Jeff Applegate

In 1999 my mother went to Israel and asked me if she could bring anything back.  I asked her to bring me back some stones from the ground because I had a plan for a specific occasion.  Often in Scripture rocks are used as a symbol to mark and proclaim great things God has done in the lives of His people.

The nation of Israel had finished crossing the Jordan when the Lord spoke to Joshua: Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them saying, “Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight…” Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?” then you shall say to them, “Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord: when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So, these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever…” that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:2, 3, 6, 7, 24)

At the beginning of our marriage I selected 1 Peter 2:5 – 9 to be the verse that we would use in leading our family. It says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house…a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” As part of our Rites of Passage that we planned to teach our children and celebrate their progress, Living Stones was the last marker. It was the time to pass the torch of faith to declare God’s faithfulness to the next generation. So I had the great privilege to present this rock that my mother selected from the place where Jesus taught the Sermon of Beatitudes to give to Drew and Sydney.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in truth. 3 John 1:4. The Lord gave us the privilege to lead these lives for a very brief moment in time. We pray you will follow the truth of Jesus Christ to provide clear values that guide decisions and seek to live out these values in your marriage and in leading your family.