Ep. 11 Can Bible Journaling Help You Through This Crisis? (COVID-19 Series)

In this episode of Radiant Pearl Living-RPL Live …

Learn from seven featured Bible Journaling Group experts on how you can journal and fight your fears during a crisis like the one we are experiencing today. These featured tips will come directly from the mouths of leaders who will encourage you to explore the ways you can overcome anxiety, stress and concern with a few simple steps. You can also download the tips you can use to keep handy as you utilize what has been shared in this Episode.

If you already practice Bible Journaling or don’t know anything about this discipline, this Episode is for you!

If you are a new listener to Radiant Pearl Living-RPL Live with Stacy Zant, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today!

Links to Information in this post

Hello and welcome to Radiant Pearl Living!

We are doing things a little differently with this Episode. This Episode is filled with nuggets of wisdom from seven group leaders in The Bible Journaling space. They have taken precious time out of their schedules to record tips and share words of wisdom that has helped them in their time of reflection and study in The Word. Utilizing the art of journaling, Bible Journaling, even if art is not your thing. This Episode is for you- if you simply want to take a peek into the world of releasing all fear, anxiety and stress with dedicated time to the discipline of journaling during a crisis.

I pray this Episode encourages you to 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 in a world that has changed from what we once knew. As we just closed out the Holy week together as Easter was this past Sunday and it looked quite different for many of us.

Before I share the incredible nuggets I gathered straight from the mouths of these Bible Journaling group leaders, I want to share a few thoughts with you. ⁣

“𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡” 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘢𝘩 40:29 ⁣⁣

(Under that scripture I added my inspired thought and word for 2020 which states “Year of Abundance”)

Honestly, when I first created that graphic 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘥 with whether to post the image with my word for 2020. Almost four months into the new year, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 The Word I chose and I know was given from the Lord up above. ⁣

I was hesitant in sharing that this will be a year of abundance, because I did not want to appear insensitive with the recent loss of precious lives dear to many of us, both young and old. Shortly after ministering in song at our Good Friday service online, I read an article that shared people are being buried in mass graves right here in the U.S, in the place many of us call home. 😢 This is the kind of world we live in today.

Then, I read an article sharing testimonies of healing 🙌🏼 and recoveries from that same virus. ⁣

We are presented with so many facts of life that can keep our minds shifting from a state of darkness and despair to a state of hope and abundance in mere minutes. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺. I choose to build up hope for the future that 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 year, 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞!

What are you believing God for? Have you chosen a Word you would like to share to encourage your spirit this season? ⁣

Truth be told, I have always viewed life and the world through a cheerful rose lens, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 (because I have had my fair share of great disappointments and unrealized dreams) and it’s 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 either. I’d like to think of myself as a dream dealer. 𝐌𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫.

What I see with the natural eye is not all there is. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘮,

This all helps me Keep an optimistic perspective In this season even though it is not easy.⁣

Is it ever easy to keep the right frame of mind with all that is going on in the world today? ⁣

Is this mindset worth fighting for? I believe it is.

Especially today. ⁣

𝘔𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 the last episode 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 in this day and age 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. ⁣

Do you believe you are made in God’s image? If so, that makes you are creative, created to creator like the creator of the universe who made you and me.

Do creatives ever stop creating? Even in the face of adversity and crises? ⁣I hope not!

I dare say we are just compelled to push and dig further for greater and the result of what is created will be astonishing!

As I told, my IG and Facebook community, I pray this visual, which was a Prelude to this Episode reminds you of one fact: ⁣⁣

“𝐇𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡” 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘢𝘩 40:29 ⁣⁣

The Lord will give you power if you need it and your strength is increasing as you rest and rely on His Word. And as you apply His word by incorporating it into your every day living.

Today, I want to introduce you to seven Bible Journaling Group leaders and thereby ministers to respective communities on Facebook and beyond. I will share with you their words directly that has inspired me as they took the time to provide invaluable tips on how you can effectively journal an in essence get rid of the fear and operate from a place of faith as you journal during this pandemic, quarantine and COVID-19 Crisis.

This is Part 1 from this series and I hope you will 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 part 2 that will follow right here on the Radiant Pearl Living Podcast.

