Honor is one little word that holds much power. Our family chose “honor” as our one word focus for 2012. As the year draws to a close, we realize we still have so much to learn about honoring one another, God and others. We wanted to do something to ramp up honor in our home. Using technology and the tools we have at our fingertips, we are going to being a blog, and name it “The Honor Project.” Each week we will take time to sit down and intentionally write words of praise for our family members and honor them for the positive character qualities we see in their lives. I believe this project will have a lasting impact on our family and on the generations to come. It dawned on me that others might jump into a similar project if given the challenge. I invite you to join us! This page is set up to encourage us to stay the course. I will make suggestions of how to start, but make it your own project! Some will use blogs, while others will choose to write in journals or in cards. Make this work for you and your family. What matters is that we speak words of love and affirmation over our loved ones. I often say, “Give me flowers while I’m living.” In other words, don’t wait until I die to come to my funeral and give a flowery speech of what I meant to you. It’s too late. I’m gone. Instead, see each day as a precious opportunity to speak life, love and kindness into the lives of those closest to you.
Honor begins at home. We may be able to speak kindly to our co-workers, neighbors, or total strangers. What do we say to those who live under the same roof? Do we assume they know that we love them? Do we assume they know what we appreciate about them? Do we assume they know the qualities we find most beautiful within their hearts? Let’s stop assuming and let’s start sharing!
Hebrews 3:13 admonishes us, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today.”
There are many other passages in the Bible that command us to encourage, edify and build each other up. Find one that your family loves and memorize it together. It may be the very thing that keeps you going when you start to stray from this project.
BLOG IT! Our family has chosen to write in a blog to one another, weekly recording words of praise and evidences of godly character. For suggestions of how to begin a blog like ours, check out
http://firstthingsfirst5.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-honor-project-blog-edition.html.
WRITE IT! If you do not want to begin a blog, go the route of writing out your words of praise in a journal, on stationary or on handmade cards. More suggestions will be coming.
SCRAPBOOK IT! A picture is worth a thousand words. Photos evoke many memories for each of us. More suggestions will be coming.
SPEAK IT! As powerful as it is to receive written words of praise, it is also crucial to speak those words over others. Don’t neglect this step. At first, it may feel awkward, but practice makes perfect. Look your loved one in the eye and let them know how much you love and appreciate them. More suggestions will be coming.
SHOW IT! Actions always speak louder than words. Make sure your actions line up with your words. Remember to practice love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If we are exhibiting these traits, others will have no trouble trusting the sincerity of our words. More suggestions will be coming.
SHARE IT! Without betraying any confidences of your loved ones, share with others how this project has affected your family. We’d love to hear testimonies and are open to ideas of how to practice honor in our home! Your suggestions will be coming!
No comments:
Post a Comment