Hi there, I know this is a weird topic coming from me but the truth is this post has been on my heart for a little over a year now, I wanted too speak about it from a point of reflection and prayer not just from reaction or emotion.
A little over a year ago I stood in front of someone who was super excited about bible journaling and Illustrated Faith, I thought this person “totally got it” and was on the same page as me – we were working together on a project to share bible journaling with more people when they looked up at me and said …
“well …you do know that bible journaling is just a trend…right?”
I stood there trying to smile and nod but everything in me wanted to talk back. I didn’t have the words, I just froze. Look. I got what he was trying to say to me, I know people are SUPER excited about it today, and that might not always be around, I get that. I understand that he was trying to protect me. But honestly – to me, it felt like he was saying that reading your bible is just a trend and he was undermining what GOD was doing here, I could clearly see the HUGE things He had put into place to make this happen so I would NEVER call it “just” a trend. It’s God – He has made it gone viral, He has shown it to thousands upon thousands of people, He is the reason it went viral on Pinterest from that very first blog post. Also…
I don’t think you understand – bible journaling is how I read and understand my bible!
Bible journaling is not “just” a trend. For the first time in my life I UNDERSTAND the word, I crave the word and I am constantly looking for ways to better grasp it, to apply it to my life and to share it with others!
I knew that if I was experiencing this question that you were too, which is why I wanted to reach out to you today and let you know that WE TOTALLY GET IT!!!! This is not “just” a trend, this isn’t something we are doing because we went viral on Pinterest – this is something we are doing because HE has called us to! Something we PRAY over each day, something I lay at the cross with each step of the way! Yes, it is “HOT” right now, YES overnight we went from me sharing what I was doing in my bible to a company that puts out colorful faith based products and has partnered with AMAZING companies, but that doesn’t take away from exactly how important bible journaling is to my everyday life, and to many of yours as well! We aren’t doing this because it is trendy, or a fad (some may have and that is OK!!) we are doing it because
Jesus is our heart and this love letter makes our heart sing!!!!
It’s God.
Not “just” a trend.
I look at the picture in this post with the last 14 months of prayers, learning lessons, diving into devotionals, huge #wowGod moments documented in the margins in my bible. I see two well loved, well read and well worn bibles. I know that before bible journaling 14 months of reading my bible would have looked very different. I know that before bible journaling my bibles often collected dust. I know that before bible journaling the only reason I bought a new bible was because I thought “maybe this bible will be easier to read” instead of buying a new bible because I had filled it to the brim! I know bible journaling isn’t “just” a trend for me and I have heard SO many of your stories that reflect the exact same thing!
I have watched God move mountains through bible journaling…so the next time someone says they might try “decorating their bible” because that is trendy or ” this is just a fad” – just know they don’t GET IT, and that is ok. Bible Journaling isn’t for everyone, it is for those of us that are creative, or are visual learners, who are able to comprehend on a different level when we write things down, we GET it. We are open to sharing, learning and growing with those that want to GET IT too, but we know deep down that this ISN’T “just” a trend that is going to fade !!!
We LOVE you, and we are SO very thankful you have joined us for this journey! And we can’t wait to see what God does next!
xox Shanna Noel
p.s. we totally get that God uses trends to touch lives please don’t take this post as us taking anything away from that! #wowGod
p.p.s.s. the “he” in this story isn’t my husband lol he “got it” long before I did :)
I GET IT! I need it. I crave it. It has 100% changed my walk with God. I’m the kind of person that never sticks with anything. I change my interests as fast as I change my moods. This past year I’ve started learning the drums and Spanish and several other projects that only lasted a few weeks. My husband laughs and rolls his eyes and says, “Oh is this the new kick your on?” But Bible Journaling. ❤️ I’ve been doing it over 2 years now. It’s something my husbands appreciates and encourages. He even told me to buy the expensive leather wrapped Bible because he said, “it’s a legacy you’re leaving behind. It’s worth your time and money.” And for the first time ever I am about to complete a New Year’s Resolution: to read through the Bible in a year. This. This is not a trend. This is a life-changing, deeply-engrained-in-my-Spiritual-Walk movement you’ve started. And for that, I am forever grateful.
“I don’t think you understand – bible journaling is how I read and understand my bible!”
This is so true! It really IS how I read and understand my bible. Bible journaling has totally changed the way I WANT to study God’s Word, and the act of studying HIs Word, so both! It could be a trend, but maybe not for many. Because of Illustrated Faith introducing us to the world of bible journaling, it won’t be a moment for me because now that a creative outlet has awoken, (is that a word?), for me, it IS how I now study my bible for the last year and a half. Bible journaling helps me to slow down and really ponder a section that I’m working on, and then it sinks in.
So THANK YOU! Be encouraged!
