I love marking up my Bible when I study. I’m not sure if it’s the graphic designer in me (I like pretty colors) or the former English major coming out (sentence diagrams!!), but I just enjoy dissecting the text and finding the deeper—and much more personal—meaning.
A quick flip through my Bible will prove my case. Highlights, underlines, arrows pointing to notes I wrote in the margins, boxes, color coded markings—it’s like a playground for my studious brain.
But there’s one problem in this wondrous glory-land I call marking my Bible: It’s hard to find the right tools.
Highlighters bleed through the already way-too-thin paper, colored pencils tend to tear right through, and regular pencils begin to fade. What is a marking madman like myself to do?!
Enter the glory of all Bible marking glories: Crayons.
That’s right, I wrote crayons. Sounds fun, huh? Kind of a blast to your coloring past. But not just any crayons will do. They have to be the Crayola Twistable Crayons.
I was recently turned onto this wondrous invention when I was searching for highlighters that wouldn’t bleed through my Bible pages. These twistable crayons are the perfect solution to marking my Bible without the bleeding, ripping, or fading found in other marking tools.
Here’s why I love these crayons:
- No bleeding through the pages
- They are inexpensive (I paid under $2 for a set)
- You can pick them up just about anywhere
- One pack includes 10 different colors – perfect for the obsessive color-coder like myself
- They are pointed just enough to color code the text without overlapping to another line
- Each crayon is in a plastic case, so your hands don’t get all crayon-y
As amazing as these crayons are, they do have some downfalls you should know about before running out to purchase your new Bible marking tools:
- They aren’t as bright as a highlighter
- There are only 10 colors (I need more!)
- The darker colors (aka – brown and black) can be too dark to read the text
- They will make you want to color everything!
Even with some minor downfalls – and the overwhelming desire to buy coloring books—I have found these twistable crayons to be the best solution to highlighting and color coding my Bible. I’ve been using them for two months now and have recommended them to the Ignite staff and the students we work with.
Who would have thought I would use crayons in my Bible? Only God!
Emily Kantner says
That’s it–I’m going to buy some crayons today!
Jason Vana says
Do it! It’s so much fun!
Kelley says
If you look around, you can find bigger sets and there are colored pencils with the same design. I think I got them at Target. I think my daughter has almost every color of every crayola product ever made and she uses them ALL!
Jason Vana says
I saw the bigger packs over the weekend! I almost bought them right there, but have to wait until I get paid in Friday. I’m so going to buy them this weekend. Woo!
Nic says
Can i color OVER the words? or just underline them? Thanks 🙂
Jason Vana says
I color over the words. You just have to be careful when using darker colors (aka black, brown, dark blue) because they can make it hard to read. When using those colors, I press lightly and only go over the words once.
Michael says
And this is another reason hard copy (good old traditional ) bible rocks!
Jason Vana says
Haha – I rarely use my hardcover bible. My study bible isn’t hard covered.
Renee says
I think he was mainly referring to actually having a physical Bible in your hands, rather than a digital version.
I was reading reviews of a Bible app (that were mixed in with the hard copy reviews) and some people were saying that when they did the latest update it wiped out all of their notes. I think I would cry.
Diane Saucier says
I know I would cry!
Ricky says
I hope I am getting your drift Michael, I have tried to use digital copies and highlighting isn’t near as much fun. I really like to hold it in my hand and feel it. I also have tried to listen to a voice copy of the Bible, it is nice but you can’t really pick out the nuances as you can when you actually read it in hand.
CM says
I personally like using colored ball point pens. Rather than “highlight” text I use various different ways to underline (straight, squiggly) and I will also draw diagonal lines through a verse rather than highlighting. So diagonal lines going one way in blue is different than diagonals going the other way. Each color, line type, symbol, etc means a different thing which I track on a large card which I keep in my Bible. This cardstock card is always placed in between the two pages I’m working on so the other pages are not effected by my lines or drawings of symbols.
