Bible Journaling-Getting to the Heart of the Word

I like to think of myself as a crafty kind of girl. You know…scrapbooks, stamping, making cards. However, in reality, I am a logical thinker who can do something creative after I’ve been inspired by someone else.

Last year I discovered the concept of Bible Journaling. If you are not familiar with this, it’s really quite simple.

Bible Journaling is a way people express what God’s Word means to them in a creative way. For instance, some people use paints, stamps, and even hand lettering to bring out different points or things they’ve learned from certain verses. Other people just simply choose to mark words and phrases in different colors.

Check out my Bible Marking & Journaling Pinterest board for some inspiration:

Follow Jennifer Booth’s board Bible Marking & Journaling on Pinterest.

I put off buying a journaling Bible for a while. I really wanted one, however I could not justify it because I didn’t think I’d be able to do anything as elaborate or creative as the images I’d seen on Pinterest.

But, that’s the catch…it’s all about using YOUR creativity to show how God has spoken to YOU through HIS Word. Not how He has spoken to someone else.

For the most part, I will probably use the journaling Bible to expand on note taking. I plan to mark words and phrases in color so they’ll stand out. But, I will give my creativity a shot. Because I do love scrapbooking, stamping, and making cards, I have a ton of supplies I could use in creating art in my Bible.

Just for fun I did a page yesterday after I was inspired by an image I saw online. Here is my interpretation of Philippians 4:8:

You can see that right off the bat I misspelled Philippians. I tried to put two l’s in it. 😉

Anyway, despite my handwriting, I think it turned out well. Because I took the extra time to work on this verse, it has stayed in my mind all day long.

My hope for this process is to focus so much that what I’m studying becomes ingrained and makes me able to retain more of what I learn.

Right now my main tools are my journaling Bible and Bible marking pens. I use the Single Column Journaling Bible (ESV) by Crossway. I have the Summer Garden edition. The pens I use are from an Inductive Bible Study Kit. They are made specifically for writing on the thin pages of a Bible.

I’m excited about the possibilities Bible Journaling holds. I’m looking forward to diving deeper into God’s Word to pull out truths that will help me become a more devoted follower of Jesus.

What creative ways do you use to study the Bible?