The Launch of Breething

Bree Blum began blogging at the encouragement of her therapist. As she continued to write, she bravely shared her thoughts with a few friends and family members, who told her that more people needed these words. Bree published her first public post, sharing about the things that kept her "breething", faith, family and fun.

Introducing The Imperfect Vessel

Once Bree became more established in blogging, she found that the more she wrote about her faith, the more she wanted to share the "messy middle" of it all, so the blog was rebranded as The Imperfect Vessel.

The birth of the Intentional Filling Community

In the fall of 2014, a faithful follower of Bree's blog asked if she would be willing to start an online book club for Christian women, to share more encouraging words with others. Bree was hesitant at first, admitting she didn't know if she had the following or help necessary for it to be a success. But God whispered to her heart that women need an "intentional filling" of His Word, instead of the many things in life that they try and use to fill up the God-shaped hole inside. So Bree invited her small community of followers to join her to study "Let's All Be Brave" by Annie F. Downs on August 28, 2014.

A new adventure

In the summer of 2016, Bree accepted a position as the Executive Director for an outreach ministry and retreat center, and the ministry of The Imperfect Vessel and online studies were put on hold.

A different direction

After a very challenging 11 months of full-time ministry, Bree took the leap of faith to leave her position without another job lined up to pursue a different direction. She took the dream of taking the vision she had for writing and leading ready-made retreats that she was unable to do in her full-time position and launched them online, to make them a reality.

Ready-Made to Reality

In April of 2018, Bree led a 4-session weekend retreat, Pour from the Saucer: Filling our lives with Christ and pouring into community, that she wrote for her church's women's ministry.

Dusting Off the Past

In October 2019, Bree got the itch to pick up the online community she had grown when leading online book studies and dust it off. With God's help, she resurrected and rebranded the blog as Intentional Filling: Finding our Fill in Christ.

Launching a Podcast

In wanting to provide a new avenue for sharing content with the growing Intentional Filling community, Bree launched a podcast called, "Let's Grow with Bree Blum". Episodes included personal testimony, an audio version of weekly blog posts, and conversations with authors.

Seeing things thru a different lens

To pursue a study to share with the community, and to help enhance Biblical literacy, Bree purchased the study, "Jesus & Women" by Kristi McLelland, a college professor, and Biblical culturalist. Bree and Intentional Filling ministry leader, Gloria Limann, reviewed the study and just knew that *this* was the book that would lead the ministry going forward.

Growing in Understanding

Inspired by the shift in perspective on reading the Bible through its context, through hosting the "Jesus & Women" study in the winter of 2021, Intentional Filling launched its first online course, Rooted in the Word - available for FREE on the Let's Grow with Bree podcast or video sessions.

Embracing a New Mission and Vision

A new mission statement is established as the ministry embraced the new vision of pursuing God's Word through its Biblical context -- Intentional Filling seeks to help women intentionally study the context of Scripture to become rooted in the Word of God.

Living out the Mission

In August of 2021, Bree and Gloria traveled from the Ohio valley to Franklin, TN to meet 3 members of the Intentional Filling community, from around the country, to attend Kristi McLelland's Bible weekend. Bree and several of the IF members got to hug it out with Kristi, after being recognized, in the women's restroom between sessions!

A Mary Christmas Party Online

Intentional Filling hosted an online Christmas party and invited IF community member and author of "Counting Up to Christmas", Jennifer Elwood, to share a message on Mary, the mother of Jesus.

A New Year of Study

Intentional Filling entered a new year of studying Scripture through its context and welcomed its 4th author of Biblical studies to the "Let's Grow with Bree" podcast. Authors include: Kristi McLelland, Lois Tverberg, Rebekah Joy, and Erin Davis

Clarifying the Message

To better clarify the message and type of content that Intentional Filling shares on its podcast, the name was changed to the Biblical Context Matters Podcast, to invite others to open their Bibles and come to find confidence in studying God's Word in this way.

The Context of Christmas

Intentional Filling hosted an online Christmas party where a message was shared on the context of Christmas, focusing on Matthew 1:1-17 and the genealogy of Jesus.

Holy Week in Context

Bree wrote and released a brand new Bible Study entitled, Holy Week in Context: Examining the Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy. It is available in the Intentional Filling shop for purchase.

Back to the Bible Basics Online Course

A collaborative effort was made to launch Intentional Filling's second FREE online course, Back to the Bible Basics, which was designed to familiarize participants with studying Scripture through its context. It is designed in a way to encourage setting a solid foundation of understanding of the Bible upon which to grow in faith and find nourishment through a deep relationship with God. The course will also help bring participants up to speed and ensure they can contribute to the conversation in the Intentional Filling learning community and during our online discussions of Biblical studies.