How To Create A Journaling Bible For a Child Or Loved One

If you have been following me on social media, you probably already know that I am pregnant with my first baby! I’m due in April and just CAN’T WAIT to meet our little man.

Early on in my pregnancy, I decided I wanted to start a journaling Bible for our boy to give to him once he’s older. But it took me a few months to decided exactly how to go about it.

Eventually, I did decide what to do, and now have about 13 pages done so far! I started sharing some of the pages, and the idea of creating a Bible for a child, and I got so many questions about how exactly I am going about it. So today I’m sharing all about it!

Check out this video for the full scoop, or you can catch the cliff notes below!

*This article contains affiliate links. CLICK HERE for my full disclosure*

Key Notes

-I am creating a journaling Bible for my child, but you can use this same concept for anyone that you love! It can be for a child, adult child, grandchild, spouse, sibling, parent, friend, etc.

-You do not need to be artistic! You can keep it as simple as writing out notes or prayers in the margins with your normal handwriting. Or, you can go as far as creating full paintings in the Bible. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT THIS.

-I highly recommend getting a separate Journaling Bible for this purpose. I decided on a leather bound ESV Interleaved Bible that has full blank pages for every other page. You can find out more about all the Journaling Bible options HERE.

-For me, the most important aspect of creating this Bible is to allow me time to read the Word with my child in mind and pray the scripture over him.

For example, when journaling Psalms 31:24 “Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord.”, my focus and prayer was: “Lord, I pray that you will help this babe to be strong and have courage in times of waiting. You will always show up eventually. You will show up abundantly. Help him to be patient.”

The Mindset

The first thing you need to decide is what your ultimate goal of the Bible is. Pray about it and see what God puts on your heart on how to go about it. For me, I wanted this Bible to be a way for me to read the word with my child in mind and pray the scripture over him.

Praying the scripture over my babe was, to me, the most important aspect of starting a journaling Bible for him. So I knew I would want space to write out prayers in the Bible, along with a tidbit or two on what is currently going on in our lives.

My other goal for this Bible is to fill it up and eventually gift it to him. Because I know filling the Bible up completely will take a very long time, I plan on giving it to him when he is quite a bit older- maybe when he decides to accept Jesus as Lord, or when he moves out (yup I’m working way in advance 😉 ).

Choosing the Bible

Now that I set my main goals, I moved on to choosing a Bible to journal in. This was the hardest decision! You absolutely could use a Bible you already have or one you have already started journaling in. Or you don’t have to create in a Bible at all, and can use a journal instead.

*If you do decide to start a new Bible, I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing a specific Journaling Bible. Journaling Bibles have thicker pages and extra space for notes/art. Check out my post on Choosing A Journaling Bible to find out more about all the journaling Bible options avaliable.

I knew that I wanted to journal directly in a Bible, and that I wanted at least the wide margins of a Journaling Bible to write my prayers in.

I also decided I wanted to paint in the Bible, and because I will pass the Bible down to him, I wanted all the text to be readable. (Unlike in my personal Bibles, where I don’t mind if I paint over some of the scripture.) I wanted to start a separate new journaling Bible just for this practice of Bible journaling for the babe as well.

So, because I prefer a large space to work with, I ultimately decided on purchasing  THIS ESV Interleaved Journaling Bible.

The Interleaved Bible has full blank pages for every other page, which allows you lots of space to create, without worrying about going over the text. The Interleaved Bible, as with all Journaling Bibles, has thicker pages that a normal Bible’s which holds up better for art supplies and pens.

I wanted to make sure the Bible I got would hold up for a long time to come, so I splurged on the leather cover. (It was the most expensive Bible I have ever purchased, but I think it is well worth it!)

Of course, there are so many other journaling Bibles to choose from now, so choose one that makes the most sense to you!

*See post- Choosing A Journaling Bible*

The Supplies

Alrighty, now I really want to point out, that you do not need any fancy supplies to create a journaling Bible for your child (or loved one). You can keep it as simple as handwritten notes or prayers in the margins of the Bible. The whole purpose of this practice should be to get in the Word with your loved one in mind.

If you do want to do more artsy stuff in your Bible, you’ll want to pick up a few supplies that interest you the most. Find my post on all my favorite tried-and-true Bible journaling supplies HERE.

I decided that I am going to attempt to use only acrylics (I use Apple Barrel acrylics) for the backgrounds in my Bible. I did this for two reasons:

One- I haven’t used only acrylics in a Bible before, and thought it would be fun and would create a really neat finished Bible 🙂

Two- I wanted to be able to experiment with different pens and inks without worrying about bleed-through. I do not normally prepare my pages. In fact, I kind of HATE preparing my pages with gesso, so I avoid it at all costs. However, acrylics act the same way as page prep, where they do not bleed-through, and they provide a protective layer against other supplies that would normally bleed-through.

So, by using acrylics as my main medium, I have the freedom of creating all kinds of beautiful backgrounds, without having to worry about it bleeding or having to take the extra step of prepping the page with gesso. And I can experiment with pens or markers, such as paint pens, that would bleed on top of the acrylic.

Again- This is just what I decided to do and I would encourage you to use the supplies that you feel comfortable with or called to use!

The Routine

Now that you have everything you need, and know your main goals, you can start Bible journaling for your loved one!

Everyone’s routine is going to look different, and again THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT IT. Listen to where God guides you, and remember, your routine, the supplies you use, etc. can be changed. You don’t have to make all the decisions at once and stick to it.

My routine currently looks something like this:

1. I read the page, paying attention to the verses that stand out to me and underlining them.
2. Choose one of those verses to journal, and paint the journaling page. As I’m painting, I am also focusing on the verse and how I can pray it over my baby.
3. Write out my prayer at the bottom of my page and remember to date!

Here’s some examples of how I am praying the scripture for my child:

When working on Psalms 16:11, “You make known to me the path of my life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”, I prayed: “Lord, thank you for this baby! I know you already have big plans for its life! I pray it will know you and the joy of your presence. Guide him/her along your path for them.” (I didn’t know the gender of our babe at this point 😉 )

For Psalms 30:5, “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”, I prayed: “Lord, I pray that this babe will know that hard times are only temporary. Joy will always come again. It will get better, and true joy can always be found in Jesus!”