Penned Grace

Slow down a busy day by writing one verse by hand.

Penned Grace is a Bible you write yourself. Choose a passage, write it one character or word at a time, and what you write stays on the page as a journal in your own hand.

■ Write by hand, or type Trace, copy, or type. Works with Apple Pencil and with your finger, and the ink thins and thickens with your pressure. A fountain pen and black ink are free. When you are short on time, typing counts toward the day too.

■ The whole Bible, offline The Berean Standard Bible and the Chinese Union Version 1919 (Traditional and Simplified) are built in, so you can write without a connection. Download the World English Bible when you want it. Search by reference or by keyword. Word stems are matched, so "loving" finds "loved", and Traditional and Simplified Chinese find each other. Open a second translation beside the text.

■ A page in your own hand Finished writing takes its place in the passage and becomes a page you wrote yourself. Replay the whole session stroke by stroke, export a PDF, or make a card to share.

■ Marks, not streak pressure A few words is enough to leave today's mark. Twelve milestone marks stay once earned — even if the streak breaks, the road you walked is still yours. No leaderboards, no points, no red warnings.

■ Reading plans and a verse a day Five plans are free: Meeting Jesus in 7 Days, Psalm 23 Slowly, Promises of Peace in 14 days, The Sermon on the Mount in 34 days, and Psalm 119 in 60 days. Follow one at your own pace. The home screen offers a new verse each day, with separate readings for Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost and Thanksgiving. Change translation or switch to typing and your progress still counts.

■ Quiet by design A short pause with a prayer before writing is available, and easy to turn off entirely. The daily reminder is scheduled on your phone alone and never goes through a server.

■ Three languages English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese. The interface language and the translation are chosen separately.

■ Your writing is yours Everything stays on your phone, and we cannot see it. There is no account and no sign-up. Your iPhone's iCloud device backup includes it, so it comes back when you restore a new phone.

■ Writing scripture is always free Every translation, the whole Bible, all three writing modes, four guide styles, a fountain pen and black ink, the daily verse, streaks and milestones, share cards and the five plans above cost nothing. There are no ads.

Premium unlocks: a brush pen and a ballpoint, six ink colours and gold ink, a palette of 65 colours, five line weights, export a piece of writing as an A4 PDF, replay it stroke by stroke and save that replay as a square video to share or keep in Photos, five papers (Xuan paper, kraft, vellum, pale blue letter, cream grid), and four plans (Proverbs in 31 Days, Philippians Selections, All of Philippians, Psalms in 30 Days). The first three days of any premium plan are free. The subscription is monthly or yearly. Both start with a 7-day free trial, and you can cancel any time under Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions.

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