DAVID ADAMS takes a look at ‘Draw Near’…
Sophie Killingley
Draw Near: Your Creative Spiritual Journal
The Good Book Company, UK, 2022
ISBN: 978-1784986858
Spiritual journalling – the process of recording your thoughts on Scripture, sermon notes, prayers and other aspects of your relationship with God – has been having something of a moment in the past few years and publishers have been quick to jump on this interactive trend.
This journal – the work of UK-based artist and calligraphy teacher Sophie Kilingley – is a little different – while it’s what she describes as a “bullet journal” (described as a “planner, a diary, and a tool for self-reflection” using bullet points), it’s also designed to encourage your creativity in those reflections.
The book starts with a monthly section which, according to Killingley, aims to “help you start thinking about how to engage with the Bible creatively” with artistic prompts based on Bible verses looking Psalm 103 and Ephesians 1 as well as a “spiritual habit tracker” to help you build good spiritual habits.
It’s followed by a week-by-week break-down of the year which provides space for the user to record their thoughts and notes (but the weeks are undated you can dip in as you feel like it without, as Killingley puts it, “the weird guilt trip if you ‘fall behind’.”). And there’s plenty of blank pages for your random doodles or lists.
An expressive way to approach spiritual journalling, Draw Near isn’t, as Killingley notes, about “producing revolutionary masterpieces”. Rather, “it’s about stepping into a richer embodies expression of connecting with God”.
