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Ok, so in the last post I walked you through the importance of having a mission for yourself first and then for your family. If you don’t have a mission…..then where are you going?? What are you doing?? What’s the point?!? So husbands/dad’s….pray on this hard as the leader in your home and LEAD your family in this process. If you are a single mom and you are the leader of your home, then the responsibility is on you to lead your kids in this as well. In this post I want to cover the pictures and symbols that I placed in our family logo. Think about how important a logo really is. It’s how you recognize what or who something is or is a part of. Look at sports teams….if you didn’t see their logo, half the time you wouldn’t have a clue who was playing for what team! In history, symbols, crests, your “mark” was crucial to know whether you were friend or foe. They went into battle with the crest of the king on flags and on their shields. It was as much a warning for their enemies as it was a reminder to themselves of who they served and why they were there. So think through this one.
Trees
For our family, the tree is a very important part our family journey. So our family logo centers around an oak tree. In the bible there were lots of different trees, the oak tree in particular symbolized strength, worship, and sacrifice. Where I grew up in west Texas, oak trees were the strongest trees with the deepest root system and they provided the best shade. So for our family, our root system is in the Father and his word and we are rooted next to the river of his love. Our roots are deep and strong and even though the winds come and have blown our tree back and forth and maybe broken some branches off in the process, our tree stands strong and will stay rooted in the Lord forever. Trees for me symbolize legacy and direction as well. The rings on the tree if you cut it into will show you the entire life of the tree and the history and you can tell when things have happened to the tree based on what the rings do on the inside. Isn’t this so true of us as well?? You can see where we had dry points in our lives and when times were the most fertile if you look inside us and all we have walked through. It is a story and roadmap of all that has happened in the life of the tree and the life of us and our family.
I’m from the country (hence the name Jim Bob in case you were wondering…LOL). Where I am from, we gave directions based on things that were around the area. At the north entry to our ranch where I grew stood a lone oak tree. It was a huge tree that was super old. I always new I was getting close to home when I saw that tree on the horizon. I could see it for miles down the highway. It was such a beacon I could even see it a long ways off in the dark. This tree on our logo will be a beacon home for my children. It will remind them of where they have come from and how to get back here no matter where they travel and where the Lord takes them or how far off the path they ever get.
River of Life
The river running through the center of the logo is the sustenance of the Holy Spirit in our family. Like it says in Psalms 1:1-3 about the man who “delights in the law of the Lord”, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither. In all he does, he prospers.” To bear fruit and not only survive, but thrive as a tree (and as a believer), you have to have enough water. Without the right amount of water….you’ll die. Rivers in scripture also were how the Father gave the people borders to their lands. It signified their territory and what the Lord was giving them. Rivers and water were always powerful symbols used in miracles in the bible. The Lord parted both the Red Sea and the Jordan River for the Israelites as a testimony to them of his covenant and a warning to their enemies. I had the left side of the “H” that is connected to the tree placed directly in the water because in Isaiah 43:2 it says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” But in order to truly experience that protection, you have to take the first step and walk into the water. When Joshua took the Israelites into the promised land they had to cross the Jordan River. At the time of the year they crossed it was during flood season so the river was flooded over its banks and was estimated to be twice as wide as it even normally was. This time of the year I imagine was the time of year no one would get into the river due to the danger of the depth of the river and drowning. But the priests had to walk into the flooded waters with the ark and only AFTER they walked into the water did the Father move back the waters. He didn’t part the waters and then they just pranced down into the dry area in between the walls of water. They had to get in….they had to trust.
Olive Fields
The last symbol I have in our logo so far is the rolling fields on the left. This is a farm of olive trees. In the bible, olive trees were used for practically everything from olive oil toImage may be NSFW.
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furniture. Olive trees signified fertility and blessing. In Psalm 128 it says of the man who fears the Lord: “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.” This is why I had the olive trees be smaller and in a farm setting. These signify our children and our legacy we are pouring into them. I’m not so sure we will have that many kids, there’s a lot of trees on there!! But you get the point. Olive farms were some of the most valuable pieces of land in scripture. This was land that was sought out and fought over. I will defend this land and my children and will fight for their future. My sword (the Word of God) will always be in my hand, actively defending and protecting them as long as I live.
So that’s our logo. Like I said in the last post, I had help designing it and creating it from Shelly Aruda from Yah Designs. I appreciate her so much and all her help with this. The logo is a living thing though, just like our family. It will change over time and things will get added and others taken out I’m sure, but the key things in the logo will always be there.
This is a collection of our “stones” as a family that I will use to teach my children of the love of their Heavenly Father. I will tell them stories of the battles He brought us through, the victories in Him, the sorrow and pain and how He held us up in it and given us peace and direction through every one. I will never allow them to forget all the Lord has done in our lives.
In Revelation is talks about the battle that Michael and the other angels have with the Dragon (Satan) at the end of days. And in Revelation 12:11 it says, “And they conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” My children will know the testimony of our lives and the journey our family has taken because next to the blood of the Lamb, their other weapon in this battle of their lives is their testimony. They will conquer and overcome in their life through telling our story.
So what’s your story? The Lord wants you to tell it. He wants to use it for his glory….but to do that, people have to know.
JB