𝗪𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 and how our programming helps you to not just survive but thrive! 🌱

Thank you for continually being a part of our listening community striving to live a radiant life you love. Remember, 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 and setting aside the time to journal during a crisis 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 meant to be an 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵.⁣⁣⁣

Today’s episode is brought to you by:

The Radiant Pearl Planner, an improved and inspirational planning system provided at RadiantPearlLiving.com so you can plan beautifully for a life you’ll love! Learn more at RadiantPearlLiving.com/Printables This Episode is also sponsored by the 501(c)3 Non-Profit G.O.A.L at AnointedLiving.org, where you can find invaluable updated resources to help you and your students excel in this season of life, while they are home. Now, here are the voices in the Bible Journaling community you will want to take note of and connect with further at http://www.RadiantPearlLiving.com/Episode11 as they inspire you to fight fear with your faith and a pen or pencil, whichever you choose.

Takeaways:

Bible Journaling for Beginners Community-Tracie Rollins

My answer is that you start now and you make it a regular habit. You see, nothing’s changed in my worship routine as a result of the Coronavirus. Hebrews 13 eight says Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. You guys God is still the loving Father and the Holy Spirit is still with us.

And the joy I have during this time is that more people will be seeking God and He will be calling them to him during this crisis. As a Christian, I hope that I can help them find their way.

You see Bible journaling doesn’t need to take a long time and you don’t need it. artistic skill, you don’t need a lot of talent. You don’t need hardly any talent. It can take as little as five minutes or as long as you want but start a consistent and regular habit of getting in the word.

Build that intimate relationship with God. Whether your motive connection is via journaling, art, journaling, Bible journaling, praying, worshiping, or whatever. God wants to have a close, intimate relationship with his children always, not just when there’s an emergency.

Because Jesus Bible Journaling- Monica Bauer

Here are two tips, especially as a busy mom.

My first tip is just do it. Do your best to jump into the word of God and pray. Don’t wait for that perfect quiet time to do so. Connect with him in the midst of the chaos. Read one verse and leave your Bible open all day. Write down one sentence of what God might say to you. We all have the gift of hearing his voice. We just need to offer ourselves as listeners.

My second tip is don’t strive for perfection. Avoid comparison. It is so tempting to take what we write or what we create and see how it measures up with what others are doing. But that is not what journaling is about. Bible journaling, especially, is about connection with God. It is a sacrifice of praise to him. And he loves our imperfect offerings.

God Is Within Her- Bible Journaling & More!-Heather Parsons

In times of crisis we find that journaling and meditation and God’s word is really the only thing that brings real peace to our hearts, especially in times of crisis. And I always start out by praying and meditating.

And by meditating, I just mean that I pray and I ask the Lord to open my ears so that I can hear what he has for me, open my eyes so that I can see and open my heart, as well, so I can receive any wisdom that He has for me that day.

Then I read my Bible, just wherever I am at the current time and I continue to read until something really stands out to me or really pulls or tugs at my heart. And that’s the Scripture, or the verse that I’ll focus on. The first thing I do is, I write out the Scripture. And I read the context around the Scripture, a lot of the times I’ll read the whole chapter, because really, that’s the only way that you get a complete understanding of God’s Word.

You cannot read just one verse and completely understand what’s going on. So if you read the context around it, that helps a lot. And then I will find the most important words in that scripture. And I will write that down. And most of the time I’ll do a word study, I’ll look up the word and a Bible Dictionary or concordance, and I use blue letter bible.org. And I’ll write out the most important definitions for the words synonyms for the word and how I can apply that in my life today.

After that, I will find or create images that will go with the verse that I’m focusing on. Say that I’m journaling in Genesis about creation, I would find an image of the earth or animals and things that God created and humans and then I will art journal.

I’ll use a sketchbook, a notebook or I also have an illustrating Bible that’s specifically for that. And I will create art that reflects on the verse that I’m studying that day. And I just use any kind of embellishments, various art mediums, such as paint, gelato, stickers, die cuts, etc. There’s tons of things that you can use. And in the end, really, it doesn’t matter what you choose or how it looks, it doesn’t have to be perfect. What matters the most is that we can inspire others and get them in the word.

