Family Vision Statement

My wife Heidi and I went through a 6 week process of creating a family vision statement. It was interesting to see how the Lord formulated our thoughts and priorities, as we developed this. The goal was to put in writing, what direction God was taking our family. The written statement will be framed and "written on our door frame" to remind us of our priorities when life gets fuzzy.

We held a family meeting with our children to discuss our family vision statement. It was encouraging to see their openness and willingness to adopt the priorities that were outlined. It was as if there was a pressure taken from our children in knowing what was expected of them and that God is at wheel.

In this post I am including a copy of our vision statement. May it encourage you to think about the direction God is leading your family...




Gonzales Family Vision Statement

We will…Put our relationship with Christ above all things in our home

We will…Look to God’s word for the answers to tough questions

We will…Have a quiet time each day

We will…Honor mom and dad

We will…Respect mom and dad’s time alone

We will…Love and protect each other, to the death if need be

We will…Obey the Lord and mom and dad

We will…Honor God with sound money decisions (Give and save first- buy with cash)

We will…Put God and our family before any other activities

We will…Worship together as a family

We will…Be available; Be affectionate; Give affirmation; And accept one another

Deuteronomy 6:5-9
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk with them when you sit at home and when you walk along side the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates”

"Dad, thanks for showing me how to handle money"

As I ponder what the future will hold me me and my posterity alike, I cant help but to think about how my children will handle money. There are conversations that I would like to have in 20 years with each of my children. One of them is the positive influence I had on their lives with regard to how well they manage their money.

When the word legacy is used in the secular community is often linked to a person's future financial affairs and concerns. It relates to how a person passes money on to their 3 "C's" their Children, their Church, or their Charity. But I think of legacy and money in a very different light.

The legacy the world is talking about has more to do with the actual money itself and the money legacy I am talking about has to do with how we teach our children and grandchildren about money and how it should be used now. There is also a lot to be said about where the money came from in the first place. God makes considerable reference to money in His word and He uses money as a tool in which to bring us into a more dependant relationship with Him. Do my kids know this to be the case?

I have three children, two of which are old enough to understand some of the concepts that revolve around money management. I have one child who can spend money like there is no tomorrow and who enjoys the "Live in the now" mentality as it relates to his financial well being. I have another child however who is the complete opposite. She seems to "Come into" money with very little effort. She does what she loves to do, which is serve people and the Lord seems to bless her abundantly, she can't spend her money fast enough. It is also interesting to note that she is very faithful in her giving. The offering basket does not get past her without some of her money making it's way in.

I am sure glad that God is in control, because it's overwhelming to think of the responsibility I bear in teaching my children about money. Money is an instrument that is used for both good and evil and I pray that God will give me the wisdom to not only make good decisions myself with the money that he has entrusted to me, but also to pass on a legacy of money that fruitful in His eyes, to my children.

The financial legacy we leave to the generations ahead of us begins now with how we handle our money. My desire is to pass on solid godly financial principle that will aid them in good times and in bad...

Legacy of a Patriot

I can't seem to read the newspaper these days or watch a news program without seeing the rumblings of our countries political atmosphere. I am very interested, as every patriotic American should be, about who the next leader of our country will be. In business I was taught to not discuss money, sex, or politics, but this is not business. I cannot help but address the current state of affairs as I see them. That's the great thing about this form of expression, I get to discuss what I want... Feel free to click out anytime.



I have a few questions regarding legacy as it pertains to the last two terms of president Bush, as well as what the future legacy of our country will be with a new president. No doubt president Bush has had a tough go the last 8 years with the overall state of the economy, the markets, wars in the middle east, terrorism and foreign policy in general, family values, abortion, and global warming, just to mention a few. what will President Bush think when it it all said and done come November or December? As he debriefs from an 8 year roller coaster ride, how will he evaluate his performance? Did he do what was right for America. Was he intent on pleasing everyone? I think one thing is for sure, he was consistent in following his convictions and he obviously lead in such a way that made me believe he has a relationship with God. I found incredible comfort in that fact.



