I met some lovely bloggers when I went to The Declare Conference, and one that continues to influence me is Crystal Stine.  Crystal was a speaker at The Declare Conference – she shared insider secrets on SEO (how to help people find your blog) and I went to her graphics workshop (how to make your blog prettier and more cohesive).  But my favorite thing was getting to meet her over a meal, not long after I got there.  She is funky and quirky and smart and funny – of course we had sooooo much in common!  😉  Crystal works at Dayspring’s (in)courage.me and, not long ago, she invited some bloggers to introduce a new line of wall art: Letterpress Blocks by (in)courage.  I LOVE words.  I love wall art.  And I totally wanted to share this with you – so, it was a no brainer.

When I got stuck it was on choosing the right word.  There are so many words I love!  First: The Word, as in The Word of God as we see it/Him in John 1:1-5.  And of course, Love is an important word; it is at the heart of the Greatest Commandment.  Then, this summer I wrote all about Joy and I am still writing about finding #aSimplerJoy.  There is also my word for the year: Integrity {having learned that righteousness (integrity) leads to wholeness (integrity) and stability (integrity)}.  Integrity is linked with holiness, the process whereby the Holy Spirit, by washing us with the Word, makes us more like Christ; this is what it means to sanctify and this is Everyday Holiness, our walking with the Lord as He smooths out our rough spots.

So, I asked my husband to help me think of one word that would represent our family well.  Scott never pretends to be a theologian.  He is very practical in his faith.  He is a deacon at our church – he is a “hands and feet of Christ” sort of Christian.  And words?  He doesn’t love the turn of a phrase or the power of poetry.  He pays more attention to the beat than the lyrics (which has led to some hilarious car karaoke sessions…).  But he was quick to respond with the One Word that sums up our family: Shema.  Shema is the Hebrew word for hear, as in:

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 (Deut 6:4-9).

This passage is the most famous of three that observant Jews recite and have done so, for literally thousands of year.  The Shema functions as more of a creed than a prayer, though it is prayed morning and night, from before the time a child can read until his last day.  Lois Tverberg, in Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus (amazon.com link), suggests that Jesus, being an observant Jew, would have learned it on the knee of Joseph and recited it daily, as an affirmation of the relationship between God and His people.  Pretty cool, right?

Shema means to both hear AND do.  Loving God means we obey Him.  A few years back, our family came to realize that hearing and doing is the foundation of our House: [Jesus said,] Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock (Matt 7:24-25).  I wrote about this verse and the Shema, and much more, in a long series called The Family Workshop.  One day I hope to revisit this topic as a book (but I need to get the book that is in process now rolled out first…November, early November, if I keep saying it, it will be true right?).

So, if you could sum up your family in one word, what would it be?

I will be getting credit toward my very own SHEMA wall art (designed by yours truly) as compensation for sharing this post with you and I am so grateful for that.  🙂  I created my word as a customized piece, which you can do, but you can also buy some awesome pre-made words as wall art too!  I would love to hear what your word is, if you decide to get one too. #wordsmatter #(in)courage