Have you ever been asked what your “life verse” is? You know, the scripture quote that seems to speak to you directly – the one that holds a personal meaning for you. When I first heard of this concept, I was immediately overwhelmed. With more than 31,000 verses to choose from, how could I possibly select just one? How could one verse define my entire life? Even if it seemed to fit now, would it still encourage and strengthen me in 10 years?
That reaction is my typical perfectionist response to any sort of challenge or assignment. I had to remind myself that THIS IS NOT A TEST! That God wasn’t waiting for me to choose the “wrong” verse and then condemn me for failing a quiz. And that there was no rule preventing me from picking a new verse any time I needed one! (After all, there’s a reason there are more than 788,000 words in the Bible – we need to read them at different times in our lives.) With those comforting thoughts in mind, I set off to find my life verse.
Selecting Your Life Verse
The mission took me several months. I tried a few verses on for size in my mind. I read them aloud to listen to the message behind the words. Wondered how they would serve me as a compass. I couldn’t make a decision. It still felt like such a commitment!
Then one Saturday morning, I was at a women’s retreat exploring the relationship between creativity and spirituality. We were making Spiritual Vision Boards and we were told to begin with our life verse in mind. Naturally, I considered and debated long after everyone else in the room started working on their boards. I eventually settled on a verse – it was more of a random selection based on the pressure to make a decision quickly before the others noticed that I didn’t have a life verse (how shameful!). The verse I selected spoke to me in the moment and has become a guiding force in my life ever since:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6
The weight had been lifted from my shoulders! I had a life verse and I was ready to create a Spiritual Vision Board to honor that verse and give it a prominent place to live in my home. This was the fun part! The activity gave me an opportunity to engage my right brain and exercise my creativity muscles, which I believe leads to infinite positive change. In fact, my mentor and friend, Whitney Ferre, taught me The Art of Being a Stress-Free Mom through regular creativity exercises!
How to Create a Spiritual Vision Board (or Spiritual Art Journal)
Step 1: Select a scripture quote. Any Bible verse that seems to be calling your name. Don’t overthink this part. You can make it easy and choose my verse if you want!
Step 2: Gather your supplies: a poster board or art journal; paint, markers or colored pencils; magazines, stickers or colorful paper; glue stick, rubber cement or craft paste; any images or phrases that inspire you. Some great resources are greeting cards, Christian magazines such as P31 Woman and materials from Bible studies you’ve attended.
Step 3: Set the tone. Play some inspirational Christian music. Light a candle or use your favorite essential oil for aromatherapy. Be sure you have an hour of time where you will be uninterrupted so you can fully immerse yourself in the creative process and use the time to reflect on God’s message.
Step 4: Create! Start wherever you feel most comfortable – you may want to paint or sketch an image on your poster board or journal paper. Or you may prefer to flip through the magazines and tear out images and words that resonate with you and arrange them on the board. Just cover your paper, overlapping images and adding decorative items like ribbon or stickers. Be sure to add your life verse somewhere on the board!
Step 5: Reflect. Find a place to hang your Spiritual Vision Board where you will see it daily. Take 10 minutes a day to reflect on the images and say a prayer. My Spiritual Vision Board serves as a daily reminder of my life verse. It invites me to devote my attention to the verse every day and it conjures up memories of the nourishing and rejuvenating retreat I attended.
For a more detailed instructions, check out The Complete Guide to Vision Boards by my coach and mentor, Christine Kane.
Do you have a life verse? Share it with me here (no pressure!).
Theresa Ceniccola is a mother, writer and entrepreneur with a passion for connecting other Christian women and helping small business grow. As a marketing and PR professional, she launched TGC Communications, LLC in 1994 and has been working from home to serve clients and follow her passion while raising a family. She is also co-founder of www.writetohealth.com, a guided journaling practice dedicated to helping people discover the health benefits of writing. You can connect with Theresa on her blog at www.theresaceniccola.com.