Bible pens are great for marking up your bible. As you write the words with your pen, you’re able to immerse yourself in God’s word with ease. For this reason, Bible pens are perfect for personalizing and carrying with you. Bible journaling is a growing trend, so you can find all sorts of beautiful, stylish pens on the market today.
Here are the right tools for writing. You can make them a part of your bible collections.
THE RIGHT BIBLE
First things first, you need to get yourself a good bible. What I mean by this is get yourself a bible that will actually make you want to study it. I’d recommend purchasing a Bible Study Bible rather than a regular bible. Regular bibles are great for church and daily readings, but not for intense studies. So, if you truly want to make the best out of your bible study time, invest in a bible that will make your bible studying experience more fun and effective. I personally love my ESV Interleaved Journaling Bible (click here to learn about it)
If you’re wondering what version you should read in, I recommend using the KJV or the NKJV version!
RESEARCH TOOLS
The Bible can be a very complex book. So if you really want to dig deep, you will need your phone, computer or tablet to do your research. I love using technology to search up words I don’t know, the background of some biblical characters, history, etc.
Bible Study Tools is a very helpful website that I love to use! It includes a parallel bible (to compare verses in different translations), concordances, dictionaries, many bible studies, commentaries, audio bibles, reading plans, and so much more helpful tools!
Plus, you can search up any word in the bible and all verses containing that word will show up. How amazing, right?
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CHRISTIAN BOOKS
Books are very useful during Bible studies. However, the amount of books you should have can vary. I personally own a few christian books (I definitely need to stock up on more), but the two books that I find the most useful when it comes to bible studying are the following:
Who made God? By: Ravi Zacharias and Norman Geisler
This book includes the answers to over 100 really tough faith questions, like “who made God?” or “how can a good God send people to hell?” If you’ve ever asked yourself these questions you should definitely purchase this book!
Know your Bible
This book gives you a brief but informative overview of every single book in the Bible including: the author, date of writing, a description, a detailed summary, unique aspects, key verses and a “so what” application of each book.
GRAB THE ULTIMATE BIBLICAL AFFIRMATIONS EBOOK!
A PLACE TO WRITE IN: JOURNAL OR PAPER
Is it even possible to read your Bible without jotting things down?
NOT FOR ME. I have an unhealthy amount of journals and notebooks around my house that are solely dedicated to my bible studies. It’s honestly impossible to study without writing. So you definitely need some sort of book or paper to write in for your bible studies! Here are some options:
- Journals
- Notebooks
- Note pads
- Diaries
- Looseleaf paper
- Index cards
- Post-its
WRITING TOOLS
In order to write, you need ” writing utensils”, right? So, definitely consider stocking up on your writing utensils. Don’t hold back. Trust me, you will enjoy writing more if you have cute pens, markers and pencils. The more, the merrier (: (: (: Here are some writing utensils to stock up on:
COLORED PENS
I swear by my Pilot G-207 pens! They come in 10 different colors. I have yet to find pens that last longer or write better than these!
DUAL BRUSH PENS
These are so great if you love creating art work for your studies!
The dual feature is incredible because one side serves as a marker and the other side as a pen.
SHARPIES
Sharpies are so good for bold titles and headings! The black ones are my fave!
PENCILS
I don’t use pencils much, but they’re always good to have around!
E.S.V. SINGLE-COLUMN JOURNALING BIBLE BY CROSSWAY
I chose this particular Journaling Bible for a few reasons: the single-column so I wouldn’t be referencing verses from across two columns and the E.S.V. translation because it is revered as one of the best word-for-word literal translations of the Bible yet still reads beautifully. (You can check it out on BibleGateway.com if you’re curious.)
When I first opened up my Bible, I have to say, the 2 inch margins looked much smaller than I expected, and the pages felt much thinner than I imagined after seeing the wealth of mixed media these Bibles held in photos. But I only saw that as a challenge to discover which supplies would work best!
The Bible itself is just shy of 8.5″ tall, which makes it quite portable.
While the original red cover design seems to be sold out ev-ery-where, here’s the black cover design.
Also, I received word from Crossway that they have several new Journaling Bible editions coming out. Huzzah! (And the new covers are pretty snazzy if you ask me.) Update: they’re now in stock and ready to ship!
- Antique Floral
- Summer Garden (Large Print)
- Cloth Over Board, Polka Dots
- Classic Marbled
- Cloth Over Board, Timeless
I also recommend calling your local Christian bookstore to see if they have any in stock. Aen Art Journaling Gel Pens
The feature that sets these gel pens heads and shoulders above the rest is that they have almost 40% more ink compared to other brands. I have been using these markers for a couple of weeks for bible journaling and I barely made a dent in the ink levels of the pens. I predict that it will be quite a while before I buy a new set of pens.
If you like your bible journal colorful and whimsical, you will love the variety of colors that come with this set. Not only are you getting the regular ink colors but you will also receive pastels, neon, glitter, and metallic ink markers. If you like changing up the look and feel of your journals every day, then you will be happy with these pens.
These gel pens also have ballpoint tips that are best for bible journaling because they will glide smoothly over the paper. Unlike felt tip pens, these do not have any chance of snagging on the paper and punching a hole through the page. They also have a very fine point, so you can write down all your thoughts without worrying about space.
