Bible Journaling - What is It? Part One

What is Bible Journaling? 

(Part One of Two Parts)

One of the Visual Faith® practices that I have been wanting to dive deeper into is journaling in the pages of my Bible. I’ve done some form of Bible journaling for years. First highlighting verses in different colors and adding tiny notes.  When I discovered journaling Bibles with a whole column of white space for notes and such, I began doodling and creative journaling, and adding extra pages known as “tip-ins.”

You may be doing the same things and thinking, “That’s Bible journaling?” Yep. All of this is Bible Journaling. 

What Is Bible Journaling? 

For centuries, Christians have underlined or highlighted passages and used the margins of their Bibles to take notes, also called marginalia. Just search for images of “marginalia” online and you’ll find a plethora of lovely, thoughtful, and sometimes provocative examples. 

“In the history of the church, people have filled their margins with just about every imaginable response to scripture” (57). Johann Sebastian Bach’s Bible “shows more than three hundred touch points of musical inspiration.” Interestingly, his Bible is housed at the Concordia Seminary Library in St. Louis. (Source: Writing in the Margins)

One well-researched article (“Did You Know Martin Luther Practiced Bible Journaling?”) indicates that Martin Luther valued writing in the margins of Bibles. “He (Luther) had the printers produce special Bibles with lines that were spaced to leave ample room for students to take notes both between the lines and in the margins. What made Luther’s teaching style unique was his combination of scholarship and devotion: he explained the Bible texts carefully using the most recent scholarly insights and then applied these to faith life.” 

I love that Luther taught his students to take notes in their Bibles!

Modern Marginalia 

Over the last 20 years, publishers have also begun printing Bibles with wider margins or even extra pages (aka Interleaved Bibles) to leave room for thoughts or sermon notes. And recently, a more creative form of Bible Journaling has emerged, where practitioners use paints, stamps, colored pens, and pencils to draw and hand-letter in the margins as they meditate and pray. 

Simply, Bible Journaling is the practice of writing in your Bible. Sometimes these are underlined or highlighted passages or prayers, doodles, notes, or thoughts scribbled in the margins that help you privately process God’s Word. For others, these are beautiful, careful drawings done and shared with others as an act of worship. 

But Bible journaling isn’t about the art. Yes, while it can be a creative outlet for artistic people, the goal shouldn’t be to display your artistic abilities. As with all visual faith practices, Bible Journaling is about growing closer to the Lord through prayer and reflection using visual tools. 

Like other visual faith practices, it is what you make it, but no matter how you practice Bible Journaling, the goal is to engage more deeply with Scripture.

Here’s a lovely 2-minute video where one of the Visual Faith® Ministry founders shares her Book of John journaling to give you an idea of what Bible journaling can look like. 

Start Simple

Entire books have been written about Bible journaling! And dozens of YouTubers will walk you through everything from how to prep your Bible pages for paint to adding homemade tabs. It can be overwhelming if you’ve never tried this before. But I encourage you to begin by simply opening your Bible, reflecting on this verse:

Your word is a lamp to my feet

    and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

Go ahead now, look it up and then underline it or highlight it. Maybe put a heart next to it because it’s a great verse. 

There you go, reading, marking, and inwardly digesting God’s Word. You just journaled in your Bible. Not too hard! No artistic talent required. No special tools. 

Perhaps you can find another verse and do the same thing tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. 

To God be the glory.

Thanks to Visual Faith Coach Beth Foreman for sharing this encouragement in our community.