Our journey to walk WORTHY (Eph 4:1)

Author: Nick Worth (Page 1 of 3)

Passionate, loving, husband and father of 2 boys and 1 baby girl. Currently serves as the high school worship leader at Calvary Community Church in Glendale, AZ and works as the Lead Developer for Rapid Recovery, while owning and operating Div Truth LLC. A firm believer that where your treasure is there your heart will be also, so don't let your heart deceive you, from your lips will come the thoughts of your heart.

2020 Personal Reflection Message

Globally 2020 is one for the history books, I’m convinced they will define the next generation by the impact of COVID-19 and the myriad of misplaced expectations that came with it. Everyone’s experience was both collective & shared, yet very unique and isolated. No one had the foresight to see what 2020 would bring, but because of it we will likely all see the future differently. What a paradox to live in, curse and blessing, sorrow and hope, pain and beauty.

Personally I practice perspective because one thing life has never lied to me about is that there is always a story outside of my circumstance. So even when I only see defeat I will look for victory. During difficult seasons I may only experience pain, I will tell stories of peace because I know an amazing Author.

My passion for people has led me to live in the crowd of company; extraverted by nature I want to be where the people are and I want to serve them in a way that reminds them of the love of God that He showed me. Unexpectedly, 2020 has been a nudge from my Father to focus on “me”. To take IN what He has for me without the expectation to then pour OUT something before it has nourished my soul.

As with all misplaced expectations, this was full of conflict, but again I choose to read about opportunity. Rather than emphasizing Saul’s pursuit of David, I highlighted God’s protection and favor over him. Your heart will inevitably believe what you focus on. So in a year that forced many into social media outlets, I found myself more disconnected and uniformed than ever before. Yet even in the midst of uncertainty I felt grounded in Gods’ firm grip of my life.

2020 has given me a new appreciation for my introvert friends, I definitely think they hold some of the secrets to a well-lived life. At this point in my life, books have a much larger influence on me and I’m grateful for authors like John Mark Comer, Cal Newport, Chip and Dan Heath, Priya Parker, Adam Grant and Neal Shusterman. Additionally, I wouldn’t see the world as I do today without leaders like Craig Groeshel, John Maxwell, Patrick Lencioni, Steven Furtick, Micheal Todd, Simon Sinek, Lin Manuel Miranda, Crawford Loritts, Del Tacket, and Levi Lusko.

Finally, I wouldn’t be whole if it wasn’t for the support of so many around me, but specifically a few that I would be remiss to not call out, my family (the heartbeat for who I am), Mark Bennet (a leader in the most important way), Ryan & Bekah (redefining the power of friendship), Curtis, Rodney, Adrian, Jessie, Jordan, Devaughn, Manny, Zach, Matt, Angel, and Nathan (you men share your life with me and let me share mine with you, one of the greatest blessings I have), and lastly but above them all, in a category and class of her own, my wife has been more than God had promised when He said that she would be a “helper.”

Andrea Worth has inspired influenced and shaped me more than any person in the world, her love for God and others has awaken in me a selfless desire to do and give more than I would have ever imagined. She leads me to be everything God intended, and when I think that is too much, she holds my hand and reminds me that we are doing it together.

“He who finds a good wife finds a good thing”

Proverbs 18:22

So…

And, husbands, if you do have one, take care of her, she’s a gift from God.

In summary, 2020 has a lot to teach us about ourselves, so take a minute before it’s over and consider the lessons before the next semester kicks off.

Diary of Reflective Kids

Journaling has been such a vital tool for both Nick and I, especially in the last few years as we’ve grown to appreciate the art of reflection and meditation. Thanks to journaling, I have tangible proof of growth when I can look back and read how far I’ve come with my own insecurities and personal growth in literally every area. The few minutes it takes to put pen to paper has proved to be such a great investment! Keeping a journal has helped us learn how to set goals, organize our thoughts, create inspiration, and reduce stress (woo!).

We’ve given our boys their own notebooks in the past, but what we’ve found is that it’s easier to do something new with clear direction. That’s why Nick created this template for them to use – and they’re actually using it! I think now more than ever we want to encourage our kids to write, not just because they are going to be out of school for an indefinite amount of time, but because this might help them process and cope during what can be potentially be a stressful season. 

Please download and let us know what you think! We hope this is worth your kid’s time as well!

