FAITH BUILDERS e-Zine

Write the Vision

(Note: This article is adapted from Kate McVeigh's
book "7 Habits of Uncommon Achievers")

Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,
that he may run that readeth it.

     I get so excited about this subject of writing down our visions, dreams, and goals. The reason is, I know that by writing things down, it really works! I have heard some people say that it works like magic. Why do they say that? Because you can't argue with results. No, it's definitely not magic. It's the Bible! When you put spiritual principles into operation, they work for you, no matter who you are.
     My life changed drastically several years ago as I listened to a sermon by a pastor friend who shared the importance of writing down your vision and what would happen as a result. He shared all the great things that happened in his own life and ministry as a result of putting his dreams and goals on paper.
     His message so motivated and stirred me that I began to act on it immediately. I wrote down my dreams and goals, studied goal setting and planning, and read about others who regularly wrote things down. The results I discovered were amazing.
     One study I heard about said the chances of things happening for people who write things down are much greater than for those who don't. This study had absolutely nothing to do with churchgoers or the Bible. It just looked at the average person. These people didn't pray or use any Scripture. Things just happened for them because they wrote them down! I believe the reason this works is because it is a biblical principle.
     Another study I read was about a group of college graduates. It was discovered at their 10-year reunion that about two percent of the graduates had more money than all the rest of the class combined. The common denominator among that two percent was goal setting. In other words, the top two percent had written down their goals during college and continued to write them down. They were the only ones who wrote down goals, and it was determined that this is what caused them to be more successful than the other graduates.
     One multimillionaire I read about attributed her success to writing down on a yellow legal pad six things she wanted to accomplish each day. What stood out to me was the fact that she wrote down just six things each day, not 100 things. Being able to scratch six things off your list each day will give you a feeling of accomplishment. Then you can move on to the rest of the things you need to do.
     What holds a special place in your heart? Write it down on paper. What do you want to do for God? What unlocks your compassion? Write it down. Your goals can also be what you'd like to own, places you'd like to visit, things you would like to have, people you would like to meet, and so forth.
     One way to know what you are called to do in life is to ask yourself what excites you. Does the thought of writing a book excite you? Or maybe having a huge family excites you. It may be starting your own business, owning property, traveling the world, playing a sport, preaching the Gospel, or something else. What is it that gets you going? That is probably a clue pointing to something you are called to do.

Have a Plan and Work the Plan

You must have a detailed plan of action and then focus on working your plan. That is what setting goals is all about. Of course, ask God to lead you to write down His plan for your life. The idea here is to get you moving. These goals can be altered, tweaked, and interrupted by God at any time, but having a plan helps you remain focused.
Let's take a look at the following scriptures:

PROVERBS 16:9 (TLB)

We should make plans – counting on God to direct us.

ECCLESIASTES 5:3 (Amplified)

For a dream comes with much business and painful effort.

Setting Goals

What actually is a goal? One definition is, "an ongoing pursuit of a desired outcome until it is accomplished." You may have heard of something called "S.M.A.R.T. goals." These goal characteristics are something to keep in mind when writing goals. Here are some ideas of S.M.A.R.T. goals:

S = Specific. Be specific about what you want. For example, one of your goals may be to put your child through college. Or it may be to become more physically fit and healthy by losing weight.

M = Measurable. Establish weekly or monthly steps you can follow toward reaching your goal. For example, "I will invest $100 a month toward the final amount it will take to put my child through college 10 years from now."

AR = Attainable and Realistic. This means that your goals are out of reach (at the moment) but not out of sight. Set goals for yourself that are a challenge, but on the other hand, you don't want to set goals that are completely unreasonable. For example, it's discouraging to say, "I will lose 25 pounds in one week." You must be realistic about it.

T = Time-defined. If you are able, create a deadline for your plan of action (not counting miracles). In other words, you may want to set 10-year goals, five-year goals, one-year goals, six-month goals, and one-month goals. One great man of God said that it's better to set a whole lot of goals and reach only half of them than to have no goals and reach all of them.

