For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. —Romans 11:36 NIV

“Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”

The closing line of Philip P. Bliss’ hymn says it perfectly. God’s Word is filled with beautiful, wonderful words that give us life. The words of Scripture are indeed beautiful for their love, grace, exhortation, correction, wisdom, hope, and truth. While we know that God’s Word stands alone and needs no help to speak to the reader, we are inspired by the amazing beauty found in verse art and Scripture illustration.

The benefits of creating art in your Bible are plentiful! Through the beauty of the illustrated Word, you can pause, read, and be drawn in to explore God’s Word deeper than you have before. You may see familiar verses in a whole new light and remember verses that were once a challenge to memorize. By slowing down and taking time to mindfully color Scripture, you may even find more beauty and calm in the everyday moments of life.

If you’ve been meaning to try this new expression of worship, now is the perfect time. Color alone for your next quiet time, or gather a group of friends for creative fellowship. There are many Bibles to choose from such as Journal the Word^TM Bibles with blank margins for your notes and illustrations or coloring Bibles with hundreds of pre-designed line art verses ready to be colored by you.

Here are some tips to get you get started. If you have other advice, we’d love to hear from you.

• Take a deep breath and don’t stress about mistakes! God doesn’t care if you make mistakes, and you learn and grow from them. If you would like to practice a bit before coloring the illustrations, use the Bible pages near the end for practice.
• Pick your favorite colored pencils, crayons, and highlighters. These are the safest choice for Bible paper.
• Don’t stop at coloring. Add dimension and depth with stickers, stamps, stencils, and washi tape. Different supplies will enhance your experience and your pages.
• Once you get the basics down, experiment with paint, watercolors, and glitter.
• Look for a coloring Bible with coated paper to minimize bleed through (color leaking through the page). The Beautiful Word^TM Coloring Bible has a coated, thicker paper to withstand a variety of mediums.
• Buy a quality pen designed for Bible art journaling to minimize bleed through and tears. There are many options available in a wide array of colors, perfect for adding notes and illustrations to the side columns of your Bible.
• Listen to Christian music for inspiration while you work. Music gets your creativity flowing, and music pairs perfectly with an art project. Many lyrics have verses taken directly from Scripture, so you may be inspired to illustrate a verse directly from a song.

Have advice for others? Please share in the comments section below. Happy coloring!