perfect parents...DO NOT EXSIST

So many times in our search to become the "perfect parents" we allow our family life to be dominated by the never ending chase to give our kids all the experiences we think they need. We tend to believe if we make sure our kid is at the right school, enrolled in the best ballet class, on all the right sports teams, and getting the right academic coaching everything will work out in the end. Why do we do this? We choose this path because this is what our image of the perfect parent looks like. We adopt a broken plan that in the end drives our relationship with our kids and spouses into the ground. Reggie Joiner says it like this...we are experience rich and relationally poor. Our kids have everything but a deep, vibrant relationship with mom and dad! I have been trying process how to help my kids become relationally rich and then I discovered The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family by Patrick Lencioni. This is must read for every family that wants to navigate the process of effective (not perfect) parenting. Every family needs a plan. There it is...every effective business and church in our nation has a plan. Why do we think we can live our family life out without a plan? Lack of planning is simply planning to fail. The tyranny of the urgent captures our family life and seems to never let go. Lencioni takes parents on the journey of how to make a plan for our family in this book. I am going to lay out the three BIG questions you have to be asking for your family THEN you go order the book at Amazon and get to reading. Your family is worth it! Here are the 3 BIG QUESTIONS for your family...

1. What makes our family unique?
2. What is our family's most important priority - RALLY CRY - right now?
3. How will we use these answers and keep them alive?

I know you are reading those questions and wondering HOW WILL THAT HELP? These questions help provide context for the choices we make about family life. What your family needs is context! Trying to be the perfect parent will not work, but developing and living out a plan will be a step in the right direction. I hope your family will get this book and work through it. There are no perfect parents and no perfect plan...just have a plan and be intentional.