Some thrift finds are loud and flashy, and some are quietly wonderful. Faith-focused creator Found In Alaska recently came across the quiet kind: a nearly brand new Notetakers Bible with wide margins, maps and room for notes, priced at just $3.99 at a thrift store. She was so excited that she opened it right on camera to see how it looked.

The find is part of a series where she challenges herself to see whether she can pick up Bible, Bible study, journaling or devotional supplies for $10 and under. This time she says the answer was yes. Besides the Bible, she grabbed a book by Kay Arthur, the author behind the study Bible she has enjoyed, which teaches readers to study scripture for themselves without leaning on a commentary.

The Notetakers Bible is a wide margin edition in the New Living Translation, a version she says she has not read much yet but has heard is easy to understand. She had no idea what condition it would be in, so she took a little look to see if it was full of notes, a little used or perfectly new.

A Bible That Looks Never Used

The copyright page showed material from Tyndale House dated 2003, with timeline illustrations from 1996. She was surprised, because she only learned about Notetakers Bibles around 2021. Despite its age, the pages show no writing and no sign of wear, and she checked the usual spots where people tend to start journaling, like Psalms and the New Testament books of Ephesians and Philippians.

After a few peeks, her verdict was that it looks like a brand new Bible. She notes that it is from 2003 and in wonderful shape. For $3.99, she calls it a really great find.

Wide Margins And Room To Write

The layout is what makes this edition special. Each page has a wide margin on the side where a reader can add stickers, journal or do word studies with arrows, and there are lines at the bottom for notes about what they have learned. She says she has not seen a Bible quite like it, and she likes that it is very basic and simple.

There is also extra room for notes in the back. She imagines covering the Bible and personalizing it, perhaps with tabs, and notes that someone could write their own short introductions at the start of each book, using material from different commentaries and Bibles. Those introductions, she says, are not printed in this edition, so a reader would add them.

At the front she found a Bible verse finder, arranged alphabetically, and an introduction to the New Living Translation that she would like to read to learn more about it. She mentions a book on the different translations that a viewer sent her, which she still needs to read.

Maps And A Timeline

The study helps in the back impressed her too. She flipped past a picture of the Temple, a section on New Testament times and a map of Israel and the Middle East today, tracing Egypt, Jordan, Nazareth, the West Bank and neighbors such as Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. She says the maps are better than some she has looked at before.

A timeline of biblical events rounded out the extras. She says she loves the maps and the additional reference pages, which add context to Bible reading without taking over the page.

The Kay Arthur Book

The second find was a book by Kay Arthur titled Lord, Is It Warfare? Teach Me to Stand. The back cover describes it as an excellent study of Satan in light of the Christian’s victorious position in Jesus, with practical self-evaluation exercises and prayers. She picked it up because she likes Kay Arthur’s approach and the subject is interesting.

She was nervous the study questions might be annoying, but the first one asked what the reader learned about the old self and new self in Ephesians. She liked that, because it makes you think about what you just read and go deeper. What she does not like is when Christian study questions focus on the reader and not the text, but she says Kay stays focused on the Word, which is fine with her.

Someone had written a couple of answers inside, including one about what a kinsman was supposed to do if he did not want to marry the widow, but it appeared to be only a small amount of writing. She said the book might be worth working through.

Tips For Finding Your Own Study Bible

Her find offers some simple advice for anyone who wants to stretch a small budget. Check the book shelves at thrift stores regularly, open the cover and look at the copyright page, and flip through the books where people usually begin writing. If the pages are clean and the binding is solid, you may have a gem.

Look for features that match how you study. Wide margins suit people who like to journal and mark up verses, while maps, timelines and book overviews help with background. Pairing a Bible with a study book from an author you trust, as she did with Kay Arthur, keeps the total cost low. Her challenge to find supplies for $10 and under, she says, can still be done.

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