“But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones.” (Jeremiah 20:9)
Hello, friend! I’m very glad you ended up in this corner of the internet! This website was started by me, Raquel, a Christian girl in her happy twenties.
A little background about my own journey with the Bible: I received my very first Bible when I was seven years old, and I have loved it ever since. I remember creating a color code for different topics and underlining verses accordingly. As part of family worship, my parents walked us through all the stories from Genesis to Revelation about three times. It’s amazing how I still remember specific lessons taught by my dad and Bible passages that my mom made us memorize. As part of each morning’s schedule, there was always a designated time for my siblings and me to have our own devotional time with God.
Although I knew Bible verses by heart and had a lot of head knowledge about the Bible, it was a long process until I discovered the God of the Bible, who eagerly wanted a personal relationship with me. It was during my teenage years that I found Jesus as my Friend and Savior, and I began to read the Bible not only intellectually, but at the level of the heart as well.
How BLADE Ministries began
Fast forward to 2024, and I was teaching at an Adventist academy in Romania. It was June, and I had just finished the school year, when a car accident completely turned over my summer plans. That night, I could not sleep; I was tossing in my bed with the persistent thought that something had to change in my life. I wasn’t sure what exactly, but I asked God to bring about that needed change.
That very week, God led me to sign up as a volunteer for ADRA Croatia. It was just for three short weeks, but many wonderful things happened during that time. Quite unexpectedly, and at the request of the project coordinator, I found myself giving Bible studies to the other volunteers my age. It was so amazing to witness their eagerness and amazement as they discovered the simple truths of the Bible. My own heart was warmed as I shared God’s Word with them.
After that memorable summer, God opened up multiple other opportunities to share Bible studies at different youth events and at the school where I was teaching. Friends encouraged me to write down and publish the things I was sharing. This website is an attempt to fulfill that request and to share the wonderful truths my heart burns for.
The name BLADE comes from one of the parables of Jesus:
“And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” (Mark 4:26–29)
Our spiritual growth begins small, just like that tiny seed. “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11). If cultivated and watered by the Holy Spirit, it will grow. The growth is gradual, humble, almost imperceptible. But God can take that tiny blade of grass—those simple words of God planted in our hearts—and cause it to grow and mature, bringing fruit in our lives, our families, our churches, and our ministries.
Friend, Jesus is coming soon. He left us a wonderful Book to get ready for that event. One day, I want to sit down under the tree of life with you and remember our journey on earth like the disciples of old: “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)
