Values

I've been talking a lot about values recently.It's come up in a number of groups so I felt it was worth some reflection.

One of the most meaningful discussions I heard about values came from the creator of the Life Values Inventory, Dr. Kelly Crace. He spoke at a conference I attended last year (and was an amazing speaker) and suggested the following:

At the end of each day, rather than considering your day in terms of what you accomplished, how effective you were or how many things you completed (which is never enough and always leaves you feeling inadequate) consider instead asking yourself the questions -

Did I live out of my values today?
What's one thing I can learn from today that will help me tomorrow?
What do I know I can do? (Know what your strengths are, which I'll address in another post)
What is the most right devotion of my time and energy tomorrow?

The idea is that you would consider your values, line them up with your behaviors and use your energy (which is finite in any given day) to facilitate living out your values, not necessarily focused on outcomes. Think - life is a journey not a destination.


"You gotta know yourself, to grow yourself"

Have your cake and eat it too: http://roadtripnation.com/WarrenBrown 

Meaning in the making.

mean·ing [mee-ning] noun
1. what is intended to be, or actually is, expressed or indicated

2. the end, purpose, or significance of something

Sometimes I listen to pop music and make these moderately ridiculous connections to a Biblical principle or proverb and am derailed from simply enjoying the tune. Sometimes I even stop and share that connection with my roommate or other lucky person who gets hear my discourse on the human condition and our fundamental needs that get convoluted by our culture. So I thought, "why not make a blog to share that with even more people?"

In addition, I hope to bring your attention to others who are making positive meaning out of their lives; living good stories; living beyond their preconceived limits; loving well and living with intention. 

This came from months of a "sacred echo" (more on that later) simply called "story."

Perspective: 

Watch this video from Donald Miller and read To Be Told by Dan Allender.