Last year I was teaching a Bible study on habits and emotions to a group of teenagers when one of the boys in the class said, “Hey, you should put these questions on an iPhone app – call it iBarb!”
I laughed. iBarb. That would be fun – but of course I would never be capable of making an iPhone app.
Still, I thought, it was an interesting idea: an app that wouldn’t just track behavior, but would help you renew your mind so you wouldn’t even want to do your behavior.
The next Bible study I taught was an eating class for women. In that class I had questions and Bible verses similar to the ones I’ve posted on this blog.
We all found the questions and Bible verses helpful for following our boundaries, but they were in a three-ring binder – they weren’t always available in the moment of temptation.
So I thought of the app again. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the questions readily available on an app?
The idea would have stayed in the back of my mind except for one little coincidence: I have a son who actually programs iPhone apps for a living.
So I called him and nervously started working on the project. Half a year later (after writing and rewriting the questions a million times), it’s ready go. It was approved by Apple a few days ago and should be out in two or three weeks.
The app has 32 different sets of questions (including insecurity and worry which I’ve been making use of lately) and over 150 Bible verses you can use in the moment of temptation to help you actually want to say no to temptation.
And although this app is specifically targeted to eating boundaries, I’ve used it with some of my other bad habits and it works if I mentally adapt the questions a bit. It’s also helpful for anyone who wants to break free from their negative emotions. (The anger questions and Bible verses I posted a few weeks ago are on the app.)
I’ll be sharing a bit more about the app in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ll be busy using the app because this whole process is making me want to eat!
P.S. I should clarify – the app is called ideserve or I Deserve a Donut – not iBarb! I’ll put a notice up on the blog as soon as it’s for sale.
Yeah! Stoked about this!
Wow, that’s impressive. I can see this benefitting a lot of people. Technology has opened up so many new doors!
I’m excited about this, but wondering if this will require a data plan to use….
I actually had to buy a iPod to test the program as I don’t have an iPhone – so I use it on my iPod. (You don’t need a data plan for iPods.) I’m trying to figure out if I should also sell it as an e-book – and if I do that if I should sell it as a Kindle or just from my site. The problem with making all the different versions is that they’re all expensive to make. But at any rate, I’ll definitely make it available to everyone in some form – if nothing else I’ll e-mail it to people! Let me know if you have any input.
I don’t have an iPhone, but I can download apps. If it doesn’t require a data plan, I think the app would be awesome as it could be with you where ever you go. If it does require a data plan, a printable e-book would be my preference in order to print and have readily available….. just thinking of those of us who are not current with the latest technology! LOL!
I could have really used this today!
That’s interesting – what do you download the apps onto? I don’t think it requires a data plan (would I know about it if it did?). The funny thing is that I’m making this, and I’m totally not a techie! I thought it was a hardship just to buy an iPod to try it out on, but now that I have an iPod I think it’s pretty fun. I played one game – angry birds – but gave it up when it got to hard at about the fifth level. Now I’m starting to use it more, though. And I really do use the app a lot – I even take it to bed with me sometimes so I can pray through Bible verses in the middle of the night if I wake up stressed out about the app! (Ironic, isn’t it?)
I’m able to download apps to my cell phone, but it isn’t an iPhone.
Oh, that’s nice! I didn’t know you could download apps to other phones. I would think it should work then – I hope so.
Could it work on a Nook then maybe! (Barnes and Noble) I do have a Nook.
I don’t think it will work with a Nook, Elizabeth – it seems like you have to do some separate formatting for that. I’m still checking into everything. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.
WOW, pretty neat! Great idea! Look forward to hearing more about this.
Yay Barb this will be great! I’ve missed you and just now found your blog because of Heidi posting a link on facebook :)
Kim
Hi Kim – good to see you again! Just checked out your blog again – I was just thinking about how cute it was and then I saw the cute button – funny!
What a great accomplishment. I know you will be rewarded for all of your hard work. Great job!