a fire in my bones, the way the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah describe it. Today I'd call it electric. Real electricity, coursing through my veins as the prayer ended. The power of God filled every fiber of my being and put me flat on my face before Him, like I'd been struck by lightning made of Love.

It is the single most intense thing that has ever happened to me. It wasn't scary. It didn't hurt. But it was overwhelming, all-encompassing — His Holy Spirit coming down and doing His work in me. So much hurt, so many wrong ideas about who He is, and yes, sin itself, obliterated in His presence as I lay there bawling my eyes out.

And all I could say was:

That experience — and everything that followed — is what I call the F.O.G. It isn't necessarily scary. But it is certainly confronting, because in that moment you realize just how completely other He is.

He is the all-encompassing, fiery One — the God whose eyes burn like fire, and anything that gets near Him, like the Seraphim and Cherubim around His throne, is set ablaze. Get too close to the sun and you will be incinerated. And the One who made the sun, blazes infinitely hotter.

Even being near Him the way Moses was on Sinai — glimpsing only His back from the cleft in the rock — left Moses' face glowing with glory. And left him thankful just to be alive, and on His side. The best place in the world.

I know the feeling, Moses!

Here's what I had to get my head around: our Abba Father will do this, in some shape or form, for every one of His children — not as religious duty, but as Himself, made real to you.

It might not look as dramatic for you. Maybe it's a quiet certainty that settles in on an ordinary Tuesday. Maybe it's a single verse that suddenly reads like it was written just for you. But He will always do something personal. Something that's specifically yours.

I was fascinated by the translators' word choices. I dug into the original Hebrew and Greek. And as I went from one Bible to the next, gaps in my understanding started filling in.

And more and more, He would speak. Words literally jumped off the page about this wonderful God we serve, and the future we have together with Him.

Somewhere in those 18-hour days, my pen started moving.

I was writing in the margins. Cubits into centimeters (or inches for my American friends). Shekels and talents into something I could actually picture. Ancient phrases into words I’d say over a coffee. And every time I did, the verse stopped being a stranger’s sentence. It became mine.

But then something shifted. I felt, quite clearly, that He wanted more from me than notes in a margin. He wanted me to write His words.

So I did. I started with the words of Jesus: every red letter, and not just in the Gospels, but right through the New Testament. I wrote out every single one.

That is how the F.O.G. Bible Project began. One man with a pen, highlighters, a stack of Bibles, and a Father who wanted to be heard.

From His words it grew into three translations, built by going word for word through Scripture, weighing translations and commentaries against the original languages to get the fuller picture.

The three F.O.G. Bibles include:

And right alongside them: a commentary for every book and chapter of the Bible, and updated lexicon so you're never reading the Bible alone.

Now I’m inviting you to do what I did: read the Bible cover-to-cover and put it in your own words to share.

This website is not just a place to learn, but a tool to make the Bible your own. Which in turn helps you share it more confidently with others.

Because here's the thing I wish someone had told me sooner: You're allowed to put the Bible in your own words. Every preacher (simply means proclaimer) does it, every week. And you can too. Not to replace it. Not to add to it. But to wrestle with it — side by side with trusted translations — until it lands personally for you.

When I started doing this, is when I started spending up to 18 hours a day in the Bible as words began jumping off the page to me. And I want to give you a little taste of it right now with the most iconic verse of all time.

Compare the three versions of John 3:16 below and see how they differ ever so slightly. (And click the more info link if you want to spend a bit more time on a deep dive). Then have a go at writing your own paraphrase.

That's it. That's My Ideal Bible. Two minutes, and that verse is forever etched in your heart — and a little more yours.

Now imagine doing this with every verse you love. Or even every verse of each chapter of the Bible. Your understanding will deepen as you engage with the text in a more personal way. And as a member, you get a journal built for exactly this purpose: compare the translations, write it in your own words, and watch the Bible become your Bible.

Do this every day, one verse and one coffee with Jesus at a time, and you won't even recognize yourself a year from today. This is exactly what I did and it set me on fire!

Ready to get started? Join today — it's free.

I have spent years building this resource. And everything you need to fall in love with the Word is right here. And I do mean everything:

It's all on this one site, with 45,000+ pages built to help the Bible come alive again. Ready to see it for yourself? Join today.

Here's what all of this is really for.

Not a reading plan you'll abandon by February. Not another app. A daily habit — one chapter, one cup, one conversation with Him at a time — that's so rewarding you'll find it hard to stop. Not rushed. Savored.

You show up. You read. You wrestle, highlight, and write a verse or two in your own words. The Holy Spirit gives you more, the more you keep showing up. And one day you look up and realize you've done something so few Christians ever do: you've read the whole Bible, and made it your own.

That's coffee with Jesus and that'sthe cover-to-cover Bible Challenge.

And you won't be doing it alone. As a member, you'll be connected into a Bible study group with me so we can do the challenge together — and when you invite your friends and family, the circle and conversation grows richer.

This website exists for that very reason: to stir up a fresh hunger communally for the Word, and to celebrate the authentic power of the Holy Spirit as He desires to move in our lives.

Everything this world offers is such a temporary substitute for the glory that lies ahead with Him. In the very last lines of Scripture, the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” to the Lord Jesus — and that is the expectant, joyful heart behind everything we do here.

This isn't another Bible site. It's a sanctuary for your relationship with the living Word.

For decades I barely scratched the surface of the Bible. Now I can't put it down — just like that little boy with his picture book Bible in hand. I can't wait for you to join us, and to bring your family and friends along for the journey.

It's all free. This website is 100% donor-funded, by our blessed patrons who were in your very position as they began. So there's nothing standing between you and the Word right now.

Come and see.
God bless! And see you on the inside.

P.S. A year from now, you could be sharing the Word with confidence: from a pulpit, in small group, or across the kitchen table. Start today, one coffee with Jesus at a time.