Dig Deeper to Discover - D in the A-Z Word of the Year Challenge

Discover! I love that word. According to Merriam-Webster it means to make known or visible or to obtain sight or knowledge of for the first time, to find out.

Digging in deeper to discover more about my word of the year helps me intentionally live the word out in my daily life. Welcome to "D" our fourth A-Z challenge in Living Your Word of the Year! If you haven’t already written a Definition for your word, it is a good time to do that. I find that to be an anchor that helps me focus on living my word.

Scripture

Other ways that deepen my understanding of my word is to look up verses in the Bible and quotes on the internet and/or in books. An easy way to find Bible verses about a word is to go to a site like Bible Gateway and type the word into the search box. All the verses in the Bible that have that word will show up in a list. Then read through the list for verses that resonate. I copy and past the verses that stand out into a Word or Pages document. When finished, it helps to print it as a reference. 

After printing out the pages, I read through the chosen verses again, marking the ones that resonate the most. I decided to limit the verses in my Word of the Year - Everyday Journal to fit on four pages, hand written. I put headings on the page using the Mid-Century Modern Banner and Doll Crowns Stencils (shown at end of post,) Pens, and Gelatos.

Already, I came across a Scripture passage I wish I would have included. What to do if that happens to you? I’ve decided to dedicate a page to that Scripture, put Washi tape on the edge of the page, and list the page number and the passage address in my Table of Contents. So there is no loss from the process or having a missing verse in the list.

Your promises are the source of my bubbling joy;
the revelation of your word thrills me
like one who has discovered hidden treasure.

Psalm 119:162 TPT

Some year’s the word can be challenging because it is either not found in the Bible or it’s hard to find quotes. I was looking up the word inspire or inspiration and didn’t find much. That’s when it helps to expand the Google search to include synonyms of the word. In my Google search box I typed “Bible verses about Creativity.” You get the idea.One of my friends, and our group member Christine, was telling me her word “Identity” was not found much in the Bible when she went on Bible Gateway. She knew of a number of passages, but wanted to find out more. She typed in “My Identity in Christ” into the search box. It also helps to check different versions on Bible Gateway to expand the possibilities.

This year I ran into the opposite challenge. My word is Light, and there are over 250 verses in the Bible that have that word in it. I actually read through them, and copied and pasted about seven pages worth. It was too much, but I don’t at all regret the process. It was quite helpful and now I have good reference material for “Light.”

Quotes

For relevant quotes I type my word into the Google search box and the word "quotes" after my word. A list of sites come up that I can click on and peruse. Then I do the same thing as the verses:

1. Copy and past the quotes into a word document2. Print them out3. Read through them again and mark the most relevant quotes4. Copy them by hand into my journal under the heading

I've already used and benefited from having my Scripture verses and quotes in my Everyday Word of the Year Journal. I hope you find it helpful too