I Have a Plan for You: The Best Gift for Your Family
I have a plan for you. The words gently whispered to my heart.
I was reading the Christmas story to my son—about Jesus being the Light of the World and coming to set captives free.
Usually the Christmas story draws my heart to celebrating a hope for my future. As I continued to read with Sebastian, something completely different challenged my thoughts.
What if God didn’t have a plan?
If Jesus was never born, would God have just let life happen?
What if He didn’t have a plan, all hope for our future would be lost. The idea of life without God’s plan encircled my thoughts and then gently shifted to encouraging conviction.
Sonya, I have a plan for you. And the best gift you can give your family—is to have a plan too.
It was a gentle conviction for me because I am all about a mom with a plan. It’s one of the cornerstone pieces of what I write about in 5 Things Great Moms Get RIGHT guide.
You start with a growing relationship with God then from there work on taking control of your mind. Building off from that foundation, you get inspired for life. Then put together a plan to make it all happen.
Because what is the point of seeking the Lord and following His leading, without having a plan to help in the process? Having a plan for life is one way I love to encourage other moms.
So why the conviction?
Over the past year I have gotten a little comfortable.
I’ve had some great tools and a plan—but to be honest, I’ve been too easy on myself.
Often I’ll describe a plan as having “structure” in your life that provides guidance. But, the structure doesn’t lock you into things. For me, my plan has been structured—written out—and I’ve been following it. But I also haven’t been too specific either.
The conviction came to encourage me to take things up a notch. I need to persevere in a way that it is more specific, more measurable.
How about you?
Do you have “somewhat of a plan” for your family? Have you been thinking that you can just get by with figuring things out as you go?
I’d like to invite you to consider, why God is calling us as moms to not just let life happen.
God’s greatest gift to me didn’t just happen—the gift of eternal life. He made it happen with a very detailed and intentional plan. Let’s talk about why “I have a plan for you” is the best gift you can give to your family.
I have a plan for you: the best gift for your family
1. I have a plan for you—it’s God’s idea.
God was intentional to have a detailed plan. It clearly is a good idea—because He models it for us.
I really like how Renee Swope says it;
“We can trust God’s plans as we realize that his story is being written into ours.” —Finding Hope for Our Future
So, likewise if you are a Christian, His Word says:
“because of the grace of God has appeared and offers salvation to all people…we should be eager to do what is good.” —Titus 2:11-14
Having a plan is believing God has a plan and that He invites you to do the same. It is being eager to say no to the good things. So that you can say yes to the best things for you and your family.
2. A detailed plan is loving and personal.
At times the disciples didn’t know why Jesus was doing the things he was doing. But we can look at the gospels and see several examples of Jesus being very detailed in his plans. He was loving and personal to so many individuals.
There’s one example that I never thought about until this past year. It was the story in Mark 5 about the demon possessed man.
The gospel begins by sharing that Jesus crosses the lake then he heals a man who had been demon possessed.
What’s next?
Jesus climbs back into the boat and returns to his hometown. What? Yes, it appears that Jesus specifically crossed the lake to heal the man then to turn around and go home.
A quick note here: Ultimately because of sin, our plans don’t always turn out the way we expect them to. But as long as we are seeking the Lord first, we won’t question ourselves, Did I hear God wrong?
3. Having a plan equals success.
God certainly had the perfect plan and we celebrate the beginning fulfillment of that plan through Jesus’ birth at Christmas.
As a mom, how do you measure success? In reality you can always be improving. For us to thrive as moms success is all about progress not perfection.
I really like how Zig Ziglar used to say,
“It’s tough to be successful when things are easy.”
What Zig is saying is, that if you just let life happen—you can’t measure when it’s successful or not.
Letting life happen to be honest, is the easy way to live your life. Either by allowing your kids’ schedule to plan your life or allowing your circumstances to determine what you do.
Having a plan is determining what matters to you most and then doing it. Again, this is where the conviction came over me. I have been bordering on easy because I let my circumstances influence me.
Progress for us as a family has slowed this past year. By faith, I know that a plan that pushes us will add up to great things for the future.
4. It models servanthood.
Often in scripture Jesus is referred to as the good shepherd. Sweet mom, you and I are shepherds as well. We guide our family, set the tone of life and home, as well as foster growth in godliness.
Having a plan, although it’s not always easy—is in some ways laying down your life. You have to set aside time for it and make sure it happens. If this doesn’t come naturally for you, it is a sacrifice.
Although the sacrifice is one of joy, the reward you receive far outweighs that challenges you face along the way. It’s believing that it will make a life changing difference in the lives of the ones you love.
5. It speaks peace and hope in the very words.
Think about it.
I have a plan for you—plans to prosper you not to harm you.
Have you ever heard anyone say these words to you? They’re very calming and reassuring to someone who is anxious or feeling overwhelmed.
Maybe you never have had anyone say this to you, either way, I’ll use a story to help.
The other day my son and I were sitting in the truck waiting for my husband. In the process my son was getting impatient—as independent 4 year olds often do. I was taking the moments to write down some thoughts for this post. I decided to just say it to him.
“Sebastian, I have a plan for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you.”
Instantly the truck went silent. I was shocked.
Those very words, the words we all long to hear. I have a plan for you—physically brought peace to the situation. And even in his young four year old mind I truly believe it gave him hope.
A Mom With a Plan
Just imagine for a moment. What would life look like for your family if you spoke these life–giving words over your family with your actions.
Maybe you would be able to physically see peace in your home. Or perhaps any forms of anxiety would be quieted in the hearts of your family.
If you were a mom with a plan—to prosper your family and not harm them—would your life look different?
Instead of letting life happen today I invite you to start something different for you and your family. You can bring peace to your home, comfort and joy, simply by having a plan for your life.
What could that look like?
Not sure where to get started?
Find some simple ways to start crushing the overwhelm in my post for the mom who feels overwhelmed with everything.
The is my story behind why things just weren’t clicking for me as a mom.
It is what brought about the 5 Things Great Moms Get RIGHT paradigm—the cornerstone of HealthyLivingMom.com. The beautiful thing about it, is that it continually inspires me to grow in becoming a healthier mom.
This actually is the reason why I was led into a deeper conviction for having a more detailed plan. Becoming the best mom is not something that is achieved—it’s a life of continual growth and progress.
You Know How to Make a Plan
Maybe you know how to make a plan. You start the plan, but months later you’re completely off track and not doing it at all.
I can tell you that I know exactly how you feel! And there is something that took away the overwhelm for me—for good.
It’s actually the second core principle in the 5 Things Great Moms Get RIGHT guide. Once I started living by these principles then life completely changed for me. And, it has been a lasting change. If I can do it—I know you can do it too.
Want to join me in the journey—and crush that overwhelm for good? Click here to get your free download of the 5 Things Great Moms Get RIGHT guide.
