Faith Goals For Your Family

by Adrienne Reece

This past weekend, my husband and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. It’s both surreal and rejuvenating to think about the past six years. I’ve grown, he’s grown and we’ve grown. Times like these always lead us back to reflecting on the past as well as envisioning and goal setting for the future. My husband and I are both very self motivated individuals, and one of our favorite things to do is map out our life and our future.

There are a few things I’ve learned along this six year journey of doing life with another person. I want to share a few of those things with you in hopes that something I say will speak to you and invoke a change of perspective or cause a re-evaluation in your own life.

In honor of concluding our fifth year, I want to share five goals with you. Some of these goals I have learned to implement, and some of them I plan to begin implementing moving forward. Let’s dive in.

Goal #1–Establish a Consistent Time and Date to Meet with God

Just like any other meeting we schedule, it’s important to give God time as well. Time to speak, but also time to listen. Don’t feel obligated to pray for a whole hour at each meeting, especially in the beginning of a new routine. Bring a special notebook that you can use as a prayer journal, or to write down revelations as they come, and I promise it wont take long for them to begin pouring in! Sometimes God just wants us to show up so that we can listen to what He wants to tell us. The most important part of this meeting is that if we say we are going to show up, we keep our word and don’t prove ourselves to be liars. One of my convictions lately is knowing that if a friend were to ask me to meet them, I would do it without hesitation and I reverence God way more than any other friendship.

Goal #2—Increase Discernment for Others in Need

Whether family, friend or stranger, this prayer has been a top priority of mine over the last few months. It started off as a desire to be a financial blessing to those that are truly in need, but it has become much more. I believe with all of the heightened cultural and political awareness over the last couple of years, it’s easy to decide to stick inside my own safe haven. The Bible tells us in Mark 16:15 to “Go out into world and preach the Gospel”  and we can’t do that by staying within the four walls of our own life. Whether it’s a financial blessing like paying for the family’s groceries in line behind us, speaking a word of encouragement to a dead or dying marriage, or an act of service to the single mom that our kids share class with, it is my goal and prayer to not allow the heightened sensitivities and divisive attempts to shun me away or shut me up to the point that I stop being the answered prayer that God wants to use.

Goal #3–Be Where Your Feet Are

 Whether for business or pleasure, social media has become a normal part of our culture. Although there are many up sides to social media, there are many downsides as well. One of them being the idea of comparison and always desiring to be or have more than we currently do. As a person that is ALWAYS forward thinking and planning for the future, it’s easy to get lost in what WILL come to pass and lose focus on what IS CURRENTLY passing right in front of me. It’s fine to look forward to the vacation but don’t overlook the movie night. A gift card for a nice spa day is great, but so is having someone take your kids out for ice cream so you can have the house to yourself for an hour or so. My personal conviction recently has been looking so forward to nap time and bedtime that I don’t appreciate the few hours I have each day to watch my son grow up right in front of me. A wise woman told me that “The days are long, but the years are short”. She was so right. I’d also add that life is extremely precious and short. I’m speaking to myself here as well, but let’s aim to do better at being in the moment and not always looking forward to the next moment. Let’s be where our feet are.

Goal #4–Speaking Regular Affirmations over Yourself

I have been an avid believer in affirmations for a few years now. The problem for me was I would get tested on the very things I was telling myself, and so it caused me to stop saying them to or about myself. I could really write an entire article on affirmations but to keep things brief here’s what I recommend for you–find a reference or resource that you can pull positivity from. It doesn’t have to be the Bible, (although a great place to start), and write down 4-5 things on an index card about who you are or who you want to become and post them on your bathroom mirror. Then, everyday during your morning routine, no matter what kind of night you’ve had or day you have planned, look yourself in the mirror and recite those things out loud to you, about you. It will feel awkward at first but watch how your confidence will grow. I’ve done this exercise, and it really does help.

Goal #5–Speaking Regular Affirmations into and Over Your Child(ren)

When my son was born, things changed. I’m sure that many parents can relate but our children really do drive us to become our best selves (in most cases) and to raise them to be their best selves as well. Now, my son is almost four and one thing I pride myself on is that his night routine is very consistent–bath, a book that he chooses, reciting The Lord’s Prayer, reciting affirmations and then praying an authentic unscripted prayer. We do this almost every single night, in this exact order. The goal is that when life throws him curve balls, from being corrected in public by a teacher or authority figure, or when his peers say ugly things to or about him, when he doesn’t show up his best at a music recital or sporting game or when he gets a bad grade on a test he can deflect that negativity. Although it might sting, those experiences won’t scar his soul because he will recall all of the things I’ve spoken over him as well as things he has spoken over himself. For the affirmations, I quote some biblical truths and I use some examples that he can relate to for where he currently is in life, and I have him repeat after me. We do this bedside or while I rock him to sleep. We know that this world can be an extremely cruel place especially for today’s children. From bullying to suicidal ideations, I believe this is one way we can empower them to know and become rooted in who God says that they are and easily deflect the antics and efforts of the world to gain their attention.

I’ve included some rather intimate examples below, in hopes that you find peace in knowing that you are not alone in your pursuit to become a better version of yourself for and with the people you love the most. If you’d like to receive a free printable of affirmations I’ve used in the past for yourself and/or your children, be sure that you are subscribed to the blog and comment below letting me know you’d like a list of affirmations.

Affirmations I say with my son:

I am loved. I am strong. I am brave. I am wanted. I am smart. I can do hard things. I am a royal priesthood. I am a big boy. I can use the potty on my own. I am a leader, not a follower. I am able. I am loved. I am enough.

Affirmations I’ve said to Myself:

I am confident. I am not afraid of their faces. I can do hard things. I am a consistent person. It’s okay to ask for help. I conduct the atmosphere of my home. I am a modern Proverbs 31 woman. I am a lender, not a borrower. I am a great steward of what I have. I can pay for things in full. I am an opportunity magnet. What God has for me is for me. I can do new things. I am allowed to grow and I am allowed to change.  I was created by a Creator to be creative.

So, we are a few short weeks away from wrapping up the first quarter of 2022. Now is a great time to evaluate where you are. No matter where you find yourself, I challenge all of us to adopt one of these goals and begin implementing it. Don’t wait. Give yourself a head start into next month. Goal setting really helps us target things that may not be as easily measured. Affirmations are a really powerful tool that I can’t recommend enough! They help to build self confidence and self belief in more ways than one. I hope you enjoy and remember, growth is a journey not a destination.