SHOULD I HIGHLIGHT IN MY BIBLE?

Growing up my mom's Bible had markings on every page with things she read or notes from sermons she heard. Her notes and highlights are very meaningful and special to her. Taking a lesson from my mom, I've always highlighted in my Bible as well.

Even though I mark my Bibles up quite a bit, my husband does not highlight or make any marks in his Bibles. It is really just personal preference. For me, I love highlighting in God's Word!

I highlight verses that really speak to me, whether in my own Bible reading or while at church. I underline key words. And sometimes I even make small notes in the margins. It helps me to remember things and engage with my Bible on a deeper level. Plus, I really love color so by highlighting I am adding the beautiful colors God has given us to His beautiful Word.

I've read back through a verse that was highlighted and remembered the time God pointed the verse out to me or remembered how the verse helped me to feel peace in a difficult time or even the lessons I've learned from a certain verse. Marking in my Bible is how I read through the Word.

While I have always marked in my Bible, it has always been very random. I just grab a color that "feels" right and start highlighting. This year I got a new Bible and decided that I wanted to be more intentional with my markings. After a few months, I've finally decided how I want to purposefully highlight in my Bible.

Here is my system:
Purple: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit
Pink: Marriage, family
Peach: Friendship, relationships
Blue: Prayer, faith, worship, love
Green: Obedience, commands, repentance, humility
Teal: Wisdom, growth
Yellow: Prophecy, covenants
Gray: Sin, hell, death

I don't highlight every single verse under these categories. I highlight verses the Holy Spirit points out to me, when I learn something, when I feel touched by a verse, or when there is something I want to remember. Some days I only highlight one verse. Other days I highlight almost a whole chapter.

So far I am loving using this system. I created a document with each category and the highlight color so I could visually see the colors and connect them to the category. I keep the document in my Bible for quick reference.

Highlighting can be a powerful addition to your Bible time. It can bring a new depth to Bible reading and it can create visual to help you connect to God's Word.

Bibles can be tricky when it comes to writing or highlighting. The pages are very thin so you want to be careful that your pen or highlighter doesn't bleed through or rip the pages. I've tried tons of highlights throughout the years and here are my top three favorite Bible friendly highlighters.

My favorite highlighters for a Bible:

1. Pilot Frixion Erasable Highlighter Set
The Pilot Frixion Erasable Highlighters are amazing! This set is from Simplified and comes with 8 colors. They do not bleed or show through thin Bible pages, they glide easily, and you can erase. *(I have never erased in my Bible, with thin Bible pages I would be very careful erasing in a Bible, but I have used the erase feature on other books and it works good.)

2. Mildliner Set

Mildliners are my faves! They come in so many beautiful colors. One end is a regular highlighter tip, and the other end is more of a fine point tip. They do not bleed or show through thin Bible pages and they glide easily.

3. Daily Grace Co Bible Gel Highlighter Set

Gel Highlighters are great for highlighting in a Bible. They come in 6 colors, with the words abide, pray, reflect, praise, believe, and dwell on them. They do not bleed through thin Bible pages and they glide easily. While these highlighters work great, because they are gel they don't make straight lines, it is more of a crayon feel. So if that is important to you, I would go with the Frixions or Mildliners.

Some of my favorite Bibles:

1. Candace Cameron Bure's One Step Closer Bible, NLT
This is the Bible I am currently using and love! It has red letters for Jesus and I love that feature! It also has some great content like a question and answer section, a help finder index, promises of God, and more.

2. (in)Courage Devotional Bible, CSB
The (in)Courage Devotional Bible has 312 devotions by women of God, a topical index, reading plans, and more. You can get this Bible in several different cover options.

3. She Reads Truth Bible, CSB
The She Reads Truth Bible has devotions by the She Reads Truth team, Bible reading plans, and beautiful artwork.

4. CSB Study Bible for Women
The CSB Study Bible for Women has amazing study content! There are sections on women in the Bible, beautiful artwork, study notes, and much more.

For a printable of my Bible Highlighting System page to keep in your Bible, click HERE.

Do you highlight or mark in your Bible? If so, do you have a specific system?