"Write them on the door posts and on the gates"

Deuteronomy 6:9 says, "Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (NIV).

A plaque given to us last year for Christmas

Several years ago when Philip and I began thinking of concrete ways of implementing Deut 6: 7-9 we starting trying to find ways to implement the principles found in verse 9. Traditionally in Jewish culture,  a mezuzah accomplishes this command. The idea is that scripture is to be used in the home in such a way as to bring to mind and aid in the memorization of Scripture. With the explosion of vinyl wall art this is becoming much easier!

Taken from Deut 6 this is right above the main staircase (we live in a second and third floor apt) done in vinyl. It's not finished yet -I'd like to somehow make it look like it's in a large picture frame but still uncertain of how I want to accomplish this to make it more attractive. This is what everyone sees when they are sitting in our living room.

Several years ago we went to the P.Graham Dunn studio here in Ohio and visited their "second hand" section. These were relatively inexpensive.

These are at the bottom of the landing between second and third floors.

The plaques are of Psalm 37:4 and Phil 4:4. I purchased the frames at Walmart and took some mark-down fabric scraps to make the background and match the color scheme for this area.

This plaque of Deut. 6 was also from P. Graham Dunn and placed in a frame over the main bathroom sink. This protects the wood from getting wet and the boys can see it every time they wash their hands and brush their teeth.

Home Interiors used to carry some Scripture decorations (though I've not checked recently). I purchased this heart with Matthew 5:8 above my kitchen sink. The notecards are my memory verses that I'm currently working on - I can wash dishes and work on memorizing them at the same time.

More recently, Philip has begun saying the Hebrew blessing over our family in the mornings after breakfast. When he's done we respond with this verse that I just printed from Word,  put in a frame and placed on the hutch (china cabinet).

In the upstairs bathroom we have 1 John 1:5 above a Thomas Kincaid picture.

This hangs above my ironing board as I'm working (given to me by my brother, Jonathan Slagenweit).

Our goal has been:

1. Keep scripture in front of them that will remind them of principle truths of God's Word.
2. Make it attractive - I'll have to admit when Philip first mentioned implementing this principle (I'm ashamed to admit it!) I thought, "How tacky! It's going to ruin my whole decorating style!" What I learned is - "my style" isn't as important as  A. following the commands of Scripture and B. doing what is going to impact my children for good and eternity. This was before wall art and doing a Google search on "Scripture wall art" produced a million results!
3. Stay within the budget! There are lots of creative ideas for implementing this principle using just a computer and a pretty frame. 

If you're needing some more ideas you might be able to find some at Doorposts (which is a favorite resource of mine!) since they're running a contest with this theme of implementing Scripture into our homes. I'm anxious to see some more ideas that might work for our family.

How do you implement Deut 6:9? I'd love to hear/see your ideas!

Scripture for Easter

This week we have been following the last week of Jesus through Matthew's gospel using Thomas Nelson's Matthew, with Jesus played by Bruce Marchiano.

There are several things I like about this dramatic presentation of Matthew's gospel. The first is that it is a verbatim rendition of the NIV text of Matthew, no additions, no deletions. The second is Bruce Marchiano's portrayal of Jesus.

After we watch the day's section, I quiz the boys about what they saw and heard. There's not a lot of deep reflection that takes place (at least that I can see), but it does allow the story of Jesus' passion to grip the boys.

This evening I read the crucifixion account from Matthew to the boys since we got home too late to watch the DVD. I still had their attention, but I could tell it wasn't the same as the other evenings this week.

Either way, it opens the door to questions, discussions, and then spent time thanking Jesus in prayer for allowing his hands and feet to be nailed to the cross for our sins, for wearing the crown of thorns, and taking the wrath of God that we rightly deserve.

I'm praying that the Spirit will make this Easter one of dawning realization for the boys: Jesus loves them more than they can imagine.

How are you implementing Scripture into your family's celebration and remembrance of our Savior's passion this week?