The Importance of a Family Vision

There’s so much talk these days about living intentionally. Everyone wants to be purposeful and not waste time on activities that really don’t matter.  So let me ask you, “What vision do you see your family fulfilling?”

With a vision it gives you direction – an end goal to reach for.

The Bible says,

Where there is no vision, the people perish… Proverbs 29:18

Do you have a vision for your family?

A vision for the future will guide you in the decisions you make today.

Here are two examples of men who had strong visions and every decision they made was in light of that.

George Washington had a big vision.  If he hadn’t, he would not have have fought with such determination and fervor in the Revolutionary War.
Abraham Lincoln had a desire to keep this country unified during the Civil War and never wavered though many turned against him and things became ugly. The vision that God had given these men sustained them and kept them going even when things were going bad and they were tired, weary and discouraged.

How does this apply to us today?

You can have no vision and let life just happen to you and your family.  Without a vision you will not see the importance of what you are doing. Without a vision you’ll just drift along letting life’s happenings define your family.

But with an articulate and clear family vision you will be better equipped to make decisions and actions that are in keeping with what you really want and believe for your and yours.

Know why you are doing the things you do.

I really like these questions that Passionate Homemaking posted.

• Where are we going as a family?
• What are our priorities?
• What are our strengths, gifting, talents?
• What is the main purpose of our home?
• What are practical ways we can serve each other?
• What are practical ways we can serve others outside our family?
• Name three things you think you could do better as a family.
• What would people say today about our family as a whole?
• What would we like people to say about our family as a whole in 30 years?
• If our home could be filled with one emotion, what would it be?
• Name three adjectives we would like people to use to describe our home environment.
• If we could name one principle from which we want our family to operate, what would it be?
• What characteristics do we want our children to have as they grow up? What do we want them to be skilled in?

Some more pointed questions I would ask are:

• Is running to every sporting event important to the family vision?
• Is watching TV for several hours in the evenings how we want to mentor our family?
• Is having meal times together where we sit and discuss the day’s happenings something we want for the family?
• What about screaming, yelling, harshness? Is this something we want to see carried on?
• Do we want an atmosphere of unselfishness and loving?

Maybe you haven’t articulated what vision you have for your family, so stop for a moment and consider the things that make up your family. Do you like the direction you’re headed?

Write down the things you are doing that you want to continue.

Write down things that you see that could be improved on.

And finally, write down what you’ve not done but would like to start.

Visualize what you want for your family and then write down what you think it will take to make that happen.  Having something written helps to plant the idea a little more firmly in our minds.

Whatever you vision is, it must be something you are working at daily, showing you value it and place high importance on it.

Sure we may get sidetracked many times but let’s always get back on board and really make each day a stepping stone to getting us closer to our end goals. Time passes too swiftly.  Our children are here today, gone tomorrow. Let’s pass on what really matters to the next generation and have families that reflect the values that we hold dear.

Live intentionally and have a vision.

Joining up with:

Growing Home