We weren't sure how it would come off, but we actually had a terrific Family Summit even though we had to forego our usual weekend in a cabin in Door County. Thanks to the beautiful weather, we were able to spend most of it outside . . . a 22 mile bike ride to Geneva one day and an 18 mile bike ride along the Chicago lakeshore another and lots and lots of hanging out and talking. This was the first year that both boys were really able to engage in a meaningful and deep way in some of our discussions. We actually created a true family mission statement this year . . . as opposed to the one that Scott and I created for our family several years ago. The real highlight of this weekend for Scott and I was looking back on our Summit notes from 2001--the year we first started dreaming about creating a "seamless" life---a life where our jobs and passions and callings all converged. Seven years later, with Scott and I both in careers we love serving the same community that we live in, we have fulfilled that dream. That same year, we had also created a "10 year vision," and it was very cool to see that even though we haven't necessarily strategically focused on making those things happen, after only 7 years, we have done almost everything we had dreamed we would have done by 2011.
I am sure by next year, God will be calling and challenging us to something new, but this year felt like a year of celebration and truly defining who we are and want to be as a family. I am so proud of Erik and Brian for who they are becoming and the values they seem to be developing--independent of me and Scott. We are heading into those pre-adolescent years, so I know we will have many challenges ahead of us, but I pray God is shaping them and us to resist the challenges and temptations that lie ahead. Weekends like this, when we re-focus on our motto "a cord of '5' Strands is not easily broken," give me confidence that with God as the glue and the guide, we will be the family He desires us to be.
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