Sunday Musings - My New Journaling Bible

As I mentioned in a previous post, I originally started illustrated Bible journaling using my New Inductive Study Bible (NASB) and did not have plans to purchase a new Bible. In fact, Robbie had pre-ordered me a journaling Bible for my birthday, and I had him cancel the order! However, after working with several Bibles that will be used for display at the local scrapbook stores I'll be teaching Bible Journaling workshops at this fall, I found I really liked the Bibles designed with a space specifically for journaling.

Many of the popular journaling Bibles have been out of stock recently due to the popularity of the Illustrated Faith movement started by Shanna Noel last year. I looked online at the Bible that Robbie had picked out for me and noticed that they were back in stock. I was extremely fortunate to be able to request and receive a free copy of the NKJV Journaling Bible from the publisher (in exchange for an honest review). It is a very nice Bible!! I love the size, which is a approximately 7" x 8 1/2" (shown here with the new Micron Pen Set Robbie got me especially for journaling in my Bible).

I am using and prefer the New King James Version, however this lovely Bible is also available in the Holman Christian Standard and King James versions. This is a one-column Bible with a 1 3/4 inch lined margin for notes.

The first thing I did was simply take time to flip through this beautiful book, anticipating diving into the Word of God and illustrating the scriptures and lessons that speak to me.

There are several features that I really like in this Bible (a Daily Bible Reading Plan, concordance, and a few colored maps), but my favorite is a page near the very front of the Bible that shares God's plan for salvation. I personally have been going to church my entire life. (Seriously - I was born on a Friday and was in church on Sunday morning!) I've always known about Jesus and accepted Him as my Lord and Savior at a very young age. However, there are many people who spend their entire lives in church and never understand that being a Christian is simply a matter of believing in Jesus, confessing our sin, and accepting the gift of eternal life. This page very simply explains salvation, and I love that it's included here and can be used as a witnessing tool at any time!

I have to admit that although I write and highlight in my Bibles and have illustrated quite a few scriptures in my NISB Bible, I always find it difficult to get started in a new Bible! It's kind of like staring at the first blank page in a new journal and wanting everything to be perfect. So, I decided to start with the Presentation page, which looked like this.

I chose to use a patterned paper to cover the white portion of the page, adding my name and how I want to use this Bible. It doesn't really show up in the photo, but I used a clear Wink of Stella pen to add shimmer to the flowers on the background paper, too.

So far the only other thing I've done is to add a little strip of lace to the cover. Now I'm ready and excited to begin using my creative gifts to draw closer to the Lord and glorify Him in this new Bible.

(BTW - Here are the answers to the questions in yesterday's post - I was missing a white letter "S", however I solved the problem by using a "J" upside down & bending it around!)