I have been Bible journaling for a few years now. At first I used the ESV Journaling Study Bible, but over the years I have gradually switched over to reading my Bible in Spanish. I’m currently using the Inspira Nueva Traducción Vivente Bible for my daily devotion and journaling time. I love this Bible because it also has a lot of coloring pages in it! I have found that coloring is a very calming activity that helps me to slow down and really meditate on the Scriptures.
How Bible Journaling Saturdays came about-
A few years ago, our family entered into a very unexpected season of unemployment that lasted nearly a year. It was a truly painful season, but something very beautiful happened during that time. Since Harry wasn’t leaving the house in the morning, we had the time to sit down at the kitchen table and do our devotions together. He would put on a pot of coffee and we would enjoy a nice chunk of the morning together. After a while, our boys started to take interest in what we were doing and soon began requesting their own journaling Bibles. Sometimes the girls joined in as well. That year in particular we spent most of our summer mornings around the kitchen table Bible journaling together. It was a precious respite during an incredibly stressful time and I will be forever grateful for those moments.
Once we returned to our regular fall school schedule, however; it became readily apparent that taking a leisurely two hours of Bible journaling every morning wasn’t really going to be doable on a daily basis. We needed a solution that worked well for our rather unusual schooling schedule. Due to a variety of reasons, we have chosen to do school Monday–Thursday and Saturday so that we can take Fridays off. In general, I try to ensure that Saturday is a bit of a lighter school day, so I have found that Bible journaling works well with the weekend rhythm we have established. We use shorter daily devotionals for the heavier Monday through Thursday school days, but we all truly look forward to easing into the weekend
I am keenly aware that this season is fleeting. I know that one day, perhaps soon, new rhythms will grace my Saturday morning routine. But for now I cherish these moments, knowing that each one is building our character, our relationships and our faith.
Beautiful Balance 