Let’s talk about journaling bibles. (If you hang with me to the end, there’s a generous discount there for you!)

Several years ago, I had an idea. I wanted to take notes in the margin of a bible and then give the bible to my oldest daughter when she graduated. My thought was that it would be a place for all the things I wanted to share with her. My blog tells me I began the project in January of 2015. My plan was to give it to her for her high school graduation in June 2016. But then I pushed that ahead a bit. And ahead a bit even more. High school graduation came and went. College graduation came and went. She finished grad school last summer, but Covid prevented completely signing off on a couple of details. So, basically, this project is hanging by a thread before the finish has to happen. It turns out that the bible is inexhaustible and there are still a million things I want to share with her. I’m having a hard time with closure.

In this post, I tell all about how hard I tried to find an RSV bible with journaling margins back when I first had the idea. There were none to be had. Truth be told, there were no Catholic journaling bibles at all. Hers is a very nice ESV bible. Since then, She Reads Truth published a beautiful bible that was both a journaling bible and a study bible. I bought one for each of my girls (and a few other girls, too), and hoped to cultivate with them the habit of taking time each morning to read and to write with God. That one is the CSB translation and it’s a very approachable translation. The She Reads Truth bible is beautifully done and if it were Catholic, it would be pretty close to perfect. But it’s missing several books, and well, I’m especially fond of Sirach:-).

When we began to do a daily bible study for 10—15 minutes on Instagram, Sarah (my 11-year-old) asked to stay in the room with me. Within the first two or three days, she was reaching for her own bible and taking notes. Later, my two teenagers at home joined us as well. Katie reads in her She Reads Truth bible, but she won’t write in it. She doesn’t want to “mess up” the pages. It’s so pretty that I really don’t blame her. If you’re a girl after Katie’s heart, consider journaling in a journal! Just grab a notebook and keep it alongside your bible. Also, all the Take Up & Read studies have journaling space in the book if you’d prefer to write there.

I have a She Reads Truth bible, too. When I bought mine, there was one Catholic journaling bible I was aware of on the market. It wasn’t a translation I prefer, and I appreciate the font and the study guides in the CSB version. By then, I knew I wanted to journal daily and I knew I wanted to create a keepsake for each of my girls and the She Reads Truth Bible was so beautifully done that it felt like an heirloom from the beginning. Since Katie wasn’t writing in hers, I decided that I’d write in my CSB She Reads Truth bible and one day give it to her.

Then I started doing the daily IGTV, and someone told me about an NRSV Catholic journaling bible. Because NRSV is the translation we use for Take Up & Read journals, I started using that bible for our mornings on Instagram. And I started making notes in it as I did the lectio before the Live. Sarah was always with me as I worked and, in my mind, this bible quickly became the one I’d give to Sarah one day. It’s got a nice-sized font and ample journaling space. I use these pens, which have a very fine point, and the ghosting on the other side is negligible. And it’s complete, because it’s a Catholic bible!

A couple weeks ago, I received a flurry of excited messages from friends. Ignatius Press had just announced a brand new note-taking and journaling bible. And that bible was the much-respected RSV translation! At last, the perfect combination: a journaling bible in a serious translation published by an excellent Catholic publisher. People who knew me knew that news would make my heart flutter. And, oh how it did!

It’s not a study bible, but there are some gorgeous maps in it and the notes are meticulous as one would expect from Ignatius. Fortunately, I have one daughter remaining for whom I had not yet dedicated a bible. Karoline journals in her own CSB bible, but is all too aware of missing books. She is my child who wants to do everything in life “just so.” She wants the most accurate translation, the most well-respected publisher, the most pristine perfection she can find. And now, we have an Ignatius Note-Taking and Journaling Bible here that I have begun to write in for her. It’s more compact than my NRSV, so the font is smaller. And there are two columns of text and one column of ruled journaling space on each page, so that’s a bit of an adjustment. But this is the translation without caveats and that makes it the best bible for Karoline, for sure. I think people will be happy with its size. It’s a “tidy” size that’s easily transported in a backpack, with an elastic strap that will keep pages from getting banged up in transport. I’m promising myself I’ll give it to Karoline before she leaves for college because it’s really perfect for a serious college student who will want to take it with her daily. I received two of these bibles as gifts from Ignatius. One is for Karoline, and the other is for one of you. We gave it away yesterday on Instagram. (But also, I’ve already purchased two more of these Ignatius bibles on my own to give as gifts.)

One day soon, I’ll share with you the shelf of bibles we use when we research at Take Up & Read—bibles with very small margins, but lots of information. But that’s another reference altogether. The bibles above are our bibles where prayers are collected, where wisdom is noted in plain language, hopes are poured from a mother’s heart to the daughters she wants to flourish when they engage with these pages.

Maybe you’d like to journal in your bible—either for yourself or to leave a legacy— but you’re still not sure you can take the plunge? The video below is a recording of a Take Up & Read members chat with Jenny Hausher. We talked all about the ins and outs of journaling. We are offering it outside the membership site so that everyone can listen to how simple journaling really is! I highly recommend it if you’re feeling a little shy.

Want to wrap your hands around the RSV Note-Taking and Journaling Bible? Ignatius has graciously offered us a generous discount! The code is TAKEUP for 30% off on the Ignatius Note-Taking and Journaling Bible (product code IB2JH) for one-time use per person expiring 10/18/20

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