When I meet new people and they ask what I do, it is usually followed up by, “What is Bible journaling?”
Bible journaling is an awesome combo of worship, the Word, and creativity. As I often say, our God is a creative God and He wants to inspire you!
At Move the Mountains, we very strongly encourage people to begin journaling to hear God more clearly, as a way to document their growth in the faith and keep track of miracles, and to use in a rough season when they need to be reminded of why they believe in God.
What is Bible journaling?
Bible journaling is a little different than normal journaling. You can still use it for the purposes above, but it is more geared to allowing the Holy Spirit and the Word to inspire you to worship with your hands.
As you can see from the examples we have provided, almost every one is a verse, or at least, inspired by a verse. That is what makes it “Bible journaling”. If you wanted to paint or draw because of a quote you heard, that would be creative journaling (which is very fun), not Bible journaling.
Why do these Bibles have margins and mine doesn’t?
The Bibles in these examples are actually a newer item called Journaling Bibles (go figure), and what the #biblejournalingcommunity is doing with them is breathtaking!
Most journaling Bibles have 2-inch margins on every page so that you can write or draw or paint what God’s Word inspires you to. They are not available in many places yet (they are still relatively new) but Move the Mountains stocks them! We have two beautiful, feminine covers and one black cover (because not every woman wants a jazzy looking Bible!). You can view our Bibles by clicking here.
Not an artist?
Ok, let’s say you find all of this intriguing and you are interested, but you are no artist.
- Yes, you are an artist.
- Don’t believe the enemy who wants to tell you otherwise.
God created you, He created you for a purpose, and one of those purposes is to express Him, and He is creative. Therefore, as a creation of a creative God who expresses her Creator, you are a creative woman!
There is something God put in each person’s soul, it is like a little seed. This seed is a flower that will sing when it gets watered. Now, if you don’t consider yourself creative or think that you could ever do anything like the examples I’ve provided, you’re wrong because you’ve just been trying to water your little seed in the wrong places.
How do I water my little creative seed?
First of all, ANYONE can hand letter. If you can write clearly, you can hand letter. This is just a matter of practice and possibly instruction.
Two weeks ago, my hand lettering was terrible, now it’s not so terrible! It isn’t where I want it to be but a little instruction went a long way. Two weeks ago, I took a hand lettering class from Paper Source. The instructor didn’t do much “instructing”, however, being intentional by watching her hand letter and taking time to look at the examples she provided helped immensely.
What gave me an added boost was this book, Modern Calligraphy. The examples of real calligraphy gave me a framework for my letters. If you want to pick up the book for yourself on amazon (which I highly recommend for newbies), click here.
Second of all, watercolor is hot right now and ANYONE can use watercolor; my three year old can use watercolor. Now, my little guy’s watercolor is not beautiful, but he has fun and that is what all of this is really about!
If you feel like you are not an artist or don’t think you can be inspired to do something creative, you need to remember what is Bible journaling: it is about having fun with the Holy Spirit.
Nervous?
If you think Bible journaling looks cool and you want to try it but it fills you with dread because of the pressure, remember God is not going to judge you. You don’t have to show anyone but Him. You don’t even have to do it in your Bible to begin with!
What is essential is trying it with the right heart. It is not something you ever have to do though, it would be a get to.
You can start practicing by doodling and painting and COPYING. Yes, copy what others are doing and slowly add your own flair on it. If you haven’t had a creative mindset for a while and it is hard to think of ideas, it isn’t because you aren’t creative, it is because your brain hasn’t been trained to think that way yet!
I want to encourage you, ABOVE ALL, do not be discouraged about Bible journaling. It is something everyone can do.
I know you have that little creative singing seed in you! You just have to find out where it is and water it.
Getting started today
To start Bible journaling today:
- Take your favorite verse, pen, and paper
- Go to my Pinterest page for Bible Journaling by clicking here and follow it
- Find a style you want to copy
- and GO FOR IT!
Remember to take it slow and breathe. Let the drawing take on a shape of its own, not what you expect it to be.
It probably isn’t going to look exactly like the example you picked out and you don’t want it to. The picture you are copying was the Holy Spirit and the OTHER person; this is the Holy Spirit and YOU. Enjoy your time with Him without setting any expectations on it.
To learn more about what is Bible journaling, click our blog button and then Bible journaling option on the menu!
Amanda thank you for your words they have HUGELY (very big) inspired me. I dabble in my creative side but because I am a perfectionist get easily frustrated by my attempts. Your words that “our God is a creative God and therefor I AM CREATIVE” spoke deeply to me. Thank you. It has encouraged me to keep on trying. I give up thinking “well I suppose it’s not my gift” BUT I AM CREATIVE – I AM CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF MY CREATIVE GOD. Thank you Amanda. (Linda)
That is SO awesome, Linda! I’m so happy I could help to inspire you. You’ve got that singing seed in you, ask God to bring it out and He will! Peace and love to you!