Should 2024 be the year when you start Bible journaling? Here are some easy steps to get started in Bible journaling, as well as some tips for ways to make your Bible journaling effective and not distracting. I have been journaling in one form or another for decades, and it has greatly benefited my study of Scripture.
Bible Journaling has several benefits
1. Bible journaling helps you highlight and remember truth that you can live out in your daily walk.
Teachers are always recommending the process of notetaking. Taking notes makes us more active in the learning process, helps our mind to focus, and is usually the first step in remembering important information.
Even though it took centuries before people could have personalized notebooks with them everywhere they went, from the earliest times of giving His law, God encouraged His people to write truth down as a way to remember:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Each of us has the privilege of having Scripture in our hands, and we should continue to take note of it, writing down Scripture and as well as ways it applies to our lives.
2. Bible journaling encourages you to use a physical Bible at church and in your own personal devotions.
Our phones have become one of the most convenient tools in our lives, and it can be natural for us to simply use our Bible app in church and personal study. However, using a physical copy, especially in church, is really the best way to go. Few of us can completely avoid being distracted by notifications on our phones during these times. It may be useful to use Bible software that has additional commentaries for personal study, but there is so much value to having some quiet time with the Word—and no other distractions.
Journaling in my Bible has given me extra motivation to carry my heavy but invaluable copy of Scripture with me to church, and it has been incredibly helpful in keeping my mind focused on worshipping and learning at church. I really recommend just keeping your phone away during these keys times of studying God’s word!
3. Bible journaling keeps notes at your fingertips.
My love for Bible journaling started in college, but not with the Bible. As a literature student, I discovered somewhere in my junior year that if I really wanted to remember the notes I took about a particular text, I needed to write it directly in that text. I started, whenever possible, to write the commentary that my teachers gave for works of literature directly into my textbook next to the poem or story that we were studying. This meant that in the future, when I was looking at the text again, I didn’t need to dig up my notes and then find the place in my notes about that piece of literature. It made studying more effective for me, and meant that my notes were easy to find even decades later.
This practice moved into my Bible study methods as well, and today, each time I read a passage of Scripture, I have key sermon notes and previous personal meditations at my fingertips. You do need to be concise with your notes, focusing on the highlights rather than an entire outline, and it helps to have a wide margin Bible. But in essence, you are making your own study Bible, and tracking your study of specific passages over the years that you use that copy of Scripture. Here are a few specific Bibles I love and recommend.
“Large print journaling Bible with lined wide margins make this a perfect Bible for note-taking. Excellent for a gift or for personal use, it can also be a cherished heirloom to pass on to future generations with your personal writings inside!” (Amazon description)
“The ESV Large Print Wide Margin Bible features generous 11-point type, one-inch margins, and enlarged and bolded verse numbers, designed for easy reading and reference. This unique new typesetting is ideal for daily use and study for readers of any age.” (Amazon description)
“The ESV Women’s Study Bible features over 523,000 words of study content, along with over 350 reflections connecting Scripture to life, book introductions and timelines, character sketches of key figures, detailed maps and illustrations, articles on important theological topics, and elegant artwork from artist Dana Tanamachi interspersed throughout.” (Amazon description)
Some people have concerns about journaling
Some people may consider writing in a copy of Scripture to be disrespectful. If you have concerns about whether this is problematic for you, I don’t want to try to convince you to go against your conscience. Each of us needs to honor God’s word in the ways that we believe it should be honored. For some, the process of marking their Bible matches their learning style, helping them learn His word more effectively, and I believe that they can use it to honor God. If you have concerns, however, I don’t take those lightly. You should do what your conscience permits.
Some might be concerned about damaging their Bibles. If you choose to journal in your Bible, you should certainly get pens that do not bleed through the fine pages most Bibles have. You should always blot a page after you write. I always keep several extra papers in my Bible that I place between the pages, and then close the Bible to blot anything written on those pages. You also want to be careful not to smudge the writing with your hand. Blotting carefully before moving to another place on the page helps avoid this.
Here are the pens I always use:
I’m in love with the variety of colors and delicate ink of these PILOT Juice pens. They are gel and won’t bleed through the pages. The yellow color has the look of a highlighter, and I use it to highlight the names of God. Great pens!
Tips for effective Bible journaling
There are some ways to make your Bible journaling more beneficial, and things you want to avoid that can cause journaling to be distracting rather than helpful.
1. Focus on the Word itself.
Any journaling you do you should highlight the text of Scripture and never obscure it. I sometimes see fancy Bible journaling styles where people draw and color an image over an entire page, including the words of Scripture. This method may highlight one sentence from that page, but it completely distracts from everything else. I recommend that your journaling first highlight the text of Scripture; embellishments and images are added later in a smaller way but should always reinforce the text. (Note: I do want to recognize that there are artists who use the Bible like a canvas, and they are using a special copy of scripture for this purpose. I’m not speaking against this form of art. Rather, my thoughts are aimed at those of us using our study Bibles to journal in for the purpose of Bible study.)
