Thursday, January 26, 2012

Scripture Journal Tutorial

There is a quote by Susan W. Tanner, “When I know who I am, I can do anything He asks me to do.” I have been working really hard this year on learning more about who I am, where I came from, where I am going. This brings me peace. I used to not even be able to talk about death because it made me really uneasy. Knowing who I am is helping me to value myself more. I am feeling more at peace with my trials in this life, why I have them, and that I won't always have to go through them.



This is a post that I am sooo excited to share with you. I feel very passionate about it because it has CHANGED MY LIFE. I recently came across the idea of making scripture journals from Shannon at The Red Headed Hostess blog and I have spent the last few months creating my own through trial and error. I want to share with you what I've done in hopes of helping you feel enthusiastic and excited about studying scriptures. It's no longer a chore for me. It's my favorite part of my day and I want it to be yours too.
It doesn't matter what religion you are. If you study the Bible, Book of Mormon, or any scripture you can apply this idea to your studying. 


If you are not religious you can apply this same concept for anxiety related quotes, uplifting thoughts, positive affirmations, etc.


The best part about this is that you can be as simple, straightforward, and logical as you want, or you can get as artsy and creative as you want. Wherever you are in the crafty spectrum and have time and patience for YOU CAN DO THIS. The important thing to remember is to make this yours. Do what works for you.


Why keep a scripture journal? 
Here are a few reasons:
"We often leave the most precious personal direction of the spirit unheard because we do not record and respond to the first promptings that come to us when the Lord chooses to direct us." -Elder Richard G. Scott
"I've found, as I'm sure you have, that when you are trying to learn from the spirit, it's important to make a note so it will not be forgotten. The more you not only hear but abide by what you've been told, the more the Lord will give to you. It will come more and more rapidly and you will begin to hear and feel those impressions of the Spirit more quickly than you have previously done." -Elder Gene R. Cook
"The prompting that goes unresponded to may not be repeated. Writing down what we have been prompted with is vital. A special thought can lost later in the day through the rough and tumble of life. God should not, and may not, choose to repeat the prompting if we assign what is given such a low priority as to put it aside." -Elder Neal A. Maxwell
In the few short months that I have started my scripture journals, the knowledge that I have learned and retained is more than I have learned about in years of just reading a chapter a day (which is how I used to "study").


My main reason for doing scripture journals is to give them to my children as a family heirloom after I am gone or when they are old enough to appreciate them. As Shannon said (I'm paraphrasing)- it's a way to keep teaching my children after I am gone. 


I give full credit to Shannon at her blog for this idea and I thank her for all the work she put into sharing her journals. I want to help spread the word to more readers because its worth sharing if it helps people grow spiritually.


Materials Needed:




  1. First you have to pick some journals. This is important. You want to find some that is the right size, enough to hold lots of information, will function the way you want it to, and look the way you want it to. If you plan to keep it simple, pick a lined journal that you can do lots of writing in that has thick pages so your ink won't bleed through. I planned to be more artsy and wanted to decorate my covers using scrapbooking supplies so I bought a coptic journal kit from Etsy. When it is all done I will bind it so that it will open and lay flat.This may be a little more extreme but for me this is my creative outlet so I needed a blank canvas. Any journal will work. The way I have mine set up is I have TWO journals. One that is for chapter by chapter study and another is for Topic based study. They can be referenced to each other.
  2. Also get a good ballpoint pen that won't bleed through pages, or leave puddles of ink that will smudge and make a mess.
  3. OPTIONAL: Colored pencils, glue stick, scissors, scrapbooking supplies (paper, stickers) art supplies

What do you put inside?


This depends on you and your style. This is not a daily record of your personal thoughts like a diary. This is a record of what you have been learning during your scripture study. This means a record of quotes you want to remember, promptings, stories, talks, word definitions, scriptures you looked up, etc. 




Some of my pages are purely artistic in nature. Others hold pictures that I love. Others are journal entries with my personal insights from a story, others are character analysis on the people I have been reading about.


I created a template in photoshop that I print out and glue in and write on. 


But getting it all organized is the tough part. Here is a post from Shannon that talks about how to set one up. 


I Have Been Born of Goodly Parents
If this is something you are interested in trying I highly recommend checking out the following sites for additional inspiration and tutorials:


UPDATE: I am now selling downloadable journal templates in the store at my other blog here if interested.
  • Here are more of my journal pages and tutorials on the techniques I use.
  • Here is my pinboard that I keep for my scripture journals if you want to follow that. It lists sites, talks, quotes, etc. that I plan to put in my journal somehow or art supplies I plan to use.
  • The Red Headed Hostess- she even has some journals you can purchase that are already set up and ready to go (I bought a set and they are really great for outlining how to study). She is the main source for all my inspiration so you should really check her site out. I want to be her when I grow up.
  • Here is a sheet you can download with some ideas from Dana Cockrum that was also taken from The Red Headed Hostess. 

I hope you find this as fun and uplifting as I do. Enjoy!


22 comments:

Unknown said...

