Looking for a fun way to spend some meditative time in scripture? Bible Journaling is a fantastic way to connect with God while creating something beautiful in the process. Turning the pages of your Bible and seeing the beautiful images that accompany the verses that impact you most, is truly inspiring and sparks a wonderful sense of anticipation to opening up God’s Word.
But, oh what to do if you’re not the Rembrandt of Bible journalers that can pick up the pencil or pen and naturally create a beautiful picture or craftily hand letter your thoughts? Shall you suffer the fate of the artistically challenged, forever to live in the desert of colored pencil poverty? I think not! There are ways to have the Bible Journaling experience my friend. There are ways 🙂
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Ways to get started . . .
I’m new to this journaling technique myself, but it’s pretty exciting to have another way to interact with God’s Word. Each time I sit down to read and ponder a passage that I would like to journal, I take more time to think about what God is teaching me and what I learn from it than if I’m just reading it. That’s precious time for me and the Lord together, and it’s faith-building! The important thing to remember is not how perfect your coloring or image is, or how creative you are. What matters is that you’re spending time with the Lord and hearing Him speak to you. Don’t worry about colored pencils, markers, water colors or your ability to create. Just sink in and get comfy, listen and let whatever flows out of you just happen.
Here are a few ideas for how I’m making journaling a part of my life even though I don’t consider myself a gifted artist. Maybe they’ll help you too . . .
Table of Contents
Use a template to trace or draw from.
I’ve got a few free ones for you that fit nicely in a journaling Bible. Scroll down to the bottom to download. Put the template under your page and trace it lightly with pencil. Go back over it with a fine line marker, and then add in colored pencil.
Trace a coloring book page that has nice dark lines.
Just slip part of the page inside your Bible. There are countless adult coloring books out there to choose from. I like the smaller pages and designs of this, or I’ve even used cool stained glass coloring books that make tracing easy—their lines are bold and crisp.
Free hand drawing a simple design that speaks to your heart is definitely doable.
Colored pencils are more forgiving and easier to work with.
These Prisma Watercolor pencils can be used with a scant amount of water on a brush. Wipe off the brush on a paper towel to remove most of the water before brushing what you have colored. You can see from the image that I used a little bit too much water (I’m being transparent here), and the paper wrinkled a bit. I don’t mind—adds character:) Now that I’ve had these pencils for a while, I can say they are the best. I’ve almost used some of them up and will buy again.
It might help if you sketch it out on paper first to work out the kinks before taking pencil to your Bible page. Adding small splashes of color with washi tape (I have this set) or stickers is a fun addition and adds a pop of color. I found these great stickers at the dollar store!
Use tracing paper and create your own design.
Cut it to fit, and use small bits of two-sided tape to attach it into your Bible margin. I see a lot of promise for this idea. This Strathmore tracing paper is nice and thin—easy to see through if I want to trace. If I make a mistake or don’t like it, shoot a three-pointer into the trash can and start over!
There are new Bible Journals that have pre-printed designs for you to color.
I have this Beautiful Word Coloring Bible and I love it! It has so many beautiful illustrations to color. Some are in the margins and many are also full pages. I have the Large Print edition and it’s pretty much the same size print as a regular Bible. I did a full review of it here.
If you’re new to Bible journaling or study in general, you are among friends over here at Inspired and Refreshed. We all started reading the Bible somewhere in time and no one is here to judge;) Here are a few ideas I’ve found useful for getting started interacting with God’s Word.
- Read a small chunk of scripture a couple of times, slowly. Choose the version that you love. I tend to like the ESV (English Standard Version) or the NIV (New International Version). Ask yourself three questions: What does it say? What do I learn? How do I apply it? I wrote another post about this method here if you’d like to read more.
- Worship and journal about one or more of God’s attributes. When you reflect on a passage, what character traits do you notice? Pray and journal that adoration back to Him. Psalm 18:1-2 holds so many attributes in just two verses. Take a look:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
- Study a prayer in the Bible. What do you learn about God or man? There is so much to learn and enrich our own prayer life from studying how Jesus and others prayed. Take a look at how Paul prayed for his beloved Philippian friends in Philippians 1:3-11. I love his heart and passion for the people and how greatly he desires their spiritual growth more than anything else. Journal your thoughts in the margin, or write down some names of the people you’re praying for. Then get out the colored pencils and outline, draw flowers, shapes, or whatever moves you!
I encourage you to give Bible Journaling a try. Take advantage of the free templates I created, and let me know how it goes. Subscribe below for your Free Bible Journaling Template. One thing that I’ve learned is that drawing, lettering and creating is a learned skill. You will get better with time, so don’t get discouraged at the beginning. Ask a friend to join you or gather a small group and share your ideas (as well as your art supplies:) You can encourage one another and make the experience even more fun!
Or if you’d like a free study with some great Bible Journaling templates to trace, sign up for my newsletter. It’s a great free resource:)
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