If the Words of My Mouth Hung on the Walls of My House

We all have different styles, visions, and budgets when it comes to adorning our homes. Many of us devote substantial care and attention to how we decorate, what we accumulate, and what wehang on the walls.

When I think of my home, my mind naturally goes to the people living within its walls. And I wonder: Am I always as thoughtful of what fills the unseen space, -the hearts and souls – as I am the visible? How am I using my words to create lasting beauty within my house? If the words of my mouth hung on the walls of my home, would I like the way they looked? Would they reflectbeauty?

Let’s face it. Most days at home with my young children, the words flowing from my mouth are not all pleasant and peace-filled. They usually feel haphazard, random and ridiculous as I blurt things out about not climbing a lamp like it’s a tree, not spitting milk back and forth between cups, or not body-slamming one’s sibling.

I say words I regret in tones I regret. I ask for forgiveness often.

But I’m learning that infusing my words with God’s Word is more effective and beneficial in creating a beautiful home than any store-bought decoration. The living Word brings life to the home as it’s taken in and then poured out. Beauty and life lie in the power of the tongue.

As one may spend time carefully selecting meaningful objects to fill their home with beauty, we have an incredible opportunity to select and fill our homes with the best words and messages available. Life-giving words will actually fill the souls of our families.

Consume and Learn

How do we beautify our homes with words of life? We read our Bibles. We fill our hearts with the Word of God. We ask the Lord to give us a desire for His Word. We ask Him to teach and speak to us as we read. We pray for strength to choose commitment over laziness when reading and memorizing.

Repeat and Remind

Repetition and visual reminders are huge for giving these truths permanency in our homes. I love Inspired to Action’s downloadable prayer calendar, which includes a short verse each day to pray over the family. I love writing out verses and hanging them throughout the house, especially in the kitchen where we see them often. My boys can’t wait to get in the car so they can listento G.T and the Halo Express, which includes stories full of songs straight from scripture. Friends have also highly recommended Seeds of Family Worship.

Decorate and Bless Abundantly

As the inspired words of God take root in our hearts, life-giving words and messages will flow out much more naturally. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, our hearts will produce good things.

“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good,

and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”

The more we take in, the more we have to offer and the lovelier our home becomes. (And it’ssafely within everyone’s budget). Our “décor” may look a bit like this:

We’re able to naturally talk about the wonder of God’s grace through Jesus as we show grace to our children or husbands.

We begin to deeply understand truths about the value in blessing others rather than cursing them, not giving full vent to our anger, and humbling ourselves to a point where we don’t always have to be right.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be evident.

And with a greater understanding of Jesus, his love, his saving power, his beauty begin to take shape. God has given us a marvelous opportunity. So let the decorating begin!

Words in handwritten images based on (1) Philippians 4:8, (2) Psalm 16:11, and (3) Lamentations 3:22-24

Enjoy a free art download based on the words of Philippians 4:8. It may be printed out on cardstock and cut to fit an 8×10 or 5×7 frame. You can see more of Katy’s artwork in her shop here.

Posted with Blogsy