Bible Marginalia- Sacred Edges

#3 in the Bible Marginalia Series

Taking the time to look a bit more at this process

 of Writing in the Margins-

sharing some helpful insights with the permission

 of author-  Lisa Nichols Hickman.

The blank spaces around your Biblical text

 is an invitation.

The margins provide an opportunity for:

"a life-giving

chaos-breaking, 

transforming,

 creative conversation

between you and the eternal God."

Margins can be a spiritual discipline.

 How do we allow space in our hearts,

 days, soul and calendar for being available?

God shows up here in the space we give Him.

He is a God of dynamic interactions- 

we just often do not pay attention.

What can help with the discipline of

PAYING ATTENTION?

In a split second we can miss-

 a painted pink cloud in the sky.

We are called to pull ourselves-

out this world long enough-

 to notice what God is doing IN IT.

In this day when many read their Bibles digitally, 

it is also important to take a look at all the 

interactions that happen in the margins.

Part of the experience of Marginalia is that it creates:

"link-making,

path-building, 

commentary,

and memory."

So in this very visible way- we are making our mark.

It becomes annotation.

Catherine C. Marshall is an expert 

in annotation of texts in a digital age.

She helps us to see that annotation-

is a:

 "process of reception,

internalization, 

processing, 

and claim-making."

This is possible in an ebook and iPad.

Digital annotations become "searchable" 

and can be easily shared.

The readers connected to this blog

 may be using these tools in mostly hard- copy books.

But Marshall points out research

 that can apply to both sets of marginalogists.

These marks can be:

"markers of interpretive activity,

signals of procedures in reading,

tools for problem-solving,

visible traces of the reader's attention,

incidental notes of reflection,

place-markers,

and memory-aids."

God loves to see the story

 He is writing in each of our lives- illustrated.

 It can be simple underlining and highlighting,

with notes and thoughts coming together 

in the sacred edges of His Word.

When our Heavenly Father rejoices
 that we see Him in small details
 and in the shadows and margins of our lives,

 imagine His delight to bring
 majestic things forward-

 front and central.

Simply put-

writing in the margins-

 is one of the open doors for God
 to bless our lives.