Narrow it Down

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Ok, now get up off the floor and please keep reading! Of course you do, we all do. Sometimes it seems like I have so much to do that I am almost paralyzed by the magnitude of responsibilities and the things that need my attention.

For the past few days I have been posting about the questions that each family needed to ask in order to live on purpose. If you haven't read the last 2 blogs you may want to back up and catch up.

Today I have another question for you that I hope helps. "What is your families top priority, right now?" If you could answer that question in a sentence then you have just created some direction. I know that we are all busy and have a lot to do but if you want to get somewhere, and get there on purpose then you must learn to prioritize.

If as a family, or even with yourself if you are single, you could sit down and determine what the most important thing is right now then that becomes your marching orders. You simply focus on that and everything else just has to wait until it becomes the most important thing.

Now, before you tell my I'm dreaming listen to a few thoughts:
1) I know that there are daily things that simply must be done. Get them done. They will always have a place in your schedule
2) Before you push back to hard on my plan, how's yours working? If it's going good then read no more. If not, try this one on for a few weeks and see if you get results.

We will look at our final question in a few days! Happy Prioritizing!

FAMILY PLANNING

So in my last post I shared with you about the book I had just finished reading and how it had inspired Carey and I to sit down and really get intentional about the things we feel strong about. We came away from our discussion with a renewed feeling of needing to simplify. So we came up with some action steps.
This week we have worked very hard to de-clutter, prepare for a yard sale, re-work our personal budget and make some plans for how we will continue this process. See it's one thing to know what you need/want to do but it's another to put feet to your plans. I already feel like a new man after just one week of working hard on the things we decided to do. Our house is less cluttered, we are more on the same page than ever as a family, and I feel like we are really creating space in our lives for God to move!
It all started with the three questions from the book, "3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family". Let me give you the first one and challenge you to think through it. WHAT MAKES YOUR FAMILY UNIQUE?
Now that's a great question. What are the unique gifts, talents, desires, passions, and experiences that make up who you are as a family? Taking some time to reflect on these things will allow you to begin putting together a family mission that will allow you to live your life with great purpose.
We'll continue this discussion and look at the other 2 questions over the next few days!
Live on purpose and choose the course of your life or someone will choose it for you.
Peace!

QUESTIONS

OK, so if you know me then you know how I am about questions. I just finished reading book by Patrick Lencioni titled, "The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family." Wow! What a great read. Pat is one of my favorite business/leadership authors. I think I have read everything he has written. This one may be the best because it speaks to one of the areas of great passion for me. FAMILY!
After reading this book Carey and sat down and spent a few hours working through our family values and making sure that we were on track. If any of us spent a few minutes thinking and talking about what maters most I think our answers would come quickly.
Here's the struggle though; Does what we say matters most show up in how we spend our money and how we spend our time? It's one thing to verbally say what matters most and another to make decisions that lead you to a life that proves that.
For the next several days we will look at these questions and talk more on this topic.
Can't wait to create a teaching series from this for next year!