Family Shift | The 5 Step Plan To Stop Drifting And Start Living With Greater IntentionSample

Day 4

Identify Your GPS

A Shift In Motivation

Thought For The Day

Your capacity for pain will determine your potential for growth. 

-Brian Houston

Verse For The Day

Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” 

In the last three days, we’ve discussed the importance of getting everyone on the same page or in alignment with each other when it comes to our mission, vision and sharing our core beliefs and values.  As a couple or family, we can all share the same values or qualities that are important to us, but how we express those values is often demonstrated through our goals, passions and struggles. Those 3 things can serve as a guidance system for our families and serve as fuel to motivate us as we strive to fulfill the destiny God has for our lives. 

As a family, it’s important to have clear goals that enable us to bring our mission, vision and values forward with tangible, specific, and measurable steps. In our book Family Shift, we discuss something we call The Family Goal Tree.  It consists of five branches representing five important areas of growth for families: spiritual, relational, financial, intellectual and physical. The mission, vision, and values you set in place for your family bring all five “limbs” to life.  Our values are the roots that sink deep into fertile soil to nourish our dreams. Your family mission and vision statements serve as the ground, the foundation, or soil your Family Goal Tree will use to grow. Each limb of the tree grows in such a way that choices become focused and clear. And as each limb grows, the whole tree becomes stronger to withstand the storms of life.  

When we set clear goals for our lives, marriage and families, it not only brings growth into our lives, but it fuels our passion as well.  It’s your purpose that guides you, but it’s your passion that drives you.  

God has also given each of us a “Divine Design.”  We are not only created by God, but for God so that we can fulfill His purposes in and through our lives.  God has also made us to desire, to want and to strive for something greater than ourselves.  Our passions are often expressed through our personalities as well. There are over 7 billion people on the planet and all of us are as unique as a snowflake, each with different talents, desires and experiences wrapped up in our own unique personality.  

We have learned through the years working with so many couples and families that God never wastes a hurt.  God has a way of turning our pain into our platform.  In fact, it is through our pain that we often find our passion.  Sometimes, our greatest misery can become our greatest ministry. No matter what you have been through or what season you’re in as a person, couple or family, it’s never too late to make some shifts to help give new direction, focus and motivation to your life, marriage and family.  Even our greatest setbacks can be turned into our greatest comebacks. 

Prayer For The Day

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you have a destiny for me, my marriage and my family.  Today, I ask that you would empower me and my family to set new goals that will help us fulfill our mission, vision and values as a family.  Help us to discover our unique calling and purpose as a family and never allow the struggles we face to defeat us, but use them to refine us in order to fulfill whatever plans and purposes you have for our lives.  In Jesus’s name, amen. 

Make The Shift

Go to familyshift.com to take our free personality avatar test. You will discover that you are one or a combination of 5 different personalities.  Have your spouse and kids (12 & older) take the test.  Spend some time discussing the unique characteristics and strengths of each personality so that you can better understand each other and encourage each other.