Hiya friends! I hope you are having a fantastic day! I wanted to share my honest opinions today about the interleaved bibles you may have seen on the market recently.
First off, what is an interleaved bible? According the the crossway website :
"Patterned after the Bible that eighteenth-century preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards used to record more than 5,000 notes about God’s Word, the ESV Journaling Bible, Interleaved Edition includes a full, blank page next to every page of Bible text. Created for Bible readers looking for as much space as possible for sermon notes, personal reflections, prayers, or artwork, this edition is destined to set a new standard when it comes to innovative Bible design focused on consumer needs."
I love the idea behind the interleaved bible, compared to the traditional 2 inch margins in the standard journaling bible, this offers us much more space to illustrate our faith. On the flip side: with every other page being blank this bible is HUGE!! It really gives a whole new meaning to "I like big bibles and I can not lie! " ha! :) So while it does offer you a lot of space and may be nice to have at home, or as an alternative, this isn't a bible you are likely to carry in your purse, or take to church with you etc.
If you are deciding between an interleaved bible and a more traditional journaling bible, I would ask myself some questions.
1. How do I plan to use my journaling bible?
2. Do I want to be able to take my bible with me?
3. Will I feel limited by the 2 inch margins in the journaling bible?
4. Will the interleaved bible be overwhelming?
5. Am I looking for a place to just get started?
If you are new to bible journaling and are not sure how you will personally documenting your faith, I would personally recommend a traditional journaling bible with the 2 inch margins. This is the one I use on a daily basis. If you are someone who loves bible journaling and want to try something new and may want to have an "at home bible" and one to go, I say try it! You never know until you try!!
I get a lot of questions about which bible is right for me, and I always tell everyone that you just have to look around, see all your options and jump in from there. Try to avoid waiting for "the perfect" bible to come along, the only thing I regret is not trying this from the moment I handed my life over to Christ.
I hope this answers some of the questions you have regarding the different types of bibles, please also check out this very insightful article from Heather on the same topic!
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