Flying Straight
By Belinda
In the front of my cherished Harold Taylor Day Planner there is a really important page. And until today it has remained blank--as pristine as the day I first looked at it in anticipation of the coming year, back in December.
It is because it is so important that it remains blank. And if that makes no sense now that I am writing it down, that is a good fact to acknowledge. Not taking time for the most important things and getting trapped in trivia are things this planner tries hard to help me avoid after all! :)
The page is headed, 2011 Policies and Annual Goals, and has the instruction, "In the space below, write in your personal policies such as, 'I will not work on Sundays.' Stick to these in order to maintain balance and personal integrity.
I have my 2010 Mission Statement and Principles to Live By in a binder, and it still inspires and challenges me when I read them. They are still foundational aspirations in my life. But I hope that I never stop growing and learning and so the list has to be dynamic and living.
I wrote back then:
In the front of my cherished Harold Taylor Day Planner there is a really important page. And until today it has remained blank--as pristine as the day I first looked at it in anticipation of the coming year, back in December.
It is because it is so important that it remains blank. And if that makes no sense now that I am writing it down, that is a good fact to acknowledge. Not taking time for the most important things and getting trapped in trivia are things this planner tries hard to help me avoid after all! :)
The page is headed, 2011 Policies and Annual Goals, and has the instruction, "In the space below, write in your personal policies such as, 'I will not work on Sundays.' Stick to these in order to maintain balance and personal integrity.
I have my 2010 Mission Statement and Principles to Live By in a binder, and it still inspires and challenges me when I read them. They are still foundational aspirations in my life. But I hope that I never stop growing and learning and so the list has to be dynamic and living.
I wrote back then:
Mission
To live, work and lead as a disciple of Christ, demonstrated by:
- Passion
- Purpose
- Intentionality
- Discipline
- Integrity
Passion: Proclaiming and demonstrating a particular truth with faithfulness and integrity; inspiring others to follow
Purpose: Actively seeking God's agenda and planning to accomplish my part in it
Intentionality: Deliberately choosing actions focused on key priorities
Discipline: Choosing to avoid distractions in order to focus on the truly important: Spiritual, physical and relational health
Integrity: Living true
"Living true" compels me to confess that I have not lived up to my aspirations, but they are still the rocks that are foundational to all that I hold important, with an additional principle that has clamoured for my attention and pushed to the forefront of my mind and heart lately:
Humanity: The quality of being humane (kindness; compassion; mercy.) Demonstrated by listening deeply; not rushing to judgement; leading while close; not from afar.
"Leading while close" deserves more explanation, but that is a blog post for another time.
Some verses I love to reflect on often as God's building blocks, seem to land in the same place. I leave them with you to think on too:
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8, New International Version, ©2011)
Comments
I am in a transition period and though it's not New Year's Day or the begining of Lent or some other traditional time to review and recommit, it IS a time to consider guiding markers of the past and, if I find them still reliable and true, look for where they send me now.
And thank you for the encouragement to put my thoughts on leading differently down.
They have been simmering in my heart and brain for a little while now. I'm not sure how to verbalize them but maybe sitting down to write is all part of it.