Journaling Bible Review – Part three

faith

February 8, 2017

Yes, another Journaling Bible review… I am a believer. But it does not stop there. I also believe that you need to feed your faith. And unless, you find a way to feed your faith that you really enjoy, it will be a chore. I am a creative. I like art – making it, looking at it, teaching it, shopping for art supplies, and sharing it. So, when I came across a way to blend the two together, my faith journey took off. I laced up and got in the game.

I started back when there were not a lot of options. So, my first Journaling Bible was the basic black, single column ESV Journaling Bible by Crossway. You can read about it and a few others here, as well as the next batch I got here.

All along, I had been wanting an New Living Translation (NLT) Journaling Bible. You see, part of my practice is to read verses in multiple translations. I do that because it helps with my understanding.

The NLT is a translation that is easy to read and understand while accurately communicating the meaning of the original text because it took entire thoughts (rather than just words) and translated them into natural, everyday common English. When approaching a passage with my pen, I found that I was drawn to the wording of the NLT, so time and time again that is what I lettered. So naturally, that is the translation that I searched for in a wide margin format without any illustrations already in it.

NLT Reflections Journaling Bible ReviewAlas, I found one by Tyndale. The Reflections Bible is advertised as having Extra-wide lightly ruled margins on heavy cream Bible paper for journaling with a lay-flat binding. That sounded perfect. Then, I had to choose from the cover options. It comes in black with an elastic band (since that is the design of my ESV Bible, I passed to this option), deluxe brown Leather-like over board, and teal fabric over board. It was a tough call, but I went with the brown.

 

I would not call the pages cream. The brown one I have definitely has white pages, which I am perfectly happy with. The margin is definitely wider than than that of my other Bible, and the overall footprint is only slightly larger (¼ inch wider and ½ inch taller). It lays flat, as most Journaling Bibles do. I don’t miss that there is not an elastic band because quite frankly, it got in the way of some of my tabs on my other Bible. The pages are not any thicker than the Crossway Journaling Bibles, but they are much thicker than my standard non-journaling Bible. I have painted in both watercolor, acrylic and a few other mediums without prepping my pages, and it has worked out fine. The only time I prep the pages is when I have used non-permanent ink (pens that bleed when wet) on the other side – in which case, I create a barrier before adding watercolor to the other side.

The wrapper that came on this Bible had the sweetest writing on the back. Along the top, it gave three action items:

Listen. Journal. Reflect.

If they had consulted me, I would have added ‘read’ before the other three.

It goes on to say that the “Wide margins, a generous typesetting, and a clear, faithful rendering of Scripture create a sacred space for you to hear and respond to God’s word.” Isn’t that a great catch phrase? Sacred Space. Yes. I want to have a Sacred Space for me and my Lord to correspond. It then goes on to say “This Bible is perfect for devotional study, creative expression, and prayerful reflection” and I could not agree more.  So if you are a creative type, or at least just want to be one, perhaps this is a great Bible choice to consider. (Hurry, it is on sale as of right now: link below)

I would love to hear which Journaling Bible you are using and what supplies are your favorites, so please tell me.


Below are some links to the Bibles mentioned above. Nancy Ingersoll is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

NLT Journaling Bible in Brown  |  NLT Reflections with Teal Cloth Cover

Reply...

leave a comment