Now that the hectic Christmas season is over, it’s time to catch up on blog posts. For today, I’m sharing my review of the CSB Notetaking Bible with the Sage Cloth over Board Cover. This beautiful Bible was sent to me by B&H/Lifeway Publishing, and you can purchase a copy of your own through my Amazon affiliate link here.
Here is the original description from the publishers: “The CSB Notetaking Bible is designed to enhance personal Bible study as well as preparation for teaching and preaching. This Bible contains a single-column setting, and abundant space is provided with a 1.75 inch notetaking space on each page to make observations, record insights, raise questions, and suggest to yourself additional exploration of the text.
“Features inlcude: Smyth-sewn binding, Presentation page, single-column text, 1.75 inch margins for notetaking, 8-point type, One-year Bible Reading Plan, Concordance, Full-color maps, and more.
The CSB Notetaking Bible features the highly readable, highly reliable text of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). The CSB stays as literal as possible to the Bible’s original meaning without sacrificing clarity, making it easier to engage with Scripture’s life-transforming message and to share it with others.”
The outside and inside covers feature a floral design. The pages themselves are a plain cream with dark lined margins. Since this is called a “Notetaking” bible, it is definitely geared more towards written notes and journaling. This Bible has one green ribbon bookmark for marking the page when you want to remember your place. It also features the CSB text, which has personally become my new favorite translation for its readability while still maintaining accuracy.
Each book of the Bible starts on a right side page, so if there is blank space between two books, it includes a lightly lined page. It might be hard to see in the above picture, but you can see the difference between the lightly lined full page and the dark lined margins.
As a Bible journaler, I do wish the margin lines had also been the light lines. I did two test pages with some dark artwork and some light artwork to see how the lines looked once I add illustrations to the pages. For the dark watercolor paint, I liked that I could still see the lines when I went to add my prayer journaling. For the light pink stamping I did on the second page, the lines are a little distracting, but something I can live with. However if the dark lines are something that would bother you, I would suggest using this Bible just for notes and written journaling.
The quality of the pages are great and handled different wet mediums well with no bleed through. I’ve come to expect high quality journaling Bibles from B&H/Lifeway, and this one does not disappoint. I’m also a fan of single column for journaling Bibles because it’s easier to add notes and art right next to the verse you’re trying to highlight or study.
Another great feature of this Bible is the sizable concordance in the back. It’s one of the biggest and most comprehensive I’ve seen in a journaling Bible, making it a great resource for those wanting to study certain topics or cross-reference different verses. There aren’t any footnotes in the Bible text itself, so this added feature is helpful for doing more in-depth personal study.
Overall I am very pleased with this Bible and would highly recommend it to those wanting a Bible for taking notes and written journaling. For those wanting to art worship in this Bible, I would just keep in mind whether the dark margin lines would be too distracting for you or not. For me personally it’s not a deal breaker, and I will happily continue to use this Bible for art worship.
To order your own CSB Notetaking Bible from Amazon, click here.
Want to read more Bible reviews? Visit the Bible Reviews page to see all available posts.
Please note that this post contains affiliate links. This means I receive a small commission when you purchase through my link at no additional cost to you. I was sent a copy of this Bible from B&H/Lifeway Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All pictures and opinions contained in this post are my own.
As we enter December and the Advent season, I know a lot of people are looking for devotionals and reading plans to use both in personal study and with their families. B&H Publishing was kind enough to send me a copy of the book “Classic Hymns: Read and Reflect with the Classics” to review and share my thoughts. I thought this would be a great opportunity to suggest a non-Christmas-themed devotional. You can order a copy for yourself on Amazon through my affiliate link 
First of all, I love hardcover, cloth over board, books. The outside cover gives a feel of a classic, timeless title. I also liked that it wasn’t flashy or gimmicky, which is very appropriate for Hymns since they are a more traditional style of worship.
The book includes 90 traditional hymns, including several Christmas hymns at the end of the book. Each chapter is just a few short pages and includes the full text of the hymn, Bible study questions with a suggested passage to read, personal reflection questions, and a prayer suggestion/topic as promoted by the hymn. I would consider the text of this book to be more of a devotional, since it doesn’t really include historical information about the hymns themselves other than the songwriter(s) and the year it was written.
I really like the fact that you can choose how in-depth you want to go into studying the hymn and suggested Scripture passages. I think this would be a perfect devotional to use during Advent when time can be limited, and I’m looking for a thoughtful, but brief study.
I grew up going to baptist churches, where we often still used hymnals and “praise and worship” style songs projected onto a screen was just starting to emerge and gain popularity. So I have a fondness for hymns and enjoy any resources that take traditional hymns and bring them to a modern audience. I will say that I’m a little disappointed that there wasn’t more historical information included to give context, as well as maybe some small explanations of the phrases and theology of the hymns themselves for those who may not be familiar with the language of hymns. Overall I would recommend this book for both personal and family study for those who want explore hymns in relation to scripture. I am looking forward to exploring this book more and using it as a study tool with my Bible journaling.
Kountingsheep 