B&H Publishing Journaling Bibles Review

Have you seen the latest coloring craze?  It turns out, so studies confirm, that coloring actually relieves stress.  I know a lot of adults who color!  Seriously! Its a thing!  But when you think about it, it completely makes sense.  Coloring is an artistic, creative activity.  And those types of things are great for relieving stress!  So what could be better?  I'll tell you!  Adding some Bible verses to your coloring!  Reading and meditating on God's word is another stress-relieving activity!

So that brings me to my current review: Journaling Bibles.  These things are becoming CRAZY popular, you guys!  Now, if you are totally disinterested in getting "artsy" in your Bible, a journaling Bible is still a great option because it leaves lots of room for notes.  A journaling Bible is really great for everyone!!!

But lets get back to this "Bible Art Journaling" thing!  I'm totally on board!  I find Bible Art Journaling to not only be a relaxing, creative exercise, but it makes me really meditate and study a particular verse or passage.  I often find myself searching several different Bible translations when I'm journaling - to see how each one phrases the same thing.  Its a wonderful experience.

Here are a few examples of my recent Bible journaling.  These were done in my ESV Journaling Bible, but they will give you a taste of what I'm describing. -

B&H Publishing has 3 fabulous Journaling Bibles: the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the King James Version, and the New King James Version.  All three have a lay-flat binding, a 2 inch margin (although I measured and its actually more like 2.25 inches!), and 8pt font!

Here's my new HCSB (left) next to my ESV Journaling Bible (right).  The margin on the ESV is slightly less than 2 inches, so the HCSB margins are slightly wider.  The ESV has 7.5pt font, so the font on the HCSB is also slightly bigger. You wouldn't think 1/2 a font point would make a big difference, but it does!  They also have only one column of writing per page (versus the two columns in my ESV Journaling Bible). I really like the one column format.  It really makes everything seem less cluttered - especially after you add your art/notes.

Here are the three B&H Journaling Bibles together.  The top one is the HCSB.  The middle is KJV.  And the bottom is NKJV.  As you can see, the HCSB (top) and NKJV (bottom) have a phrase-by-phrase spacing, meaning that each new phrase is a new line (at least in the poetic books, like the Psalms.  The KJV (middle) has a verse-by-verse spacing.  I like the spacing of the HCSB & NKJV best.  

In the other books (such as the letters in the New Testament) all three have a paragraph spacing (meaning that each new thought/paragraph begins a new line, so there may be several verses together before a new line starts).  

The KJV and NKJV also have the words of Jesus in red.  The HCSB does not.  So far, that's the only downside I've seen to the HCSB.

I'm loving these Journaling Bibles!  They're easy to work in, easy to read, and well-made.  I plan to journal one for each of my kids with important Bible verses, great points from sermons at church, and my favorite hymns and praise songs.  You can pre-order your own HCSB, KJV, or NKJV Journaling Bible from Amazon.  They are scheduled to release on September 1, 2015!

You can find more of my Bible art (along with recipes, crafts, and reviews) on my instagram account: @theproverbs31mama

I received these Bibles, free of charge, from B&H Publishers, in exchange for my honest review.