One thing she said really grabbed me. In quoting a talk given in 1976 by Clyde Kilby, "I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood." (if you have time go read all 10 steps laid out from this lecture, they are all encouraging and convicting-I'm thinking about printing them out for our bathroom mirror).
It is so easy for me to wake up in the morning and think "Just get through today and you can come home and see Joshua and go back to sleep!" I've known for awhile that I wanted to intentionally enjoy each day, I was just unsure how to begin. I decided to take advantage of the fact that Joshua is in class all evening and I have the apartment to myself. I went through the steps laid out in Lindsay's blog, and I'm going to give a short synopsis of what I have worked through thus far.
My 5 main roles in life right now are:
1) Christian
2) Wife
3) Cook
4) Nanny
5) Friend (sister/daughter)
If I was to pick a few words to describe what my ideal in each of those roles would be they would be:
1) Christian--prayerful, passionate, and unashamed
2) Wife--listener, selflessly loving, tireless service, and organized
3) Cook--healthy, creative, local and in season produce, wise food choices
4) Nanny--selfless patience, gentle correction, and faithful prayer
5) Friend--interested, invested, and joyful
As a mission statement I came up with:
I desire to grow in prayer into a passionate woman who loves the Lord in an unashamed manner.
I long to selflessly love my husband through focused listening, appreciation, tireless service, and home organization.
I want to make creative, healthy dishes that use local, seasonal, and wise ingredients to care for my family's health.
I desire to show Aiden selfless patience in gentle correction and faithful prayer for his future.
I long to show family and friends I am interested and invested in their lives as a joyful friend.
I wrote down some actionable steps for each of these and I plan to put a written copy up so I can remind myself often of where my focus truly should be. Though I am not a huge fan of technology, I am very thankful for women who post things that are such an encouragement to grow in my ability to fulfill what God has called me to. I pray that your heart is stirred towards those things for which God has uniquely equipped you! If you have a few minutes, take the time to at least think about your "mission statement".
