Journaling is by far my favorite activity. I started keeping a journal when I was ten years old, and I’ve hardly missed a day since. I saw a journaling Bible for the first time when I was in high school, and the concept was beyond appealing to me. I don’t know why it took me so long to actually get one. Probably because I’ve never actually bought myself a Bible; they’ve always been gifted to me.
My husband bought a journaling Bible for me last fall. A friend of ours hand painted the cover, and it is absolutely beautiful. Beauty aside, what I love about it the most is the purpose for which it was made: taking notes in the margins. I’ve always written notes in the tiny margins of my Bibles, but I finally have a Bible with plenty of space for writing. If you’re interested in Bible journaling, I want to share my Bible journaling essentials with you to help you get started.
A JOURNALING BIBLE
This one is obvious, but you’ll need a journaling Bible. There are many options, and it can be easy to get overwhelmed. The two main options are margins without lines and margins with lines. My journaling Bible has margins with lines. This is a good option for me because I’m using it to write notes about the passage of Scripture I’m reading. If you’re a note taker, this would be a good option for you. I like this one.
If you’re more artistic and want to do hand lettering or sketches in the margins, a Bible without lined margins might be a better option for you. This one would be perfect!
HIGHLIGHTERS
I was never one to highlight in my Bible until I started using a journaling Bible, but now that I’ve started, I don’t think I’ll ever go back. Underlining is fine, but highlighters look so much neater. I love these highlighters because they are double ended. The fine tip end is perfect for highlighting in smaller print Bibles. They’re also not fluorescent like most highlighters, and they don’t bleed through. (Disclaimer: journaling Bibles usually have thicker pages. I can’t say if they would bleed through a regular Bible with very thin pages.)
A PEN
You’ll want a pen that you like to write with. I use a nice ballpoint pen like this one. Fountain pens are always fun, but I haven’t tried one in my journaling Bible. This really depends on your preference. If there’s a type of pen you normally like writing with, go with that one. You really can’t go wrong.
WASHI TAPE
You can use washi tape for so many different things. The thing I use it for the most is marking the verse where I left off. I just tear off a little piece and stick it by the verse where I want to pick up tomorrow. It won’t ruin the pages of any Bible, and you can reuse the same piece over and over. You could also stick a strip of washi tape vertically beside a passage you want to take notes on. This would mark which verses go with which notes. Get creative here!
The sky is really the limit when it comes to Bible journaling, but these are my essentials to get you started. If you have any other tips, I would love to hear about them in the comments!