Journaling sermon notes - by Jane Butcher

I don't know about you but I find myself more and more excited with the diverse ways Bible journaling can be used. In recent weeks we've seen blogs on so many amazing techniques; micro journaling, prayer journaling and journaling with people with special needs.

I love journaling in my Bible(s) but I also really loving using art to remind myself of favourite verses, songs, words shared by friends. I have several very small notebooks which I keep in my car, my handbag (purse), bedroom. I can just use them wherever I am to record a thought or idea which pops into my mind.

I'm sure many of you try to take notes during your Sunday service as I do. This has always proved to be somewhat unsatisfactory  for me. Just listening and trying to scribble down notes just doesn't work for me; I find myself frantically attempting to write down every word verbatim and so I end up not really listening to the message. When I get home and revisit my scribbled pages of notes I often simply can't read my own writing! I have certainly missed the crux of the message burying it under a surfeit of unnecessary wordage.

I have found that by applying some of my journaling "skills" I find myself listening to the whole message.  My recording focuses on key phrases, thoughts and images which more succinctly remind me and reveal to me the essence of the sermon or message.

my sermon notes kit

I have put together a little kit which contains everything I require and takes up very little space. I usually simply work in pencil while I'm at church though on occasion I am brave enough to work in pen. When I get home I read through my page and add little splashes of colour to highlight phrases and thoughts which are most important to me.

I think this could probably be best described as 'mind mapping' which is a technique taught to children in Primary School.  It's a great tool for organising thoughts and feelings.  I have found that this method of recording sits well with my need for visual as well as auditory reinforcement. Even though I am more naturally a writer and reader than an artist I still learn best and remember most when all my senses are involved.

I'm so grateful to have fallen into the world of Bible Journaling.  I'm not embarrassed to admit that I have spent more time in the Word in the last eighteen months than I have probably in the whole of my Christian life previously. So much has come alive, gained meaning and become rooted since I began this journey, I can't wait to learn new techniques, applications and insights. 

I can't - by Jane Butcher

I can’t draw like Deborah, I can't paint like Gill, I can't use mixed media like Sarah, I can't source things like Pam, I can't worship like Ben…


It's a wonder I can drag myself out of bed in a morning!

But, I can draw, I can paint, I can use mixed media, I can source things, I can worship; like me, and that's good enough because God made me. He gave me my skills, talents, interests, He gave them to me to use as only I can!

I wrote this poem many years ago, I hadn't been a Christian for very long but I already felt somehow inadequate when I compared myself to others.

“Oh to be a trophy of grace.”

Oh to be a trophy of grace,

To come in first in life’s long race.

Not relegated to runner up,

Slinking home with a tarnished cup.

To be held in esteem by all and sundry,

Surely a goal to be aimed for one day!

Glowing with health and blindingly good,

Reflecting the light as all trophies should.

How I'd hate it, how I'd fail,

The very thought turns my flesh pale.

Not for me such dizzy heights,

Living each day is enough of a fight!

My name won't make the glory roll,

No mention in dispatches or meritorious scroll.

But I don't care, I’ll just do my best,

I'll leave such striving for all the rest.

If someone told me to “come forth my child”,

I'd probably come fifth and drive them wild!

Still, it takes all sorts as you'll agree,

And there's room in the world for more like me.

I don't want much, my needs are few,

My family, my friends, more people like you!

So, here is one failed “trophy of grace”

Who has finally come to know her place!

There is one thing we all need to know, God made us, God loves us, we are His unique creation and the things we do and the way we do them are pleasing to His eye. Every moment we spend in His presence, in prayer, silence, reading, worshiping, praising or journaling blesses God.

Many people have shared the need for us to stop comparing ourselves to others, many more will do so in the future. Let's just for a moment imagine our lives as being a piece of a jigsaw, the last piece of a jigsaw. To complete the big picture only our shape will fit, with all its curves, bumps and sharp edges. We don't stand alone, neither do our strengths, weaknesses, gifts or talents.  We are created to take our place in the big picture, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. Without us the big picture is incomplete!