Rock Bowl

So here is the rock bowl I've been telling you about. I was inspired to create this after I read

Joshua 4:1-6

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight."
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

It is also inspired by Deuteronomy 6:4 "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Throughout the OT there are numerous examples of the Israelites creating memorials with stones. The purpose of the memorials was to serve as a sign to their children of the faithfulness of God. When the children saw the rocks they would ask, "What do these rocks mean?" This would give the Israelites a chance to share what God had done and would serve as a reminder to both themselves and their children of the awesome power of God.

One of my favorite verses to think about as a parent comes from Deuteronomy 6. I think God shows how a family should be able to have their faith should be a natural talking point throughout our days.

The rock bowl for me then was inspired by both of these passages. Anytime I consider God has done a significant answer to prayer I pick a new rock and write on it with a black sharpie pen. I also date the rock for when the event took place. My kids have been a part of adding rocks to our bowl and I hope when they are older they will begin to ask me what each rock represents. It will be an opportunity for me to share what God has done in our lives and how he has shown himself to be faithful time and time again.

It has also served another purpose for me personally. Before I had my rock bowl I usually would find myself panicking every time a new "crisis" arose. The rock bowl for me has been a reminder that God is faithful and comes through even though there can be dark times in the process.

One of my rocks has the word money on it. There was a time in our lives where we needed money for tires and to finish remodeling a bathroom. We did not have the money. By the end of the month we had gotten a thousand dollars in a couple different ways and the we were able to pay for both of them. There was another time where we needed to do landscaping because our basement was leaking but we did not have the money to pay the landscaper. After praying, in faith I called the landscaper and asked him if he would be willing to wait 6 months to get paid. He said..... Anyone?..................

Yes! I am still shocked and amazed. He let us wait 6 months to pay him and he didn't charge us a dime in interest. I still thank God for him and his company.

As a result, it is pretty hard for me to panic and doubt God when finances get a little tight. I just look at my rock and remind myself how He has been faithful in the past and say "thank you" that you will be faithful to me again.

So if this idea inspires you I would encourage you to start a rock bowl in your own home. I picked out my rock bowl at a Paint your Own pottery place and painted it myself. That way I could pick the colors and make sure it went with my decor ~because I am such an artistic person (not).