When people feel the pull towards Bible journaling, it’s often a gentle one.

Not loud or urgent. But steady and filled with curiosity and excitement.

Maybe you’ve seen a beautifully painted page on social media. Or maybe you’ve felt the desire to slow down in your daily quiet time with the Lord. Or maybe you have always wanted to open your bible and read God’s word, but have felt a bit intimidated.

You want more and would love to try this creative form of worship, and yet, when it comes time to begin, the questions come:

Where do I start?
What do I need?
What if I mess it up?

If that’s you, I want to gently remind you of this:

God is not leading you to bible journaling expecting you to have everything all figured out. He just wants you to come with a willing heart of obedience.

What Is Bible Journaling?

At its core, Bible journaling is simply this:

Engaging with God’s Word in a creative and personal way. That’s really all there is to it.

For EVERYONE, the style of bible journaling is incredibly unique. It can look like any of the following:

Writing prayers in the margins with just pencil or pen
Highlighting verses that stand out with highlighters or colored pencils
Adding watercolor, stickers, stamps, scraps of paper, fabric, and pretty lettering to make verses stand out

It truly is not about making something beautiful for others to see. It’s about creating space to notice, reflect, and connect.

Let’s Start Simple

It can be tempting to think you need all the supplies before you begin, but I promise you. You don’t need every supply at Michaels to start bible journaling.

Here’s all you really need:

A Bible, sketchbook, or journal
A pen or pencil
A quiet moment (even just a few minutes)

That’s it. Everything else—watercolors, brushes, stickers, washi tape—those are just extras. They are beautiful, but not necessary.

Most of my beginner’s will start with a sketchbook or a journal to write and doodle in, but will quickly want to move on to a journaling bible. Journaling bibles can have 2 inch margins or whole blank pages (what we call an interleaved bible) per page of bible text. If you are curious about the journaling bibles that I have used, here is a blog post on that.

And if you are ready to play with more art supplies or want to know EXACTLY what I started off with, here is the blog post where I discuss that.

Step 1: Choose a Verse

So many of us feel the need to flip through your Bible to find the perfect place to start. Honestly, there is NO PERFECT place to start. You just need to start with a verse that inspires you or maybe one that the Lord keeps leading you to.

Still need inspiration? Try one of these:

Start with a verse you already love and maybe want to commit to memory
Was there a verse that you heard in church that stood out to you or felt convicted by?
Do you have a favorite worship song? If so, see if it was inspired by a bible verse and start there.
Or even better, sit quietly in prayer with your bible and ask, “God, what do YOU want me to notice today?”

There’s no wrong place to begin.

Step 2: Read Slowly & Notice

Before you create anything, just sit with the Word. Read your verse a few times.

That’s right.

Bible journaling is about meditation, prayer, and THEN creating. It’s important that meditation and prayer come first.

Don’t worry. I promise that the The Holy Spirit will lead you creatively, but you first need to sit still and meditate on the verse by reading it over and over to help solidify it within your heart and to give a chance for God to speak to you.

Ask yourself:

What stands out to me?
Is there a word or phrase that feels important?
What might God be gently showing me?

Let this part be unhurried. This really is where the beauty of creativity begins and where the Holy Spirit can move you.

Step 3: Respond Creatively

This is the part that often feels the most intimidating for beginners, but it shouldn’t! This is where it should be fun because you will now connect with God’s word creatively.

You can simply start by underlining or highlight a word that God is leading you to. You can write notes or short prayers in response to what you have been reading. Or you can start adding small pretty doodles.

You can start layering with stickers, washi tape, or fabric.

You can play with stamps and rub on transfers.

If you want to use watercolor or paint, begin with light washes or simple shapes and strokes. It doesn’t need to be complicated.

The possibilities are endless! Just let go and let the Spirit of God’s creativity lead you.

Step 4: Let Go of Perfection

Remember, refuse the urge to COMPARE YOUR WORK. The enemy will start whispering to you that you are not good enough or creative enough to do bible journaling. Don’t listen! Keep going!

God does not care what your bible journaling entries look like. He just wants you to quietly spend more time in His word and with him.

You might find yourself worrying about messing up the page or making a mistake. Mistakes happen. Believe me. I have had my share of them in the past 10 years that I have been bible journaling. I promise you will be fine and life will move on.

The truth is that bible journaling is not about creating something perfect. It’s about creating a relationship with the Lord and making something REAL. Something that is incredibly personal and special between you and the Lord.

Some pages will feel life changing and meaningful. Some will feel simple and sweet. And others will quite frankly look like a mess and not turn out how you expect it. Your bible journaling pages are in a lot of was going to represent your life.

Nothing about it will be perfect. But every single one of your entries will still matter.

Step 5: Keep It Part of Real Life

Let me close by saying this.

Bible journaling doesn’t have to happen in a perfectly quiet room with a clean desk and endless time. That’s just not realistic for the majority of us who live in this world that is moving faster than we can sometimes keep up with.

I want you to understand that at times your bible journaling practice could be you sitting at your kitchen table early in the morning. Or opening your Bible while your kiddos are taking a nap. Or maybe it’s a quick 10 minutes right before you head to bed.

God isn’t looking for perfection. He wants small consistent moments to get to be with you.

So…f you’ve been waiting for the “right time” to start…

Let this be it.

Not because you’re ready.
Not because you have all the supplies.

But because your heart is being invited into something slower, deeper, and more intentional.

Start small.
Stay curious.
Let’s be imperfect…together.

And trust that God will meet you in however you decide to take on this sweet bible journaling journey.