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Notes & Journals ​

Sojourn includes a full note-taking system that lets you capture thoughts while reading Scripture. Notes are organized into journals and can be linked to specific Bible verses.

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Journals ​

Journals are containers for your notes. Every user starts with a default journal, and you can create as many additional journals as you like.

Creating a Journal ​

  1. Navigate to Notes from the sidebar
  2. Click New Journal to create a new journal
  3. Give it a name

Managing Journals ​

From the Notes page, each journal card has a dropdown menu with options to:

  • Rename the journal (click the name to edit inline)
  • Set PIN to protect the journal with a PIN code
  • Delete the journal (notes are moved to your default journal)

WARNING

The default journal cannot be renamed or deleted.

PIN Protection ​

You can protect any journal with a PIN code. When a journal is locked:

  • Its notes are encrypted at rest — they cannot be read without the PIN
  • A full-page lock screen appears when you open the journal
  • You must enter the PIN to view, edit, or create notes in the journal
  • The PIN session is cleared automatically when you navigate away from the journal

Setting a PIN ​

  1. Open the journal's dropdown menu
  2. Click Set PIN
  3. Enter a PIN code
  4. All existing notes in the journal are encrypted immediately

Changing or Removing a PIN ​

  • Change PIN — Verify the current PIN first, then set a new one. All notes are re-encrypted.
  • Remove PIN — Verify the current PIN, then remove protection. All notes are decrypted.

Creating Notes ​

There are two ways to create a note:

From the Notes Page ​

  1. Open a journal
  2. Click New Note
  3. Add a title, select a journal, and write your content
  4. Save the note

From the Reading Interface ​

  1. Select verses in the reading view
  2. Click the Note button in the selection drawer
  3. The quick note panel opens with the selected Scripture passage embedded
  4. Add a title and any additional content
  5. Save — the note is linked to the selected verses

Rich Text Editor ​

The note editor supports rich text formatting:

  • Text styles — Bold, italic
  • Headings — Three heading levels
  • Lists — Bullet and numbered lists
  • Block elements — Blockquote, horizontal divider
  • Scripture references — Inline and block scripture embeds (see below)
  • Fill-in-the-blank — Create interactive blank spaces in your notes

Slash Commands ​

Type / in the editor to open a command menu with quick access to all formatting options.

Scripture References ​

There are two ways to embed Bible references in your notes: inline and block.

Inline References ​

Inline references appear as small chips within your text, letting you mention verses without breaking the flow of your writing. For example, you might write "As we see in John 3:16, God's love is unconditional."

To add an inline reference:

  1. Type / and select Scripture from the command menu, or click the Scripture button in the toolbar
  2. Select a book, chapter, and verse range
  3. Click Add Inline

Auto-detection: You can also just type a Bible reference directly — for example, type "Romans 8:1" followed by a space and it will automatically convert into an inline reference chip.

Viewing the verse text: Click on an inline reference to open a popover that shows the full verse text. From there, you can click View in context to jump to that passage in the reading view.

Block Passages ​

Block passages display the full verse text in your note, making it easy to study and reflect on specific Scripture. They appear as styled blocks that you can expand or collapse.

To add a block passage:

  1. Type / and select Scripture from the command menu, or click the Scripture button in the toolbar
  2. Select a book, chapter, and verse range
  3. Click Add Passage

Features:

  • Expand/collapse — Click the passage header to show or hide the verse text
  • Drag and drop — Reorder passages by dragging the handle on the left side
  • Delete — Click the X button on the right side of the header to remove it

Scanning Notes from Images ​

Premium Feature

Note scanning is available to premium users.

Premium users can scan handwritten notes, book pages, or any text in photos directly into a new note. The AI extracts text, structure, and scripture references from your images. Scripture references found in the images are automatically converted to inline or block references depending on context — standalone references become block passages, while references within sentences become inline chips.

How It Works ​

  1. Open a journal and click Scan Notes
  2. Add up to 5 images — drag them to reorder if needed
  3. Click Scan — a new note is created immediately and you're taken to it
  4. Images upload and process in the background; a progress panel at the top of the note shows the status of each image in real time

You don't need to wait on a loading screen. You can start reading or editing the note while scanning continues.

Handling Failures ​

If an image fails to process, the progress panel gives you three options:

  • Retry — attempt to process the image again
  • Replace — swap in a different image to process instead
  • Remove — remove the image from the scan entirely

Once all images finish processing (or are removed), the progress panel disappears and your note contains the extracted content.

Searching and Sorting Notes ​

Within a journal, you can search and sort your notes:

  • Search — Filter notes by title or body text
  • Sort by — Last Updated, Title, or Date Created
  • Sort direction — Newest first or Oldest first

Notes can be linked to specific Bible verses. Linked verse references appear as badges on the note card, making it easy to see which Scripture passages a note relates to.