Perhaps you’ve caught on to the whole Bible Journaling Craze. If you Google it or go on Pinterest you see beautifully illustrated Bibles EVERYWHERE! Some are pretty spectacular and obviously created by talented artists. You’ll also find words of encouragement for Bible Journaling “Beginners” and lots of templates/coloring pages you can use if you don’t consider yourself an artist.
I have been Bible journaling for 7 months now and I absolutely LOVE it. From the time I was little, I have always had a passion for art. Coloring was my favorite pastime and so I entered a lot of coloring contests as a kid (and won some). There were also art classes I took in high-school that taught me things like how to blend and layer with colored pencils. Although I found much pleasure with art, I never pursued it as a career, because I felt like my true gifting was with music, playing my flute. Now that I’m a busy mom I hardly have time to play my flute, let alone sit down to draw a picture… UNTIL, I discovered Bible Journaling!!
Bible journaling is something that gives more meaning to taking time out of a busy day to create art. Finding a scripture that resonates with me and then copying it with creative lettering, adding colorful illustrations in the margins of my Bible make God’s words even more beautiful than they already are. The Bible verses leap off the page and come to life for me! But, this post is not about what I can do in my Bible. This is about what YOU can do in YOUR Bible. So, if you’ve thought at all about starting to Bible journal but wondered how to start, here are a few simple and easy journaling ideas for you…
USE A PENCIL: I don’t know about you, but I was a little hesitant to start drawing in my Bible. What if I didn’t like the outcome? It’s not like you can just throw the page away and start over! That’s why I always use a pencil before outlining in pen or coloring with colored pencils. It definitely helps with planning a good layout for your page.
TRY DIFFERENT FONTS: I like to use a combination of different fonts when I copy a scripture. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Try writing a few words all in UPPERCASE letters (especially words that are important to you like GOD, JESUS, HOLY SPIRIT). By using all caps it really makes those words stand out on the page. Then, try writing in all lowercase letters, or making your letters tall and skinny. Remember in high-school when we wrote in block or bubble letters? That’s fun to do in your Bible too! And, of course we all have different styles of handwriting. Don’t be afraid of yours. USE IT!! It’s who you are.
FLOWERS: You don’t have to be an artist to draw flowers. If you can draw a circle, you can draw a flower! Even the simplest of flowers can be beautiful in the margins of your Bible. For the more intricate flowers, try pinning some photos on Pinterest to refer to for inspiration.
LEAVES: I can never draw enough leaves in my Bible 🙂 They can be a simple border around your words or they can get wild and crazy like a vine that grows every which way! All you have to do is draw a few long squiggly lines with little oval shapes attached to the lines in random places, and voila… LEAVES!
COLOR, COLOR, COLOR: For me, colored pencils are the perfect tool that make your art come to life in your Bible. I started with an inexpensive set of Crayola colored pencils. But, then I treated myself to a set of Prismacolors that were on sale and that is what I use all the time now. They are definitely worth the price!
PIGMA MICRON PENS: They are awesome! Amazon usually has these pens on sale. They come in different tip sizes and colors. They even have brush pens, which are lots of fun to use. The pens are good quality and won’t bleed through the pages of a durable journaling bible.
I hope this gives you a little motivation to give Bible Journaling a try. If you’ve already been journaling, what are some of your ideas?
