Vision for the week

Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision, the people perish:

but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

I’d like to share a very practical thing my husband and I try to do weekly. It makes the house run smoothly and helps us to avoid misunderstandings and be prepared for someone possibly having a bad day and needing some extra mercy. We exchange what I call “Vision for the week” notes. Simply put, I sit down Sunday evening for about 10 minutes and prayerfully jot down what I would like to get accomplished this coming week. This is an example:

Start school

Make time for dinner with mom

Date with PJ (Mexican)

Watch my nephews

Write letter to Joyce

Clean the house

This list is a mix of the absolutes, like starting school, and things that I’m really passionate about wanting to do like writing that letter to Joyce. This does a couple of things. It allows me to deviate from a mundane daily routine and fit in something that is really on my heart to do instead of just stumbling through a week with a bunch of “have-too’s” as my taskmasters. It makes me look forward to something I can give God thanks for when accomplished. That’s why I say that I prayerfully write down a list. I want to be intentional with my week and not waste too much time in one area.

The best part is that I show my list to my husband and tell him what my plans are. He then tells me his upcoming week and in comparing we can have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Then we adjust it. My husband may say, this is a pretty busy week for you with school starting, why don’t we pick up dinner 2 nights this week instead of you cooking. Or he may say, why don’t you reschedule your dinner for next week and have one extra night available so you won’t be stressed. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to have your husband understand your load and be able to relieve it. It helps me too if he tells me about an important meeting he has coming up or a stressful conversation he will have to address one day at work. I can prepare then so much better in prayer for him.

Another version of this vers says:

“Where there is no message from God, the people don’t control themselves.  

But blessed are those who obey the law.” (NIRV)

It is so easy to get buried in a week without a message or vision from God. Again, I want to emphasize that God does care about those daily things we have to do, so seek Him for it. Without a prayerful vision I can start out so good with my intention to clean the house, but I get to the closet and feel the need to clean it out. Before long I’m taking stuff to storage and goodwill. So now my one day of cleaning turns into 3 days and I’m exhausted without energy for anything else. Worse, I may still want to be a woman of my word and keep the other commitments so now I’m doing it while running on empty and being grumpy about it. The vision list helps me to stay on track with my week and control myself from going too far in one direction.

It also makes a huge difference when you share the vision for the week with the kids. We all like to know what’s coming so we can prepare and our children are no exception. I found that if I’m getting a lot of resistance from them on something, it’s usually due to me not communicating the vision properly. “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. (NKJV) We use the word honor a lot in our family lately. A main goal for us has been established; We want to glorify God with our lives. Once that is communicated clearly, we can easily teach the kids why we should bear certain burdens, why serve, why care for our bodies, why keep a clean room. If there is revelation/vision/message, the people (kids included) will not cast off restraint, but will  submit and work for the vision to glorify God more readily. Let it be so in your and my family, in Jesus name. Amen