Taking Inventory

I've seen them. I bet you have, too. The ARMY of uniformed people that walk around the big-box stores with their scanner and zap things and type on a little belt-hung key-pad. They are all working together on what I think would be an insurmountable task. They are taking inventory. They are figuring out what they've got and what they need.

There are times in life, whether we know it or not, when we all do the same. When you make a grocery list, you are taking inventory. When you pack for a trip, you're taking inventory. When you clean out your purse or diaper bag, you are taking inventory. Guess what-? We're all a LOT better at it when it is something we are aware of!

There are times when Dave and I sit down together and very intentionally take inventory of our family. I guess it's maybe silly to call it that, for what we are doing, because we KNOW who we've got and at our house, we don't need anymore family members! But that's not really what I mean in this instance. We discuss things from housework to homework and lots of things in between. We go through each family member and talk about what they are doing well at, what they want from us as parents, what they need to work on, and whatever other topics come up as we focus on that family member. We set goals as parents and eternal companions. Sometimes we include our children in this process or we discuss some of what conclusions we drew in family council. We pray at the beginning and at the end of this process and ask for the Lord's help.

I can't tell you the difference that doing this has made in our home. SOMETIMES raising children unto the Lord feels like an insurmountable task! But when we work together with each other and WITH THE LORD, we become HIS army and HIS work seems a lot easier. Try this in your home!