Standing on the Word of God

"Your word is a light for my feet, a light on my path." (Psalm 119:105, NIV)

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."  (Hebrews 10:23, NIV)

This summer we have been renovating a "fixer-upper" house.  Since we do have 3 little ones, we decided to hire a contractor to do most of the work.  So, no we are not some sort of super human parents.  We have to have help on this one!  lol  We are finally nearing the end of this project just in time before school starts.  But before we could finish the work, we got a really fun idea from an old and dear friend of mine.  She got the idea from a friend of hers.  See this is how we roll, right?  Sharing ideas is one of the purposes for this blog.  Therefore, I am going to share this idea with all of you.  :)

My girlfriend also renovated her new house not too long ago.  Before the new floors went in, she heard about an idea to write scripture on the floor boards in all the rooms in the house.  That way, you are always, "standing" on the word of God.  How fun!  I loved this idea!  It also reminded me of the hymn, "Standing on the Promises," by Russell Kelso Carter.  What a great way to "stand" on God's promises in our home!

Well, the floors in our house are going down this week!  So, last weekend I had my 5 and 7 year olds pick out their favorite scriptures to write on the floor boards in each of their rooms.  We took turns, since it was a lot of writing.  Both boys wanted the Ephesians 6 verse about wearing the armor of God.  Of course, I was elated!  Then, I chose Proverbs 31 for my daughter's room (she is 3).  My desire is for her to grow to be a woman who fears the Lord.  

There were so many ideas on verses for the rest of the house.  I prayed about it and immediately heard Galations 5, the "Fruits of the Spirit" in my mind.  I put this in the great room since I want people to see and experience this when they enter our home.  For fun, I chose Psalm 34:8 for the kitchen, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!  Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"  I wrote it right where the dining table would go.  :)

This was so much fun!  I took pictures to add to our photo book we will be making of our house.  We have not even moved in yet and this house is full of God's providence, promises, (and now) His Word, and lots of fun stories.  And yes, I will be sharing more about them in future posts.  :)


This idea also reminded me of another of my favorite verses in Deuteronomy:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

Of course, we chose to write our favorite verses on our floors.  But, how fun to figure out how to put something on the door frames!  If you have any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them!

Caleb, age 7, in his room with Ephesians 6:10-18, "The Armor of God" 

Notice the toy soldier he wanted in the picture  :)

Isaac, age 5, also chose Ephesians 6:10-18, "The Armor of God"

I LOVE how big he wanted to write this!! 

Galatians 5:22 for the Great Room which is where you enter the house 

Psalm 34:8 for the Kitchen

I chose Proverbs 31:30 about a "woman who fears the Lord" since this is my prayer for my daughter, currently age 3

"Off-Roading" with God

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.'  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes." (James 4:13-16)


Have you ever been "off-roading" before?  Early in my marriage, my husband finally convinced me to ride on a 4-wheeler with him.  I had never done anything like that before (and for those who knew me then, you wouldn't expect me to go for it).  We were visiting with family and they had access to 4-wheelers and a great place to ride them.  So, hesitantly, I decided to go on a ride.  


First, you must understand my husband a bit.  Have you ever read the book, Wild at Heart, by John Eldredge?  It describes my husband very well.  He loves motorcycles, jumping his truck, mountain biking, etc.  So, now he was trying to get me to enter into that part of his life.  Ha!  


I was a bit afraid, but also, honestly, excited.  I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but thought it would be fun to try.  So many different feelings and emotions going through me as we started off.  Not just was I getting on a 4-wheeler and riding through the woods for the first time, but I was also having to trust my husband as the driver!  This was not my plan for a good time, but it was my spouses and so I joined him.


Have you ever felt that way before?  Hesitant to move forward where God may be leading, nervous about the journey you are about to enter into, afraid something bad or scary might happen, and unwilling to try something new because it's out of your comfort zone?


As we started into the woods I was still anxious, scared and tense, but again, willing to go.  It was hot out, the road was bumpy and rough, there were lots of bugs out and of course, there was mud.  But, as we rode, the wind felt so cool (you only felt the heat if you stopped), we would go so fast that sometimes you didn't notice the bumps and as we splashed through the muddy water it cooled me off and felt great!  Surprisingly, I LOVED it!!  We had so much fun, I couldn't believe it!  I would totally go again.


Recently, I have been remembering that ride and reflecting on it.  Early in our marriage, my husband and I adopted the verse above in James as a guideline.  We can make plans, but be prepared for God to change them.  He changed our plans a lot early in our marriage, so we learned to be flexible, to hold onto that verse and let God guide us.  These past couple years have been very difficult on our family--we lost my nephew to cancer, put our house on the market to move closer to his family, then my dad suddenly passed away right as our house sold and we moved in with my mom so we could renovate a fixer-upper house we bought.  All this with 3 little kids too!  Trying to move, plan a funeral, find time to grieve and still take care of 3 little ones all at the same time pushed me over the edge.  I found myself questioning God and his "perfect" timing.  Isn't everything supposed to happen in His "perfect" time?  Why did it take a year to sell our house so we could move closer to my nephew's family and why did it sell right when my dad passed away?  That didn't sound like perfect timing to me!  My emotions were out of control and I found myself disappointed in God.


Thankfully, I had my women's Bible study group and God's word to fall on.  It was through my daily study of the word that God opened my eyes to a new perspective.  Life is how we perceive it, right?  I thought about that ride on the 4-wheeler and ended up adopting a saying and new perspective on life.  "We are currently off-roading with God."  My family and I are deviating from our expected path or what some may call the "American dream" path and we are entering the off-beaten path, the amazing journey that God has for us.  


Just like that first ride on the 4-wheeler, I'm scared, I'm hesitant to face the journey, the road is bumpy and rough and there's lots of "mud."  When I saw this path as "off-roading" with God, I began to see the adventure He had for me.  I began to change my perspective on my life's current events.  I have learned to see life as an adventure, not a straight, smooth and perfect path.  And you know what...that straight, smooth perfect path is kinda boring.  I would much rather get on that 4-wheeler with the Lord, follow and trust Him through the bumpy woods, and come out stronger in my faith as a result.  Finally, I will share with you that this rough, bumpy path is ironically what led my 7 year old son to choose to be a follower of Christ.  


Happy "off-roading" moms.  :)