The Most Important Thing in Your Home

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While standing around taking with family at church this past Sunday, I looked down and noticed what one friend was holding in her hand. It caught my eye for two reasons – the way she was holding it and the way she had it all rather colorful. I just had to ask her,

“What is that?” … 

as I pointed to the colorful book tabs she had taped in her Bible.

She was holding her Bible like she would her child’s own hand. And then she had it all labeled so beautifully to help her go even quicker to the book of the Bible she needed. And I had this thought (but didn’t dare say it out loud), but I sure wanted to…

“That is the most important thing in your home.” 

Other than the people we are so privileged to share home with, God’s Word trumps all decor, all finger paintings by our preschooler, all framed photos of special people and occasions, all furnishings handed down from mother, grandmother and great grandmother, and all accessories (no matter their antiqued values).

The Word of God is the most beautiful, the most valuable, and the most important “part” of any home. It has it’s place. And the place is the pinnacle – the Heart of our Home. It should be out in the open in homes. On coffee tables, in baskets, in guest rooms and in trays on countertops in bathrooms. The Word of God can be placed on ottomans, on hearths, on side boards and in hutches. (These are just some ideas, but true!)

The Word of God is more alive than you and I. How can I say this? Because the Word of God doesn’t have a “flesh” a “sin nature” to contend with. The Word of God is without sin. The Word of God is alive in perfection, holiness, justice, righteousness and power.

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.”

The Message says Hebrews 4:12 like this:

“God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.”

 

 

So let’s be encouraged today with these three words:

“Love our Bibles!”

Love them! Do not take a day for granted that you “get to” open up the Living Word of God and read it, listen to it, share it.

Here are a 10 suggestions on how you and your family can treasure the most important thing in your home:

1. Put a copy in your purse. Lifeway sells so many of the most darlin’ pocket sized Bibles, and they are excellent, ladies, for even the smallest of handbags. But as you are on play dates, or just having coffee with a friend, it is so nice to be able to whip out a copy of God’s Word.

2. Put the word in your home. Write a verses(s) on 3X5 cards and tape them onto mirrors. Post-it notes can be posted anywhere. Type up the Word of God, print the verses(s) on pretty linen card stock or copy paper and then pop that into a beautiful frame. Sit the Word of God all around your home…framed. It shows your family and guests just how much your family values the Word.

3. Create a Scripture flippy for your family. Go to any office supply store and buy a 3X5 or 4X6 index card flip book (they have a spiral spin), and have your kids help by picking out verses, writing one on every page, and let them add stickers and draw pictures around the verse. Then for each day, write the date on each card. You can create this any time and just date as far into next year that the #of index cards will go…using the front and the back. These make excellent Christmas gifts for family.

4. Create a Scripture wall in your house. Do you have a place where you can either hang or mount a dry erase or chalk board that is in a central location? Each week, you could write or have your kids to write, the verse for the week. As a family, put it to memory. Talk about it during the week and how it’s applying to personal lives.

5. Create Word Searches for your kids – When my kids were younger, I used to create their own word searches. I would take the words of the verse we were studying and just really giving close attention to that week, and hide them in a word search. Some words were written backwards, horizontal, vertical…but they were to find all the words in our weekly memory verse and usually a few more.

6. Scripture Binders – For the mom who wants to really “go all out” in helping your kids LOVE the Word, each “new season” I would create binders for my children. The cover was a color page they had colored to “welcome in the new season.” For example: Now that we are entering into the fall, I’d print off several fun fall pictures and they could just color away. The one THEY liked the best, went into their binder cover. THEN they had these tabs:

>Word searches (I had looked ahead from the first day of fall all the way to Thanksgiving, and preselected verses for our family and had hidden those words in word searches. The Verse would be printed out across the top of the page so they could see what words they were searching for.

>Mazes – Trace and Samantha loved mazes. So I would print off as many as I could find that had fall scenes.

>More color pages – some simple and some very detailed

>I wrote all their daily devotions. So each Sunday, I would type up the devotions I wanted for them in the up coming week (devotions on sharing, kindness, helping, etc.) and these were very short, but I typed like I talked and had them answer questions.

Stories – as they got into elementary school, their binders included stories that I knew they would enjoy reading. If Trace was into spiders or soldiers or cars, I would have several stories printed off for him to read that had some kind of “hook” in the story that would launch a great discussion about God.

They looked forward to these binders and anything they got form Sunday School or church activities went into the binders, too. At the end of that particular season, we could look through them together and see so much of what we learned together as a family about God’s Word and about Him.

7. Scripture scrolls – another family favorite! Instead of fortune cookies, I took verses, printed them on strips of paper, wrapped them around two pencils on both ends of the verse strip, and then pulled it off the pencil to have a tight scroll. Then I’d tie one string of rafia around the scroll. After dinner, part of the evening meal, we would each have a scripture scroll and would read our verses out loud. These verses were either from the Proverbs or James or one of the “instructional” books of the Bible.

8. Read the Bible as a couple – Nothing will strengthen your marriage more than reading God’s Word together. If it’s in the morning or in the evening, for just the two of you to take a moment out of your day to prioritize two things: 1) your love for each other, 2) your love for God.

9. If you have adult children – text a verse or two to them. For a season of time, Rip had a habit – each morning he texted all 5 kids a verse with a little bit of his own thoughts with it. This one discipline planted seeds and when the Word of God is being planted, GOD has promised to take it from there…to soften hearts, to water with the dew of His Spirit, to bring forth much fruit.

10. Include in your emails, texts, all correspondence a verse. As I text and email with people throughout the day, so often I will included a scripture reference right before I end the message. If it’s a short verse that I believe will bless them, I will type it out. But if I just want to put the reference, I trust that in time they will look it up.

So …

I know we are all so busy getting life done. We go to work or we just get busy with so many things that truly demand our attention and time. However, I just want to encourage us all. Let’s never be too busy that we neglect the Word of God and the giving of the Word of God and the “making much” of the Word of God.

Let’s love our Bibles! Let our speech be peppered with the grace of God’s Word. Let our actions give voice to the power of God’s Word. Let our behaviors give bold testimony to the mercy of God’s Word. And let our prayers be overflowing with the promises of God’s Word….because it’s truly the most important thing in our home!

 

In Much Love,

lisa

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lisa rippy

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