How to Bible Journal without a Journaling Bible

I remember the very first time I laid eyes on a journaling Bible. It was my senior year of high school, and one of my friends received one as a present. She brought it to Bible class and all the girls ooh-ed and ah-ed over the gorgeous floral cover. Then she opened it and showed us how there were lines on the inside she could use to take notes.

It felt weird, being jealous of a Bible. Seemed paradoxical or something.

But I was. I looked at my normal Bible, with small margins that are hard to write in and sighed. I wouldn’t ever be able to take such good notes in my Bible as my friend. It made me feel like a less-than Christian. I know it’s silly, but that’s how I felt.

Over the next few months and years, the Bible journaling craze has only grown.

Have you seen pictures of gorgeous journaling Bibles on Instagram or Pinterest? I sure have! Looking at the beautiful artwork done in the margins of the pictured journaling Bibles makes me smile. I love seeing other people’s notes.

But, I still don’t have a journaling Bible. And I don’t know if I’ll ever buy one.

For one, journaling Bibles are expensive!
And for two, I’m kinda attached to my current Bible.

You see, I learned over the years that I don’t need a fancy journaling Bible to take pretty notes in my Bible. I can do so in my “normal” Bible just fine.

I have some friends who don’t like to write in their Bibles- even if it’s just underlining a verse. If that’s you, no worries :) I’m not here to force you to write in your Bible. For me, however, I’ve found that writing in my Bible really helps me. Whenever I break out the colored pencils or the washi tape, somehow I always end up more focused and more engaged with what I’m reading. 

That being said, today I want to share with you how I Bible journal without a journaling Bible in case you’d like to do so as well :)

This post includes affiliate links. You can see my disclosure page here; thanks for your support!

Alrighty, so let’s get started with a list of the supplies I use.

Supplies Needed:

• Bible
  • This is the most important supply ;)
  • My Bible is the English Standard Version Student Study Bible. This is a similar Bible.
• Washi Tape
  • Hobby Lobby had a sale on washi tape a few months ago, so I got most of mine there.
  • Walmart also has a good selection.
  • You can also find some on Amazon, like this 40 washi tapes for $10 deal. :)
• Sticky Notes
• Paper
  • You can use scrapbooking paper or regular copy paper.
• Pens, Colored Pencils, Crayons, Highlighters, etc.
  • The Daily Grace Co has some great pens and highlighters made specifically for using in your Bible. :)

How I Bible Journal without a Journaling Bible:

Method #1: Write in Margins

This is the very first way I started Bible journaling.

All you need to do is write in the margins of your Bible as you read your Bible, listen to a sermon, or participate in a Bible study.

Pretty simple, right? :)

If you mess up, you can simply place washi tape over the mess up and try again :)

My Bible also has introduction pages to each book of the Bible. Sometimes these pages have blank space, and I use those to take notes on as well.

Method #2: Sticky Notes

This method involves one of the most magical creations ever: sticky notes!

Odds are, you already have some of these lying around, but if not they’re pretty inexpensive.

Sticky notes are a great way to record notes in your Bible.

I carry sticky notes in my purse so that in church, if I need something to take notes on, I can whip out my sticky notes and place some on the page of the passage we’re discussing. Works out great!

Method #3: Washi Tape 

Washi tape is amazing! It comes in so many different colors and it’s so fun!

Like I mentioned above, I have several rolls of it now due to a sale Hobby Lobby had a while back. I have “regular” width washi tape, as well as skinnier washi tape.

The thicker, regular size I use to tape in paper.

The thinner tape I use to decorate the margins sometimes

Sometimes, if I’m studying one particular passage a lot, I’ll washi tape the top edge of that page so it’ll stand out and is easy to turn to. (Example of that under Method #5.)

Method #4: Color in Margins

You know those cute doodles you think of when you hear “Journaling Bible?”

Well, there’s no reason you can’t doodle in your normal Bible! Sure, these doodles may need to be on a smaller scale, but it’s still possible.

Another way to have art work in your normal Bible (that I haven’t tried yet) would be to washi tape a coloring page directly into your Bible and then color that.

Method #5: All of the Above

Simply combine one or more of the above ideas :)

Method #6: Don’t use a Bible

If you don’t want to write in your actual Bible, you could go to biblegateway.com and look up the passage of Scripture that you’re studying, copy it to a Google Doc, print it out, and doodle/take notes on that.

Or, you could use something like the Abide Journal from The Daily Grace Co to take your study notes in. I ordered this the other day and I’m excited to see how it impacts my Bible study time! There are prompts to lead you through your quiet time, a prayer journal section, a section for sermon notes and a place to list out what you’re grateful for! It has everything you need, all in one place! I can’t wait to get mine in the mail. :)

I hope this post has given you some inspiration on how you can Bible journal without a journaling Bible.

And I hope you’re able to apply some of these methods to your own personal Bible reading time :)

Let’s be Instagram friends! @kara_beth17

Posted by Kara Beth & filed under Faith Tips. This post has 2 comments.