The Beautiful Word

One thing I have found to be true about myself and motivation is the prettier it is, the more likely I am to get excited about using it. I like nicely scented cleaning products and beautifully designed organization items-anything to make ordinary tasks more lovely. And while reading my bible is certainly no ordinary task, but a privilege-I admit to still being drawn to the prettiest version. I have loved seeing the beautifully curated art journal bibles pop up in my social media feeds but know, without a shadow of a doubt, that will never be what my bible looks like. While I have a great appreciation for all things created lovely, I cannot create said things; it is just not in my gifting. So when I got the chance to explore the Beautiful Word Bible I was pretty giddy with excitement!

First, the great features of this bible- It truly is beautiful! With 500 full-color illustrated verses interlaced through out it's pages and a lovely cover, it is a coffee table treasure. I love the variety of illustration styles and there's something about putting these verses in art form to make them jump out and stick with you. I really do love that I will get the "look" of an art journal bible without the talent to make one. Not to say, I won't be putting my own notes in the margins of these pages! In fact, I will say with the lined spaces for journaling and the illustrations started too, this bible is a a lot less intimidating to just jump into and mark up! The day it came in the mail, I grabbed a pen and having just read an amazing devotional went on a note jotting spree. The devotional reading that got me so excited was Jesus is the Promised One that was part of She Reads Truth advent series. I adore their studies and ministry, partly because they too make the studying beautiful. This reading was chalk full of scripture references and sent you on a scavenger hunt all through out the bible pointing to all the little (and big) hints leading up to Jesus' arrival and who He would be. It was fascinating to me and I wanted to be able to remember and run into all those little sign posts in my future bible reading. This was great way to break in my Beautiful Word bible!

 Now, a couple downsides- it is a some what small bible, making it easy to throw in a bag on the go but the print isn't the easiest to read. Additionally, because of it's smaller size and the large quantity of illustrations in the margins , you do tend to run out of journaling space at times. Also, my copy had several almost double printed pages that are very hard to read. The pages are thin making it a bit more compact of a book, but also a little less sturdy for writing in. Personally, I love the ESV bible for intensive study but will be glad to have this version around to journal in and admire. It seems safe to say, you can never have enough bibles! I also saw that they are going to be releasing a NKJV version of the beautiful word.

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.