Verse Journaling - A Testimonial - Write Them On My Heart

Verse Journaling (aka verse hunting) can truly change lives. See how the simple practice of writing a verse a day affected Sarah Geringer's life!

Verse Journaling – A Testimonial

April 25

~ Today’s Scripture Art and testimonial about Verse Journaling – aka Scripture writing – were designed to help you write God’s Word on your heart. ~

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You know how much we love verse journaling around here, right?

(If not, learn all about Verse Journaling HERE.)

With that in mind, I am excited to have my sweet friend Sarah Geringer share her personal experience with us today.

If you’ve ever considered writing a verse a day, but have yet to try it because of this, that, or the other, then you will definitely want to hear Sarah’s story!

I thought I had covered all the possible reasons to verse journal (aka verse hunt), but Sarah shares one I missed!

So without further ado, take it away Sarah …

I’ve been trying something new since the beginning of this year. When I sit down with my Bible in the morning, I’m writing out scriptures that stand out to me.

This simple practice has helped me in surprising ways.

In my book, Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus, I uncovered research that says when we write something down, we have up to a 40 percent greater retention rate than simply reading it or hearing it.

Writing out these verses has helped them stick in my mind.

They are popping up in my thoughts and even in my conversations. What’s most exciting is that God is using these verses to encourage others.

All because I wrote them down after I read them!

These verses in Deuteronomy tell us how to help God’s Word stick in our minds …

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (ESV): And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We need to repeat verses, talk about them as we go about our daily lives, wear them (isn’t it fun to wear jewelry and clothing with Scripture?), write them and post them.

During Christian meditation, we turn Scripture over and over in our minds, like hard candy in our mouths. It is sweet to savor and lasts longer when we draw out our enjoyment over several moments. Just like our verse for today describes, God’s Word is sweet for us to enjoy.

Psalm 119:103 (ESV): How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

God knows our short-term memory is fickle. By engaging our minds in different ways over the same verse, God’s truth sinks deep into our hearts and minds and transforms us to be more like Jesus.

I encourage you to engage with Scripture in more than one way this week:

Listen to a sermon or podcast.
Write out verses in a journal, on sticky notes, or on index cards.
Look for Scripture memes or pins and share them on social media.
Wear a bracelet or T-shirt with a Scripture message, and if you don’t have one yet, treat yourself to a new one!
Talk about a verse with at least one other person this week.

You’ll be amazed at how God will use only one verse to grow your faith!

Heavenly Father,
I praise you for the gift of your Holy Word.
I am amazed at the power it holds to transform my thinking.
Help me read and hear your Word on a regular basis.
Help me take one more step, like writing or posting, to help your Word stick in my mind.
Thank you, Lord, for giving me hope and encouragement in your Word.
Empower me to share it with others this week.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Question for reflection:

What ways do you use to meditate on God’s Word? Please share your ideas with us!

Sarah Geringer writes about Finding Peace in God’s Word at sarahgeringer.com and is the author of three self-published books. She is represented by Michelle Lazurek of WordWise Media Services. Her book on Christian meditation will be published by Leafwood in October 2019. When she’s not speaking, reading or writing, Sarah enjoys painting, baking, gardening and playing the flute. She lives in her beloved home state of Missouri with her husband and three children, right in the heart of prime viewing for the Great Eclipses of 2017 and 2024.

Follow Sarah on social media:

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Now back to Alyson … Did you catch the benefit she mentioned that I missed?

Sarah pointed out that verse journaling helps not only ourselves, but encourages others!

When we write verses down, they stick with us and then we are able to pass them on to others when the need arises. Yes!

For more jewels like that, Sarah has an email called Tea on Tuesdays that you won’t want to miss. It’s one of the few emails I open immediately as soon as it arrives. She has a knack for making everyone feel like her best friend. Just ask any other Christian blogger!

Speaking of other Christian bloggers, I want to give all the writers (or wannabe writers) in the room a heads-up. Sarah has an amazing resource with a LOT of useful information for writers. It all started with a writers’ retreat that she single-handedly planned and carried out. Now she is sharing the whole thing with us!

First, you’ll find a lot of details in this free blog post, but even better, she shares a video and 35 pages of notes in a PDF titled Best Tips for Christian Writers. The PDF/video has a ridiculously low price right now, so I recommend you go to the end of her post and buy it before she figures out how much it’s worth! {grin}

Oh – and she even mentions me in the video! WHAT?! That was a fun surprise I came across while taking copious notes of all the tips I wanted to try.

Thank you Sarah, for sharing with us today! We have been blessed and I pray the Lord’s blessings will come back to you ten-fold.

Now, after you’ve visited Sarah’s blog and subscribed (so you’ll get notified when her book launches!), you’ll want to make plans to start verse journaling. I want to hear your testimonial next!