Join me for this Bible journaling tutorial on 1 Timothy 4:7-8, which is all about training for godliness! Learn how to use gel printing plates to create this gold, silver, and bronze medal effect.
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Sometimes, spiritual life lessons come from the most unexpected places…
Case in point, when I took up ice skating as hobby (I actually started taking classes to learn some basic skills), I thought I was just fulfilling a life-long dream. But, as it turns out, skating has given me lots of great wisdom for life.
Never mind the fact that I’m not very good at it… skating still teaches me discipline, perseverance, and the importance of things like strength, balance, and proper technique. I’ve even equated it to Jesus’ commandment to love my neighbors as myself; skating is HARD, but it’s POSSIBLE to improve with practice and long-term commitment—and likewise, loving someone who is different from me or even my enemy is also HARD, but with time and God changing my heart, I can learn to do that too.
So anyway, you may be wondering, what does this ice skating analogy have to do with Bible journaling? Well, since we’re journaling on 1 Timothy 4:7-8, which is all about training in godliness, I’ve applied some of the lessons I’ve learned in my ‘physical training’ to what it means to train for godliness.
But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness. For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:7-8 (CSB)
I’ve heard this Scripture passage many times before, but it wasn’t until recently that the concept of ‘training’ made more sense to me. See, I’ve never been much of an athlete… I didn’t play organized sports in school; instead, I took music lessons and played the flute in my high school band. I’m much more artist than athlete for sure!
But now, with everything I’ve learned in my ice skating adventures, I understand what training in godliness can look like.
Bible Journaling Tutorial: 1 Timothy 4:7-8
When you watch the video tutorial below, you’ll see the points that I wrote down, regarding what it means to train for godliness. Two of these points are directly inspired by my experience with skating (and my observation of sports training in general).
And of course, in this tutorial, you’ll see how to use gel printing plates to achieve this very cool gold, silver, and bronze medal effect. The medals bring to mind the goal of striving towards something worthwhile (in our case, becoming more like Jesus, enjoying the fruits of godliness in this life, and the rewards to come in eternal life!). I hope you will join me in pondering what it means to train for godliness, and create your own version of this Bible journaling page!
SUPPLIES:
These are the Bible journaling supplies I used to create this 1 Timothy 4:7-8 page with gel printing plates and acrylic paints; of course, you’re always encouraged to use whatever supplies, colors, and techniques you like for your own journaling page!
- Illustrating Bible
- Faber-Castell Gelatos (“Iridescents II set)
- Altenew watercolor palette
- Ranger mini misters
- Flat paintbrush
- Scrapbook.com mint tape
- Color Technik glitter gel pens (I used black)
- Gel Press printing plates (set of 3 shapes)
- Ranger gel press brayer
- Atenew “Warp Speed” stencil
- Folk Art metallic paints
- black Pigma Micron pen (01 / 25mm tip)
- Gelly Roll metallic pens
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:
You’re always welcome to do your own thing for this 1 Timothy 4:7-8 Bible journaling page—you don’t have to create yours exactly the same way I did! But, if you want to follow the exact steps I took, here they are…
- ***BEFORE YOU START*** If you’re using a regular journaling Bible, I recommend prepping your page with gesso first. But if you’re using an Illustrating Bible (as I did for this tutorial), you can skip that step.
- Use the Faber-Castell Gelatos to create a background! Smear some on a reusable palette (I use this one), add water, and paint it onto the page using a flat paintbrush. You can do just one color, or multiple colors if you desire. I used the ‘Canary Diamond’ color from the Gelatos ‘Iridescents II’ set.
- Next, create your desired “Train for godliness” text. You can do your own hand lettering, or use alpha stamps (as I did in this Psalm 118:24 tutorial). If you need to trace your lettering, I highly recommend using a light pad! I traced mine with a pencil first, and then went over it with a black glitter gel pen.
- Now, you’re ready for the gel plate! Squirt some paint onto your circle-shaped gel plate, and use a brayer to spread the paint evenly over the plate. If you’d like to use a stencil to add texture, you can totally do that (as I did with the “warp speed” stencil), but you don’t have to. Carefully pick up the plate (it’s pretty wiggly!), turn it over so it’s paint side down, and place in your desired spot. Press it very lightly to transfer the paint onto the page. Then wipe the plate clean, and repeat as desired to create the gold, silver, and bronze medal effect.
- Once your medals are finished and dry, use them as a backdrop to write down your key takeaways. You can use mine, or come up with your own practical applications of what ‘training in godliness’ looks like in your life. I used a black Pigma Micron pen for this step, but any pen will do, as long as it shows up well against the gold, silver, and bronze paint.
- Finally, emphasize the Scripture passage with pens of your choosing. I used Gelly Roll metallic pens in gold and bronze to outline the whole passage, and to underline verses 7-8.
What did you think of this 1 Timothy 4:7-8 tutorial? I encourage you to make your own observations, about what training for godliness looks like in your daily life. And use your creativity, to make a journaling page that helps you remember and put into practice what you learn from this Scripture!
Hi! Thank you so much for visiting Divine Creative Love. I’m a Jesus-lovin’ girl, lettering artist, designer, and general creative-at-heart. And, I have narcolepsy. I blog about faith in God, overcoming challenges, and creative topics such as Bible journaling. If you’re new here, be sure and subscribe to my list so you won’t miss anything!