Monday, March 26, 2012

1000 Gifts - I'm Getting Closer...

Giving thanks for the small things in life...
695.  Tire swing with squealing girls on it
695.  Oh How He Loves You and Me sung at church as a prayer
697.  Your WORD
698.  Beautiful Paintings around our home created by Grandma Irma
699.  Teen boys growing up
700.  My little girl doing "big girl math" all too soon....


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Mission Possible?

I've been reading a book that has me looking at life, looking at our home and our family as if under a microscope.  You know - all of those fine details & getting rid of the clutter.  The book:

Organized Simplicity

If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. 

I am a fairly organized person, and you would think that since we moved into our house less than 2 years ago, there would not be much clutter.  But something about homeschooling, four children, and living out of 2 houses for over a year caused things to be a bit disorganized.  And so, when the opportunity arose to get this book for an awesome deal, I went for it.

What I did not expect was the direction this book would take me.  Yes, there is a lot about organizing and decluttering in the book, but also about life purpose, using your time and finances wisely.  The book starts by encouraging you to have a mission statement.  You know - that guiding principle that guides you in all of your decisions about how to use the space in your home, your time, your energy, your money.  Wow!  I got a lot more than I bargained for.  

As my hubby & I discussed the relative merits of a mission statement, we were also aware of how useless a mission statement can be if not meaningful.  We have both worked in corporations that adopted mission statements that were to be the guiding principles for the business, but were in actuality little more than a plaque on a wall.  We did not want to go through the exercise if it was not going to actually affect how our family operated.

After being married for 26 years, we obviously have a family identity and things that have been important to us.  But we felt as though maybe we were going adrift of those things - and since we have two younger kids felt it was important to keep our focus.  We found our inspiration in a plaque that was given to us as a wedding present all those 26 years ago. 


We also have the advantage of having adult (or near adult) children.  When we asked them about our mission statement, they were able to give us valuable input.  As we all studied & thought about this bible verse,  we were gratified to find this wasn't something new.  We were just putting it in writing & fine tuning what our family is all about. 

So - for what it is worth, here is our family mission statement.  We have already found that it is helping to direct the things that we say 'yes' to, and the things we say 'no' to.  It is affecting our choices of activities for our younger children to be involved in.  It is our hope & prayer that it will also be a directing principle for our older sons. 


But as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15

  • by regular study of His word
  • with consistent prayer
  • by training children to be godly adults
  • with all sincerity
  • as the hands & feet of Christ wherever we are
  • as good stewards of all He as entrusted to us
  • honoring & enjoying His creation
  • in the local body of Christ
  • in the small things