This is all to glorify God in a personal way. If art isn’t your thing, you can stick to the study of the Scripture, writing it out and studying the most important words as well as the context behind the verse. And especially in times of crisis, God wants us to come to Him in His Word and glorify Him. And in the end, we will find a peace that surpasses all understanding.

His Palette Bible Journaling FB Community-Kimberly McCann

I remembered how Bible journaling saved me from a pit of despair while grieving over my mother’s passing. journaling by itself is extremely therapeutic. But imagine how much more powerful and beneficial it can be if you included God. When I was in school, I began each entry with the typical Dear diary. However, now as an adult, whenever I journal I start with Dear Father God.

Instead of writing in a diary or journal to simply record events, choose to write an intimate letter to the Lord. Praise Him. Thank him by glorifying His name. Confess anything weighing on your heart. Then speak to him like you would an old friend. Share with him your most personal feelings and ask him anything and everything.

The Lord is always with you. write him a love letter every day. Share your praises, fears and heartbreaks while you draw closer to Him and grow in your faith. Remember, God adores you and so do I.

East Coast Bible Journaling Group -Angie Jones

One of the things that we can do during this pandemic, is to not look and focus on the things that the media is presenting us, but to turn our attention to the Word of God, because God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

So what’s the first step in living a life you love during a crisis? The first step is Commit. Commit to spending time reading the Word of God daily 15 to 20 minutes a day. Pray, ask God to give you understanding of his word and to reveal nuggets of truth as you pray and seek His face daily. The third step is to hide the Word of God in your heart by taking time to memorize at least one scripture a week.

Now, how do you do that? The way that you can do that is by reading the scripture seven times in the morning and seven times before bed for seven days. Use a journal or Bible journaling page as a tool to encourage yourself during this time of crises. So I have before you a page that I journal, you know, way back, this was in 2016.

I can look back on this passage that I read about Samuel, and I can see what God showed me during that particular time. You know, I’ve colored the front of this tip in, but then on the back, I have written some things that God showed me that are dear to me and to help me as an encouragement. If you don’t want to do art or anything like that in your Bible, then go grab a planner, grab a notebook, anything, it doesn’t have to be something super expensive.

You can just take some copy paper and put it together, but begin to journal the things that God shows you the things that God speaks to you. You can do Bubble letters, you can write those things down. Why is that so important?

Because it’s in times like these that we can go back and we can reflect on what God shared with us then and if he’s the same yesterday, today and forever, so I can still hold on to the things that he has promised. The things that He has told me and know that I serve a God who is not a God that tells us lies. He is not a man that lies but He is a God that is ever present. He is a very present help in the time of trouble.

Bible Journaling & Faith Planner-Starla Anne

If I could offer any advice about journaling in the hard times, it would be this; be honest. Our journaling and our scripture study should be to deepen our relationship with God. In a relationship there needs to be honesty. You can share your joy and your sorrow with the Lord.

Yes, continue to journal beautiful and bright designs and words if that is what is on your heart. Some days though that is not what you are feeling and that is okay. Just like in the psalms, some are full of hope and joy, but others are deeply truthful in the struggles. So be honest with the Lord, tell Him what you are feeling and journal that.

If your design is rain clouds and dark colors than that is what it is, and that is still beautiful. God cares about our fears, our sadness and we can lay them at the feet of Jesus. Share it all with God, because it all matters to God. You do not have to pretend with God. You can praise Him in the valley and on the mountaintop. So go on, journal all of what you are feeling because it is all part of your testimony.

Radiant Pearl Living Planner & Bible Journaling Group-Stacy Zant

Simply begin. Set aside time to introspectively look at what is in your heart and mind and get those things out on paper 1st. What you see with the natural eye is not all there is. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 you are 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘮 by the media or whatever you set before your eyes remember you have the power to shift your focus and perspective. 𝐟𝐢𝐱 your 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 you 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 you 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 your 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 your 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 as you journal and after. This will help you keep an optimistic perspective In this season, even though it is not easy.⁣ Simply begin.

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This week’s journaling questions are:

In what ways can you fight your fears through journaling today?
How am I preparing myself to walk as an overcomer and listen to His still voice this season?
Am I sharing my story after I have exercised the discipline of study with someone who needs to hear it?