Journaling is a personal sort of writing that is not seen by anyone except the writer who is writing for himself or herself and no one else.
This leaves room for honesty and risk-taking. For the writer who has wanted to try varied styles of expression, there is no criticism and no wrong answers.
Bible journaling is focused on what God’s Word is saying to the individual heart and mind, providing motivation and direction for the writing.
Yet, Bible journaling is still an invitation to honestly and creatively respond to the Lord. Here are five Bible journaling ideas for the New Year.
1. Experiment with Genres
The Bible is one book consisting of many books and within those are several genres and styles of writing. There is prose, much like essay writing, poetry, and storytelling.
Some stories feature Jesus telling more stories (parables); others (Revelation) resemble fantasy/sci-fi. And the Psalms are lyrics the Jews would have sung to help them remember who God is and what He has done.
Is there an episode that brings out so much emotion there are hardly enough words? Employ the tools of poetry such as rhyme, simile, metaphor, and symbolism.
Exaggerate, personify, and draw word pictures, which help to get the feelings on paper when regular adjectives and verbs are inadequate.
Use the Psalms as a model — after all, the Psalmist frequently shares with God deep, dark feelings. Consider Psalm 88:3, where the writer laments, “My soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.”
Perhaps a confusing event will become untangled when recounted as a story with characters and dialogue. Become the narrator, your dispassionate voice bringing clarity and objectivity to the riddle of a strange conflict or encounter.
When the tone becomes heavy, lighten up with some humor to remind yourself that the Lord does not wish for his people to be fearful and gloomy (Isaiah 41:10).
Try your hand at personal essay writing. Start out by titling your journal entry: “What is Fear of the Lord,” followed by an introduction, three points you want to make about fear and a conclusion.
Your essay might include a word study on yirah, meaning “awesome,” “reverence,” or “fearing,” as per Proverbs 1:7.
2. Thanks Every Day
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Some days, giving thanks is easy. Everything is going well, even if there is nothing exciting to write about. Some days, however, thanking the Lord poses a challenge. In any span of 365 days, there is pain, boredom, conflict, and waiting.
Even days of plenty promote forgetfulness of God. We tend to remember Him when we need something, and then our prayers (and journal entries) are petitions, even angry rants, not epistles of gratitude.
Start with a verse about gratitude, then make it a personal challenge to find one thing to be grateful for and meditate on that one thing.
Even when there is a powerful temptation to write a list of good things, ask yourself where you see the gospel in the single gift.
Your reason could lead you in an unexpected direction, or as you try to say “thank you” for something, this reveals a challenge.
For example, someone recovering from an eating disorder could be struggling to thank God for food when this is at the center of a lot of stress.
This simple challenge might lead to a deeper conversation with the Lord, realizing a powerful need for his tenderness and heartfelt prayer. The end of your entry might find you grateful for His felt presence.
On the other hand, when the day is full of joy, your joy is deepened by considering more thoroughly the greater fulfillment of eternity with Christ.
In heaven, the best days of our lives will be magnified exponentially. These memories of thankfulness can be helpful in times of deep distress.
3. Record the Questions
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD” (Isaiah 1:18). A Christian actively seeking to hear from God through His Word and in fellowship will have lots of questions. Every week, perhaps every day, a new one comes up for the ardent seeker.
The same question might arise multiple times, especially if you cannot arrive at an answer at first or the question is central to a prayer. “Why do my friends continue to reject God?”
The Bible is full of mysteries, but God is trustworthy. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
What about questions from others? Perhaps your friends or co-workers ask about your faith, and you want to record their ponderings.
What they ask might require some thought, so journal the journey you take through Scripture and extra-biblical resources. Remember to cite the places where you found your information so that you can go back to those essays, sermons, and studies.
Record the questions asked by children in your world. Their curiosity is refreshing and sometimes profound.
They ask things we overlook but which get to the heart of our faith in Jesus, and sometimes they are simply amusing. “Why do we call God ‘Father,’ but you are also my father?” “Does God have a mother?” “Does God get tired?”
Consider this last question: does God tire? We know that Jesus “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3). He is omnipotent.
Having to answer these queries provides a good reason to go back and remind ourselves and others that we do not make up the responses: there are scriptural reasons for our answers. Sometimes, we might discover we believed something that is not biblical.
4. Arts and Crafts
A journal is a kind of personal record, and as such, it can become thick with mementos, even a Bible journal. As you go about your day, whether doing something special or ordinary, collect mementos that catch your attention.
Label them so they can instantly bring you back to a time and a place when you saw God moving, whether the experience was pleasant or difficult.
These items could include pressed flowers, photographs, posters folded up to fit inside the pages of your book, or sketches and doodles. They might include programs from concerts, tickets from journeys, or recipes written out by someone you cherish.
A mundane item could really provide the inspiration for a rich journal entry. For instance, a tag inside of a shirt announcing the origins of the product could prompt you to discover what God has said about slavery, refugees, or abuse.
Urged by the words of Micah 6:8 to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”, you might contact a Christian social justice organization involved in rescuing workers in sweatshops around the world.
Whatever your mementos include, use them to inspire your study into themes and stories. Explore what the Lord has said about nature as you revisit the pressed flowers and leaves of the past year.
A picture of your father might launch a study into the word “Father” in Scripture. A program from a niece’s funeral could prompt you to ponder what God has to say about grief.
This is a bit like scrapbooking, but less about aesthetics and more about trying to process the mysteries of living in the world but not of it (John 15:19).
When we want to delve into Scripture reading or prayer, but the words will not come, a visual prompt is useful.
5. Cross-Reference for Fun
As you study the Bible and dive into deeper meanings, cross-referencing offers a fun way to expand on what you are reading today and to gain a greater understanding.
A website such as OpenBible invites you to input a reference point and look for verses that are similar. For instance, type in John 3:16, and you get Romans 5:8, John 1:29, Revelation 1:5, and more.
The variety of verses and directions they take could lead to more than a morning’s worth of study. In fact, this could open such an array of different themes that you might regret your choice at first: the possibilities are overwhelming.
But lean into the challenge. Cross-referencing for John 3:16 for example helps one to understand Jesus’ statement in a richer way. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This verse is about love (Romans 5:8), sacrifice (Romans 8:32), grace (2 Thessalonians 2:16), eternal life (John 10:28), and belief (John 3:15) among other things.
In fact, there is enough meat here to provide Bible journaling topics for an entire month. If you start the year with a cross-referencing challenge, each month's worth of journaling could be derived from a single verse.
Since this is a journal, what do you want to say about these facets of John 3:16? How have you struggled with belief? Do you ever wonder if eternity is going to be boring? What does it mean to love God sacrificially?
Can you earn your salvation, or do you ever try? And is there someone in your life you are having a hard time showing love towards?
Remember — this is for your eyes only, and God already knows your heart. Be honest with Him and let Him help you with the challenges you face.
If you have never tried it, remember that, unlike school essays, entries are not graded for length or clarity. Say as much or as little as you want.
That is the beauty of a journal, the title of which will always remind you: we live for Christ, by his Spirit, for the joy of obeying Him and knowing Him better. Bible journaling will always bring you back to Christ, even if the starting point is self-involved.
For further reading:
7 New Year's Resolutions That Are Outside the Box
Can Christians Make New Year’s Resolutions?
6 Ways to Keep a Prayer Journal This Year
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/YakobchukOlena
Candice Lucey is a freelance writer from British Columbia, Canada, where she lives with her family. Find out more about her here.