He made decisions that made a lot of people in America angry, but I believe he slept at night knowing that he was doing what he thought God wanted him to do. I am anxious to read his autobiography after his work is done in the white house. I am already disappointed with the views of our potential candidates on such topics as abortion. It seems that we are in trouble when our leaders cant agree on "thou shat not murder" Seems like morals 101 or intro to integrity, but the topic of abortion seems to be more about capturing the vote than it does a values based issue. That is one reason I like and respect president bush. He does what is right regardless of the political consequences. I think he will be able to face our Lord on the day of judgement know that he put his money where his mouth is. Bush fought for family values and this will be apart of his legacy more than the amount of money that was spent on wars in the middle east, or missing weapons of mass destruction.



I'm not sure of how strong of a believer he was going into his first term, but if I was a betting man(which I am not) I would bet that he is on his knees most everyday. I hear people say that the economy and the global position of America was almost destroyed by the hands of President Bush, and that he will have blood on his hands when he leaves office. I couldn't disagree more. President bush did very little to build his political equity; He did what he thought was right for American based on a supreme all knowing God, who was driving his decisions. Don't get me wrong, I didn't agree with everything he did, but I did have a certain amount of trust based on the fact that I believed that he was talking to the Lord about the decisions that were being made. I think I was able to see past the smugness and his so called arrogance knowing that he had a relationship with God.



It is interesting to think of the people that I lead. Can I truly make monumental mistakes and and still provide good leadership? The answer is yes if I too have a dependence on God the Father to control the outcomes of the decisions I make. That is what passing a godly legacy is all about. It is not about me taking the credit for the decisions I make that have and their favorable outcomes, its about humbly taking responsibility when things don't turn out well, and humbly giving God the credit when they do. I'm not in control, and I totally deny God when I think I am.

Leadership Though Legacy

In studying the the "Pastoral" Epistles, 1Tim, 2 Tim. and Titus, I was reading a commentary written by Vernon McGee, and I came across the following:

" These three words-love, mercy, and grace-are the little trinity. Love is that in God which existed before He could care to excises mercy or grace. God is love; it is His nature, His attribute. Mercy is that in God which provided for the need of sinful man. Grace then is that in Him which acts freely to save because all the demands of His holiness is satisfied. Therefore, because God is merciful, you can come to Him, and by His grace He'll save you. You don't have to bring anything, you cannot bring anything, because it would only be filthy rags to God"

I was somewhat caught in an ah-ha moment... I get so caught up in trying to do what is right and fighting that internal spiritual battle between my flesh and that of principalities, that I have lost sight of how and why God justifies His relationship with me. God loves me. Because I sin He gives me mercy, and He grants me overflowing grace in which to save me.

So you're probably wondering why I am studying the "Pastoral"Epistles. I was given this task by a friend who is discipling me in relation to biblical leadership. I have always thought of myself as a leader, but have I always been a good leader? The blunt answer is no.

I am faced with trying to figure out what separates me from God: I have narrowed it down to a few things-one of which is self-reliance and another is pragmatism.

I teeter back and forth from pragmatism(being totally results oriented) and controlling(self-reliant), to being a crying helpless child in His arms. I think God is teaching me that He wants the latter. He wants me to fully accept the inheritance He has for me. His love towards me is not dependant on what I do, but rather His ability to grant me mercy and grace. However, my response to His love, grace and mercy should be the good fruits in my life demonstrated by the way I live. I wish I could say this is always how I respond, unfortunately not.

I believe that in order to pass a legacy that is Christ centered, I have to be more like Christ. I also have to be prepared to lead in the way God designed. True leadership cannot exist without divine guidance from His absolute truth!

Please pray for us men as we lead our families in a world that desperately needs godly leaders.

