Five reasons I love Bible journaling

About a month ago, I was talking to a friend about how much I love art journaling, especially during this time of social distancing. She told me I should check out her sister-in-law’s Instagram page to see a similar form of art that she does in her Bible.

I looked her up at Stir the Soul, and I was immediately captivated! I had purchased a Bible journaling Bible three or four years ago, but my journaling looked NOTHING like this! Her pages were completely covered in bright colors, hand lettering and cute images.

Within hours after that conversation, I was watching YouTube videos on Bible journaling techniques. Since I already had a Bible with extra wide margins designed for journaling, I pulled out my watercolors and worked up my nerve to actually paint all over the page of my Bible. Once I got started, I wanted to do another page. And another.

I’ve been Bible journaling almost everyday for the past month, and here are a few things I love about it:

• It motivates me to read my Bible and search each passage for key verses. I often struggle to read my Bible consistently, but I know my day goes better when I start that way. Because I love creating colorful pages in my Bible, I can’t wait to sit down with it each morning and get creative while studying the Bible.

• It helps me remember where verses are found. I know I haven’t even come close to going through my whole Bible, but I love how I now associate the Scriptures that I’ve completed with a color palette or image. I know that the verse in Psalms about God’s voice, for example, is the page with the owl. (By the way, all of the images in this post were created in the DaySpring NIV Illustrating Bible – Book of Psalms and Proverbs.)

• It combines all of the art techniques I already love. For the past few years, I’ve been growing in my love for watercolor painting, hand lettering and art journaling. Bible journaling combines all of these into ONE project!

• I love trying new art supplies. I’ve been trying products I had never touched before like gelatos, distress oxide ink, gesso, Tombow brush pens, and more!

• It’s all contained in one place. Often when I’m trying new creative projects, I end up with a pile of watercolor paintings, a random notebook full of doodles or a bucket full of painted rocks. I love that not only is all of my work contained in one place, but it’s a book that I will go back to again and again.

Several people have asked me about what products I am using to Bible journal. I will write about that in my next blog post!

**

So, what do you think? Is Bible journaling something you might want to try? Would it make you nervous to paint in your Bible?

*

*