Firm Foundation

This is an article that appeared in my local newspaper today (August 27,2005) and i thought i'd share it with everyone on SI.FIRM FOUNDATION"New homes start with concrete and a Bible"By Michael Gracxyk : The Associated PressMagnolia, TexasThe framing and the walls were already up when Jill Williams and her husband discovered a home they liked in a suburban area north of Houston. However, it was a subsequent conversation during a walk through the construction site with Shauna Wallace, the builder's wife, that reinforced thier decision to buy. "She said, I want to show you something," and brought the pair into the area of the master bedroom, Williams recalled. "You're standing on the Word," said Wallace, who explained that the builders place a Bible in the frame of a home's foundation before covering it with concrete. "Chills just went up me," said Williams, whose family moved into the home in April. "The beauty of that. When we heard that, it was just confirmation more than a anything." Wallace's husband, James, 37, has been building homes for about a decade and formed Possibility Custom Homes based in Magnolia about a year ago with partner Andy Eckert, 29, of Conroe. James Wallace said, "We shared the same core beliefs: Give praise and honor to God in everything we do." "If you give praise and honor to God in everything you do, everything else takes care of itself. It's pretty simple," he said. Building homes with a Bible in the foundation is not something they advertise, but they do not hide the practice from buyers. "The Bible symbolizes the Godly principles we use in our company," Wallace said. "We felt that if we built our company on a Godly foundation, God would bless our company." Besides the Bible, brief Scripture passages, appropriate for the individual room, get printed on the wood framwork. A passage about children is printed with permanent marker on the wall studs of a room intended for kids. On the doorframe of another house is the opening verse of Psalms 127, which refers to God establishing houses, or families. "It's nice for me to have a reminder in there, when I'm walking through the frame, of where my principles are, " Eckert said. "It keeps me straight." Wallace said they explain to buyers why they do it and so far have run into no opposition. "We've found most of the people, they like the fact we're giving them a reason why we're building this house well," Eckert said. "People like that we're actually conscientious." If someone was opposed, they wouldn't do it, he said. "We don't force our beliefs on anybody," Eckert said.

Thanks for sharing this, as it gives us something to think about. It is honorable that the builders desire to see God and his word honored through their work. Honesty is a much needed virtue in the building construction. It is great that the builders want to tell potential purchasers that they love God's word - a wonderful testimony. As long as there are no "strings attatched" ie ulterior motives - like trying to get others to view them as good, honest Christians. For, sadly, con-artists do things like that too. An expression of religious dedication does not always assume integrity in the heart. I do not believe that implanting a Bible really does anything, in itself. We know that it is not magic. The concern would be that some may feel a sense of false blessing because of that. I once heard of devout Catholics who fixed a cross under their canoe as a means of protection on their journey. This seems like idolatry. When the Bible speaks of a firm foundation, it is referring to one's life being built on Christ himself - Christ's life ruling their life. It is referring to the truths of God being implanted in their minds.Comparison:A church where there are lots of crosses, plaques with verses, or where people are singing hymns or choruses, or are reading scripture isn't necessarily filled true followers of Christ. Diane

To everyone, i certainly didn't mean to post this as being negative or in anyway a bad thing. Maybe i shouldn't have posted it. I'm sorry if anyone was affended. I guess i was seeing something good but perhaps i was wrong. I do apologize.