Family Spirit: A Crest

Ready for some more FaMiLy SpIrIt!?  Today I thought I would share our family crest with you!  Skyler designed this prior to our marriage! After looking up a few traditional coats of arms, Skyler decided our family should have one that represented our faith in God.   He spent quite some time contemplating what should be on our crest, and what verses went along with each symbol.   Much like the motto, our crest is a reminder of who we are as a family, and what we stand for!

As with many coat of arms,  Skyler and I have had our crest printed on shirts, blankets, sports towels, etc.  We also had a flag made to fly proud over our homestead!

You will find numerous verses for each symbol on our crest below!  These verses are especially meaningful to us, and even though there seems to be a lot, I am sure we could have come up with even more!  As I typed these out for this post, I was reminded of how powerful Scripture is!  These verses are a few of the ones we hope our family will meditate on.  What better way to memorize and think on these verses than to look at our family crest!  We hope that having a symbol associated with a verse will help seal the truth in our hearts, and whenever we look at the crest we can't help but reflect on God's Word!

   

The Powers' Family Crest

Power Verse: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,  Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" ~ Ephesians 1:17-21

Family Crest Tradition

Josh 24:15—“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Banner

Ps 20:5—“We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.”

                Ps 60:4—“But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.”

Crossbar

                1 Cor 10:31—“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Lion

Rev 5:5—“Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Lamb

John 1:29—“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:36—“When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"

Rev 5:6-6:17—“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders…”

Flags

Rev 21:6-7—“He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Rev 22:13—“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

Crown

Duet 10:17—“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.”

John 18:37—“"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

Rev 19:16—“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Three Crosses

Mark 15:25-28—“It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.”

Luke 23:32-33—“Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left.”

Phil 2:5-11—“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Eagle’s Wings

                Ex. 19:4 -- You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and

                brought you to myself.

                

                Isa 40:31--but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they 

               will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

                Ps 17:8--Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings

                Ps 36:7--How priceless is your unfailing love!  Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of 

                your wings.

                Ps 57:1--Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.  I will take refuge in

                the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

                Ps 63:7--because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

                Ps 91:4--He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be 

                your shield and rampart.

Shield

               Gen 15:1--After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

               "Do not be afraid, Abram.  

                 I am your shield,

                 your very great reward."

                 Duet 33:29--Blessed are you, O Israel!

                 Who is like you, 

                 a people saved by the LORD?

                 He is your shield and helper

                 and your glorious sword.

                Your enemies will cower before you, 

                 and you will trample down their high places."

            2 Sam 22:3 --my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, 
                my shield and the horn of my salvation.
                He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior -
                from violent men you save me.

                Ps. 3:3 -- But you are a shield around me, O LORD; 
                you bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

               Ps 15:12--For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous;
               you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

               Ps 18:35--You give me your shield of victory, 
               and your right hand sustains me;
               you stoop down to make me great.

               Ps 28:7--The LORD is my strength and my shield ;
               my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
               My heart leaps for joy
               and I will give thanks to him in song.

               Ps 33:20--We wait in hope for the LORD; 
               he is our help and our shield.

               Ps 84:9--Look upon our shield, O God;
               look with favor on your anointed one.

               Ps 115:11--You who fear him, trust in the LORD--
               he is their help and shield.

               Ps 119:114--You are my refuge and my shield; 
               I have put my hope in your word.

               Ps 114:2--He is my loving God and my fortress,
               my stronghold and my deliverer,
               my shield, in whom I take refuge, 
               who subdues people under me.

               Prov 30:5--Every word of God is flawless;
               he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

               Eph 6:16--In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can 
               extinguish all the flamin arrows of the evil one.

                 

Vine
              John 15:5-8--I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; 
              apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away
              and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words
              in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit,
              showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Sunrise(Morning)
              Deut 6:5-9--Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
              These commandments I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  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. 
              Tie them as symbols on your hands and bund them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your
              houses and on your gates.

     
           Ps 30:5--For his anger lasts only a moment,
               but his favor lasts a lifetime;
               weeping may remain for a night, 
               but rejoicing comes in the morning.

               Ps 119:105--Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
              
               Ps 119:147--I rise before dawn and cry for help;
               I have put my hope in your word.

               Matt 5:14--You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

               Matt 5:16--In the same way, let your light shine before me, that they may see your 
               good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

               John 8:12--When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the 
               world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light 
               of life."
 

Evening
               Deut 6:5-9--Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
               These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  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.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the
               doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 

            Ps 119:55--In the night I remember your name, O LORD,

                and I will keep your law.

                Ps 119:62--At midnight I rise to give you thanks

                for your righteous laws.

                Ps 119:97--Oh, how I love your law!

                I meditate on it all day long.

                Ps 119:148--My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, 

                that I may meditate on your promises.

                Eph 4:26--"In your anger do not sin":  Do not let the sun go down while you are still 

                angry

Center Cross
                Matt 16:24--Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
                up his cross and follow me.




As I mentioned at the beginning, that's a lot of Scripture!  I love it!  Please know that this post has primarily been for our family.  I figured this would be a great place to catalogue our crest, and the Bible verses that go along with it!  I hope this post has also inspired you to think about the possibility of creating your own family crest!  How fun would it be to work together on this with your children!? 

What are your thoughts on creating a family crest?  Perhaps you already have a coat of arms that has been in your family for years!  I would love to hear your ideas on how you plan to/already do incorporate this into your family!   

PS Lest you think this type of family project would be scoffed at by older children . . . 1) Skyler came up with this, and we had a blast working on it together as adults with no children whatsoever 2) Skyler had his high school students (juniors and seniors) create a coat of arms that represented who they are, and they "ate it up"!  :)  Don't underestimate the amount of fun families can have by working together!