My wife an I often talk about the "home" we are creating. What are we teaching our kids? Are we passing on to them the knowledge of and opportunities for spiritual growth that we were given?
I know that the best way to build such a home is to not think of the home we want as a destination but as a process, a long-term process. In this light, I am always looking to gain new insights and understanding, especially from the scriptures.
Recently I have been reading the Old Testament. I have come to look at Deuteronomy in a new light. What an interesting book!
As Moses is reviewing his teachings to the children of Israel at the threshold of entering the promised land, he gives them this little gem.
Deuteronomy Chapter 1118 Therefore shall yea lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children , in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
First, I need to have the words of the Lord in my heart and soul. They need to be reflected in all that I do (hands) and in my perspective in the world (eyes). Simultaneously (as example is often the best teacher), I need to teach the words to my children at all opportunities, while sitting in my house (family dinner, less T.V. time, etc.), while on the way to places (turn off the radio a bit more while in the car), when preparing for bed, and when preparing for the day. Then I should have words of the scriptures on my walls especially near our entry/exit ways to our home both as a symbol to others as well as a remembrance to ourselves of what we want our home to be.