Mom's and Legacy

We celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday, and as a family we enjoyed every minute. My wife Heidi always relishes in the attention that is given to her, but I think the children and I enjoyed giving to her and honoring her even more than she enjoyed receiving it all. It is the one day a year that we get to tell her how much we love and appreciate all that she does for our family.

What in the world would we do without her?

All of the doting over her we do, sets a precedent for how our children should view their mother. It was an opportunity to lead and teach them how to honor and respect their mother. I want them to know that nothing is more important on that day than showing their love and affection for all of the sacrifices she makes all year long. As leaders in our homes, our children are closely observing what we do on occasions like this.

I was listening to a radio program last week that described how hard the average mom works at raising her family, and how many hours in the week she spends tending to her family. I was astonished to hear that the average mom spends 90 hours per week "working on" her family. It was also stated that if she were paid an average wage, she would earn $107,000 per year, and most of her pay would be overtime! Wow.


What would our family look like in the future without her loving care? How will our wives impact the legacy of our family? HUGE! I am realizing that our wives(the mother of our children) have tremendous impact on the legacy that is left, and that it it not only the tasks that she does, the meals she cooks, the laundry that is done, the bedtime rituals that are performed, but it is all of her love and efforts rolled into one. It is also the response that her family has towards all of her efforts that helps to create a lasting legacy that will be remembered for many generations to come.

Failure is an Option...

I want my children to know where they came from, but do I really want them to know who I am. I find myself trying to be perfect in the eyes of my children, I don't want them to see my weaknesses or my faults. I am having to work hard these days at accomplishing this task, and are they really seeing perfection, or are thy witnessing hypocrisy. I am not perfect in my children's eyes or in anyone else's, but I have had this misconception that my children should only see the good and not the bad.

My children are going to learn more based on what I do, more so than what I say... Or so I'm told.

As my children get older, they are gaining more insight as to who I am, and I need to trust that the Lord will place a filter on their eyes to see me as He wants them to see me. I am also impressed to talk more openly about my relationship with Christ with them...

"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up" Deuteronomy 6:6-7


I am so open to what the Lord would have me do with my children, but not having a model myself, I feel lost a good portion of the time. I am incredibly dependant on Him to give me direction. I explained to my friend Craig, that in my parenting I feel as though I am driving in a strange and unfamiliar city, without a map or GPS. I am constantly stopping to ask for directions and continually make wrong turns, but by the grace of God I get to where I am going...

Part of the legacy that I desire to leave my children is that of commitment. I want my children to know how committed I am to them, irregardless of my mistakes and failures or theirs. I also want them to see and experience my commitment to our Lord.

God, please grant me the courage to fail "successfully" in front of my children.

Life is but a Vapor

James 4:14 "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while, then vanishes." Heidi's close friend Michelle, lost her twin brother to cancer last night, he was 37. His name was Todd. He was married and and has 2 very young little girls ages 3 and 9 months. Heidi went to the hospital last night after he died to console Michelle. I was upstairs when she arrived back home. As I walked into the kitchen to greet her, she looked at me with a bit of a blank stare and said, "40 days... It was 40 days ago that Todd walked into the hospital with a pain in his side, now he's gone"

It's really hard to know what the purpose of his death is. Why would God allow a young wife to raise 2 girls on her own? We are left with questions and sorrow. I'm not sure about Heidi, but it makes me think my family. What if it were me that walked into a hospital with cancer and I died? I am obviously reminded of how important it is for me to instruct and lead my family now, but it is also important that I deliver an intentional legacy in the event I should die sooner as opposed to later.

There is a comfort knowing that I will spend eternity with Christ... I pray that Michelle and her family will come into a saving faith in Christ Jesus. Perhaps this is the reason for their hardship. I beleive that God is going to do whatever it takes to draw his children to himself. Lord I pray that Michelle would accept you as Lord and savior.

Is there anything that you could pass to your loved ones, that would be more valuable than your faith in Christ? Christ should be at the center of our Legacy.