Free, free, free!

The “Blank Interlinear” and the “Blank Valley of Vision” projects are complete. We have one of each to give away and tomorrow we will announce details how you can win them! … No. Thank you!

TSS Blank Bible Index

“Such industry! Economy! Edwards would surely approve.”

- Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University

This blog is noted for a geeky series on making your own Jonathan Edwards Blank Bible. The goal is to disassemble a Bible, add blank pages for notes and then rebind it all together. It’s relatively cheap, fun and taking the world by storm. So grab a Bible, gather the family and dust off the table saw.

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Blank Bible Project #1 (August, 2006)

Our first successful blank Bible was built from an ESV Classic Center-Reference. The final product was an excellent 3-volume set that is now my primary Bible for personal study and reflection. The comments on these posts contain some very helpful input from others.

- Building a Blank Bible (part 1): Intro
- Building a Blank Bible (part 2): The Failure
- Building a Blank Bible (part 3): The Blank Bible

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Blank Bible Project #2 (November, 2006)

Using the ESV Reverse Interlinear New Testament, we created a 2,700 page, 4-volume New Testament for serious students.

“It is awesome to know that God, through His Spirit, can fill every blank page through humble meditation as the “living and active” Word of God comes alive. Each blank page represents our anticipation that God will open up His Word to reveal more of the width and height and depth and length of God’s love in the Cross!”

- DIY: Blank Bible (part 1): Intro
- DIY: Blank Bible (part 2): Cut, Rip, Clamp, Saw
- DIY: Blank Bible (part 3): Slice and Stuff
- DIY: Blank Bible (part 4): Punch and Bind

We ran a contest to win this Bible and you can read the finalist essays here and meet the winners here.

“Your website article on constructing an interlinear note-taking bible is an incredible adaptation designed specifically with the busy pastor in mind. Not only would this allow me to retain some semblance of Greek proficiency, but would also allow the great advantage being able to record my thoughts on Scripture while occupied with various pastoral tasks (sitting in the hospital waiting rooms, waiting in the prison/jail visitor lobby, or stealing an extra 15 minutes in the local diner after a pastoral care lunch appointment). It has the potential of being a portable, conveniently-sized, and organized record of years of reflection on the Holy Word.” – Pastor Joshua G. (Indian River, MI)

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Blank Valley of Vision (November, 2006)

The same principles can be used to turn any book into a journal. We did this very thing recently with The Valley of Vision from Banner of Truth. You can see photographs of the project here. We ran a contest to win this book and you can read the finalist essays here and meet the winner here.

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Spiral binding books

Even if you don’t add blank pages, spiral binding makes any book easier to read. I spiral bind important books that I want to lay flat on cardio machines at the gym.

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What are you working on?

Enough about us. What creative projects are you working on? Readers have been hacking apart Bibles and books and creating some unique blank projects of their own. Care to share photos of your project? Please email us and let us know what you are working on.

- Stephen followed our instructions perfectly and created a pair of nice Blank ESVs. See his blog for the entire series, The Blank Bible Chronicles for more info (and nice pics to boot).

- Justin built a 4-volume “Blank ESV.” Looks like he used 3:1 spirals as opposed to the common 4:1 spirals. Very nice work! See pics here.

- Marcia built an 11-volume Blank ESV Reformation Study Bible. See pics here.

DIY: Blank Bible (part 4) Punching and Binding

DIY: Blank Bible (part 4) Punching and Binding

So you have survived the first 6 steps! Pat yourself on the back. From the woman who accidentally dropped her cut bible pages into a pile of chaos on the floor: “Good job.” And from the man whose bible got caught in the table saw and thrown into the air like a snow globe: “Congratulations.” You stand among the world’s elite to make it this far.

Only two steps separate you from a pile of loose pages and a priceless bible.

Punching

Right now your bible is a pile of pages with the right number of blank pages inserted exactly where you want them. For the Interlinear, I put one blank page between each bible page.

It’s time to get the pages punched using a spiral binding puncher. This punch is usually electric and can punch about 20-30 pages at a time. It punches several little holes (4 per inch).

I prefer to punch the pages myself. I go to a smaller office supply store where they let me back behind the counter to do this step myself. I like doing this step on my own because it gives me a little time to make certain all the pages are aligned at the binding edge. I do this by taking 20-30 pages at a time and tapping the binding edge on a table. Sometimes the blank pages and bible pages are slightly different widths. We want to make certain that all pages are aligned on the binding edge. A few simple taps on the table does the trick.

