5 Ways to Use a Journaling Bible

Tomorrow evening I’ll be teaching a beginner’s Bible Journaling workshop and as I prepared the material and finalized the agenda, I was thinking about the many ways to use a journaling Bible. Journaling Bibles come in all shapes, sizes, and versions, so I made a trip to Lifeway today to check out the latest publications. Here are 5 ways to use a journaling Bible that I believe will enhance your Bible study time. Ready?

1. Use a journaling/notetaking Bible in the most traditional sense by underlining, highlighting, and writing notes in the margins.

I grew up with two Bible-reading, Bible-loving parents. Because I saw them write and underline and highlight their Bibles, I knew it was ok for me to do it too. I have my Bibles from when I was growing up and at age 10, I wrote sermon notes and underlined verses. I will say that half of it cannot be read now. Not because my handwriting was sloppy, but because some of the words were written very small since the margins of my Bible had little space.

I love the space provided in the HCSB Notetaking Bible. Even after looking at all of the journaling and notetaking Bibles in the store today, the one I purchased last winter is still my favorite. However, the latest one, the ILLUSTRATED Note-Taking Bible is lovely if you like to color and enhance a pre-designed page. Check out this one:

2. Use stickers to journal in your Bible!

I wrote an entire post about how to use stickers to study your Bible because so many folks look at my journaling Bibles and say “Oh, I could never do that!” I love you, but YES, YOU CAN! If I can learn and use creative lettering techniques and scratch out simple drawings, you can too. However, if you need a little boost for your Bible-journaling confidence, start with stickers. Just peel and stick. You did that when you were 2 years old or less, right?

3. Get creative by using hand lettering techniques to rewrite meaningful sections.

Most of the Bible art journaling I do is using this method. I love to try to copy new fonts or hand lettering ideas and for several months, it was quite an enjoyable hobby for me. Over the summer, I didn’t spend as much time working on this art and I discovered that when I began again about 6 weeks ago, I was a little out of practice. Like any art, practice enhances your ability to fashion what you see in your mind’s eye. I’m enjoying getting back into the groove of hand lettering!

4. Use stamping or painting in your journaling Bible to emphasize how God’s Word is speaking to your heart.

A sweet friend of mine asked: “Do you find yourself meditating on the passage as you work?” And my response was: “That’s the whole point!” I believe God loves to see his children use their creative abilities to learn his Word and hide it in their heart. It’s a wonderful benefit to meditate AND create with God’s Word. The wide margins of a journaling, note-taking Bible provide the opportunity to do this without covering up HIS Word. I like to make sure I can still easily read the words in my Bible.

5. Use a template under your journaling or note-taking page to transfer your art to the Bible.

You can create your own template or print one from this Creative Worship Bible Journaling Guide. Or I discovered an online friend who offers some FREE Bible art printable stickers. You could easily print these and use them as a template under your page rather than printing stickers.  You simply slip them under your note-taking Bible page,  trace over the lettering, then color in as you see fit.

Alright, Friends! How are you using your journaling/note-taking Bible? I’d love to read about it today!

By his grace,

Rachel

RESOURCES:

My Favorite Journaling/Note-Taking Bible: The HCSB Note-Taking Bible (also available in other versions)

FREE How-to Bible Journaling Guide

10 Reasons You’ll Love Bible Journaling

Bible Journaling at Lifeway and Beginner Tips & Tricks

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