I’m not sure
exactly when it came to me. I think it
while I was in the shower. It came
suddenly, and clearly. I knew we had to
do it. I ran the idea past my husband
and he was on board.
We woke
Sunday and in a hurried frenzy, readied ourselves for church, hopped into the
Suburban and off we went! We no sooner
pulled out of the driveway when we found ourselves turning around for home
about ¼ mile from home. Black ice had changed
the course of our morning. We came right
back in the house and loaded up an episode of Mark Gungor on the DVR for some
spiritual enlightening. We laughed. We listened.
It was the perfect, God-ordained, segway into my idea.
Mark wrapped
up his sermon and I introduced my idea to the kids.
“We are
going to write our 2014 Family Mission Statement today!”
Of course I
got some confusing looks. Mostly because
they had no idea what a “mission statement” was. After a brief explanation, I outlined the
five areas we were going to focus on.
In the New
Year, how will our family relate to:
GOD
EACH OTHER
OTHERS/FRIENDS
OUR
COMMUNITY
OUR CHURCH
In each
area, we had a discussion about how God asks us to interact with each area? What did the Bible say about it? And what exactly did it look like in real
life?
Some were
easier to figure out than others. Our
littlest family member had an elaborate example for most of the
suggestions. But, we powered through,
and our list, while still not typed up all neat and pretty to display, has
already created teachable moments.
After some
minor tweaking, here’s our final draft.
2014 FAMILY
MISSION STATEMENT
How do we relate to:
GOD
Attend church regularly
Read our Bibles/have devotions
Pray
EACH OTHER
Put others first
Be respectful
Use kind words
Control our anger
OTHERS/FRIENDS
Talk about God with them / Pray for them
Behave like Jesus / Use appropriate talk
Invite them to church
COMMUNITY
Behave like Jesus / Use appropriate talk
See a need, fill a need
CHURCH
Volunteer
Attend regularly
Now, our children might be a bit older
than yours, so you might have to make some adjustments to your family mission
statement, should you choose to make one too.
But what a great reference point when things start getting a little less
than desirable with attitudes within a family!
We plan to post a copy of this around the house, and the kids have
already asked for a copy in each of their rooms!
And while I’m not so naïve as to think
that the newness of this will never wear off, if it even makes the slightest
change in our behaviors and attitudes in the coming year, it will not be in
vain!
Blessings to you as you embark on
whatever positive changes you intend to incorporate in your own personal life,
or in your family.
