Craft & DIY Tutorials

This morning while my kids were eating breakfast and I was drinking coffee, I decided to make my first bible journaling entry.

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I am completely new to this bible journaling thing, and by no means am I the expert, but I thought I would share my first experience. I first got the idea to bible journal from Lauren and her blog The Thinking Closet. She’s a Florida girl, and I stumbled onto her blog via you tube, and just loved how she explained her process and her first 10 entires. I alao saw some instagram pictures with the hashtag #illustratedfaith and by then I just knew it was time to give this bible journaling thing a try. My inner child and creative self just fell in love with some of the bible journal entires out there, and I knew I just needed to do it.

Before I explain my first entry, let me also say that adult coloring is really big these days, you see coloring books for adults everywhere. They say that coloring can relieve stress and thus I believe that is why so many people have taken it up or given it a try. Amazon has a really pretty looking coloring book that I would get if I were to adult color.

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But to be honest, I probably won’t be coloring in a coloring book. While I wanted to take up some sort of coloring aspect, I also wanted to take up bible journaling, and somewhere in my thoughts of these two things I decided I could color in a journaling bible if I wanted, and so in keeping in line with my goals for the the new year, and in growing my faith, I thought I could combine the two, which is exactly what I did this morning.

Now, I am not a pro at hand lettering…. but it may be something I plan to pick up or try while bible journaling. But since this was my first time doing something completely new, I wanted to keep it simple and basic. So I downloaded a bible journaling bookmark I got from an Etsy seller called The Salty Biscuit. She has a few bible related printable bookmark sheets where you can print them off, cut to size to match the margins of your bible and color away.

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The verse I chose to use today was Matthew 6:33. After downloading the printable bookmark, I chose to print it on sticker paper to allow for easy application into my bible. Again the kids were eating breakfast, and I knew I only had about 15-20 minutes to spend in my bible today. If you don’t have sticker paper, and have more time, regular paper and a light application of glue or use of a gluestick will probably work just fine.

Once printed, I cut it to the size desired and stuck right inside the margin where the verse Matthew 6:33 is in my bible, and then before coloring or anything else I read the verse and for that matter the entire page. It was quite a perfect versus and section to read, I must say in starting a new year. I love how God is great like that, you know, cleverly working in mysterious ways. I had no idea what verse or what section to start in, and for the sub heading about Matthew 6:33 it says “Do Not Worry” And the verse in my bible reads:

33 But seek first this kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

It continues with verse 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

You see, for me it is interesting that I landed on this today because as I began coloring in my bookmark I began reflecting on things that related to me personally and spiritually in the past year and the times I worried when I didn’t need to. I think this verse was meant for me today, to remind me going forward not to worry about things in the future, God is in control, he has a plan, and he will take care of us.

I will say whoever came up with this coloring thing knew what they were doing, but for me its more the bible journaling community that speaks my hearts language because you can do so much more than just color. You can use paints, wash tape, pens, glitter – whatever you want basically. And of course, after I was done coloring with my color pencils and crayons, I decided to bust out a few metallic paint pens to highlight the words “seek God” I think it just gave it an extra touch.

In the end, I really enjoyed making this first entry, even though it was short. I look forward to the next one, and the next where I might be able to just sit and absorb more and really be free creatively to paint and play. I love digging deeper with the meanings behind each verse and how I can relate to them and feel. Ultimately, bible journaling will give me more enjoyment, purpose and fulfillment. Which is just exactly what I was needing and looking for.

Do you bible journal? Let me know below in the comments, I’d love to see what you have done. If you want to know more about my bible and where I got it, click here to see my first post of the year where I talk about building my faith.