Lisa Nichols Hickman - Writing in the Margins: Connecting with God on the Pages of Your Bible

Praise for Writing in the Margins

May I really write words and draw pictures in the margins of my Bible? (My Bible has some underlinings and a few hesitant pencil or erasable chalk punctuation marks.) In her lovely and liberating book, Lisa Hickman not only says, Yes! but she hands out permission slips to pick up our writing tools and go for it. With stories of people whose Bible margins are filled with notes and doodles, and with simple exercises to get started, Lisa encourages us to physically engage the Word of the Living God, not just worship an ancient book.

Sybil MacBeth, author of Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God

One of the gifts of this book is On the Pages of Your Bibledeep questions that invite our deep thinking, instructions that lead to reflection and wonderment, encouragements that draw out our true and truer selves. Rather than fearing you wont know what to write, fear instead you will discover too much of who you are. Then, Fear not, for Lisa Nichols Hickman shows us that in discovering ourselves, we discover God.

Joyce MacKichan Walker, Minister of Education at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ, is a teacher, keynoter, curriculum writer, and the 2008 Educator of the Year for the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators

In her book, Writing in the Margins, Lisa Hickman carries her readers to a fresh and intimate engagement with the words of scripture though a deep conversation with the text in the margins of the Bible that will then spill out into transformed lives. Hickman draws upon the same energy that is present in young adulthood and coaxes us into a lifetime of deep engagement with scripture. In a world where life often takes us to the margins, in one way or another, Hickmans text is inspired and provocative, and it brings new and creative vitality to the biblical witness.

Pastor Mary Brown, editor of ON ScriptureThe Bible, Odyssey Network

In the first book of the Bible, Jacob, a conniving protagonist, wrestles with God at midnight. As the sun glimpses over the horizon, God leaves Jacob with a wrenched hip and a blessing. In Writing in the Margins, Lisa Hickman invites us into that holy struggle. As we learn to grapple, the words, stories, and disciplines in this book will leave us broken and blessed.

Carol Howard Merritt, author of Tribal Church and Reframing Hope

After reading a few pages of Lisa Nichols Hickmans Writing in the Margins, I got up off the couch to hunt for a pencil and my Bible. She led me into a hidden world of other Christians relationships with God through scripture in a way that lures me back into a love affair with the book. Her stories are nothing we have heard before; her questions in each chapter invite true discovery. Nothing trite here. She invites us into the practice of relating to the Bible in a fresh, unique, and compelling way that welcomes both newcomers and old-timers.

Melissa Wiginton serves as Vice President for Education Beyond the Walls at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, Texas

Not only does Lisa Hickman give her readers a remarkably simple yet rich spiritual practice; in a book that is purportedly about the white space framing sacred scripture, she offers deeply moving biblical reflections. Ironically, Writing in the Margins will play a central role in the life of many contemporary Christians.

Katherine Willis Pershey, author of Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family

Talk about a book that practices what it preaches. Writing in the Margins not only opens the door to new thinking about the spiritual practice of journaling, but it, literally, gives you space to do just that. From the eloquence of Hickmans thoughtful prose to the depth of her theological musings, Im certain that all those who settle down with this book will find themselves captivated by her words of wisdom and inspired by her passion.

Jason Santos, author of A Community Called Taiz: A Story of Prayer, Worship and Reconciliation

Lisa Hickman makes the luminous claim in Writing in the Margins that decisive action takes place not in the marks of the Bibles text but in the voids beside the text. She challenges the reader to meet the Word in those pristine spaces, with minds alert, imaginations attuned, and pencil in hand. For Hickman, the Bibles margins, as with the margins of life, form the terrain of the Spirit.

Donald Ottenhoff, Executive Director of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research

Before opening this book, I thought it would be about how to read the Bible. Then I discovered it is really about how to pray. I shouldnt have been surprised; those two things go hand in hand.

Matthew L. Skinner, Associate Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary

Informative, practical, and permission-giving. As one who has marked up his Bible for years, it is good to be affirmed in this endeavor and discover other creative ways people of faith are using the margins of the Bible.

Dan Thomas, Associate Pastor for Education and Nurture, Immanuel Presbyterian Church

Writing in the Margins is a lovely, practical meditation on how to readno, more than that, how to interact and be alive withScripture. Which means it gives insight for being alive to faith and to doubt, to answers and to questions, to prayer and to engagement in the world.

Kent Annan, author of After Shock and Following Jesus Through the Eye of the Needle and co-director of Haiti Partners

With this lovely reflection on the practice of writing in the margins of our Bibles, Hickman offers a vibrant way to bring the sacred text to life and into our lives. Invoking the wisdom of other gifted margin-writers, she convinces us to take up a pen and join our words with Gods Word.

Maureen R. OBrien, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA

If youre like mereminiscent about a past when the Spirit burned in your heart and the Word fed your bellyHickmans book is for you. Writing in the Margins lit a new spark of hope and possibility inside me. Thank you, Lisa, for this gift.

Margot Starbuck, author of The Girl in the Orange Dress

Lisa NICHOLS HICKMAN

Connecting with God on the Pages of Your Bible

WRITING IN THE MARGINS

Connecting with God on the Pages of Your Bible

Copyright 2013 by Lisa Nichols Hickman
Revised edition copyright 2016 by Lisa Nichols Hickman

All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801, or e-mailed to .

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data