Jason Vana says
Wow! Now hat is some impressive bible marking! I never thought about using different underlines or strike throughs to mean something different. I might have to try your method out. I like it!
mary says
It is tough in precept ministry classes. Different colors or symbols. When talking about Jesus you would draw a cross. I love it. Of course through the years I have had to replace bibles that end up falling apart. Yay I get to start all over. Lol
Jason Vana says
I love starting over with a new bible! The only problem is – I get worried I’ll mess up my system before I even start!
Bobby Shirley says
I’ve heard many people talk about this tip. I tried it, but I can’t get over the look of a crayon in my bible. I love the idea, but it’s just not for me. I recently started using these highlighters. No bleed through, no smear, and color coding.
Jason Vana says
Haha – yea, the crayon does take some getting used it. I’ll have to look into those highlighters you mentioned. I was trying to find some no-bleed highlighters, but wasn’t able to find any I liked with enough colors to make it worth while.
Eric Dye says
This could be the best tech tip of the year. 😉
Jason Vana says
I’m fully expecting that it will be the cover feature of many tech magazines 😀
Eric Dye says
It should be. After all, Crayons and books are forms of technology.
Jason Vana says
I’m submitting the idea this weekend! 😀
Tim Smith says
I’m pretty sure I remember finding (and maybe buying) a special Bible Highlighting kit years ago that was basically a set of crayons made to look less like they belonged in a child’s pencil case. Often amuses me how things get rebranded!
Jason Vana says
Haha – that’s great! This is no rebrand, though. These are legit crayons – and I love it!
Bob Miller says
The real question is (and maybe this is a post in itself) what is your color coding scheme and why? I would love to hear how others markup their Bibles. I find myself at odds with myself, and it’s a uniquely Christian problem – what worked a few years ago doesn’t work as well now that I’m a more mature Christian and have different needs!
Jason Vana says
Bob – I may just do a post about that at some point. Right now, I really just started using colors to mark my bible, so I don’t really have a specific and awesome system down yet. Once I get it more fleshed out, I’ll try to do a post.
Dave Marrandette says
Bob – a crucial thought. I try to keep it simple using 5 Pentel colored ballpoint pens. Red is original languages & cross references; Green=practical application; Blue=Observations & Interpretation; Purple=Facts & Figures; Black=Misc. thoughts.
Sandy says
I used to use highlighters but, like you, found they bleed through. I like Prisma Color pencils. I don’t have any system for marking, I use a color until I’m tired of it then go to another & mark whatever speaks to me. I also use a colored pen to make notes in the margins.
Jason Vana says
I like the idea of a colored pen to take notes! I might have to use that one.
Jan says
Crayola also has colored twistable/erasable pencils. Much slimmer than crayons and more stable–won’t eventually bleed or transfer to opposite page as crayons eventually will. Got ’em at Walmart. Come in 12 and 24 packets.
Jason Vana says
Do they end up tearing through the page? My bible has really thin pages. I’ve made a few tears when trying to write with a mechanical pencil before.
Floyd H Johnson says
Twistables now come in packs of 24 colors – eliminating one of the cons mentioned in the arrival. I use the Twistables for both highlighting my Bible, but also for note taking in worship and Bible Study. A set of erasable Frixion pens make a good complement to the Twistables for note taking.
Jason Vana says
24 pack?! I’ll have to go out and buy a new set now!
Beth Nelson-Hayes says
Excellent article. After deliberating for months over whether to buy a new NIV or stick with my childhood Good News bible that has been barely used in 20 years, I am now researching ways to annotate. This helps immensely. Thank you.
*I chose my childhood Good News bible. I have a love for old bibles & using it till its worn and tatty excites me!
Jason Vana says
I love old bibles myself. I still have my very first study bible…and it’s in pieces. I’ve had to purchase a new one because my last one was unusable anymore. Too many pages falling out!
Tim says
Thanks Jason for making Bible marking enjoyable. Your passion for “the Word” is refreshing. I’m going to check out the Crayolas today and start marking a Bible again.
Jason Vana says
Tim – that’s great to hear! I’m a firm believer that diving in and really studying the bible helps us understand God and faith at a whole new level. Let me know how it goes!