Bible Journaling for Beginners

Karissa Eaton
Jul 10, 2023
3 min read

This year I set out to read my Bible more. I knew that I was severely slacking in this area and was ready to do better. I came across Bible journaling and it has quickly become one of my favorite things to do. But like many of you, I had no idea where to start. So let's start at the beginning.

Before I share my favorite Bible journaling tools, let me share how I started. A simple sheet of notebook paper, my Bible and the "She Reads Truth" app was where it all began. I am currently on a journey to reading books of the Bible in their entirety so I will choose a devotional from my "She Reads Truth" app that only studies one book. For example, I recently completed a study on the book of Ruth so I journaled in the book of Ruth. Once I choose the book and devotional I am ready to begin.

Here are 5 things I do to prepare to journal:

PRAY. First, I pray. It sounds simple enough but a lot of times it's a step we forget. Prayer is our first step to inviting His presence in so we can be changed by what we read. I usually take a few moments to pray and ask God to reveal Himself to me through scripture and to gain knowledge and understanding.
READ. Read the history/context of the book I am about to study. This helps me to understand who the text is for and the culture of that time. The book that I use to study context and history also shares keywords and themes of each book of the Bible. It has been a great resource. I will link it below!
DEVOTIONAL. Once I have done that, I will begin the devotional. The devotional will typically start one chapter at a time. So I will read the devotional along with the chapter and highlight key verses.
WRITE. I love all the pretty pages and fancy writing. I'm still working on that part. But I can still effectively journal without all the fancy! The point of journaling for me it to reiterate what I am reading and to easily find things that stood out to me while reading. In the columns I usually write parts that stand out to me, have special meaning and maybe something I didn't know before. I might write another verse from a different book of the Bible as a cross-reference. It doesn't have to be perfect.
REFLECT. During this time I usually take a few moments to reflect on what I've read and how I can apply it to my daily life. Sometimes I will turn on a worship song and just sit in the presence of the Lord.

I remember the first time I wrote in my brand new Bible. The pages were still crisp. I was so nervous to start writing because I didn't want to ruin the newness of it. I was afraid that it wouldn't be perfect and it wouldn't be as aesthetically pleasing as other bibles I have seen. But I was reminded that the point of all of it wasn't to have a pretty bible and it wasn't to write in the fanciest writing...all that is fine but if I was more concerned with how I was writing rather than what I was writing and learning, I was missing the point.

My hope and my prayer is that as you begin you journaling journey, you will draw closer to God and be encouraged.

My favorite journaling tools I've gotten so far:

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