Family Mission Statement (Part 5) ~ Day 13

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*click here to start on day one of my family mission statement*

 

 Good evening! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. :)

The past few days I shared with you what we chose to put in our family mission statement and why we chose it. As you can see, it was really important for my husband and I to base our statement on the scriptures. We prayed about this for awhile and for a couple weeks before we created our statement I jotted down scripture verses that stood out to me that I thought would be important to our God's vision. After asking each other the questions I talked about in part one  and reviewing the scriptures I made a rough draft and then used the paint (yea, really fancy huh?) program on my computer to make the final copy that hangs on our bulletin board.

Drum roll, please.

A constant reminder in who we are and what we should be focusing on as a family. I really encourage you to think about making one too. Please come back and share it with me if you do!

Family Mission Statement (Part 4) ~ Day 12

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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!

Family Mission Statement (Part 3) ~ Day 11

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*click here to start on day one of my family mission statement*

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I've been sick. I will spare you my complaints (phil. 2:14). But if you could say a prayer for me i'd really appreciate it. 

In my last post I shared with you the first two things from our family mission statement. Today I'll share with you a few more.
We believe...

 3. In the power of prayer.

•  Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
• James 5:16 - Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

We want to remember - and want our children to remember - prayer isn't just talking to God or the ceiling. It's a powerful tool God has given us and it really does have the power to change things.

4. In entertaining angels (and also, friends)

• Hebrews 13:1-2 - Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. ² Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
• Romans 12:13 - Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

I never really thought about hospitality until I read Karen Ehmans book A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart & Home to Others. Her book made me realize God doesnt just suggest hospitality, he commands it. "Do not forget to show hospitality","Practice hospitality". Having this in our statement is our family's reminder to chose the table that seats 8 even though there are only 4 of us. It reminds us to choose the big comfy couch over the nicer looking one. It reminds us to have open hearts and home.

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 5. Honesty is the best policy.

• Lev. 19:11 -  Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.
• Proverbs 12:22 - The Lord detests lying lips,
      but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

I remember growing up my mother would always tell me no matter what we did, lying to them about it would get us into way more trouble than telling the truth. She said she would eventually find out if we lied. (you may be sure that your sin will find you out. Num. 32:23) It great advice I will pass down to my children as well. 

Tomorrow I'll share the last 3 things on our mission statement and then Saturday I'll share how we decided on everything and the final product! Hope you guys have a great 10-11-12!

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Family Mission Statement (part 2) ~ Day 9

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Yesterday I talked about why we made a family mission statement. Over the next few days I'll share with you what we put in ours and why. On Friday I will post or final copy and maybe I can figure out how to post a link up so you can share yours too. Would anyone be interested in that?

The first two things are our list are the most important things to us. We knew we wanted these things at the top. A place of prominence both on our statement and in our lives.

1. Jesus is both our savior and our friend.

• John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• Luke 2:11 - Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
  
  
  We believe that our God is an almighty God. He is powerful and capable and came to save us from sin and eternal damnation. He also cares for us, and desires a relationship with us. We want every decision we ever make to be made with this in mind. If it's taking us away from the plan God has for us, then its not the right thing to do.
  
  

2. Love is the most important thing.

• Luke 10:27 -  He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
• 1 Peter 4:8  -  Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

• 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 - If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 We believe everything we do should be done in love. The scriptures are overflowing with verses on the importance of love. I think Christians too often forget those verses when they are remembering the few verses on other things (adultery, homosexuality, etc.) . How often have you seen someone publicly and unlovingly condemned for their sin?  Yes, sin should be corrected. But lovingly, with mercy and grace. I hope my children always chose love over condemnation.

I'll be back tomorrow to share more of our mission statement.

Family Misson Statement (part 1) ~ Day 8

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Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Sorry today's post is so late. James has been off so we've been having lots of family time. I do so love long weekends. I hope yours was wonderful too.

This week I thought I'd share with you something special James and I worked on recently. We made a family mission statement. A mission statement is great because it really helps unify our vision for our family. We asked one another questions like:

• What are our priorities?
• If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
• What characteristics do we want our children to have as they grow up?
• If we had a completely free day together as a family, how would we spend it?
• Where are you as a family in 10 years? What does your home look like?
  
  
  
  We used our answers to come up with our statement and vision for our family. I'll share what we chose and why through out the week. If you want more resources for creating your own family mission statement there are great blogs on it here and here.
  

Linking up with Women Living Well and Holy Spirit-led Homeschooling.