There’s an artistic movement sweeping the margins of Bibles everywhere….And I’m joining in!

I’ve fallen in love with a new kind of art: Bible Journaling.

Krista Hamrick

                                                                    

I love being creative, and being able to pair that with Bible study has really given me a new excitement about studying God's Word.

My love and knowledge of the Bible have grown through a time-honoured, old-fashioned way: Growing up, I heard and discussed the Bible stories my Sunday school teachers taught me at our local church, and whilst attending a Christian primary school, and through the years, I’ve listened to countless sermons preached by ministers inspired by various passages from the Bible.

As a creative person I often found it a struggle to have a passion for my bible in a way that so many around me seemed to experience. I really want to get into reading it, but it’s a struggle to understand, or to even believe sometimes.

So when I first read about Bible art journaling in one of my totally unrelated blog post readings, it sparked my interest.

ArtfulWorship

WHAT IS BIBLE JOURNALING?

Bible journaling is a vision of how you interpret the verses of God’s Word through illustration;  

It is a visual presentation of your worship with God;

It is a creative way to reflect on your scripture reading;

Tami Spencer

It is an opportunity to connect deeply, personally and spiritually with the Word of God in a way that suits your individuality;

Bible journaling is journaling, colouring, drawing, writing or even doodling in the margins and/or pages of your bible;

What you journal, draw or doodle is inspired by the Word. It’s not how it looks, but rather that you are expressing your thoughts on a particular verse;

Danya Arnold

It helps you to understand and relate to the Word in a way that you have never been able to before;

It allows you to take what God is teaching you and relate it directly to a verse that is speaking to you and will make you fall in love with your Bible all over again;

Bible journaling is important because it will help you learn to hear God’s voice more accurately, strengthen your resolution and trust in God for the rough seasons, and help you record momentous stages of your walk with Him;

Krista Hamrick

It will also document the moments that you grow with Jesus;

It is a fantastic form of artful meditation.

Anita Haines

Is it ok to write, colour, and paint in your bible?

To me? YES!!!   

That being said though, this is not going to be for everyone out there.

Whilst growing up I was taught:

•      NEVER WRITE IN YOUR BIBLE

•      Don’t place anything on top of your Bible.

•      Turn a page like it was a dead leaf about to crumble.

As Christians, we widely agree that God created man and the entire universe. That would make our God a highly creative individual.

Just look at the array of landscapes He made. The colours of the leaves in autumn. The different flavours of the foods we eat. The softness of a cat. The melody of a robin. The scent of jasmine. Not to mention the stars and galaxies and planets we know nothing about. God is creative.

He made us like Him (Genesis 1:26), therefore we are creative. We all have different ways of expressing that, and most of us do something with our hands:

·         Draw

·         Paint

·         Sculpt

·         Write

·         Etc

So, to get to know Him better, it makes sense to do things He would appreciate. Like writing a poem about Him, painting a lovely field He has made, drawing the thoughts of your heart.

Many of us have heard God speak to us through the Bible, so why wouldn’t we combine the Bible with creativity?

Bible marking has helped me to hear God more clearly, and here are three reasons Bible marking can help YOU to hear God better:

1.    Art journaling will help you focus on your emotions and sort through them in a positive way. God can reveal a new perspective or solution via drawing. It is also therapeutic and can be encouraging to others.

2.    Writing is a very helpful tool to uncover the emotional baggage you may have buried. Reading God’s word in tandem with writing can give you revelation in your own life. It can show you where you may be harbouring unforgiveness, or where you are not fully trusting Him. It is also a great way to document your walk with Jesus.

3.    Memorisation can help the Word of God be firmly planted in your heart and “renew” your mind to it as Romans 12.2 talks about. The first step of memorising a verse or two is by highlighting or underlining it. It needs to be easily referenced and using bright colours will help.

onechristianchick

God wants to talk to you, and the best way to start hearing His voice is through the Bible. Coupling His word with Bible marking will amplify His ability to speak to you because you already understand what it is to be creative.

Understanding His word and hearing His voice can be challenging at times, and you can make it easier with Bible marking.

So with this in mind, I have personally bought a journaling Bible, and that is what I am doing in it – JOURNALING.

I may colour outside the lines or make glaringly obvious mistakes, but that really isn’t the point here. The point is I am in it, reading the Bible more often.

Kristine Dixon

WHAT DO I NEED TO GET STARTED?

Honestly all you really need to get started is your Journaling Bible (or ordinary Bible and an art journal or a notebook if you have decided to do this outside your bible) and your favourite pen and coloured pencils.

Going forward there are so many options that I will be covering with you all very soon, but I don’t want to allow the long list of things you may WANT to get some day to hold you back from getting started today.

I encourage you to keep it simple at first and see what you use most or what you find yourself wanting to use. It is very easy to get caught up in what everyone else is using and feel like you “need” to have it all, but we are all different artists and so it is important to see what you are personally grabbing for in the process.

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 Bible journaling is all about: it is about having fun with the Holy Spirit.

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!

So if you’re finding the prospect of getting started with illustrating your faith something that you want to do, I want to encourage you to sign up to my blog and join my Facebook page where we can explore our journey together.

I have a few of these basic kits left, so if you are interested, please leave a comment below, or email me on jaylin@netactive.co.za : 

Basic Bible Journaling Kit

Special thanks to the following for their inspiration for this blog:
Bethany from Pitter and Glink, Shanna Noel from Illustrated Faith, and Time Warp Wife.