Navigating Life's Journey

About 5 years ago Chad and I found ourselves in a place of tension around our work and our future. We weren't just asking, "what's next?," but rather "who are we?" There was a deep longing to better understand our unique bents in order to better discern our participation in opportunities  presented to us. We attended a conference where we happened to hear from Pete Richardson. Pete is a partner and lead trainer at the Paterson Center (which is the parent organization of the LifePlan process). Pete spoke to the journey of calling and as we listened, we found ourselves in the story he was telling. We were seeking. We were hungry. And, we needed help in discerning all of this. Hearing Pete started a ball rolling for us that proved to be incredibly clarifying. In the months that followed we would each go on to participate in a LifePlan, and then to be trained to become facilitators ourselves. The Paterson Center recently produced a great interview with Pete where he shares much of what we heard 5 years ago. I encourage you to take a listen. Pete is full of wisdom. It's worth the listen.

Check here to hear from Pete Richardson about navigating life's journey and about the LifePlan process.

Faithfulness.

2017 is officially here. Trump is no longer the President-Elect. The nitty-gritty of normal life rhythms has resumed. For many, resolutions have perhaps begun to wane or may even feel like a faint memory. But now is the most important time to dig in, reflect and remember what you want for the year ahead.

The word that Bekah and I keep coming back to for 2017 is “faithful.”  We are sensing an invitation to dig into what a faithful life really looks like for us.  How do we live a faithful life today, now, in the little everyday mundane moments? There is a lot of encouragement these days to “live our best lives,” and we are certainly not opposed to the idea that we have been given great potential as humans. God has unique purpose for our lives, and there is a deep satisfaction that comes with knowing who we are and actually living out of this knowledge. But, it seems we are being misled if the pursuit of “our best lives” doesn’t include radical faithfulness.  A truly good life is a meaningful life, and often times the most meaningful experiences are the hard experiences-- the times when the going got tough, and we chose to be faithful.

Faithfulness is hard and it insinuates struggle. It is about being faithful to the gifts God has given you, faithful to your loved ones and your community, faithful to what you have, faithful to a place. Below are a few questions that I am asking myself:

“-What gifts do I possess that I am not leveraging for the benefit of others? What am I afraid of?

-What does faithfulness look like in my marriage, to my kids, to my close friends? What do they expect of me and am I open to their feedback?

-How is my relationship with technological devices impacting my above relationships?

-Am I living within my means? What does faithfulness look like with my finances and the resources that I have?

-What are the physical places in my life where I find myself? What does it look like to be faithful to my neighbors, to my workplace, my faith community and to the places I frequent?”

Faithfulness is not sexy. And, it’s not quick.  Faithfulness is made up of a million tiny moments that lead to a rich and meaningful life. 

2017: Get Some Perspective.

As a new year approaches, take time to pause and consider your life. Where are you? How are you? How did the events (experiences, decisions) of the last year lead you to this place? And, what do you want for the year ahead?

It is not uncommon to come to this time of year and to make big plans for the year ahead. But these dreams and plans will likely be ill-informed without first gaining perspective on where you currently are. One of the signature pieces of the LifePlan process is gaining perspective- and one of the tools we use for this is called the 4 Helpful Lists. It is really simple, but can be very helpful.

Ask yourself these 4 questions as you consider 2016 and where you find yourself as the year comes to an end:

“What is Right?
What is Wrong?
What is Confused?
What is Missing?”

As you ask these questions, take time to consider all areas of life: your personal health and well-being, family, work, spiritual life, community, etc.

Next, think through how you might optimize what's right, change what's wrong, clarify what's confused and add what's missing.

Finally, having gained some fresh and accurate perspective, begin to dream about what you want in 2017.

Write. It. Down. (or type it, whatever...) Just do it. The other day I was browsing through a folder I keep on my desktop where I place random writings- thoughts and things I just want to make record of. I found several "I want..." statements from different seasons in my life. It was powerful to work back through them. These statements can become like a life-guide. This is the stuff we orient our world around- the stuff worth fighting for. They inform our yes's and our no's.

“I want to model a vibrant walk with Jesus.

I want to love my kids well.

I want to create sacred space where we experience rich, full life together.

I want to have honest conversations about life.

I want to have the kind of marriage that our kids talk about- strive for.

I want us to love our neighbors. ”

— Some "I want" statements from 2012 under the family domain.

Now, knowing where you are and where you want to be- what is one simple step that will set you on the right trajectory? What next step will help you begin to fill the gap between where you currently are and where you want to be at the end of 2017? Don't get ahead of yourself-- all you need right now is to put one foot in front of the other. If you are moving in a direction that honors who you are, where you are, and where you want to go, you will get to where you need to be.

One step at a time. Do this, and do it faithfully.