One issue, though, is that I find the glitter pens not that useful for the majority of my tasks. I think it would have been better if those were traded with more color choices.Pros
- Has a ton of ink
- Comes in 30 individual colors
- Has smooth-writing ballpoint tips
- Does not bleed through paper
- Has comfortable silicone grips
Cons
- Should have more color choices, could have done without the glitter pens
You can unleash your creativity when you use this kit of gel pens. These are quite ideal for bible journaling as the gel inks dry quickly and do not bleed through thin paper. With all the colors at your disposal, your bible journal will be a lot more fun to revisit.
STAEDTLER PIGMENT LINERS
These are so much more than pens. They’re “pigment liners.” {Smile.}
My pack of 6 Staedtlers are great for detailed lettering and have very minimal bleed-through (it’s more like a faint shadow on the other side). They also “play well with others” in that they write well atop dried paint, and you can run a wet brush overtop without your ink smearing.
Pretty fab.
FABER-CASTELL PITT ARTIST PENS
Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens are waterproof, acid-free India inks in beautiful, vibrant colors. The brush tip that allows you a wide variety of widths, all the way to a fine point, so you can do more detailed work if needed. Bleed-through is minimal to none, and I love working with them.
4. FABER-CASTELL BIG BRUSH PEN
The Big Brush Pen in black is super fun to use for big n’ bold lettering atop mixed media; my favorite is atop acrylic. It is not a “quiet” supply by any means. And that’s what I love most about it! In encourages boldness and risk-taking.
5. GELLY ROLL WHITE INK PEN
Mega-huge thanks to my friend Bethany for introducing me to this gem, the Gelly Roll White Ink Pen, which is the perfect tool for creating a shadow-effect on lettering done with your Big Brush Pen! I always just shadow the left and top edges of lettering…though you could do the right and bottom instead. Just be consistent.
nt.
In the style of Bethany from Pitter & Glink
6. PENCIL & ERASER
It might seem silly to include something as simple as a pencil and eraser on a list like this, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’d be silly not to.
I use pencil to pre-draw nearly every layout I do…whether it’s on a separate sheet of paper beside my Bible or on the page itself. And I’m always glad I did because I’ve saved myself from running out of room or a misspelling.
Don’t underestimate the power of the pencil and eraser, my friends.
7. TWISTABLES COLORED PENCILS
After hearing so many people rave about Crayola Twistables, I had to give ’em a whirl…and I have seen the light! Not only do you never have to sharpen these colored pencils (just twist ’em!), the dull tips are so soft on your Journaling Bible pages, and the vibrant colors blend so well together.
PAINT & PASTELS
8. ACRYLIC PAINTS
The easiest way to add a big, bold spash of color atop your page is through a very thin layer of acrylic paint applied with an old gift card or credit card. For a really great demo, check out this process video by Shanna Noel herself.
But I just use my regular ole’ Apple Barrel or Bella acrylic paints. Nothin’ fancy! And it does the trick.
9. WATERCOLORS FIELD SET WITH BRUSH
This little Watercolor Field Set with Brush has served me well, and despite being travel-size, it packs quite a punch with a wide variety of 24 different colors. It also comes with a refillable Koi water brush, so you have everything you need to watercolor in your Bible! I just recommend using very little water if you want fewer crinkles and wrinkles when your pages dry. And always put a piece of cardstock behind your page to protect the others when painting or using brush pens.
10. GELATOS
Here’s a glimpse at an entry I create using my set of Faber-Castell gelatos in pastel. If you’ve never heard of gelatos before, they are “acid-free pigment sticks,” and they are magical. They glide onto the page like butta’. You can leave them as they are like I did here or take a wet brush and they become like watercolors.
Of course, I just had to Instagram a photo of my gelatos in a waffle cone!
Don’t those pastels looks so creamy delicious? Especially with names like Kiwi, Butter Cream, Guava, Elderberry, and Watermelon. Yum.
STICKERS & STAMPS
11. ALPHA STICKERS
Alpha stickers are a great supplement to hand-lettering or a replacement altogether! So, before you cross your arms and tell me that you can’t explore this form of art worship because your handwriting is terrible, hear me out when I say alpha stickers are worth stocking up on!
Also, I’ll point out that some of my favorite alphabet stickers to use are these label letters by Tim Holtz. They’re tiny enough that you can tackle longer words in your margin without spilling over…plus, they’ve got a fun retro vibe goin’ on, and I feel like the match any color scheme. I’m a big fan.
12. ALPHABET STAMPS
Alphabet stamps are a great alternative to alpha stickers. I’m slightly obsessed with them and have at least four sets that all get frequent use, both in my Bible and beyond. They’re nifty like that.
13. STAYZ ON INK PAD
If you’re looking for a great ink pad to accompany your stamps, look no further. The StayzOn Ink Pad is true to its name in that it “stays on” the page, and won’t be easily lifted by water or paint once it dries. I’ve had mixed results with bleed-through, but when you stamp atop paint, it works like a dream.
14. EMBELLISHMENT STICKERS
The sticker aisle at Hobby Lobby is the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle for me…and I can get lost there for hours at a time, perusing the variety of border, banner, shape, and phrase stickers to embellish my pages. This is where I really need to work hard to curb my instinct to “buy-all-the-things.” But I recommend buying a few packs with lots of variety that will serve you well in multiple layouts and with a variety of color schemes. Here are a few of my favorites: labels | borders | clear stickers | shapes.
Conclusion
There are quite a few pens that I like to use when I am doing Bible journaling. Today, I’d like to share with you what pens work for me and help you in your Bible journaling efforts. Henry Cloud shared in his book Boundaries, “Sometimes we need to stop taking notes about someone else’s life and start living our own.” When we do this, we need the right tools because we can’t keep our lives in balance without them! Enjoy!