When I look around, there are a few people that completely encourage and inspire me as a mom. Women who’ve embraced their role, juggle so much and walk the talk, or quite honestly, RUN IT WELL! Tricia Goyer is one of those women.

While many moms dream about the day when they have raised their children to adulthood, and can enjoy their empty nest, Tricia and her husband jump started their family anew by adopting two young children from the foster system. I’m privileged to have her share today.

Your Life Should Match Your Beliefs, Your Calendar Should Match Your Values

What are your priorities in life? What are the top three things in your life that you find yourself thinking about and planning for?

Sometimes I obsess about the silliest things, like my kids clothes drawers. I can’t tell you how many times a week that I straighten and refold those little clothes … like it really matters in the long run! You’d think I would have figured this out.

As a mom of three young adults and three preschoolers I should know what things to let slide. I have figured out that spilled juice or Cheerios smashed in the carpet isn’t worth getting worked up over. I’ve also learned to really limit what I say yes to, especially on weekday nights.

A big priority in our family is for the kids to be in bed by 7:30. First, so they can get their rest, and second, so John and I (and the bigger kids) can have some peace and together-time. So we have a great bedtime ritual of prayers and story and Bible reading. (And believe it or not I don’t allow myself to straighten the sock drawers as John reads. After all, deep down I know that’s not a priority.)

A wise man noted that it was only in the past century that the word priority went plural. Jesus had one priority: glorify God. When we apply His priority to our lives and families, it gives an added level of purpose to our decisions. My co-authors and I talk about priorities in our book Lead Your Family Like Jesus: Powerful Parenting Principles from the Creator of Families.

Top Priorities

Life, family, and leadership are all about choices.

What do you stand for? How have you chosen family activities to match?

Problems often arise when we try to make our vision line up with our calendar. But it’s important to prioritize family values because life is about value conflicts. When these conflicts arise, family members need to know what values they should focus on.

Without guidelines, they’ll create their own order of priority—which may lead away from fulfilling the purpose and picture of your family’s future. That requires you to manage the family calendar so that what you do matches what you believe. True success depends on how clearly you define, order, and live your family values.

Great family leaders make hard decisions to make sure what they live matches what they believe.

For many years John and I signed up for things without really giving any mind to how it would affect our marriage, children, or core values. This caused conflict in our family. We weren’t leading our children effectively as parents because we didn’t understand—or value—who we were together. And we didn’t place our focus on what was most important to God.

What about you? Do you value your family and who you are together? Are you focusing on what’s most important to God?

Yes, sometimes we can find ourselves obsessed about little things that don’t really matter, but overall our lives should match what we believe. Our calendar should match our values.

Today think about writing down your priorities and discussing them with your kids. This will give everyone in your family good guidelines to live by!

So I (Jen) would love to know, what are some of your family priorities?

More about Lead Your Family Like Jesus :
Does your family need a five-star general at the helm? A psychologist? A referee? Ken Blanchard, best-selling co-author of The One Minute Manager and Lead Like Jesus, points to a better role model: the Son of God. Joined by veteran parents and authors Phil Hodges and Tricia Goyer, renowned business mentor Blanchard shows how every family member benefits when parents take the reins as servant-leaders. Moms and dads will see themselves in a whole new light-as life-changers who get their example, strength, and joy from following Jesus at home. This user-friendly book’s practical principles and personal stories mark the path to a truly Christ-centered family, where integrity, love, grace, self-sacrifice, and forgiveness make all the difference.

 

 Just a $1.99 on Kindle through 5/5