My Inspiration For This Months Bible Journaling
This month I decided to start with 1 Peter because there were a number of passages from it in my new Illustrated Faith devotional kit, Rise Up. As part of the blogger program, I get the new kits each month and use them as my inspiration for my devotions that month. Each kit comes with supplies and a 2 week devotional booklet and motivates me to open my Bible and dig in to the word of God.
This months kit was no different. The kit comes with:
-stamps-tip-ins or bookmarks -magnetic bookmark-cardboard cut outs-2 week devotional
Every month features a different person and different art so no two kits are the same! The focus of this months kit is to call us to Rise up, to step out in faith, to passionately pursue a life worthy of the calling we have received. It is a kit that will draw you up off that couch and out into action! The kits are only $30 and it is not a subscription, you can purchase the ones that speak to you or purchase them when you are inspired or can fit it into the budget. There are a TON of different kits and Bible journaling supplies available on their site and it is my go to for most of what I have in my journaling and planning drawers!
Remember Your Prompts For Having A Bible Journal And Keep The Passages You Study And Read Centered Around Them
This will help you grow and develop in areas that you have put down as the points you need guidance from God with. This will help you stay organized as you study the word of God based on the themes and keywords in the Bible passages related to your prompts. And as you grow, you can add more prompts.
How To Bible Journal
As the writer of Hebrews tells us, Gods Word is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart . So how do we put that power to work in our lives?
Obviously, reading our Bibles is important, but its easy to read passively and forget about it as soon as we put it down. We need to get in there and aggressively interact with Scripture, meditate on it, and consider its implications.
Memorization is another critical Scriptural discipline. This gets Gods words off the page and into our hearts. But its easy for us to memorize Scripture as an intellectual exercise, without letting it touch our will and imagination.
Finding new ways to interact with Gods Word helps to break us out of our ruts. For instance, praying Scripture can equip us to think about the Bible as an extension of our relationship with God. As a discipline, praying Scripture can help us see ourselves as more than receivers of Scripture, but participants in Gods story.
Bible journaling is another discipline that can revitalize your time in the Wordespecially if youre a highly creative person.
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What You Will Need To Start Bible Journaling
You dont need a lot of equipment for Bible journaling. The most important items are a Bible and a pen, but some other things may help too.
1. A journaling Bible with lots of white space in the margins.
2. Or simply a blank notebook alongside any Bible. Some people love to take notes and doodle in their Bibles but others like to keep their Bible clean and write in a blank book alongside of their Bible. I dont mind taking notes in the margins of my Bible and I like to highlight specific scriptures that speak to me. But I dont like to write or draw in such a way that covers up Gods Word. I want Gods Word to be the main thing I see on any given Bible page.
3. You could also have multiple blank notebooks to separate different kinds of notes. One for taking written notes, another for doodling and drawing, another for writing down scriptures that you want to memorize, and still another for a prayer journal.
4. You can also open up a blank document in a word processor program on your computer.
5. A Pen if youre writing in your Bible, make sure to get the kind that wont soak through. Bible pages are thin and if you are not careful youll see ink on the back of the page youre writing on too.
6. Colored pencils or markers can also be added to give your journal an artistic flare.
Why Is Bible Journaling Popular
Similar to taking detailed, color-coded notes and highlighting key phrases and facts ahead of an exam in school, Bible journaling can help with verse memorization and reading comprehension as well. Its exciting to sit with a certain text and discover details or points that you may not have noticed before.
Besides the practical benefits of this Bible study technique, having the opportunity to use creative outlets and talents makes this spiritual habit especially engaging and fun. Not only that, its also a beautiful way of looking back at your spiritual growth as you reread your Bible or pass your Bible down to the next generation in your family.
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Bible Journaling Tip #: Consider The Passage
Certain passages are easier to artistically journal than others because they contain words that evoke concrete images . Abstract ideas might lend themselves to creative doodling or to the use of certain colors to convey emotions.
Although our Bibles reflect our personal spiritual journeys with God, Bible journaling blesses our families in a multitude of ways:
Bible journaling helps us overcome perfectionism by teaching us that we dont have to be professional artists to create beautiful pages that enhance our devotional times with the Lord and glorify and praise God.
Bible journaling provides us with a fresh way to teach our children to praise God during their devotional time as well.
