September 2018: Jessica Lynn Blackburn
Jessica Lynn Blackurn – Colors in her Bible!
Hi, I’m Jessica! I currently reside in middle Georgia with my husband of 13 years. I’m a full time photographer, beach girl, dog mom, and total coffee addict. I also love to read books, and I LOVE to color in my bible!
So, how did I discover Bible Journaling?
While browsing the internet for a new bible! No kidding… but first lets throwback to the 90’s for a quick moment- Do you remember those “Teen Study Bibles” with that fantastic, saved by the bell / totally 90’s vibe covers? That was my bible from ages 12-19. Mine was decked out with my favorite band stickers, signatures from friends at church, doodled notes, personal thoughts. You can imagine the growth that is seen throughout that bible. It’s really more of a spiritual teen diary! a treasure, and even a little embarrassing to read back I admit.
Now let’s fast forward a little- I grew up, got married, and “retired” that beloved teen bible. I purchased an adult study bible, decked out the cover of this new one with stickers and quotes but I could never seem to really connect myself to that bible like I had my old one. It looked really cool on the outside! It was full of facts, and in depth information which I loved, but it didn’t have space for anything of my own on the inside.
Years went by and honestly I just wasn’t using that bible at all… I decided to try and look for something new that might work better for me.
Then came the day when I typed into that little search bar “Bibles with space for writing” and from there I ended up falling into this rabbit hole of creativity called “Bible Journaling”. My mind was blown! This BEAUTIFUL artwork was glorifying God in such an amazing way. Up until that point I hadn’t even know that bibles with margins were a thing so to see bible pages come alive like this was incredible. I loved the idea of bringing personal praise into my bible, so I set out on a mission to learn everything that I could.
I’ve always thrived in creativity, but I’m no artist! I have ZERO drawing skills. I really didn’t want that to keep me from doing this and I knew that there had to be a way around that. Thankfully there is! It’s stamps, stencils, scrapbook paper, and stickers. So that’s how I got started. If you are like me at all these things will become your best friends when it comes to illustrating in your bible.
One of the many things that I love about Bible Journaling is that it never gets old! With art, there is always a new technique to discover and in the scriptures God is continually showing me fresh things that reach me right where I am.
It’s been over a year and a half now since I started this journey and I’m already working in my second and third bibles!
I would love to encourage and invite you all to join me on this journey if you haven’t already. No excuses!! Please don’t let anything hold you back. I hope you are blessed and inspired by the pages of my Bible and art journal you see here.
If you are on Instagram please give me a follow @Colors_in_her_Bible to see what I am up to. I would love to connect and follow your journey as well!
