Bible Journaling

Getting Creative with Scripture

St Paul in one of his letters in the New Testament writes to Timothy: ^‘All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’          2 Timothy 3:16

We should be connecting with scripture every day. When we do it’s most likely going to be through reading it or hearing it. Daily readers and reflections are helpful, either on-screen, in a book or via a podcast. They help us to think about scripture from different angles, to maybe realise a ‘truth’ that we hadn’t considered before.

Seeing and hearing are useful ways to learn but what about ‘doing’ scripture. Learning more through our hands. Have you ever tried Bible journaling? That is the ‘in’ name for getting creative with scripture. It can give you a whole new outlook on the Bible.

Here are a few ideas. Choose a verse or passage of scripture that you would like to spend a little time with, then consider which words really stand out for you. What might God be saying to you through those words? Be creative with the words you have chosen, using any type of tools that suit you. It can be pens, crayons, pastels, paints, sticky paper.

Use your imagination to explore different styles for writing the words, different ways of colouring or decorating them. Add a picture that visualises the message for you. Then leave it and come back to it as you think of additions or changes. Save your final scripture picture to reflect on at another time. It may become a useful memory verse. You can share your pictures with others too.

I should perhaps add that some people decorate their Bibles in this way, although many create word pictures on paper or in a scrapbook, finding that through art they discover a new way to worship God. You might like to give it a go! It’s yet another way to help grow your faith, another way of spending time with God – and hopefully coming away with new learning and encouragement.

If you wish you can actually buy a colouring Bible that already has illustrations in it for you to colour. You can add other notes, words and pictures too. It’s worth, when you look at words of scripture in this way, to take note of the different translations too. A passage from the King James Bible, for example, may be very different from the same passage in the Good News Bible or the Message. But that only adds interest to your exploration.

An extension of this idea, that I find useful, is to create small designs on cards which fit into pockets or handbags. They can be surprisingly uplifting when you find them in your bag or pocket when you are out and about. They are useful too for giving to another person or even leaving in a café or hotel. But then we’re getting into growing the kingdom as well as our faith!

Let me know if you do any Bible journaling. It would be good to share.

Jill Nugent