Daily Youth Journal

In order to help you with your yearly reflections, we’ve begun to compile a workbook of documents to help you get started. Each document includes an objective and a set of instructions to help you understand how we use the document, but feel free to adapt each in your own way. Currently we only have a few documents that we’ve prepared, but during our process this year we intend to add more so look for more to come.

With that said, check out our Year End Development Workbook and let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, check us out on Instagram and share how you are preparing for the best year

Yearly Reflections For 20/20 Vision

Every year our family looks forward to moments of rest, and times of reflection. What better time is there for this than when we turn the page from one year to the next? It’s in these occasions that we define family values & goals as we strive to walk worthy and live fully. As with anything, this requires intentionality. So one thing we do at the end of each year is review the past months together and make plans for a future that is worth all the effort.

Not to paint the wrong picture, please know that this is something that has evolved each year so by no means have we figured it out. Even so, as we’ve talked about our process with people, we’ve been asked to share our ideas so that others can initiate a similar concept within their families. So this year we wanted to publish version 1 of our End of the Year Development Plan; a framework for putting perspective into your future and past.

Overview

As the year winds down there are 3 steps we do to wrap the year in a bow and prepare for what’s ahead. Simply put, we go through some Preparations, Reflections, and Goals which I will go on to explain. Andrea and I like to take two weeks off to work through these things at a comfortable pace (the last week of the year and the first of the next); although in the past we found we still run out of time so we’ve even consider running this exercise every quarter. As you consider implementing these ideas, just know that the best way is to be intentional and frame expectations that fit for your circumstances.

1. Preparations

Preparations are the actions taken to decompress, declutter, and determine the key focus points for the upcoming year.

This is the first step towards the progress you want to make. From this should result many reflections from the current year(s). Some observations should be noted to celebrate while others may be critically considered in order to align with future goals.

Momentum happens in moments of action, so the first step towards a great year is to build some forward moving momentum. Preparations should be tasks that you do for yourself, and they should be performed introspectively. For example you might do some deep cleaning around the house, or perhaps just clean and organize your personal space (night stand, shed, desk, etc.). You could listen or read something inspirational (Craig Groelshel). While completing this task do it with your future in mind (i.e. how do I prevent this mess from happening again).

Personally I like to declutter apps from my phone, review my calendar week by week, and organize all my pictures from the year taking note of major milestones.

While I like to catch up on my life that has fallen through the gaps, declutter the house, catch up on laundry, and texting back friends. I also go through my journals and highlight major themes and take note of highs and lows to later reflect on.

The point here is to choose a task that fits you, it should be personally rewarding, realistic, and reflective. Think of this phase as a gathering process, in the end you should have some great things to reflect on in the next step.

2. Reflections

These are the observations made from reflecting on your year.

At this point you’ll want to spend time reflecting on the notes you’ve gathered from your preparations and look for keys to future success while you unpack some of the thoughts you reserved for this time. List and consider relevant statistics by which you might measure success, efficiency, or any other perspective of value (debt paid off, signs of growth, or failed expectations). You can add some type of rating to your remarks if you’d like (-, +, o for negative, positive, or neutral). Include realizations or conclusions that you may have arrived at through the process.

Reflection is the practice of hindsight vision, the more you reflect the more your foresight perspective possesses hindsight wisdom. This step is transformational because from here your thoughts evolve and you can look towards future goals with clarity and insight.

In the past I’ve taken note of the books I read, the projects I completed, and the lessons I’ve learned. During my preparations I might have made some mental notes that I now spend time analyzing and researching for improvement.

I use this as an opportunity to build myself up and reaffirm my identity, after the chaotic Christmas season. This year I wrote 100 things I love about myself and focused on how I can restructure my life to be the mother I aspire to be while pursing my ambitions.

These observations begin framing your goals for the last step and help you to target what is most important to you and why.

3. Goals

These are the priorities that you aim to establish in the coming year(s).

As you near the end of this personal development exercise you should be able to clearly identify the person you want to be in both the short and long term. Therefore, this step is not meant to be a checklist of to-do’s for the next year, rather this is a game plan for becoming the next version of you and positioning yourself to be where you hope to be this time next year. (We are currently working on version 34.0).

A well defined goal has a clearly defined “why” within it. So as you write down your goals (because an unwritten goal is just a wish), ask yourself “why.” Then dig even deeper and ask that “why,” why that is important. If you are honest with yourself here, you will reach conclusions that make what you pursue going forward #worthit.

