Friday, May 27, 2011

Living with our Purpose in Mind


I mentioned last week that sometimes it feels like I’m juggling my roles of wife, homeschooling mother, homemaker, cross-cultural worker and friend.  How to keep the right balls in motion at the right time?

I’m intrigued by the thought of life-planning.  I want my life to be more than just a series of reactions to the people and events around me. I want to invest my time in what is truly important.


Several years ago when I read Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, I was challenged to think about my passions. I wrote a life vision statement for the first time.  Since then every year or so I review and revise my vision and goals statement.  I’ve kept it simple, spending a few hours writing a few pages.

When I turned 47 a few weeks ago, I spent some time updating my life plan.   This year I’ve been encouraged by Michael Hyatt's writing on life planning.. He makes the point that many people spend more time planning their yearly vacation than they do planning for their lives! He presents a simple system for life planning.

Here is my life vision statement followed by 7 general goals.  For each goal I have a supporting verse and specific commitments.  (For the sake of brevity I’m omitting the supporting verses and specific commitments for goals 3-7.)

Vision Statement: I want to live for Jesus, to know Him and to make Him known through my character, actions and words. I want to remain in Him and bear fruit!

Verse: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

1. I want to know God and grow to be more like Jesus.

  • Cultivate intimacy with God  
  • Work on developing Christ-like character. 
  • Live a life of love, joy and peace.

  1. Daily Quiet time
  2. Maintain and use a prayer List           
  3. Read Christian books
  4. Weekly time for reflection
2. I want to love and encourage my husband.
  • Cultivate my relationship with Jose.
  • Encourage and support Jose in his roles.
  • Become a better listener
  1. Weekly date time with Jose
  2. Daily prayer together.
3. I want to model God’s love for my children and help them develop into the people God is calling them to be.
  • Model and teach loving God
  • Encourage a healthy self concept
  • Help them discover their gifts and interests
4. I want to encourage and empower others to know God, be like Jesus and serve Him.
  • Cultivate friendships
  • Pray for my friends
  • Share with them what God is doing in my life.
5. I want to be an ambassador and witness for Christ, a fisher of men.
  • Share His love with lost people
  • Daily Intercession for non-Christian friends
  • Cultivate friendships
  • Pray for and seek out divine appointments 
6. I want to grow and develop skills of writing and teaching to encourage others.

7. I want to care for myself and invest in my own growth.

This year I hope to grow in living purposefully by glancing at my vision statement when I do weekly planning, 
so I can make sure I’m planning goals in all of the areas that are important to me.

Have you ever written a vision and goals statement for your life? What kind of life planning do you do?

6 comments:

Robin W said...

Totally just stopped and prayed about this. Might take up some action soon. Thank you for this post. truly.

Betsy de Cruz said...

Thanks for stopping by Robin.

I highly recommend checking out the Michael Hyatt and Purpose Driven Life links in the post for anyone interested in life planning.

You might not have time though until you get back to Jordan!!!

karen said...

wow! i love your vision statement and tangible steps for pursuing it. I feel like I'm just catching up in living purposefully and intentionally - though I like to think that's what I've been trying to do without really knowing it. Thank you for sharing your story, and for stopping by and encouraging me in mine. :)

BR said...

I've really enjoyed your blog the past few months (since the writing prompt link) and really resonate with a lot of your thoughts. I wrote life goals almost 5 years ago but haven't revisited since. I think that would be a good idea so thanks for the impetus to look those over and edit.
-BR

Betsy de Cruz said...

Thanks for your comments. This year I'm hoping to keep my vision statement at my fingertips, as a guide for planning and decision making.

I have to confess that last year I'd only written my goals down on PAPER and I LOST them, not such an effective tool for me last year!

Jamie Jo said...

No, I've never done this, but it's a wonderful idea. It reminds me of a teaching I was heard on developing a family mission statement. We never did that either. If I purpose to be purposeful will that make it happen? Hmmm. Seems like a lot to think through.