I have turned into a Bible Study Geek. Recently I purchased a new journal book in which to record my Bible study notes. I also purchased colored pens for note taking.
The previous book I had was not big enough. It was a 5 x7 notebook. I have found that I need more space. My new notebook is 8×10.
I found an 8×10 notebook that came in a leather like binder. The notebook is a typical spiral college ruled notebook. I almost did not buy this particular notebook because it was $15.00 verses $3-4 for a similar sized spiral notebook. However, after thinking about it for a few minutes I decided to spring for the notebook with the leather cover. The cover will help to protect my
notebook as it is being used daily. Once the spiral notebook is filled it can be taken out of the cover and a new notebook can be inserted. Or I can just buy another set like this one. I also purchased no-bleed colored ink pens.
I do not do well with straight writing across the line notes. I guess that is because as a teacher I have been exposed to so many types of note taking methods. I write different things in different colors. I am also including “shapes” around the notes. The colors and shapes help to break the notes up into different concepts which makes rereading and studying them a little easier.
My notes usually include the following:
- Brief summary of the passages- This is just a few sentences about what happened in the passage.
- Key verse- This is not included everyday, but if a verse stands out to me or speaks to me I am sure to include it in my notes.
- Key words- I write these words larger than the rest of the words on the page. These words usually revolve around the theme of the passage.
- Reflection questions- These are simply questions that came to mind as I was reading the passage. Sometimes they relate to the passage itself, or they relate to how I am living my life in regard to the passage.
- Actions to take- These are things that I need to do to become more Christ like, or things that I need to do to impact the lives of others. I only include these if I feel I need to take action based on my reading and studying.
- Life applications – These are just notes about how the text from hundreds of years ago applies to my life today.
Do you take notes while reading and studying your Bible? If you do how do you do it?
Photos by Donna