Little Actions Produce
Significant Savings

     The following is an example of how a "little" action can save you thousands of dollars by paying off a house early. Financial planners tell us that if you were to make just one extra house payment a year on an average 30-year loan (depending on your interest rate and other factors), you would cut roughly seven years of payments off your loan! In other words, you would pay your house off in 23 years instead of 30.
     Let's say your house payment was $1,500 a month. If you made one extra payment a year, you would pay an extra $34,500 over 23 years. But by paying off your home seven years early, you would save $126,000 in payments!
     There are also biweekly payment plans available. You pay half of your monthly payment every two weeks, which adds up to 26 half-payments in a year. That equals 13 full payments. This way, you're able to make the extra payment a little at a time throughout the year instead of all at once.
     If these strategies work, then why don't more people use them? They either don't know about them or they just haven't disciplined themselves to get in the habit of putting them into practice. These approaches are a small price to pay for big results. (Check with your own mortgage company to find out exact details regarding your situation, as each case is different.)
    Now don’t forget "the God factor." He could move in a big way and enable you to pay your home off in even less time. But these are just some practical suggestions, some things you can do now to bring about a significant savings.

Write 'SMART ' Goals

When writing your goals, ask yourself, "Are these 'SMART' goals? Are they Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-defined?" The following is an example of creating SMART goals for finances. This is just a very general example of what someone's SMART goals may be:

I will tithe (give 10 percent of my income) to my church and honor God in my finances.

I will be out of credit card debt in one year, or as soon as I can be. I will do this by paying an extra $100 each month. I will call my credit card company and ask them to lower my interest rate. I will cut up the rest of my credit cards and pay cash until I am out of debt. I will not buy things I cannot pay for.

I will meet with a financial planner twice a year to formulate a plan for my financial future. I will establish a will or a living trust for my family.

I will read books on investing this year. I will read Kate McVeigh's book Conquering Intimidation (smile). I will pray for God to lead me to a financial mentor so I can learn to use more wisdom with my money.

I will save a certain amount (after giving to God) out of every paycheck.

Three Practical Habits for Financial Blessing

     My mother was a woman of great wisdom and she instilled – or should I say drilled – into me some practical money habits when I was just a teenager going to Bible school.
     At the time, I was broke; I didn't have a dime. Let me tell you, it wasn't always easy. But I am blessed today because of these habits. The greatest money habit my mother developed in me was the habit of waiting until I had the money to pay for things, rather than getting into credit card debt like most Americans do today.
     Thanks be to God, I have never paid interest on a credit card in my life! I have never been in credit card debt, ever! It wasn't always fun waiting, and building a savings account didn't happen overnight. I still practice these habits today and am blessed as a result.
     You may not have incorporated any of these habits into your life yet. You may be in debt, but don't let that keep you down. Work toward establishing the following three key habits to help you gain financial victory:

Make it a habit…to always give God your tithe (10 percent) out of each paycheck you receive, and then sow offerings above that as He directs (Mal. 3:10-11).
Make it a habit…to save a certain amount of money every month (no matter how small). Consider it as important as a bill.
Make it a habit…to no longer pay interest to your credit card company. If you can't pay it off in full at the end of the month, don't buy it.

Write Down Your Goals

            At the beginning of every year, I write down all the things I am believing God for. I list places I want to go, vacations I want to take, things I might want to own, and even people I’d like to meet. (Did you know that there is scientific evidence that we may all be about six people away from meeting anyone in the world?)
            There may be someone you want to meet. Write their name down on your list. You may want to write down an amount of money you desire to sow into the Kingdom of God. Perhaps you desire a closer walk with the Lord, your spouse, or your children. One of my goals is to become more excellent in all I do for God. I desire to be a better leader and to develop a stronger love walk. I also have on my list to lead over one million souls to Christ. It costs nothing to dream on paper, so write down those things that are in your heart.
            One year, after listening to the sermon on writing down your goals, I was so motivated that I grabbed a piece of paper and immediately wrote down 67 things.
            When writing down my goals, I also sensed the Lord challenging me to write down anything in my life that would require a miracle. These things would be a little different from goals. For example, you may set a goal to lose five pounds, and you can do that on your own, with God’s help. Losing five pounds wouldn’t require a miracle. Goals like that are good, and you should write them down.
            However, you should also write down the things you want God to do in your life that you can’t do for yourself, like healing your body, sending you a spouse, or giving you supernatural favor.
            That particular year, after writing down my 67 things, I then wrote down fourteen simply incredible things that would require a miracle, including places where I wanted to preach, a family member who needed deliverance, and a television station I wanted to be on. After I wrote those things down, the most amazing thing happened. Thirteen out of the fourteen “simply incredible” things I listed, as well as 40 of the 67 things on my other list, came to pass in the first three months of that year! It was totally awesome seeing these things come to pass like they did. I didn’t do anything different, other than…I wrote it down.
            These days, we hear a lot about goal setting and finding creative ways to achieve those goals. Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.” Uncommon achievers- like Jesus- know their purpose in life. Jesus said great things, and many of the things he said are recorded in the Gospels. Someone wrote them down.
            The Bible reveals to us that God is a planner! The Book of Jeremiah says, “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’” (Jer. 29:11 NIV). God has a great plan and purpose for your life!