Bible Journaling has allowed me to make so many new connections…better understanding in connecting Old and New Testaments, better connecting to books and verse memorizing, and most importantly better connecting to my family through group studies. My family has been holding weekly Skype sessions through almost a dozen Bible studies. Those studies drive our Bible Journaling and we share our work with each other. It is not a trend for us at all!
Although it is not a just a trend to me . . I read my bible and try my best to live the word but I have seen some jump on the bandwagon and I have seen then fall off. I think it is because so many are doing it these they day they want to fit it in to their lives but It really does not work if they do not willing to read the word, live the word and try to understand the word.
I have always connected and read my bible since I was discipled and poured into by my Pastor, but I started to disconnect when things turned into a more systematic approach. I never related to a sterile reading of His word. I think a lot of us are taught, you wake up you have your time with God with prayer and reading passages and/or devotional and dwell on it throughout the day, done. And I would do that but i felt something missing. Until I saw the colorful pages in Pinterest. At first I was hesitant and didn’t know how I felt about “arting” in my bible. And I don’t do trends, it’s not who I am. So I prayed about it for a few months and God let me loose and I went for it. I bought a bible and some supplies and was hooked immediately. My messy creative mind that was rendered useless in my Christian circle awakened. I never thought my art skills had any kingdom worth, I mean I had work to do. Seek and save the lost, where did art play into that? But what I figured out in this journey, was the missing link. I was trying to replicate someone else’s story and devaluing my gifts. I was taking someone else’s account on the “how” to seek and save the lost and not realizing there was a different more personal way to do it. So 1.25 years into journaling in this way I have found that missing link. I have accepted my creative nature and the role it can have in His greater plan. So for me it is no “trend or fad” it is a lifestyle that has touched me to the very core and helped me find my deeper identity in Christ. Thank you sweet sister for example and bravery in this journey. Much love IG: Goosekeeperdesigns
Your rocking it Hunny! GOD has opened your eyes and is using your amazing gifts for his glory! What you do to empower people to get in the word is special and I’m proud of you and all you do! Keep looking to HIM for strength and know I am here for you always and forever! Love you 2 the moon & back! Xoxo
This was so encouraging. Thanks for sharing this. I can’t wait to talk with my pastor’s wife about my bible art journaling journey this year and hopefully we can start a group in the new year.
It isn’t a trend for me. I mean, I rarely opened my bible too. Not only did I rarely open it, but nothing really spoke to me until I saw these beautifully colored bibles. It sparked my interest. And just like Christy, I too am about to complete my first ever New Years resolution. I journaled every day this year. I am still trying to find ways into my first bible because I don’t want to stop. My friend, who is not a believer asked me a question earlier this year. Before, I would have been caught as a pretender. My Luke-warm feelings would have been shown. But because of this “trend” I didn’t only know how to answer her question, I flipped right to the passage and remembered the verse. Before I would have said “Well, I THINK it says SOMEWHERE in here something ALONG THE LINES OF ….” But instead, I said “well in Romans 5, it says…. ” I knew. I knew the answers to her questions. But God. Wow God. Awesome God. He lead me straight to the answer. I knew where to find it. This is not a trend for me. I get it. Completely. And it’s super awesome. I am forever grateful towards you for taking your calling and sharing it. You’ve helped me to connect with the Lord in a bright and fun way. I am eternally grateful. You are doing big things for the kingdom, Shanna. Thank you. ?
People have told me similar things about SCRaPBOoKiNG but I know it’s not a trend…my grandfather scrapbook Ed in a different way when he was younger, before it was popular. And I would say the same for bible Journaling. Many people have always done it, it just evolves and changes and always stays interesting, fun and impacting this way! I feel like bible Journaling has combines 2 of my favorite things to do with the illustrated faith line. Now I can scrapbook while reading my Bible and the words sink in so much more as I create as I reflect. I think it will stay, but like everything it will get even better (which is hard to believe that it could ?).
Not a trend! I’ve been bible journaling steadily for almost three years and it has looked different in different seasons. My first bible that i journaled through is super thick and has tons of tip ins and paint and clippies and lots and lots of “layouts” with “extras”. The one I’m currently in has color and my reflections all contained within the pages..;lots of print and paste resources, too, that i print as stickers! If this is a way that so many of us connect with God and His Word, it is not a fad even if we use certain products/resources only for a time! Thank you for all you do and how you encourage us!
I’m with you Shanna. I have put more miles in my bible this past year than in the past 20. It seems to come alive when I can doodle/color/journal my notes. And anyone that tried this form of worship and moved away from it, I don’t believe it was completely lost on them but rather that it wasn’t how they need to worship. I am so thankful for you and your teams for each new devotional and print work. Thank you.