Bible journaling enables us to create precious keepsakes that we will one day pass on to our children of how God has blessed us, protected us, and ministered to us throughout our lives.
Isaiah 40:8 says:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
Our Journaling Bibles are living testaments to Gods greatness and His faithfulness in our lives. Lets use them to minister as we minister to others, share our personal testimonies, and testify to Gods glory!
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How Do Complete A Hear Journal
The acronym H.E.A.R. stands for Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond. Each of these four steps contributes to creating an atmosphere to hear God speak. After settling on a reading plan and establishing a time for studying Gods Word, you will be ready to H.E.A.R. from God.
For an illustration, lets assume that you begin your quiet time in the book of 2 Timothy, and todays reading is the first chapter of the book. Before reading the text, pause to sincerely ask God to speak to you. It may seem trite, but it is absolutely imperative that we seek Gods guidance in order to understand His Word. Every time we open our Bibles, we should pray the simple prayer that David prayed: Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law .
After praying for the Holy Spirits guidance, open your notebook or journal, and at the top left-hand corner, write the letter H. This exercise will remind you to read with a purpose. In the course of your reading, one or two verses will usually stand out and speak to you. After reading the passage of Scripture, Highlight each verse that speaks to you by copying it under the letter H. Write out the following:
- The name of the book
- The passage of Scripture
- The chapter and verse numbers that especially speak to you
- A title to describe the passage
This practice will make it easier to find the passage when you want to revisit it in the future.
Why was this written?
To whom was it originally written?
How can this help me?
Johnny M. Hunt
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Types Of Journaling Bibles
You can find a journaling Bible in nearly every translation, and most have variations in print size and columns of Scripture. The feature that sets journaling Bibles apart from other Bibles is the extra space given for writing and illustration, and so the amount of space varies between different Bibles, normally letting the buyer choose between one or two inches of journaling space in the margins. However, the Crossway ESV Scripture Journals have each book of the Bible individually bound and an entire blank page opposite every page of Scripture. My personal journaling Bible is Crossways ESV Single Column Journaling Bible in the Antique Floral Design.
Memorizing For The Long Run
I didnt know it when I was a ten-year-old girl, but memorizing Psalm 91 was like a spiritual investment. Normally when someone is making a financial investment, they put money into an account that they dont benefit from immediately. The money stays there for a while and grows, especially if more is added to it. It provides the owner with confidence, security through lifes ups and downs, and is extremely helpful if an emergency suddenly arises.
Memorizing Psalm 91 is an investment I made as a little girl that will pay off for the rest of my life. And its defining moments like the coronavirus pandemic that have made Scripture memory a consistent priority for me throughout the last twenty years: I memorize for my current self, but I also memorize as an investment for my future self. I have no idea what beautiful or painful circumstances I will someday face, but in the middle of a crisis, I dont want to find that my internal spiritual account is empty, desperate to be filled with emergency deposits from the opinions of other people, news headlines, or an endless scroll of digital distractions. Instead, I want my heart, soul, and mind to pull from an account rich in the Word of God. I want to be filled to overflowing with hope, wisdom, strength, and truth for the journey.
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Memorizing For Nonstop Access To The Bible
A third reason to memorize the Bible is that it gives us 24/7 access to the very words of God. After I got my first iPhone, I stopped reading and memorizing the Bible as intentionally because I felt like it wasnt as necessary. It seemed like I didnt need to put in the difficult work of memorization if I could just look up a verse at any moment of my day. I realized pretty quickly, however, that this wasnt the case. In the middle of an emotional conversation with a friend, it didnt feel good to push the pause button as she poured out her heart so that I could type the right phrase into Google to look for a verse. No, I wanted the Word of God inside me, able to be ushered out at that very moment to provide hope and counsel and comfort for her. Similarly, Ive been unbelievably grateful for memorized verses in these first two years of motherhood. Crinkly Bible pages are an incredible temptation for a baby, and its hard to sit down for a solid amount of time to read without him needing something. But the Bible is with me. I access it while Im driving, while Im laying my son down to sleep at night, and while we take walks around the neighborhood. Im not dependent on convenient timing. At any moment of my day, I can meditate on Scripture because its already in my mind.
