How Can You Easily Create Space in Your Bible?

I ran out of space.

I gambled a while back and went a bit wild in my journaling Bible on the page with John 3:16.  That verse, I feel, teaches the basics of my faith: God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to save us. So, I eagerly did something I hadn’t done before – I colored over the text. I made certain that I could still read it, but I didn’t stay within the boundaries of the margin for this one.

Fast forward to recent days, and I need to highlight John 3:30. “He must increase, and I must decrease.” This is my focus verse for the year.

I haven’t done New Years’ Resolutions for several years. Mostly because I hated the fact I couldn’t ever really keep them. (Except one I made about 4 years ago to be more verbal in telling people how much I appreciate them: waiters, cashiers, co-workers, etc.)

In 2014, I noticed the word “HONOR” showing up in almost every verse I studied. I made that my word for the year – even before I knew people picked a word for the year. Go figure.

For 2015, I focused on “ENOUGH,” as in God is my Enough. My intent was to do some kind of art or journaling project each month to keep ENOUGH on my mind. While I failed on the monthly art things, I was able to be intentional about remembering that dependence on God trumps all else.

As I prayed about a word for 2016, I kept thinking about how overwhelmed I got in 2015. I signed up for too many courses – online and in person. I started too many projects. And God led me to see that I need to cut back. I need to SIMPLIFY. I need to REDUCE. I need to DECREASE.

I must DECREASE.

So when I went to work on this verse in my journaling Bible, I realized my problem. I need more space. So I made a tip-in. A tip-in is a small piece of paper (or acetate, in this case) that is attached by strips of tape that create a hinge.

He with an up arrow = He must increase. AND I with a down arrow = I must decrease. All hinged nicely in the inside margin of the page. I can flip it over to read the text, and it doesn’t add that much thickness to the book.

Easy as pie. Rats. I shouldn’t mention pie. That leads to another thing I’m working on decreasing…me.

Action Plan: Spend some time in prayer and ask God to lead you to a focus word or scripture for 2016. He will provide exactly what you’ll need. Be watchful as a word shows up and catches your attention.

Welcome to 2016! Since you’re reading this post, you’ve been prayed over today. God bless.

by