Journaling is a foundation for your Faith walk, and it is a building block. It serves as a reference for what you are reading or a private Bible study you might be conducting on a topic, such as healing, blessings, or curses (Deuteronomy 28).

Picking A Journal

About an A5 is a good size. Spirax is a good one, they do a notebook of 200 pages or 300 pages, it is affordable between $4-6 from stationery stores or a stationery at a grocery store, for example. You can of course pick something that is a bit more you, it is a personal choice. A5 is a good size to work with and write in, it will also fit in a bag comfortably.

Personalising a journal is part of this process. If you are creative you may want to put stickers on it or whatever floats your boat to make it “yours.”

Your tastes might change from year to year, that’s fine, there are no fast rules here, it is for your personal use.

Making It Yours

However, if you like to journal, are creative, and enjoy drawing, you could add that to your journaling process. To get organised, if you need a small pencil case you can do so or just use a pen and journal. 

A page per day is best. 

Put the date at the top to keep track of your progress, and it helps you reference what you are reading and when. 

Write what you are reading that day, for example, Titus chapter 1.

Then, using the SOAP method, write the verse that stood out to you. e.g. Ephesians 1:18. It is up to you if you want to write out the whole verse. There is no need to unless it is how you would like to do it. 

You might only use half a page, which is handy for adding notes when ideas or thoughts come to you at a later date, or even a bit of a revelation that you can add. By not using all the page you will have the room to do so. 

Overall, journaling is about personal growth in your spiritual life. 

If you are conducting a study on blessings and curses, as mentioned in Deuteronomy 28, then you need to know how to reference it for a cross-study. Got Questions is a good resource for expanded personal studies and Bible Hub is another good resource.

What Bible Study?

You can use a ‘Read Through the Bible in a Year’ study, a study you’re doing with a Bible group, and your own reference study.

For this group, we are doing the free read your bible in a year, the OT/NT through Bible Gateway. 

Top Five Things

This is the basic five things you will be journaling about:

1. Your Bible study
2. A refernce study
3. Your notes from a sermon or a conference
4. Your own prayers and observations
5. Anything else of importance to you, it is your personal journal for your faith walk

In Summary

Journaling is your own personal tool, make it your own with these simple ideas.