What Is A Hear Journal
by Robby Gallaty | Sep 23, 2019 | HEAR |
The H.E.A.R. journaling method promotes reading the Bible with a life-transforming purpose. No longer will your focus be on checking off the boxes on your daily reading schedule your purpose will instead be to read in order to understand and respond to Gods Word. Lets talk more about how to do a HEAR Journal.
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What Is Scripture Journaling
Scripture journaling is essentially copying the word of God. All you need for this is a notebook, a pen, and your Bible. You simply spend time reflecting on the passages as you read and write them. The act of reading, and then physically writing it out helps cement the words in your mind and heart. You can do this either just writing out certain scriptures that you might be doing in your devotions, or you can do entire books of the Bible! My goal is to write out the entire Bible one day, how amazing would it be to have a handwritten Bible to pass down through the generations?!?!? .
The benefit of Bible journaling in a notebook is that you avoid writing in your Bible, which some people struggle with, you can add notes or commentaries throughout as they speak to you, and you can even write out different passages in different translations to give you a parallel Bible notebook! I personally have a leather Travelers Notebook that I had custom made with a stunning lion etched onto the front and Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah inscribed on the front cover. I got it over here on Etsy, and you can get 10% off with coupon code: hiphomefun.
If It Helps Draw A Visualization Of What A Particular Bible Passage Means To You
Sometimes, the emotions and thoughts provoked by a certain passage in the Bible can’t be adequately summed up in a few key words or phrases. That’s why a popular practice in Bible journaling is to not just write down passages from the Bible that stand out to you, but to draw pictures of what they make you think of and feel. Just make sure that your doodles don’t obscure the passages too much, since you’re going to need them for comparison’s sake later!
Recommended Reading: Psalm 118.8
Write Down What’s Going On In Your Life Right Now And Use It As A Starting Point To Respond To The Bible Passages That You’ve Picked Out
On opposite pages from your Bible study notes , write down what you are experiencing in life right now, good or bad, even if just for that day. As you study the Bible further, you can start to form relations between its passages and your life experiences. How closely do your actions follow the word of God? Does the Bible have some sort of advice on how to work through a particular scenario that you might be going through? By reflecting on the passages of the Bible and how they may relate to your life, you can find ways to grow as a person or navigate a difficult situation.
For jotting down your daily experiences on the go, try the Penzu mobile app. You can use it anywhere you take your smart phone, and it works on both and Apple iOS devices, too!
Bible Journaling In A Notebook
June 7, 2017 by Rebecca Spooner
Bible journaling doesnt have to be complicated, yet I think sometimes we focus so much on the beauty that it CAN be that we miss the purpose behind it. While it can be an act of worship and creative expression to draw, paint, or scrapbook these artistic pages, the goal is to meditate on the word of God. Quite frankly, it can be as simple as writing out the word of God, taking the time to reflect on what you are reading and focusing on what it means to you. The more time you spend in Gods word, the more it changes you. That is a Biblical concept: We are called to be transformed us by the renewing of our mind , to meditate on Gods word day and night because it is alive and active . For those of you who are totally overwhelmed by the act of Bible journaling because you think it has to be complicated or you are not artistic enough for it this post is for you! Come take a look at how you can do bible journaling in a notebook.
PIN ME!
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Bible Journal Prompts To Get You Started
Starting a Bible journal can seem daunting and challenging as you may not know exactly where to start and what to do first which is why you can start with a few points to use as groundwork to begin your bible journaling. We have listed some suggestions for bible journal prompts that will help you get started as you begin your journey to a more engaging relationship with the word of God.
Bible Journaling Throughout History
Before the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the fifteenth century, the Bible, like all books, had to be copied by hand. This was an incredibly tedious process, and it made Bibles so rare and expensive that the only people who could afford one were members of the nobility. In addition, most people were illiterate during the Middle Ages , and the Bible was usually written in Latin, so even those who had access to a Bible often couldnt read ita stark contrast to our ability to linger with the Bible and our journals in the morning. Illustrations therefore became a crucial element, often painted directly next to the text, serving as aids for explaining Bible stories. You can still see examples in museums of beautifully illuminated Bibles, such as the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, their gold-leafed pages holding paintings of scenes such as the birth of Jesus and portraits of the disciples.
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