Scripture art, Bible Journaling, Bible art–all names for a wonderful new way to interact with God’s Word. You can enjoy this meditative art with only a few inexpensive tools and not a lot of artistic talent! Read on for great tips and a video tutorial!
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No talent required
You don’t hear that too often, but in this case it’s true. You don’t need to be a gifted artist. Even kids can do this and have a wonderful time creating while meditating on a passage of scripture. I know you’ve probably seen beautiful images on Pinterest that could be shown in a gallery. If you possess that talent–that’s totally awesome! But if you’re like me, you’ll benefit from some easy ideas to have a great result!
Easy Bible Journaling — start with a Bible
You can use any Bible or journal that you have, so no purchase necessary. But if you’d rather dedicate a specific Bible to meditative art, you will enjoy either one of these. The ESV Journaling Bible has side margins that are lined for you to take notes. Here’s the same type only in the NIV.
The scripture is to the side so if you would prefer to keep your creativity in the side margin, you’ve still got plenty of room. Here’s a picture of one of my pages to give you an idea.
You may also really like an Interleaved Bible. It’s patterned after the great preacher and theologian, Jonathon Edward’s Bible. Every other page is blank. So you have a full blank page next to the scripture to create and there is no concern for covering the Biblical text. Here’s the ESV interleaved version with a beautiful floral cover.
For easy Bible journaling, use your phone
On to the tutorial! Easy journaling is right at your fingertips through your phone. And the images will be just about the right size. Do a search for the verse you’re studying and see what comes up. Or, based on what the verse brings to your mind, search for an image. In the video below, I searched for an image of a lantern because that’s what came to my mind when I was studying Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I wanted the image to be larger, so I sketched it, but you could easily use a tablet or your phone to trace it. Simply put the phone under your page and the lighted image is easily transferred. Trace lightly in pencil.
Trace an image from anywhere. Think, coloring book, magazine, book, downloadable image, etc.
Prep the page for wet medium
If you’re going to stick to colored pencils, you can skip this step, but if you’re using anything that is wet, prepping your page is needed. Don’t worry. It is super super simple. All you need is clear gesso and a sponge applicator. I also use either wax paper or parchment paper underneath my page and on the opposite page to protect it.
Dip the brush into the clear gesso and brush horizontally across the page. Gesso the entire page or even just a part of it if you plan on containing the design to a smaller portion of the page. If you’re using watercolor or acrylic paint, put two coats of gesson on your page. Dry each coat before adding the next.
Dry it with a blow dryer on the warm/low setting. The next step is micron pen.Trace over your pencil design with the pen.
Micron pens are a must for easy Bible journaling
Why not use any old felt tip or ball point pen or even sharpies? You could use those. But the results won’t be nearly as good. The sharpie markers bleed through so you would have it on the next page too 🙁 I made that mistake at the beginning. . .
Micron pens are archival ink, so they don’t bleed through, they maintain their quality over time and don’t eat away at the page. They’re also waterproof! So, if you would like to keep your Bible journal for years to come, and even pass it along to someone special, it’s the better option. I’ve tried a number of them, and these Mincho Needle Drawing Pens are my favorite. There are 10 different sizes including a brush pen.
After the micron pennning, break out the colored pencils!
Watercolor colored pencils have vivid colors
You can either use watercolor colored pencils dry or you can slightly wet the page and drop the color in. You can also color your design and come back in with either a damp paper towel or a makeup wipe to blend the colors and brighten them up. That’s what I did in the video above. The Prisma water based colored pencils are perfect for this. I’ve had a set of these for two years and LOVE them! The leads don’t break when you sharpen them and the colors are magnificent.
You could color the entire page as I did in the video, but you could also block out the text that you’re journaling on with painter’s tape and color around it so that it stands out. If you decide to do this, stick the tape to your pantleg a couple of times and pull it up. That way it won’t be as sticky and get stuck to your page, tearing it up.
Hmmm, what do I study? That’s a good question . . .
What do I journal?
Ever sit down with your Bible and not know what to read or where to start? Here’s some ideas to get you reading, meditating and creating every day.
- Use the scripture(s) that your pastor was teaching on this week. It’ll help you to internalize the message. Did you ever think about how many hours of prayer and preparation go into your minister delivering God’s Word to you on any given Sunday? It’s a great idea to spend a little more time with it during the week and break it down a bit more. Bible journaling is a great way to do it.
- Verse of the Day . . . Do you have any being delivered to you electronically, or some other way? Now’s your opportunity to dig deeper. Read the whole passage so you can glean more of the full meaning. Then take it one step further in your journaling time.
- What are you studying? Are you in a study at church or doing one on your own? Grab some of those verses to journal. I’ve written two studies that help you take the scripture from your head to your heart using a simple inductive method. Inspired, Drawing Inspiration from the Psalms has images for you to trace into your Bible. The beauty of this study is that you have the text laid out for you on one side of the page, an image to use for Bible journaling and the study area on the opposite page. Study and Bible art journaling combined–yay!
Easy Bible journaling is . . . easy!
With just a few tools, a little ingenuity and a few minutes of time, you can take your meditating on scripture to a whole new level. I started doing this a couple of years ago and have never looked back. It’s been amazing for me to see how much more I’m retaining the meaning of a passage I study.
When you invest more time sitting with the Words of God, He is faithful to penetrate your very soul and leave you with something beautiful. I pray that you will find this as enriching as I have.
Was this helpful? Leave me a comment below.
Click here to learn more about Easy Bible journaling! Free printable too!
Above is just one way–using velum paper as a tip-in!
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