Mary gives us some wonderful insight into Bible study.  Bible study should be paired with prayer.  Ask God to help you understand what you are reading.  Mary uses journals to write down verses she reads and what God reveals to her about the scripture.  She says it is important to date your entries so you can go back and see what God was doing and preparing you for.  Four ideas to think about when reading that are helpful are:

1.  Think about who is speaking.

2.  Think about to whom they are speaking to.

3.  Think about what the message meant in that time.

4.  Think about what the message means today.

David Guzik has a wonderful resource that he offers for free.  It is called Enduring Word.  You can find it online and it has notes about the Bible and many sermon notes, etc.  

Tony Evans also is a wonderful person to listen to.  Check him out online as well.