What is a War Binder? & How Do I Get Started?

What is a War Binder? & How Do I Get Started? – Angie Cruise Blog

A war binder is the perfect addition to a daily prayer or gratitude practice. Read on to learn more about how to set one up yourself.

I want to preface this article by telling you that I’ll be talking about religion for a minute. More specifically, my own personal story. If religion isn’t your jam, no worries at all. The concept of a war binder can be used by

. Feel free to skip to the next section if you want to avoid that part. It’s simply back story to explain how I started this practice.

I recently decided I wanted to start a prayer journal for the first time ever. I had just started going back to church for the first time in my adult life, and really wanted something to help support me on the journey. Being naturally drawn to paper supplies and scrapbooking type crafts, it made sense to me that I should have a journal.

Unfortunately, I had

idea where to start on setting one up. It had been 17 years since I’d stepped foot into a church! And, that church was a Catholic church. We didn’t keep prayer journals. We recited “Hail Mary’s” and “Our Father’s.” You don’t need a journal to keep up with those.

I had this clear vision in my mind of a journal that could hold inspiration, prayers, personal growth, and notes on my bible study, but I had no direction on how to set it up myself in a way that made sense.

So, I did what every self-respecting blogger does when they want to learn about something new. I turned to

While browsing for ideas on how to start a prayer journal, I kept coming across these posts about war binders. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I left my search for prayer journals and delved into this search over war binders. It was

what I’d been envisioning in my mind all along.

What is a war binder?

The idea of a war binder I

comes from the movie War Room, which is all about the power of prayer. A “war room” is a special place where you can wage war against the enemies.

is a portable version of that.

It’s basically a faith journal, or a binder with multiple sections you can use to document and strengthen your faith. It’s pretty customizable, which makes it great for just about anyone. You can include sections like prayer, gratitude, inspiration, positive affirmations, etc.

Basically, it’s whatever you want it to be. Mine is full of drawings, song lyrics, pictures, and poems that inspire me!

How to set up a war binder

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First, I want to emphasize that your war binder does

have to be complicated or expensive! In fact, I’d argue that keeping it simple to start is probably for the best!

So often when I try something new, I end up more caught up in the

If you ask me, that defeats the purpose.

Remember: It’s not the binder itself that’s important. It’s what happens when you spend time in it that counts.

I chose to put it together using supplies I already had on hand. Luckily, I’ve been a fan of planner and scrapbook supplies for several years now, so I have

With a traveler’s notebook I had on hand, a few pieces of scrapbook paper, some washi tape, and some stamps, I was in business in no time.

Supplies You’ll Need

a notebook, binder, planner binder, or travelers notebook (mine is in a traveler’s notebook)

paper for writing: either lined paper, dot grid, grid paper, or plain printer paper works!

washi tape, stickers, stamps and die-cuts for decorating your pages

Depending on your own personal tastes, you can also use any supplies like watercolors, brush pens, printables, drawings, or anything else that inspires you.

war binder, and you can make it whatever you want it to be.

Since I had so much on hand, I didn’t have to spend any money at all setting my binder up. I even had a traveler’s notebook sitting on my desk that was perfect for it. If you don’t already have a stash of supplies, the Target dollar section is usually a

place to stock up!

There are also kits on Amazon that are specifically designed for this purpose.

The beauty of a war binder is that it’s truly customizable to your needs. You can create any section you want or use any supplies you want. It’s up to you!

I started with some basic sections: Inspiration, Gratitude, and Prayer. Once I finish with the current Bible Study, I’ll add that section to the journal as well. My goal was to keep it as simple as possible to start with.

Here are some other ideas for your war binder:

positive affirmations

I suggest keeping it simple and choosing your top 3 sections to work with in the beginning. You can always customize your binder and add to it as you go. This way you won’t get overwhelmed by the choices.

Remember: This is supposed to be a practice you look forward to. If it’s not, change it!

Examples to Get You Started

During my searching, I came across some

good examples to help me out. I thought I would share those with you today, so you can see a variety of styles and option. After all, we all journal differently, and my way may not work for you.

Woman of Noble Character

shared a great post with set-up pictures and links to the products she used.

has a great post with their setup,

they have some pre-made journals available if you don’t want to spend the time setting one up!

Hope, Dream, Journal

walk-through of her war binder that I got a lot of ideas from.

really breaks down her brainstorm process and how she chose what to include. I really like this example because it shows that you

have to scrapbook every page to make it effective!

Stone Soup for Five

has another great post on set up and use a war binder.