Life Verses

Before my children were baptized, our church encouraged us to select a life verse for each of them.  Bray and I prayed about it, and then we sent the verses to the church to become part of a welcome slide show they created for the families of children baptized that year.  It was incredibly meaningful but, as over a year has passed since their baptism, I felt the verses were becoming forgotten before they were ever being remembered.  So as a part of my Christmas present to the trio, realizing they won't appreciate it for years, I had a friend of mine design a calligraphy of the verses to frame and hang over their beds. 

I hope those words are the first verses of Scripture the children commit to heart.  I hope the words hanging over them at night are an outward reflection of the words of God we will speak over and to them in the years to come.  I hope that seeing the words every evening as Bray and I pray over our treasures before we go to bed will remind us to claim those verses for them and recommit ourselves to raising them up in the way they should go.  I share them with you, and for them, here:

The Eldest - Proverbs 3

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,

for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 

 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; 

bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. 

 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

The Lady - Phillipians 1

I thank my God every time I remember you.

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 

because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you

will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus... 

And this is my prayer:

that your love may abound more and more

in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern

what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -

to the glory and praise of God.

The Baby - Colossians 1

For this reason, since the day we heard about you,

we have not stopped praying for you.

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will

through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way:

bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might

so that you may have great endurance and patience,

and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share

in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.