In medieval times, knights would often have a coat of arms. Many generations ago, you might have something similiar like a family crest. They would have a motto, symbols and signs that would represent your family & their identity. A knight might be known by his name followed by a term like..."The Brave" or "The Strong" or "The not quite as brave or strong as those other guys".
So if we still did this, what term would be behind your name?
Brave? Strong? Lazy? Bold? The always at work? The Worrier? The Faithful?
What motto or symbols would you want on your family crest or coat of arms?
As we are talking about building our dream homes, maybe it's time to pull our families to the front lines and for a big stand. Maybe it's time to give that big braveheart type speech so everyone knows what's most important and so we can give all have direction and inspiration to fight the right fights in life. Joshua did that with his family (check it out in the Bible).
I saw something interesting a few years back. There's this author/pastor - Mark Batterson - who is doing something similiar with his son. In fact, he is even working on creating a coat of arms for his family together with his son (check it out here). One of the big keys was creating some specific challenges to build those family values together (check that out here).
It takes more than just making a blueprint to build our dream home, you have to be in the construction process. As we create our family vision, don't just write things down or have a single discussion about a value and call it good. We have to impress these things in our hearts over a period of time.
Remember: a clear vision will help us be ready for those spontaneous moments but we also need to do some specific things intentionally to build our dream home. So what are some intentional challenges, books, activities, or conversations you can do with your life or family to build your dream home?
