At first glance, the Write the Word Bible journals look simple enough - and they are! They're meant to be an easy way for anyone to get right into the Word, whether you're new to faith, a seasoned believer, or in a full season of life.
But within their simple format, we've been wowed by how creative our community has gotten with how to use these powerful journals. If you're looking for a way to mix up your quiet time with your favorite volume, try one of these Bible journaling ideas!
1. Get creative! Adding stickers, watercoloring, doodling, or sketching out the day's verses can not only be fun and relaxing, but it's a purposeful way to linger over scripture and give your brain space to contemplate what it means and how you might apply it to your life. We love the inspiration from the Illustrated Faith community!
2. Write out multiple translations. On most days, your verse page should have plenty of room to write out the scripture multiple times. Not only will this help it sink into your head and heart, but it's fascinating to compare and contrast the differences between translations! Bible Gateway is an easy way to look up translations - try the ESV, NIV, NLT, KJV, or the Message!
3. Answer simple questions. To begin to apply the day's verses immediately, we like journaling through these simple questions: What is it saying or teaching me? How can I apply it today? and Who can I share it with?
4. Write out related verses. Write the Word user Gayle suggests looking up and writing out other verses that are related to the day's verses, and using your journaling space to tease out the connection. If you have a study Bible (here's one we love), related or referenced verses are often listed at the bottom!
5. Read the whole chapter. We always recommend reading the whole chapter to gain the full context of the selected scripture, but to go a level deeper, write out other verses that stood out from the chapter in your journaling space, too.
6. Use a commentary. User Sally recommends the McArthur commentary, the Matthew Henry commentary, and the Bible Hub app. "The app is great because it goes verse by verse, has multiple translations, and multiple commentaries for each verse!"
We'd love to hear: how have you studied the Bible with your Write the Word journals?
Emily Thomas
