A family mission statement has been on my radar for years. I saw them online and heard of multiple families using them to focus themselves and really hone in on what kind of family they want to grow. It seemed like a great idea, but I had no idea where to begin!
Most places told me to have a family meeting and discuss the characteristics and qualities we would all like to have as a family. My boys are currently 4 and 2 and I knew that would go over well. I also thought my husband would simply say, “Whatever you want,” and not be all that interested. That may have been a mistake, but I did send him the final project and he approved, so hopefully he likes it! (Do you honey?)
ANYWAY. I felt overwhelmed with information and possibilities. I knew I wanted our faith included in some way, but I didn’t know if I wanted specific verses, and if so, which ones, and what I wanted to focus on. It felt like an impossible task. So I basically just shelved it over and over each time that I researched and got overwhelmed.
A Breakthrough!
I had saved numerous amounts of family mission statement images over the years. I had always loved bits and pieces, but never felt they were complete for us. Eventually I had all but fallen in love with two specific ones. The one by Allie Casazza from The Purpose Show, and one I found via Google image search from Anchored Woman.
In Allie’s, she gave great tips on creating your own, and even said to just use hers if you wanted. I LOVED hers, but I felt like it wasn’t quite right. With Kayse from Anchored Woman, I LOVED that it was scripture based. I also loved the visual print out she had for you. So pretty. But again, something wasn’t quite “us.”
So I merged them.
I took them both line by line and pulled out what I wanted. Then I merged lines that I felt were along the same topic or idea. And finally I switched a few words to ones I preferred. It’s kind of like the two mission statements are holding hands with their fingers intertwined.
Finally, a mission statement I loved.
I emailed it off to my husband for approval. He came back with general approval. Well, after a bit because it IS kind of lengthy. But it said exactly what I wanted it to say. I had a mission statement and I felt amazing.
It sat on my computer for months. Gathering virtual dust.
Then One Day God Nudged Me
I got an email from Shutterfly. Like I do most days. So many emails. It was one of their “Get X amount of items free!!” emails. They have a lot of them. This one included a 16×20. Hmmm. I love 16x20s, and they aren’t cheap. I was feeling crafty and thought to myself, “Hey, I should do that mission statement!”
Now I just needed to figure out how to make it pretty enough to print and hang on my wall, before the deal ended. Did I mention those deals are usually 24 hours. TODAY ONLY!!!! No pressure. So I got right to work thinking about what to do. I had recently been working on some Lisa Glanz wall prints for my mother and mother-in-law as Mother’s Day gifts. What do you get for the woman who has it all? Photos of their family. I made my mom cry. That’s a winning Mother’s Day gift in my book. (Love you Mom!).
ANYWAY! I had already created digital characters of my entire family in Portrait Creator for the gifts, so I simply threw them into PhotoShop, arranged some flowers around them (also from Portrait Creator), and pulled in the mission statement as well. I played with colors and layouts, and had a difficult time making the final decision. At last I committed to one (it was getting late! Tick tock!), and ordered it. Boom! Done.
I got it in the mail and I loved it. Everyone who saw it loved it. But again, I let it sit while I waited to buy a frame. I mean 16×20 frames are not cheap. I waited for the perfect sale, thank you Hobby Lobby, and snagged the perfect frame. Not it hangs along our stairway to see as we come in the house or walk up or down the stairs. It’s perfect and I love it. I have also bought my newly updated set of photos for the wall and hung them around it along the stairs. I will add more with time, but I like it so far.
Our Current Family Mission Statement:
Because God has chosen us and made us holy through His love…
We love God and serve people.
We are loving, respectful, and accepting, never hateful.
We are humble and consider others before ourselves.
We value curiosity, imaginations that run wild, knowledge, adventure, and each other.
We love each other well because Jesus loved us first.
We ask for forgiveness and we forgive each other, as Christ has forgiven us.
We take responsibility for our actions. We pull our weight at home and always offer to help one another. We communicate freely, with kindness, and without fear or restraint, because our family is a safe space for sharing.
We have fun together, stay grateful, laugh, hug, and protect each other.
We choose collaboration over competition, and cheer each other on any chance we get.
We work hard and give generously.
We love God’s Word and believe what it says.
We use God’s word to teach, encourage, and guide each other. And we will fill our home with scripture and songs.
We remember that everything that we have comes from the Lord, and whatever we do, we do in His name.
And we are thankful, because we have a hope that is firm and secure: SALVATION! (an undeserved gift from the Lord, that we could never have earned on our own.)
Above all else, we love deeply. Both within our family and out in the world. Because all people are God’s people.
This is our family. And we are His.
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