Why I Made Temporary Tattoos
Most kids I know love temporary tattoos. This summer, I threw a pack into our swim bag as I headed to my best friend’s house. We let our toddlers give themselves tattoo sleeves of cartoon sharks all over their arms and legs while we chatted over ice-cold seltzers poolside. Those moments felt like a slice of paradise!
As I was building this year’s Christmas box and considering what items to put in that kids and adults alike would enjoy, I knew I needed to create a set of temporary tattoos! These tattoos are small and temporary, but the truths they represent are big and eternal.
Scripture describes God’s people as strangers, exiles, and sojourners. We are people who are not quite home yet. Certainly, we are waiting for the day when we’ll arrive at God’s New City. However, we also experience many journeys on this side of heaven, too. We are all familiar with being “on the move”: a new place to call home, a new job, a new school, a diagnosis, a transition we didn’t ask for
The truths I chose to include in Pilgrim Promises are rooted in God’s command to Joshua before entering the Promised Land, in Jesus’s Great Commission to his disciples, in the call to love the sojourner, and in the way God shepherds our minds and hearts as we walk through the world.
TNRPLAEP – Training the Mind for the Journey
This one is a little quirky on purpose. TNRPLAEP is a mnemonic to help our brains remember Paul’s list in Philippians 4:8.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
My thoughts can wander into anxiety, comparison, and fear (more often than I’d like to admit to most people). One of the practices that’s helped me move towards faith rather than fear is taking every thought captive (as God commands).
When I capture it, I imagine myself turning it over in my hands like a gem I just dug up from the earth. Then, I examine it: Is this true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy? If not, I toss it into the rubbish pile and start digging for another gem.
Joshua 1:9 Doorway – Courage at the Threshold
The second tattoo is a simple doorway with the reference Joshua 1:9.
I designed it thinking about Joshua standing on the edge of the Promised Land. Moses is gone. The people are watching. The task is impossible. And God doesn’t say, “You’ve got this.” He says:
“Be strong and courageous…
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua isn’t told to look inside himself for courage; he’s told to look to God’s presence and promise.
For us, every new season, classroom, or conversation is a threshold. The Joshua 1:9 door is a little way of remembering: “When God calls you forward, He goes with you. Be strong and courageous.”
Love the Sojourner – A Ticket and an Invitation
The third tattoo is a pair of tickets that say, “Love the sojourner” with a nod to Deuteronomy 10:19.
So many of our neighbors, especially refugee families, are people “on the move” in a much deeper way. They are rebuilding, resettling, trying to put down roots in new soil. They are, in biblical language, sojourners.
In Deuteronomy, God ties His people’s behavior to His own heart: “Love the sojourner, for you were sojourners…”
We, too, were once far off and have been brought near by Christ. We were outsiders, welcomed in. This tattoo reminds us: “You have been welcomed by God. Go and offer that same welcome in His name.”
It’s especially dear to me because 10% of our 2025 Christmas profits support Dovely, a gospel-centered early learning center in Boston that loves refugee families in tangible, everyday ways.
Be Courageous Doors – When You Don’t Know What’s Behind It
The fourth tattoo is a vertical assortment of doors—some open, some closed, some uncertain—with the words “be courageous.”
In life, we don’t always know which door is which. Some are clearly closed. Some are open. Some look small and unimportant; others feel intimidating and huge. Sometimes we can’t tell if we’re walking into something beautiful or something hard (and often, it’s both).
No matter what the doorway looks like, when God leads, His command stands: “Be strong and courageous…for I will be with you.”
This tattoo is for kids starting something new, adults facing a decision, or anyone who needs to know that courage in the Christian life is not bravado; it’s trust in a present God.
I Am With You Always
The last tattoo features the words, “I am with you always – Matthew 28:20.”
Jesus spoke these words—“I am with you always, to the very end of the age”—after giving the disciples the Great Commission. In some ways, He was sending them out as “sojourners,” carrying the gospel to all nations. He wasn’t promising an easy road; He was promising himself.
I love the echo here:
God said to Joshua: “I will be with you wherever you go.”
Jesus, the true and better Joshua, says to His disciples (and to us): “I am with you always.”
How to Use Pilgrim Promises
You don’t need a big plan to use these well.
Let your kids pick one before a trip, the first day of school, or a big event.
Wear one yourself when you’re memorizing a verse or stepping into a hard conversation.
Use them as conversation starters about Joshua, the Great Commission, loving the sojourner, or training our minds.
Slip them into a card or give them as a small gift to someone walking through a new or uncertain season.
They’re temporary on your skin, but the truths they point to are not. And wherever you go, His promises go with you.
