Woke up in the middle of the night tonight. My beautiful wife woke also when she realized I was awake; we visited a while, but she eventually fell back asleep while I lay awake thinking about work, the kids, the leftover cake in the fridge, the talk I need to prepare for next week's rescue mission visits...

I read for a while, which usually does the trick in putting me to sleep. A few chapters of the latest biography on Dr. Dobson called Family Man, a chapter of Purpose Driven Life (which I'm re-reading again), and a book from the library called Tender Warrior by Stu Weber (1993 version, not the updated one from 1999). By then a few hours had gone by, so I gave up and decided to get some work done. However, some things I read have inspired me to write.

Not sure I'll like Tender Warrior, but the first two chapters are good. The chapter about being the family's "pro-visionary" reminds me a lot of what Michael Pearl has written in his series of articles called "Jumping Ship." Weber says that we often think of the father's "provision" role in terms of providing food and shelter for the house, but that the father also needs to cast a vision for the family; and Pearl says that unless the family has an exciting vision or purpose, the kids will "jump ship" as they get older.

I have a vision for our family ... a shared vision that Erin and I have gradually developed ... but I suppose I have not put it into words for everyone else. In fact, I suppose if I try to put it into words, I will find that it's not a fully developed vision. Let me try...

(I just spent a few minutes looking for something Erin and I wrote last September while on vacation, which I recall was a five-year vision statement about raising our kids, but I couldn't put my hands on it.)

My four kids (ages 3-11) have heard us say many times that our primary purpose is to glorify God and to be a blessing to other people, especially by showing them God's love.

To that end, our vision is that five years from now:

• All of us will passionately love the Lord and walk in His truth, knowing the Bible well and taking delight in God's works,
• All of us will continue to love learning,
• JJ and Jesse (and perhaps others) will have taken a few domestic and international short-term missions trips as we explore whether God will call us to the missions field someday,
• JJ and Danny will spend most of each day with Jesse, enjoying work, schooling, service, and play as appropriate for their ages (ditto for Cecily and Betsy with Erin),
• Each of us will participate in at least one ministry, one hobby, and one business activity that we find fun and exciting,
• Our sincere joy in God, our lives, our marriage, and our family will be an inviting light to others, and we will share the gospel with those who are drawn to us,
• The boys will be well underway to being financially independent, confident, self-displined, compassionate, fun men with a vision for their future families (if that's God's will for them), including how they will make a living without hindering their role as husband and father,
• The girls will be well underway to being financially independent, confident, self-displined, compassionate, fun women who are well-prepared to help their future husbands (if marriage is God's will for them), including being a capable home manager and exceptional homeschool teacher, and
• Our marriage will provide a happy example for our children as they think about the possibility of becoming a husband or wife in their future.

Having written this, after having written vision or purpose statements in the past, I like the fact that I don't have a book by Stephen Covey, Rick Warren, etc. in front of me. It's so hard to create a vision that really fits me after having just read examples that they provide.