Oh my, am I behind on this series! February was full of illness and health issues for our family and life is finally returning to semi-normal for us and I have the time to get back to it!
For my new readers or those who have forgotten, I am working my way through Tsh Oxenreider’s eBook “One Bite at a Time.” We’re picking up with Project Six today and I plan to try to get us caught up to weekly posts by about mid-April. I will be taking some time off from the blog to attend Blissdom Blogger Conference in a couple of weeks, but I’m sure I’ll have an awesome re-cap of how it went since I’m taking one of the twins with me. 
Project Six: Create a family purpose statement
Coming up with a family purpose statement was far from easy. It took a lot of though about the true purpose of raising a family. What is our biggest responsibility as parents? What reward are we seeking?
We came up with a lot of answers to those questions but they all seemed to point in the same directions: we are aiming to raise our children up to be happy people who lead fulfilling lives.
Not every family feels the same way, I’m sure, but my husband and I really feel that our purpose as parents is to raise the next generation to be giving and productive as a member of society. And more importantly, to teach them how to raise their kids to do the same.
So much of this has to be taught by example. Our children will learn how to treat their future spouses and children by watching how their father and I treat each other and their siblings. We teach them to love by SHOWING them love on a daily basis. Consequently, this is also how we teach them conflict resolution. If they never see us resolve our issues, they will never learn how to do it on their own. Hiding our disagreements would give them a false representation of a normal, healthy relationship.
Looking back, I can see that I didn’t have the best examples when it came to relationships, parenting, or even finances. My very early adult years were spent repeating the mistakes I had seen made over and over. Lucky me, I fell in love with a very patient man who grew up in a family that set a better example.
But we also know we can’t only live our example and expect our kids to just catch on. There has to be some intentional parenting and planned lessons along the way.
Our children are very young, but we already have a list of life lessons we will make sure they learn before the leave the nest!
Does your family have a Purpose Statement to help guide you as you parent and raise your children? Please share!
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