word of the day

I have a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head. There is so much I want to share with you and tell you but it's hard to find a starting point.

So I'll start with a blog I read the other day and maybe that will lead me to a point... eventually.

So I love this blog, Jones Design Company, (click on the name to get there) and the other day Jones posted this blog about being intentional but the part of her story that hooked my attention was that her friend wanted to paint the words

be intentional

above her bedroom door.

And that got me thinking...

"What word/phrase has been on my heart and would I want to put on my door frame so that I can better be reminded of what God is teaching me?"

There are so many words that float through my day that it's hard to choose just one but the most persistent two images/words that come to my mind are

sparrow and

cling

The word sparrow is on my heart these days because I recently read the verse in Matthew 10 that says, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (v. 29-31)  and that to me is a reminder that God, who cares for the concerns of a small little bird is much more aware of my needs.  

It's comforting to me, to know that God is aware and cares for me.

And the word cling has been on my heart for quite some time.  I'm not sure how long I've been wrestling with this thought but it's been since the fall.  I blogged about it earlier and mentioned how Jeremiah 13:11, while a strange verse to take to heart, reads, "For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen."  And yes, I realize that perhaps in the message bible this would read "whitey tighties" but I can't help it.  I was completely struck by this verse and not just how we are supposed to cling to God but how we were made to cling.

Can I get an amen?

And while we're on the topic of processing words/phrases that God gives us to reveal more of Himself can I encourage you that this thought of painting something on your doorway as a reminder, as a sign to you, is not something new.  It's not even something Navigator or Joanna or Jones Design Company related.

It's totally 100% biblical.  And even cooler, it's Old Testament.

Thanks to my Dad who forever remains my "go-to" for bible references and information.

Listen to this in Deuteronomy 6:4-9

"Hear, O, Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  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.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

 Whoa! How cool is that? The daily reminder of God's word and His promises for you is something God encourages us to do.

My Dad told me that this portion of the Word is called the "shema" and that every Jewish child was required to memorize it.  Jewish people would (and perhaps still do today) touch it on their way through the doorway as a reminder to them.  It's good and biblical to write ourselves reminders of God's promises.  And not only write them but take them to heart and truly let them become a part of our every day lives.

I have more thoughts on this and I feel like my head is reeling but let's just leave it here for today.... let's revisit this thought of God's word being on the forefront of our minds and even written out on our walls, doorposts and more importantly, our hearts.

So what words have you been struck by, meditating on, or can't seem to stop thinking about?

What words move you and inspire you to move closer to the Lord?