Intentional Parenting: Mission and Long-Term Goals

I think most of us know what it means to be intentional. But we struggle with making that a reality for our lives.  The day to day living is consuming.  It’s easy to derail if our attention is myopically focused only on the here and now because we lose sight of the big picture.

So what can we do?  How  can we consistently live the intentional life we all long to live?  How can we be characterized by our pursuit of intentional parenting?

Intentional Parenting Means

… Setting Goals with the End in Mind!

When I was learning how to drive, I discovered that I needed look straight ahead instead of focusing on the road right in front of me.  When I forgot this principle and my focus was drawn to the immediate space in front of the car, my driving became erratic.  I’d veer to the left, over-correct, and swerve over to the right.  It was a harrowing time while I learned this important lesson.

The same goes for parenting.

When we become hyper-focused on the daily to the exclusion of everything else, we lose sight of long term perspective.

We become susceptible to every idea that’s out there and our family life becomes a series of swerves.  Advance progress slows to a crawl.  If we don’t snap out of this tunnel vision we can easily get to the end of our children’s childhood and look up to realize that we didn’t progress very far or worse, we are going in the wrong direction.

As parents we are the keepers of the BIG PICTURE!  It’s our job to look to the Lord and pray over what He wants for our family.

We need to bring long-term perspective into our short-term living.

But how?

I’ve found it so helpful to verbalize and then write down my mission and purpose as a parent as well as some long-term goals!

What were the guiding principles that I wanted to characterize my approach to parenting and life?

I sat down and wrote them out several years ago.  Thinking deeply about how I wanted to live, praying for guidance and then putting that vision into words brought my parenting and my purpose into focus.

As I wrote out my mission statement, I also set out to write some long-term goals.

Here is what I came up with:

Writing my mission:

I desire to live holistically, authentically – meaning that I want my core values to play a critical role in every decision that I make. I want to live what I believe instead of merely having a piecemeal/compartmentalized approach to life. This undergirds my goals as a parent and really as a human being.

My long-term parenting goals:

1. That my children would have a deep and abiding relationship with Jesus Christ,
2. That they would have a genuine love for other people,
3. That they would be joyful, life-long learners.
4. That they would be well-prepared for whatever work God has called them to do.

I keep this posted in my lesson-plan binder and I keep a copy in my Bible.  Why?  Because I’m prone to losing perspective.  When I begin to flounder, God is always good to bring me back to Him and the mission He’s laid on my heart.

Have you ever sat down and thought about your goals as a parent?  I highly recommend taking time to think about this.  In our pursuit of cultivated lives, being intentional to look forward to where we want to end up, to where God is leading us means charting out a course to get there.

Care to join me in thinking about a road map? Here’s the chart I use to mark these goals and philosophy for living.  Enjoy!

Related Link:  Intentional Parenting Means Setting {Bite-Sized} Goals

We just wrapped up crazy birthday week over here!  Three birthdays within one week!  Feeling blessed!