Constant Reminders

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 commanded Israel to teach their children the Word of God diligently. Some of the specifics of this verse might sound a little strange to you...okay, so they might sound a lot strange, but the principal behind them is excellent and easy to reproduce in our own lives today. The main idea of this passage is to make Scripture a part of your everyday life through memorization and daily reminders. So maybe strapping scripture to your wrist and forehead isn't really your thing, but you can still apply this principal in your home.

One way we keep Scripture as a constant reminder in our home is using it as a decoration. When Scripture is hung on the walls of your home you see it all the time and others who enter your home will notice it which may provide an opportunity to share your faith. We have several spots in our home where Scripture is hung on the walls including the kitchen, the living room, the hallway, and our bedroom.

This is my favorite spot. 

This hangs in a prominent place in our living room. We see it every time we enter the room and is very symbolic for us. My husband is a pastor in the Christian and Missionary Alliance, a denomination which was  initially founded for the sole purpose of praying for, equipping, and financially supporting missionaries. We were given the towel with the new theme, "Living the call together by serving one another," at a national pastors conference a few years ago to help us remember to take Jesus' example and "wash the feet" of those we serve in ministry. The service where these were presented was beautiful and our president humbly, and literally, washed the feet of several missionaries.

We were so impacted by this we decided we wanted to display this towel for our benefit. My husband bought the shelf and added rod for the towel to hang on. I knew I wanted something special for the shelf and wanted it to represent what we had seen during that special service. I also love the look of antiques so I was going to be very picky about what would reside on that shelf! 

As I was unpacking a box which had been hidden away for a while I found an old fashioned looking pitcher. I remembered it came from my grandmother-in-law which made this absolutely perfect for the shelf. My husband and I have a spiritual heritage from our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents we love to tell our children about. Including this simple pitcher in my little display only made sense, especially since I had been scouring the internet for the perfect thing and just couldn't find it! For us, the pitcher is a two-fold reminder of the living water which Christ spoke about in John 4:7-25 and His servant-leader example in John 13:5-11. 

I wanted the last piece on the shelf to represent what is known as the Great Commission passage found in Matthew 28:19-20 and what is also embroidered on the towel. 

I knew I wanted something which would represent our desire to see everyone, from the neighbors on our street to those we've never met on the other side of the world, to hear and accept the truth of the Gospel. I looked everywhere, not quite certain what I was looking for. For our anniversary my husband and I went out to eat and went into a unique store in the downtown area of our city. There were nick-knacks from all over the world, but I kept looking for just the right item. Then I found it! There in front of me was a vintage-looking globe. It was absolutely perfect. 

Now every time we walk into our living room we are visually reminded to share the love of Christ with everyone around us and to serve them in the same way Christ served others.