Family Mission Statement (Part 4) ~ Day 12

*click here for the other 31 days*
*click here to start on day one of my family mission statement*

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to those that prayed for me yesterday. I'm feeling much better today. Your continued prayer for my health and those in my home would be really appreciated.

Today I get to share with you the last 3 things from our family mission statement. Tomorrow is the final reveal! I'm really excited to show it to you. I hope that you're inspired to make your own. It was such a fun process that really helped my husband and I get our focus on the same page. Remember:

Now, for the final 3:

We Believe..
6. Being together is the best place to be.

• Ruth 1:16-17 - ¹⁶ But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷ Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”

• Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - ⁹ Two are better than one,
      because they have a good return for their labor:
  ¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
      one can help the other up.
  But pity anyone who falls
      and has no one to help them up.
  ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
      But how can one keep warm alone?
  ¹² Though one may be overpowered,
      two can defend themselves.
  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ruth 1:16-17 was James and my wedding verse. It will always hold a special place in my heart. I think family is so important. I want to enjoy one another and treasure every minute, every dinner, every vacation we have together. James and I are currently preparing to move. Recently we discussed me and the girls moving extra early, about 2-3 months before he does, to get a certain house we found online that we fell in love with. Having this on our mission statement reminds us that being together is more important. Even if we don't get that house, we know God has a better one. If we both had a really strong feeling the Lord wanted us apart for a special reason for a season in our lives, we would obey him. But as for now, we stick together. A cord of three (or four!) strands is not quickly broken.

7. In embracing each season.

• Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 - There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: ² a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,³  a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,⁵  a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,⁶ a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,⁸ a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

Living in Hawaii has really made me think a lot more about seasons than I ever have. We don't get them here.. at least not in the physical sense. I really miss having actual seasons. The changing leaves, the sweatshirt weather, the hope of snow. Living here made me see the magic in each season. So part of embracing each season means in the literal sense embracing the season. Celebrating the Autumn with pumpkin spice, candy corns, hunting for Halloween costumes, huge turkey dinners. Celebrating the Winter with Christmas music, twinkling lights, presents under the tree, teaching our kids the true meaning of Christmas. Celebrating the Spring with flowers on the table, dying eggs, easter dresses, stories of the cross. Celebrating Summer with sand between our toes, splashing in the pool, fireworks, watermelon dripping down our chins. (Can you tell I'm really passionate about this one??) The other part of embracing each season is really the part the bible is referring to in Ecclesiastes. My time in Hawaii has really been lonely for me. I miss the family and close friends of home. God has really been speaking to me about looking at this not as a season of lonliness, but as a season of enjoying my little family and drawing close to God. Everything that we go through, good or bad, is just a season. Enjoy the good seasons, try and find the lessons in the bad ones.

8. We should be wise with our words.

• Ephesians 4:29 - Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
• Provers 17: 27 - The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint,
      and whoever has understanding is even-tempered. 

Our words carry with them a power that so few people respect.So many people thing they have the right to say whatever they want, whenever they want with no regard for other people. The bible clearly tells us we don't have that right. We are to be wise with the things we say.

Come back tomorrow to see the end result of our family mission statement. Don't forget to subscribe or like my facebook page!