Failure to be careful here could give you a page where the binding holes are aligned on the edge of the paper and that page will easily tear or fall out. The minor addition of time makes a big difference in quality.

For our Interlinear blank bible of 2,700 pages (1,350 sheets), it only took about 40 minutes to punch all the holes. It goes quickly.

Before you leave the office supply store you will need a few things. First, it’s important to separate your bible into volumes. The largest standard spiral binding coil is 1-1/4” and so I usually separate my bibles into 1” to 1-1/8” piles. The first ESV blank bible was separated into three volumes, this Interlinear (being a total of 4-1/4” tall) will be separated into four volumes (Matthew-Mark; Luke-John; Acts-Galatians; Ephesians-Revelation).

If you want vinyl covers you will need these cut and punched before you leave the office supply store. Two vinyl covers per volume. They are cut and punched exactly to the size of the bible pages.

Then you need to purchase binding coils. I like the 1-1/4.” The larger the coil; the more flexible the bible. For this 4-volume project I will need 4 coils. Now you can return home. The final step can be done from your kitchen table.

Binding

I usually do the spiral binding myself at home. Align the pages for the first volume, place the covers on, and begin screwing the binding coil into the first hole. The first hole takes a minute to align all the pages correctly, but once you move on to the second the holes begin automatically lining up on their own. Just keep spinning the coils in. Once you are done, cut the coil off. Leave one full circle of visible spiral on the top and bottom.

I bound all four volumes of the Interlinear in about 25 minutes.

And you are done. That’s it!

Pen

I recommend using a Pigma Micron 005 pen available at most scrapbook or art stores for under $3.00. It’s a super fine point that allows me to write very tiny and maximize each page (don’t mistake this with the 05 which is much thicker).

Conclusion

I recently read this about our project at a blog called OldTruth.com:

“It says something about you, if you are willing to cut, rip, clamp, saw, slice, stuff, punch, and bind your own bible, just so you can squeeze a blank notes sheet in between every page of scripture. Perhaps it says that you are a really serious student of the bible.”

Yes, indeed. If you are tackling this project it already shows your heart. You will take sacrifices to improve your opportunities to grow in God’s Word. Praise God!

So if you happen to be the man standing over the table saw, whose bible explodes into the air into a blizzard of paper, use this moment to raise your hands and celebrate. God is at work giving you the desire to read, study and know Him more. Let the confetti rain down in praise of His grace!

Christmas book recommendation: The Fullness of Christ by Octavius Winslow

Christmas book recommendation:

The Fullness of Christ by Octavius Winslow

The Fullness of Christ, written by my favorite author (Octavius Winslow), was published this year by Reformation Heritage Books. All of his books are devotional and exceptional in highlighting the beauty, fullness and refreshment in Christ!! His best book and — apart from the bible — the best book I have ever read is The Precious Things of God. (Yes, you heard me right, the best book I have read apart from the bible. For some reason this gem is out of print but worth every effort to find.) The Fullness is a great introduction to this wonderful author.

- Read The Precious Things of God online for free here.

- Read The Fullness of Christ online for free here.

Christmas book recommendation: An Earnest Ministry: The Want of the Times by John Angell James

Christmas Book Recommendation:

An Earnest Ministry: The Want of the Times by John Angell James

Early this year, my friend Charlie recommended this book to me. It has become one of my favorites. Published by The Banner of Truth, An Earnest Ministry, aims to keep pastors urgent in their tasks. Earlier this year we quoted from it many times. Read those quotes here. A little-known book that makes a great present for pastor-friends!

Christmas book recommendation: Unless You Repent, by Jonathan Edwards

Christmas book recommendation

Unless You Repent by Jonathan Edwards

Nacho typical Christmas present, but this book is a real treasure! Read our full review of this excellent book from Soli Deo Gloria.

The Blank Valley of Vision

Hello, everyone. We are in the process of completing our second “blank bible.” At the same time it was proposed that we should try building a “Blank Valley of Vision” (a wonderful book of Puritan prayers). And so we did. There are few details I can add to the blank bible posts so I’ve decided to post a photo gallery of the process taken to create the “Blank Valley of Vision” (here).

