4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
So, we did. Armed with Sharpies and spray paint and bibles and excited kids, we wrote all over our house. There was some specific placement with regard to some of our chosen passages, like Proverbs 31:30 and Proverbs 31:25 in Caroline's bathroom and closet, 1 Samuel 17:47 and Ephesians 6:10 in the boy's secret armory, Matthew 25:35 in the kitchen, Galatians 6:9 in the school room, Matthew 28:19 as we go out the front door, Psalm 127:1, Proverbs 14:1 and Ephesians 6:1 (for good measure) on the mantle, mom's favorite, Psalm 34, in the guest room and there may have been a few select verses from Song of Solomon in the master suite. Travis and Jimmy wrote Deuteronomy 6 on the front doorframe.
Jimmy knew that it would be a sweet, fun and encouraging time for our family, but what we couldn't anticipate was that it would also encourage the men that would be in and out working on our home. We came in a few days later and even found a new verse added to our mantle by a mystery contractor! And a few weeks later Garth, one of the plumbers, came to Jimmy and told him that he had been going through a hard time in his life and after walking through our house and reading all of the scriptures he could find he was reminded of truths he once clung to. He talked to Jimmy for a while about specific things he was going through and asked if we would pray for him. It was humbling to think that even now God was using our home to bless and encourage and minister to others. That is our greatest desire in building this home; that it really would be a refuge and a resting place for whomever God will bring through the years.
So, we did. Armed with Sharpies and spray paint and bibles and excited kids, we wrote all over our house. There was some specific placement with regard to some of our chosen passages, like Proverbs 31:30 and Proverbs 31:25 in Caroline's bathroom and closet, 1 Samuel 17:47 and Ephesians 6:10 in the boy's secret armory, Matthew 25:35 in the kitchen, Galatians 6:9 in the school room, Matthew 28:19 as we go out the front door, Psalm 127:1, Proverbs 14:1 and Ephesians 6:1 (for good measure) on the mantle, mom's favorite, Psalm 34, in the guest room and there may have been a few select verses from Song of Solomon in the master suite. Travis and Jimmy wrote Deuteronomy 6 on the front doorframe.
Jimmy knew that it would be a sweet, fun and encouraging time for our family, but what we couldn't anticipate was that it would also encourage the men that would be in and out working on our home. We came in a few days later and even found a new verse added to our mantle by a mystery contractor! And a few weeks later Garth, one of the plumbers, came to Jimmy and told him that he had been going through a hard time in his life and after walking through our house and reading all of the scriptures he could find he was reminded of truths he once clung to. He talked to Jimmy for a while about specific things he was going through and asked if we would pray for him. It was humbling to think that even now God was using our home to bless and encourage and minister to others. That is our greatest desire in building this home; that it really would be a refuge and a resting place for whomever God will bring through the years.