If you’ve been shopping around for something to help you engage with Scripture more deeply, you’ve probably run into two very similarly named products: a journaling Bible and a Bible journal. They sound almost identical. They are not the same thing at all — and knowing the difference will save you from buying the wrong one.

What a Journaling Bible Actually Is

A journaling Bible is a full Bible — usually larger, often spiral-bound — with the complete Scripture text printed on the inside. The difference from a standard Bible is the margins: you get a few extra inches of blank space on the side of each page to write notes, reflections, or even artistic lettering right next to the verses you’re reading.

Journaling Bibles are genuinely beautiful, and for some people, writing directly next to the text they’re studying is exactly what they want.

What a Bible Journal Actually Is

A Bible journal — like the Cover to Cover Bible Journal — has no Scripture printed inside it at all. It’s a companion, not a replacement for your Bible. Each entry tells you what passage to read next in your own Bible, and then gives you real room — not a few inches of margin, but full pages — to write your interpretation, application, prayers, praises, and notes for the day.

Because there’s no Scripture text inside, it works with any 66-book Bible translation — King James, ESV, NLT, whatever you already read and love. You’re not locked into a specific translation just because of which journal you bought.

Why I Personally Chose Not to Put Scripture Inside

I have a Bible my husband gave me when we were dating, fifteen years ago. The leather is scratched and peeling in places, the binding is falling apart — and I still use it, because it’s mine in a way a replacement never could be.

If I had filled up the margins of that Bible in my early twenties the way a journaling Bible invites you to, I wouldn’t be able to use it anymore. And here’s the thing about notes: what I wrote at 20 looks nothing like what I write now, closer to 40. I can still see those old little sentences here and there in my Bible’s margins, and they’re precious — but if the margins had filled up years ago, I’d have had to retire that Bible and start over in a new one.

That’s exactly why the Cover to Cover Bible Journal doesn’t include Scripture. Your notes live in the journal, not in the margins of your Bible — which means your Bible stays exactly as it is, generation after generation, no matter how many journals you fill.

I’ve had customers finish their journal and come back for a different color just to start again — their original Bible completely intact, still holding all their old notes, still theirs.

A Quick Note on Confusion

Some people have purchased the Cover to Cover Bible Journal expecting Scripture to be printed inside, and it isn’t. If you want to see exactly what a page looks like before you order, check the product photos on the website, or email hello@amandastores.com and I’ll happily send you a picture of a blank page so you know exactly what you’re getting.

So Which One Do You Actually Need?

• Choose a journaling Bible if: you want to write directly beside the verses as you read, don’t mind a larger book to carry, and are comfortable eventually filling that Bible’s margins for good.
• Choose a Bible journal if: you want to keep using your own Bible — maybe one with sentimental value — for the rest of your life, want more writing space than a margin allows, and want the flexibility to use any translation you already own.

Neither one is “better.” They just serve different needs. But if you’ve got a Bible you’re not ready to retire, a Bible journal lets you keep it exactly as it is — while still giving Scripture the deep, written response it deserves.

Curious what the inside of the Cover to Cover Bible Journal actually looks like?

→ Preorder yours today — shipping late-August. No dates, no deadlines, no guilt. Just you and God’s Word, at your pace, for as long as it takes.

Amanda Stores

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