[Tim Challies has recently, and accurately, poked fun at my photo-nerdiness =) ]

Next Tuesday we will be giving away one “Blank Valley of Vision” to one of you (Sorry, those who have publicly pointed out my nerdiness do not qualify). You can buy the Valley of Vision in paperback, leather or in audio CD format from The Banner of Truth. In my opinion, it’s one of the most edifying and most versatile Christmas presents available!

TSS book photo archive

Hello everyone. Over the past few months I have been photographing books for this blog. There are a number of pictures I have used, some I have not, but all of them I want to put to work. So, if you have a use for them, please feel free to copy them and use them. If you don’t have use for the pictures, you may (at the least) pick up some great Christmas book ideas.

Enter The Shepherd’s Scrapbook book photo archive here.

The Shepherd’s Scrapbook Christmas shopping discounts

The Shepherd’s Scrapbook Christmas shopping discounts

Remember there are two important discounts available …

Works of John Owen (35-percent off) lasts until Dec. 15th. Details here.
Meet the Puritans (discounted rate) lasts until Nov. 30th. Details here.

Discounts: Why do we get discounts for our readers? It’s simple really. We can profit from affiliate networks (by making a percentage commission off each book sold through links from our site). But we think it’s best to remain a no-profit blog, and pass all the discounts on to our readers … No, thank you.

DIY: Blank Bible (part 3) Slicing and Stuffing

DIY: Blank Bible (part 3) Slicing and Stuffing

[read parts 1 and 2 here]

By this point you have cut the binding off your bible. It now sits in a pile of loose pages. The next two steps are slicing and stuffing.

Slicing

We need to get blank pages cut exactly to fit our bibles. So measure the size of your loose pages. A good and accurate dimension is essential for the office supply store to cut blank pages. For the interlinear, I will need paper cut exactly 6-5/16” by 9-5/16.” If you are unsure how to measure (or if you are not skilled in fractions) you can take your bible into the store and let the friendly associate take the measurements.

If your bible is 1,000 pages long (and double-sided) there are 500 individual sheets of paper. You will need 500 blank sheets if you insert a blank page between each bible page. The total size of the bible would be 2,000 pages. Don’t even try carrying that to church!

On to paper… I am not too picky on the paper I use. Just make certain it’s acid-free. The thinnest paper I can easily access is 20 lb, and the ream comes in 500 sheets. Brightness does not matter because most bibles are off-white anyways.

Now to the office supply store. If your blank pages are less than half the size of a sheet of paper (8-1/2”x11”) you can get 1,000 sheets out of one ream. The classic reference ESV in the first project was like this. However, the interlinear pages are larger. I will need 550 blank sheets and so I will need to purchase two reams.

Using a paper cutter, the office supply store can cut the ream of paper down to your exact dimensions. Once you have them cut, it’s time to return home.

Stuffing

It’s time to assemble your blank bible. For the first blank bible I did not put a blank page in every page of the Old Testament narratives, and I put 2 blank pages in the books of Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. It just depends upon the density of note taking you are going to need. For the interlinear I will be inserting one blank page between every bible page.

I usually set up something like this…

As you can see I have coffee and iTunes (these help deaden the painful shoulder cramps). To the back-center I place my stack of blank pages from the office supply store.

Closest to me I make three piles. To the right are the bible pages themselves. The middle pile is where I bring the blank pages and the bible pages together. With my left hand I pull down a blank page onto the pile and simultaneously with my right hand I flip a bible page from the right stack down on top of the blank page. When I’ve stacked 40-50 pages I neatly align them and stack them (without flipping them) to the pile on the far left. Because the bible paper is thinner than the blank pages, its necessary to occasionally take time to carefully align the pages together.

It’s important to always be aware of the binding edge of the bible pages. In the far right the binding edge is on the left. The middle pile its on the right. And on the far left stack its also on the right. The bible pages flow from right to left. From the first stack they are turned (like a book) onto the middle pile. But the stacks are not turned again when going from the middle to the left piles. In other words, page one of the bible would be on the top of the right pile, but the bottom of the middle and left piles. Make sense? Good.

As you can see, the interlinear bible is going to be much larger than the 3 volume blank bible we made earlier. This will be a New Testament for the serious bible student!

It is awesome to know that God, through His Spirit, can fill every blank page through humble meditation as the “living and active” Word of God comes alive. Each blank page represents our anticipation that God will open up His Word to reveal more of the width and height and depth and length of God’s love in the Cross!

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Coming up next, the conclusion … DIY: Blank Bible (part 4) Punching and Binding