Kingdom Vision Quest

If you’re like me, and happen to abhor goal lists and New Years resolutions (which all too often end up as written reminders of what we didn’t accomplish), you don’t have to feel like a failure, doomed to dead ends because you missed out on the goal setting gene.  I’ve got a “Kingdom” DIY tool that can help!

Ever heard of a vision board? Here’s a general description:

A vision board is a DIY tool, created for the purpose of demonstrating personal goals or dreams. Literally, it’s any sort of board on which you display images (with or without words included) that illustrate whatever you hope to be, do or have in your life. 

Before Pinterest (the vast, virtual version of vision boards) came along, I made  “dream diaries” using spiral bound artist sketch books.  I pasted onto the pages cut-out collages of places I’d like to visit, home decorating ideas, my hopes for songwriting achievements, and words of encouragement and scripture.  

A few years ago, I was at a juncture in life needing fresh vision and clarity. Thinking of my old dream diaries – and my new Pinterest boards -- I had a “next level” thought: I wonder how I could use those concepts to go beyond what I could ever dream or envision for myself? What I really want my reality to be is what God’s vision for my life is.

That’s how my “Kingdom Vision Board” came to be…and I can now “see” that the Lord inspired this idea to help me begin to “see” what my Kingdom purpose is.  He has created each of us for Kingdom purpose!  Here’s the step-by-step process of how I did it:

Step 1: I created a private Pinterest board (you can “lock” certain boards to be private and not viewable by the public if you want them viewable only by you) called Kingdom Vision Board Ideas.

Step 2: When I had a few hours of uninterrupted quiet time, I got comfy with some coffee at my computer and turned on some worship music and said a prayer, asking God to “Be Thou my vision” and help me gather ideas for pinning on my designated Pinterest board. My prayer I said aloud went something like this:

“Lord, help me see through Your eyes, and bring me Your inspiration to illustrate plans and dreams You have for for me.  Your ideas and plans are so much greater than mine!  Draw my attention to things You want me to pin to my Pinterest board in this idea-gathering time.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Step 3: After prayer and pinning ideas on my Pinterest Board, I went to a local craft store, once again praying as I went.  I gathered materials that caught my attention while I browsed and prayed through the store: a black poster board, chalk markers, swatches of colorful fabric, and other adornments to add layers and texture.

Step 4: Setting aside a large enough block of time in my schedule to begin constructing my “Kingdom Vision” board (6-8 hours of quiet time), I once again set the atmosphere with worship music and prayer, inviting God into the process of illustrating His vision for my life. I diffused my favorite essential oils, breathing in their fragrance while getting into creative mode. I spoke aloud a prayer similar to this one:

“Father God, help me see through Your eyes, and choose only the things You want from my Pinterest board to be printed and put onto this Kingdom Vision board.  Let this Kingdom Vision board be a reflection of what You want to bring to reality in my life.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Step 5:  Reviewing the Pinterest board that I’d designated earlier for Kingdom Vision Board ideas, I kept only those items that “spoke” to me now and printed them on my home printer. As I cut out and began arranging the printed items onto a large poster board, praying through the process, certain photos felt like “keepers” and I culled away the rest. With a hot glue gun, I placed the keepers into zones on the board for different areas of my life. Yours may look much different than mine, but here are the zones that emerged onto my poster board:

• Home & Family

• Life Verses

• Oil g’OIL (my essential oils business)

• Music

• Prayer Corner
  

Step 6: When it was completed, the content of my zones appeared somewhat general in nature.  But, I now realize The Lord was inspiring a “blueprint” in this process for what was to come, by His orchestration and my willingness to take action on what was displayed in those zones. Like a brand new coloring book that has not yet been colored in, over the coming months and years I would experience the zones of my “Kingdom Vision” board gradually coming to life… in living color!

Step 7: I placed my board on a mantle in our bedroom, where I could regularly see it every day. It not only reminded me of what “God and I” had made together, but it also attracted the notice of friends and family who visited our home. It became a source of great conversation and inspiration to others, and seeing it daily was a reminder to pray about what God had in mind for each of those zones.   Even in this moment, there are things on my Kingdom Vision Board now manifesting!  The existence of this website, and the content on it, is only one example of ideas and purpose beyond myself and what I thought I was capable of… now achieved as evidence for others to see.

I hope as you’re reading this, it inspires your own “Kingdom Vision Quest” to begin!

More about my “Kingdom Vision” board is shared in “God is My CEO” blog.