Words on doors?

"You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart ... You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." -- Deuteronomy 6:5-6, 9

Writing on your doorposts
A few weekends ago when my husband and I were in the mountains, we strolled through a little art gallery, and there I saw a stunning mezuzah case. Mezuzot came about to fulfill the requirement in Deuteronomy 6 to write God's words on a house's doorposts, and as you might imagine, there are lots of rules about who writes the parchment and where the mezuzah goes. And while the words on the parchment are the truly important part, mezuzah cases come in many different shapes, sizes and styles.

Not being Jewish, I passed up the mezuzah case at the gallery, but I haven't stopped thinking about that beautiful little case and what it will someday contain. I also keep wondering what words my friends and family might say I would be most likely to write on my doorposts.

There's a growing trend in home decorating to put up words as art on your walls. You can even stop by your local Target and pick up some stick-on words that'll go up with ease: big, small, curly or simple, whatever suits your decor. But what words would you choose to put on your doorposts, especially the front door where your friends, family, guests, and even a stray salesman can see? I'm talking about the words that you live by.

What are the words that truly represent what's most important to you? Now: where will you write them?

Slips of paper
I mentioned in my first post several weeks ago that I've been participating in a small-group study called Made to Crave, and over the weeks, author Lysa TerKeurst has encouraged participants to create fridge signs with key motivational words: empowered, courageous, beneficial, peace. Because the study's premise is how to turn your cravings for food into cravings for God, she wants us to have power words stocked on our fridges and in our pantries and over our scales.

She also has encouraged us to write a new name for ourselves, a name that represents our success on this physical and spiritual journey (some weeks my slip of paper says Beloved, and others, it says Disciple, as in discipline, which I desperately need). So there's been a lot of writing on little slips of paper and copying Bible verses onto notecards. She hasn't called for us to put anything on our doorposts, yet, and so for now, I'll keep those slips of paper tucked away.

By the way, want to know what's on my front door right now? A sign that says: NO SOLICITORS. And really, all you salespeople out there, I mean it, and my dog really means it. But those aren't the words that truly represent me. Here's what I should write: I will love the Lord my God will all my heart and with all my soul and with all my might. Maybe sticking it by the door will remind me as I set out into the world each day that these are the words I want to live by.

Coming up next: Will paper (n)ever die?
Instead of talking about trees this week, I'm writing about paper (even if I'm not writing on it). Paper is kin to trees, though, so I hope you'll allow me this digression.

In the coming days, I'll share some thoughts on paper versus electronica and why I think/hope paper will never die. I hope you'll check back and join in the discussion.