IN 1978

WHILE PREPARING THOUGHTS FOR MY FATHER’S FUNERAL

I took opportunity to explore his life story with my mother. Among our reflections, I was surprised to learn my dad has gone through the 6th grade in the very same one room country school house in which I had attended grades 1-8. I asked Mom how it could be that I never knew this. Her answer was, “You never asked.” So I began asking more questions seeking what else I might not have known about my father.

This happens among family members more than we realize. We live at a certain level without going deeper to discover and understand what has shaped us/them into the persons we love. It is a great error not to let our children and their children know why we are who we are, just because “You never asked.”

Members of my family are separated by great distances and differing views on how life should be lived. For this reason I am proactive. I want my children and their children to know why I am who I am. So I invited them to consider what, over many years, has become my personal Purpose Statement and Life Creed, a kind of inner life “framework.” Things about which I am persuaded.

Take the initiative. Don’t “wait to be asked.” Each of your family members deserve to know what has been important in making you the person you have become. When asked by others for assistance in this, the following is one of the helps I offer. If anything I share here resonates with you, feel free to use it as your own.

What is a Purpose Statement?

A Purpose Statement is about what you will do,

how you will do it, and for whom.

~ My Purpose Statement ~

 “Listen well, teach to influence, write creatively,

stir the glowing embers of my peers,

and leave the Light on for the next generations.”

What is a Life Creed?

A Life Creed is not what you hope others believe you are— it is what you already are and believe.

~ My Life Creed ~

       I CHOOSE

  1. To affirm God to be the Creator of all life and Redeemer of my life. He is the One True God, revealed in Three Persons, Co-Equal, Co-Existent, Co-Eternal, the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I am a child of God. He loves me, watches over me, and is present and at work daily in my life.

       I CHOOSE

  • To know and do what is the will of God for me,
    [1] and to deepen my relationship as his adopted son[2] until he calls me home. I am now 80+ years old, called by Jesus from my youth to devote my life to those who are followers of Jesus, and to be salt and light among all others whom he passionately loves.

       I CHOOSE

  • To be devoted to my family. I am a widower, having lived 59+ years with my wife, Dixie, a most amazing woman and the love of my life.[3] I am father to two wonderful children and their spouses whom I love deeply, grandfather to three grandchildren and four step granddaughters who remain in my heart always, and great grandfather to two beautiful boys. I see myself as a patriarch to these and to my extended family, though I’m not always certain what this may mean.[4][5]

       I CHOOSE

  • To affirm how my friends are so important to me. Spending quality time with them nourishes my soul.[6] Family and friends help define who I am.

       I CHOOSE

  • To bring meaning and purpose into the remaining years of my life journey, however few or many they may be. I must be “hidden with Christ in God”[7] in the confluence, the flowing together of these two divergent streams, solitude and public life.

       I CHOOSE

  • To encourage those who are in Christ and influence others toward Christ everyday, in ways that are to me natural, transparent, and spontaneous.

        I CHOOSE

  • To nourish others by exercising the spiritual gifts[8] he has given me, namely, leadership, prophesy (preaching), and encouragement, and to hone important skills in my life, namely, listening well, and influencing others through mentoring, writing, and teaching.

       I CHOOSE

  • To reveal in my life the fruits of the Spirit[9], namely,  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

       I CHOOSE

  • To translate 60+ years of following Jesus in life and in ministry into meaningful writing that brings true hope and peace to others. Writing will be my final “pulpit.”

       I CHOOSE

  1. To enjoy the beauty of the earth, the awesomeness of the universe, and the amazing wonder of the races, languages, and cultures of its people.

       I CHOOSE

  1. To acknowledge that congruency between my written Life Creed and my life lived out, should be clearly evident to those who know me well, and all others who are acquaintances along life’s way.

“What we do flows from who we are.”

~ Paul Vitale

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”[10]

Your Purpose Statement and Life Creed may look or sound much different than mine, but don’t pass up the opportunity to be transparent about what makes you the person you have become with those you love and who love you the most.

[11]Visit these blogs also:

Perspective~02-04-19 WHAT IS YOUR LIFE CREED?

Perspective~03-11-19 HOW TO WRITE YOUR LIFE CREED

[1] ! John 5:14

[2] Romans 8:14-17

[3] Sacred Journey by Ward Tanneberg, 2016, Hartline Literary Agency

[4] Ephesians 4:2

[5] Hebrews 11:7

[6] 2 Thessalonians 1:3

[7] Colossians 3:3

[8] Romans12:3-8

[9] Galatians 5:23-23

[10]  Romans 12:3