I love this! I can TOTALLY relate. I've been suffering from anxiety for years. I have kept an "anxious" journal for about 10 years. I like looking back on what I've written in it because it reminds me of what I've triumphed through and how I've grown.

As for religion, I feel like it has been my biggest rock in the journey I've held trying to overcome my anxiety. I gain a lot of self assurance for the word of the lord. ( I am a confirmed-Catholic)

Elizabeth Turner said...

Totally loved this! Creating a journal and writing your thoughts and feelings with the guidance of the Lord would surely make you feel better. I have a journal like this and it feels great to write in it.

aleisethefunny said...

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful idea. I would never be able to get through my anxiety without my faith in Jesus. I have to start this. :)

Abi said...

So sorry to hassle you Aimee, but I was wondering if your contact form is working? I emailed you a quick congratulations on a great blog (and a quick question) but it said 'page not found' when I pressed send. Did it get through to you okay? Thanks, Abi

Linen Method Reviews said...

It's been great time to read your article, really informative thanks keep it up.

Carol said...

Such wonderful ideas, Aimee! I've suffered from social anxiety for most of my adult life. And I might use some of these ideas. I just find myself paralyzed by fear at the thought of talking to others. Anyway, thank you for your positivity. I also wanted to share a resource for social phobias, if anyone is interested: htpp://onlineceucredit.com/edu/social-work-ceus-pho I hope it may help someone the way that it's helped me.

Anonymous said...

I love this idea!! Thank you!

teenagelifeVanxiety said...

This is a great blog!
I'm just starting mine out for Teens!
Lots of love!

Emily said...

That is beautiful! I love that idea. I recently started art journaling myself for therapeutic reasons, and it's absolutely amazing how great it occupies my anxious mind.

Vanessa Hillstrand said...

Such an awesome article! Very smart ideas as well about keeping a journal. I keep one next to my bed at night and I find it to be a bit calming at times to if not write in it, then just to review what I have written in it.

Anonymous said...

Very helpful info, thank you for taking the time to put it together

-Nate @ stressdemolisher.com

June said...

Think positively – Again, during an anxiety attack, it is often impossible to relax or even calm yourself, but you have to be in control. Push more optimistic thoughts to your head. Instead of thinking that you are going to faint because you cannot take the pressure, think of things that are positive and nice.
Linen Method Reviews

Erin said...

I love this. I do it a little different and make index cards. I hang them on a key ring and than take one off for the day, put it in my pocket and let it help me through the day. Thanks for your great blog. I would be honored for you to check mine out.
http://anxiety18.blogspot.com/

Tracy at Anxiety Ate My Homework said...

Wow...what a wonderful idea! I, too, struggle with disciplining myself...but not anymore! I am SOOOO going to do this! Being a scrapper, I already have the materials. Thank you so much, Aimee, for sharing such a great idea!

Tracy

Meg (The Watered Sprout) said...

I love this post and have just recently started the same kind of journal. I love how artistic and creative you are with yours :o). Anxiety has been a huge mountain for me to climb as well and my faith is the only things that helps me get through one moment at a time. Thank you for the ideas and encouragement! Blessings, Meg

www.thewateredsprout.blogspot.com

Michael said...

Great idea. Writing is a really good way to cope with a lot of issues. What I really like about how you presented the scripture journal is that you were always aware of modifications and adaptions. So many people think that one well defined solution should be useful for everyone and they forget that individuals have individual needs. Very nice post:)

AJ said...

I really enjoyed reading through this post! I know I've maintained a journal for the longest time now, and it really has helped me with living with anxiety! Writing down thoughts on paper really can make all the difference!

LAUREN at Faith Fuel said...

I've battled anxiety for years, and always hope my most recent battle will be my LAST battle with it. But I've found much comfort and help in Scripture, as well, and my latest post at my blog, FAITH FUEL, deals with some recent revelations I had after an anxiety attack- http://championyourdreams.blogspot.com/2012/05/hows-your-father-doing.html

Anxiety Spot said...

Thanks for great share, you are so inspiriative to write about anxiety and how to cope with anxiety!

ChrisInHawaii said...

Hi Aimee,

I've recently discovered the value of journaling these things too, though I'm not really the "scrapper" type. I've been blogging about my anxiety and the overlap between that and my spiritual life too.

It's so weird to look back over old posts I've written on my blogs. I find myself really being encouraged, and I'm like, "Who wrote this? Did I write that?" I smile and come away feeling refreshed and energized, and I'm sure that keeping an actual journal accomplishes pretty much the same thing.

Thanks for this uplifting post. You have yourself a great week.

Aloha, Chris

Unknown said...

This is a great idea. I might make a prayer journal.
I like your post so I wanted to let you know I have a Christian encouragement blog.
I hope you give it a visit. Blessings!

http://weepingintodancing.wordpress.com/

cures of anxiety said...

i used http://curesofanxiety.com when i struggled with my problems. I appreciate this site so much and i can say my life is surely improving as days go by. Thanks for all the support

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