I’m terrible at directions.
Getting lost is a way of life for me.
Before I drive to a new place, I print out clear instructions and program my hubby’s GPS to yell in my ear, TURN HERE.
Recomputing.
I have to know where I’m going or I wander and turn around often, take long roads out of the way and end up lost.
If you don’t know where you are going, you might have a difficult time getting there.
I firmly believe it’s the same with our families.
Our family sat down and wrote out a family mission statement towards the end of 2009. (I shared a simple formula here, but if you don’t know where to start, Simple Mom wrote a great post about putting one together with your family.) We didn’t really have profound reasons for doing so, we just wanted to verbalize our goals as family. We decided to try and make our activities, time spent and ultimately, our lives flow from this statement.
“To make a difference in the world, a single light, shining brightly in such a way that we keep Jesus our focus, listen closely to His voice & enjoy life. So that we can say at the end of the day, we’ve touched others & thrived.
Three months after we typed this up and framed it, I traveled to Kenya. I truly believe this simple exercise helped direct our family in saying yes to God. It gave us direction when big decisions were in front of us.
For months, I’ve been wanting to move our family missions statement from paper to hanging on the wall, loud and large. I thought about putting it on a canvas (which I discovered is quite expensive). But instead, this felt right (and was nearly free!):
This project took about two hours and very few supplies. I had a lot of fun being creative with the help and input from my family.
Supplies:
pallet (you can usually find old pallets behind stores. We just asked if we could have one and got it for free).
paint, sponge brush
stencil letters
I thought about hanging ours on a big open wall, but once we set it on the mantle, it turned out to be the perfect home.
“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” -Ernest Hemingway
So, whatever you do, be aware that you’re leading your family to a destination. Having clear instructions helps you find your way!
Oh, I love it! You guys did a great job and have a great Mission Statement!!
ughhh I can’t see any pictures!
I can’t see the pictures either. I also can’t see the Works for Me links.
I hope you’re able to fix it – I’m excited to see your mission statement up on your mantle! GREAT idea!!
It’s just as wonderful as I thought it would be! I love that it’s so easy to read and in a very prominent place in your home. I am inspired to both have our family make a mission statement and then put it on a pallet! Thank you!
If you can’t see the pictures, please empty your web cache. They are there!
I always live your projects! Cute and full of meaning. Great job!
I can’t ever see the pictures on your blog anymore – any other ideas what the problem might be on my end? :/
megan, I disabled a plug in, can you check now if you see the pictures?
Love the pallet art. I used my photo editing program and some digital scrapbooking files for our family mission statement. It’s framed as the center piece on the wall that has all of our family photos. Alot of people who visit us notice it and comment on it.
I love it! I see palettes all the time but have been afraid to bring one home. Do you have to do anything to it to kill germs? That’s what is holding me back…
LOVE this!!!!!
Wonderful! We have a Family Oath which is an acrostic for our last name. I created it in 2008 and we all signed it. My kids still say it every morning – all I need to do is say “Kindness first” and they continue. It’s a good reminder for them (and me) of what we stand for.
Kindness First
Always Love
Make Others Smile
Invite Others to Know Jesus
Never Give Up
What a great idea!
I love this idea!
that is just awesome!!!
Great idea!