Write Your Own Mission Statement

            Have you defined your purpose in life? Do you have a mission statement for yourself? If not, you can start by sitting down and making a list of those things about which you are passionate.
            It isn’t difficult at all to see the purpose of some people’s lives. They are so focused on their purpose that every time you see them, they talk about it. For some people, their purpose is world missions. For others, it’s youth ministry. Some people are called to work with children or start their own business. Still others are highly motivated to be a good spouse and raise a wonderful family.
            Your own mission statement expresses what you want to be and what you want to do with your life. It can quickly become the added basis for helping measure everything in your life.
            A while back I enlisted a professional who helped me write my mission statement. He helped me put in writing what was in my heart. You don’t have to be the head of a ministry or corporation or the pastor of a church to have a mission statement. You just need to think about what God has put in your heart and write it down. It doesn’t have to be very long – maybe just a paragraph or two.
            Here is an example of a little saying I have on my ministry letters and other publications: “Kate McVeigh Ministries… touching the world with God’s power and love.” This saying, as well as my mission statement, reveals my mission in life. It’s what I feel God has called me to do. God has called you to do something great for Him. Now go for it. Put down on paper what’s in your heart. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a few weeks or even months to get your mission statement to a place where you feel comfortable with it –where it defines you.

Uncommon Achievers Continue to Set Goals

            Keep in mind that setting goals is not just a one-time exercise. Once you achieve goals, you set other goals and adjust them from time to time as needed. Goal setting is an ongoing project.
            What excites you? Write it down! What stimulates you into action? Write it down! What is really important to you? Write it down! God has a good plan for your life. You may be surprised at what you write on that piece of paper. Look it over carefully. Make the necessary adjustments after you pray over your list.
            Grow comfortable with yourself. Don’t be afraid to add new and better goals to your list. Allow yourself to dream big, and don’t think that anything is too far out or beyond your ability to accomplish. Nothing is impossible with God! Remember, He has a purpose for your life. He can bring to pass every dream in your heart!
            I said earlier that I once wrote down 67 things I wanted to accomplish. I went back over that long list recently, and 65 of those 67 things I had written down have already come to pass in my life. As a matter of fact, while I was completing this book, something I had on my list came to pass. I always wanted to own a baby grand piano so I could worship the Lord at home. Not long ago, someone felt led to bless me with a beautiful baby grand piano.
            Don’t let money stop you from dreaming. It costs you nothing to write down your dream. I’m sure there are some things you wouldn’t mind owning if you didn’t have to pay for them. Put them down on paper. Something happens when you write them down.
            I heard a story recently about the late comedian George Burns. In his mid-90s he was planning and writing down what he wanted at his 100th birthday party. He said that what you plan for and schedule usually shows up. And he made it to his 100th birthday party.
            I encourage you right now to write down five miracles that you would like to see take place in your life this year. Maybe you want your kids to come back to the Lord. Perhaps you want to go back to college. Make a note of something you’d like to do. List places where you’d like to vacation. Include a home or vehicle you might like to own and a job promotion you’d like to have, or perhaps a business you’d like to start. Maybe include how many souls you want to win to the Lord this year.
            Just start writing down things as they pop into your mind. As I said earlier, when writing down your goals, write down anything you want to own, do, dream, become, or have. Just begin dreaming on paper. Have fun! Here are some examples:

Move to a nicer neighborhood with good schools for my children
Vacation in Hawaii
Give more to missions than I ever have before
Meet Kate McVeigh (smile)
Lose weight and have a brand-new wardrobe
Own a vacation home
Win five people to the Lord this year
(Keep going…. Don’t be afraid to dream big!)

Do you realize what the Bible really is? It’s God’s own written-down plan and vision for the entire universe. If God wrote down His vision, shouldn’t you?
You will be absolutely, utterly amazed at what will happen as a result of writing down your vision. Some of the most uncommon achievers in the world are people who write down their goals, dreams, and vision. So begin the habit today of writing things down and watch your dreams become realities. You have those dreams inside you; now put them down on paper! You’ve learned a secret…just watch what God can do.