Bible Journaling can be a great way to get in God’s Word on a more regular basis and change the way you interact with it. Artistic skills or not, you can Bible Journal and you can get a lot out of it.
If you have a hard time remembering to read your Bible daily or if you are just in a rut with Bible reading, you may way to seriously consider using Bible Journaling to rekindle your love of The Word.
There are many different journaling Bibles on the market. I have found that CBD.com offers the biggest selection for the cheapest price. There are single column versions, double column versions. Some with space to write or doodle at the bottom of the page. Some have doodle space to the side margin. Some have every other page blank. You’ll find many different versions available. Which one is best for you depends on you. Do you have to have a Journaling Bible to Bible Journal? Well, no. Not at all. You can journal the Word in other ways. But a Journaling Bible is nice to have.
You’ll find many examples of Bible Journaling pages on Instagram looking under the hashtags #illustratedfaith #biblejournaling #icolorinmybible. You will also find plenty of inspiration on Pinterest, searching for Bible Journaling. Some people draw, some letter, some do more of a scrapbook thing, some buy or download prints to trace or to paste into their Bible. Some people like to play around with multiple methods. You’ll find that some people are okay covering the Bible text, while others like to keep all the text readable. What you decide is really up to you. But make sure that whatever you choose, it is about you saturating yourself with the Word and not just about trying to make something cool.
Not every journal entry I make turns out awesome. Sometimes my ink smudges. Sometimes I just don’t like the result all that much. But that is okay. The end results are what it is all about for me. The process is where it is at for me. Reading Scripture, finding a verse that speaks to me, taking that verse and carefully lettering it so it sinks in good and deep. That is what I am working toward. Interacting with God’s Word. The results are just pretty proof and a good reminder when I flip through my Bible.
My journaling Bible is quite hefty. I chose the Crossway ESV Interleaved version. So every other page of my Bible is blank. That makes for a very thick book. For that reason, it pretty much stays at home. I have another Bible that I keep in my bag for church and reading while I am out. It sounds very first world to have multiple Bibles. And it took me a long time to allow myself permission for this little luxury. But I have now given myself permission, and I am glad that I did.
I don’t necessarily journal every day. Right now, I am, because I am working through a #letteringhislove challenge on Instagram. These types of challenges help me shake things up. I do read the Bible daily, but I don’t always have the time to devote to making a journaling page. It is never quite when I do my Bible Journaling or my devotions, for that matter. Quite is not something I get in my house. I do get time to sit and work on it. I might be interrupted a few dozen times. Some people like to put on music. I grab a cup of coffee or a glass of tea and sit and enjoy God’s Word. Sometimes a kid will join me at the breakfast table and work on their own art. My tween likes to make pages to tape into her Bible. Music isn’t always possible because someone may be watching Teen Titans or Paw Patrol in the next room. That is okay for me.
My favorite tool in Bible Journaling is my Tombow Calligraphy Pen. I find it does lettering so beautiful and deep black. I usually do a quick mock up on a piece of notebook paper, then use a pencil to lightly draw my basic lettering onto the page. I then go over the pencil with my Tombow Calligraphy pen. To keep my words straight, I put a sheet of lined notebook paper under my Bible page. It gives faint lines I can follow without me having to mark the page with lines that then have to be erased. It is also helpful when I am using things that might bleed through.
I have tried the Tombow Dual Brush Pens. I thought I would love them. Turns out, I don’t. Maybe I would like some of the colors, but the black and gray that I have are just not all that impressive.
Pigma Micron pens are also great for Bible Journaling. I find the thicker ones (05 and 08) are best for me. But the smaller ones are great for tiny details.
Water brush pens and watercolors are also excellent art supplies to try. The water brush pens keep you from using a huge amount of water in your work, so it doesn’t wrinkle the page as much. I have also used regular brushes and watercolor, and have liked the experience despite the page wrinkle issues. Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay ink is my all time favorite art supply. Unfortunately, it isn’t really best with Bible Journaling, due to the thin pages. If you want to use something that isn’t great on thin paper, you can always use it on better art paper and then use double sided tape, washi tape, or even a glue stick to glue it in.
I usually leave my Bible open to dry after I am done, but if I need to close it, I just stick another sheet of ruled paper on the top and close it. With very wet watercolors, this isn’t the best idea. But once everything is close to drying, or you used pens, it is fine.
I also have a love for washi tape. I use it to decorate my Bible book headers. I also use it to add some accent to pages. I use stickers, as well. Decorative paper can also be fun to work with and add in. I like to tab my artwork pages. I have used a few different kinds of tabs, but the Recollections sticker tabs from Michael’s are my favorite tabs. They are a really good size and they stick well.
Gel pens, colored pencils, acrylic paints, watercolor colored pencils, stamps, and stencils are all good tools to use for Bible journaling if you like them. You can also add decorative paper clips, bookmarks, really anything you like. I have seen some people Bible Journaling with just a pencil to sketch lovely drawings. Use the supplies you like. You can use the title page or table of contents page as a test page to see what your tools are going to actually do on the Bible style paper.
If you’re not quite sure about going the Journaling Bible route, you can always just keep a notebook of your art. Bookmarks are another way to begin Bible Journaling without committing to writing or drawing directly in your Bible. Another method would be to use double sided tape to tape pages into your Bible. I did this for a few months before I decided to buy a Journaling Bible.
If you are not really wanting to create the art yourself, you can buy a Coloring Bible or a Bible Coloring Book. There are also several people on Etsy that sell Bible Journaling templates you can use to trace or glue into your Journaling Bible. You can scrapbook your Bible, if that is more your thing. Really, anything that gets you into the word and interacting with it in new ways is going to be a good thing.
Here are some additional resources you may like:
Complete Guide To Bible Journaling
So, where do you start? Start with your favorite verse. Start with a Psalm or Proverb. Start with a Bible Story you can illustrate. Start wherever you are currently reading. Start with adding one entry to each book of the Bible. Just get started!
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