Focus. Understand. Vision.

So who am I to think that I am little miss perfect? Am I perfect? Oh my gosh - - NO! Far from it. Then why do I get so bent out of shape when someone or more than one person brings it to my attention? What about their attitude or their mistakes? Why am I the bad guy? Why is it that when one person reminds me of my imperfections - everybody and their brother has to be in on the gang-up fest?

Ok. Yes. I have had a dramatic week or two with plenty of drama. And its all my fault, apparently. But I will say this, I have learned a lot over the last week or two. The first major lesson learned: Focus on changing ME. Not what others need to change. Focus on simply loving with the love that God gives me every single day as well as what I need to improve upon and change to make the lives of others better and benefit from having crossed paths with me.  Second major lesson learned: identify the love/life languages of those I encounter often.... significant other, family, friends, co-workers, employer, etc. By understanding what makes these people feel appreciated and valued, it makes it so much easier to speak their language than our own - especially if they do not interpret what we may feel as value. God wired us each a bit differently. That's not a bad thing, we are all unique and all with our own special giftedness - areas that we are able to bless others.
Third major lesson learned: identify the 'picture' or vision that you want to see in your life and then identify the areas in your life that may need to be 'tweaked' in order to make that vision a reality. Then ask God to help you sort out these areas.

The third lesson is a key element to understanding who you are and how you became who you are. It is a process that involves asking yourself questions about your past - with your family history. History regarding your parents, their relationship- their love relationship, how they resolved conflict, your good memories, bad memories, family traditions, family addictions that have been passed down through the generations... there are numerous things that go into how you've become who you are. The best part is, once we work on the areas that could really use some fine tuning, the benefits far outweigh the hardship of dealing with the issues we discover. It becomes a part of getting to that reality of the vision we want for our lives and maybe even for our family.

As for my vision, its still a work in progress. But the process of getting there has been an eye opener. What will you discover about yourself and your family as you decide upon your vision? You never know until you decide to unwrap all the layers..... but I encourage you to begin. You won't be disappointed in the end result.