Andrea and I like to define a word for the year, something that summarizes our goals into a common and single focal point. For 2019 our word was “Pursue,” (even without reflection I can tell you that definitely summarizes our year). Also we made plans to structure our life to fit our goals so that we can reach them; things like date nights, family meetings, budgeting, conferences, sports/activities for the kids, etc…

Conclusion

If you’ve never performed a year-end review then we hope you will consider taking the leap this year. It’s never too early to start somewhere. With that said, this past year we’ve begun inviting our kids into this process. Although their lives are much simpler, there is wisdom to looking at life with perspective – no matter the complexity.

So wherever you are, whether you use our framework or not, we hope you’re encouraged to simply start your journey of reflection and self-development and improve on it year over year so that you can be the Husband/Wife, Father/Mother, Son/Daughter, CoWorker/Colleague, etc. that you can be.

P.S. Here are some resources that we hope help you get started:

Lifelong Learning Assessment on Marriage

Recently I finally submitted a long overdue Lifelong Learning Assessment (LLA), a paper that I wrote in college for credit I earned outside the classroom. Considering the motivation of our blog is to genuinely share our experiences in hopes they can encourage and inspire others, I thought this debrief of our of courtship and marriage could be a great read for our followers.

With that said, below I have posted my LLA submission on the topic of Marriage. Since this was a 10 page assignment I went ahead and broke the subtopics into separate post hopefully making it easier to read through. Also, in order to demonstrate learning from my experience the paper had to outline the learning cycle through each of Kolb’s four stages of learning (Concrete experience, Observations and reflections, Generalizations, Applications), through three separate subtopics.

Enjoy and please comment with any thoughts or feedback you have at the end!

Marriage

Love has been called many things: a metaphor, a battlefield, a headache, a losing game, and yet often referred to as “the greatest thing.” Although, beyond all the speculation on the concept, many young, and often still maturing individuals, “fall in love,” which results as the premise for starting a family of their own. Considering that the foundation for how an individual understands the entire world can often be traced to their family institution or lack thereof, it is strange that the basis for instituting such a large responsibility is often decided by “falling” into a feeling that cannot be fully conceptualized. For this reason, I find it valuable to share my experience regarding this important decision. Unlike most Hollywood scripts written on this subject, this is not a plot about how “the boy gets the girl,” (it is overplayed and clearly not as valuable), rather this is a story about how the boy keeps the girl. Covering the process of courtship, the early marriage stages of family development and the function of the family.

  1. The Process of Courtship
  2. The Early Marriage Stage of Family Development
  3. The Function of the Family

Conclusion

In summary, I want to encourage you to challenge what you understand about the institution of marriage, especially its relationship to the family organization. Consider the very real concept of love and the influence it has on such a large area of your life. Love is not just the basis for starting a family, but it is foundational to the entire structure; without it, marriage and families cannot weather the storms that will inevitably come into their lives. It is important to approach such a commitment with an experienced and mature understanding of unconditional love, as well as, a young passion that can revitalize and rekindle that commitment. Thankfully, the greatest picture of love has been forever inscribed on our hearts and in God’s Word. Therefore let us be wise and model the example of Christ for our loved ones so that they too can experience the blessings of true love in their life.

References

  • Eggerichs, Emerson. “The Crazy Cycle.” Focus on the Family. N.p., 2005. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Graham, Billy . “Responsibility of Family.” Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. N.p., 27 Jan. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Harris, Joshua. I kissed dating goodbye. Sisters, Or.: Multnomah , 1997. Print.
  • Henry, Matthew, A Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 1, Fleming Revell Company, Old Tappan, New Jersey, p. 20, n.d.
  • Hinnant, Greg. “Why God Created Marriage for a Man and Woman.” Charisma Magazine. N.p.,
  • 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Johnson, Jim. “Pitfalls of the Modern Family.” Preston Trail Community Church. N.p., 27 Aug. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Lisitsa, Ellie. “The Sound Relationship House: The Positive Perspective.” The Gottman Institute.
  • 3 min read, 28 Nov. 2012. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Macy, Tom. “Sex and the Single Person.” Tom Macy. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Norman, Rachel,. “The Dangers of a Present But Absent Parent.” A Mother Far from Home. N.p.,
  • 18 Jan. 2014. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Piper, John. “Sex and the Single Person.” Desiring God. N.p., 1981. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
  • Watters, Candice. “Should a husband place ministry or family first?” Boundless. N.p., 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Jan. 2017.
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