2. Use different colors.
Using color as a way to highlight and reveal repeated themes is one of the greatest benefits of Bible journaling. As you journal more and more, the connected verses will pop out at you in full color as you consistently highlight certain families of meaning. Before you begin, it can be helpful to make a plan to always use certain colors with specific themes and words. I have a suggested list below:
3. Find lettering styles that you like.
You don’t need to be an artist to add visual embellishments that can highlight the word. Look up a particular style of lettering that you like, and then use it for particularly powerful words that you want to write in large font in the margins of your Bible. Looking at the lettering styles while you write can help those of us who can’t simply create beautiful handwriting on our own.
4. DON’T be perfectionistic.
Don’ expect your journal to look like the ones you’ve seen on Pinterest. Each of us has different handwriting styles and different strengths. One thing you do might look great, and other things may look a tad messy. The goal is to make the meaning stand out, and it doesn’t need to be a perfect work of art to do that! If your primary goal is to make your Bible look like a work of art, you might be distracting yourself away from the truth rather than highlighting the truth in your mind. Your journaling should always reinforce the message of Scripture, and never distract from it.
5. DON’T wait until you are perfect at journaling.
We learn as we go, and your journaling will improve over time. You don’t need to wait until you are perfect at journaling before you start to highlight the beautiful truths of Scripture!
How to start Bible journaling
If this is something that you think will help you in your study of the truth of God’s word, then I have a few tips about how to get started today!
1. As you focus on the text of Scripture, consider BOLDING, UNDERLINING, and HIGHLIGHTING the words.
For decades now, I have been using a method I saw a college friend use to make his own bold words in a text. I use this bolding method rather than underlining, which I find can get out of hand pretty easily for me. (I am sometimes tempted to underline everything!)
To make things bold, I carefully write over the letters again with a pen. For years I did this with a fine-tipped black pen, which makes a simple bolding of those words, but I have started to use colors as well to highlight the themes as mentioned above. Here’s what this bolding looks like.
However, I do want to warn you that the BOLDING method does require a steady hand. If this isn’t for you, I suggest the UNDERLINING method. To do this well, always carrying a bit of card stock in your Bible and use it as a guide to make your lines straight.
2. Draw lines as you notice verses that are connected by similar vocabulary.
I love cross references! These are powerful tools for us to let Scripture interpret Scripture. I love to note cross references on a micro level by noting phrases within the same chapter that are similar. Another time that I like to draw lines is when I see the word “therefore.” I remember a speaker once said, “When you see the word ‘therefore’ you should look back and see what it’s there for!” I have never forgotten that. The word “therefore” always indicates a connected foundation for what is being said, and we should take note of that!
3. Add notes from your pastor or commentaries that you have read, as well as your own personal meditations.
I have written prayers, notes about the meanings of words, additional cross references, and all kinds of things into the margins of my Bible, and I always benefit from these the next time I’m reading that passage of Scripture. It’s so helpful to track your journey through God’s truth by taking notes. This does usually require a wide-margined text, but just do whatever the size of your handwriting and your Bible margins allow. One tip that I have for notes is that if you are writing down the exact words of a speaker or commentator, go ahead and indicate that with quotation marks. You don’t want to mistake your own thoughts for those of someone else in the future. It’s always good to give credit to authors and teachers for what they say.
4. Finally, add images that reinforce the meaning.
For me, images are always secondary to any underlining and highlighting I do. I usually keep them quite small and directly related to the text. They can form a kind of sign post later for when you are looking for a particular passage. I also keep these simple—I am not trying to turn my Bible into my own personal canvas for art. I am merely trying to highlight the simple meaning of the text. My favorite things to draw are trees and plants and other things related to growth, RED FLAGS (which I put at verses that serve well as a personal warning to me), and other things of a similar nature. You do not need to be an artist to do great Bible journaling! The definition of great Bible journaling is journaling that helps highlight the truths of scripture to you.
Several years ago, my son asked me if he could have my Bible when I passed away. He loves to watch me journal in it, and often will read the notes I have written. This request revealed to me another benefit to Bible journaling—it could be a help to someone else in the future. This humbling thought prompts me to pray with Moses his prayer in Psalm 90:16-17,
“Let your work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!”
Resources
Finally, here are a few resources, in case you need some materials to help you get started!
If you are completely new to Bible journaling, consider how a complete kit might help you get started. There are a convenient and informative way to begin your journey!
I’m in love with the variety of colors and delicate ink of these PILOT Juice pens. They are gel and won’t bleed through the pages. The yellow color has the look of a highlighter, and I use it to highlight the names of God. Great pens!
If you prefer simple highlighting, make sure you get highlighters like these, which won’t bleed through. These are specifically made for delicate Bible pages, so they are a great choice!
Kay Arthur’s book on using notes in inductive Bible study is a classic! Her method is what gave me the first ideas for using different colors to highlight themes in Scripture.
This Bible from She Reads Truth is just one great example of a wide-margined Bible that is quite inexpensive.
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