I created the Honeycomb Wisdom Journal Page, as a way to organize my notes for when I read the Bible in 90 days. Something great happened with it though as I was testing it out. It worked for taking sermon notes during church, for reading large chunks of scripture and for dissecting single verses.
Of course I want you to use the journal, however they suit you best, but here are a few guidelines or things to think about when taking notes.
Passage:
Include anything that is important about the passage being studied or anything that you want to remember for later: sermon title, passage title, speaker. Sometimes, you’ll want to study a chapter or even a book where you’ll skim the surface and other times, you will want to do a deep dive on a small passage or just a verse.
Date:
Write down the date/dates you worked on your observations. Having the date will give you a point of reference of what was going on in your life when you studied the passage. We all see different things each time we look at the same passage. God has a way of pointing out what we need to see.
Discovered:
This is where all of your observations are going to be. Use this in whatever way is going to help you absorb what God is showing you. Your observation and notes are not going to look the same as anyone else’s and that’s okay. Sometimes drawing a timeline or a chart helps me process the passage better than bullet pointed notes. Circle, underline, bold, color code – these are all good things to do. I personally love arrows; they allow me to show how things are all intertwined and work together.
Ways to Observe:
- What do you see?
- Who, What, Where, When, Why
- Anything new stick out?
- What is the structure of the selection? biographical, geographical, historical, chronological, ideological
- Make a chart, timeline
- Phrases/words that were repeated?
- Anything that is a reflection of your life?
- Do you see metaphors/similies?
- Cause & Effect
- parts -> whole
- Draw a Picture, illustrate what you read
Help me to remember:
What do you need to internalize?
Reread your notes, are there any patterns?
What is the passage telling you?
Lord, I ask that
What do you need to internalize, take to heart out of what you read? Are there any changes that you need to make in your life as result of what you discovered?
Heavenly Father, I am thankful for . . .
Pour your heart out to God, be honest, be detailed. It is okay to be thankful for the doors He shuts and the windows He opens.
