Welcome to October! Here on the blog, we like to start each new month with a challenge to take on for that month. Some of my favorites so far have been spending time in Eucharistic Adoration with my husband, praying a novena for happy and faithful marriages, and learning more about my husband’s and my own Love Languages.  It’s never too late to go back a month (or eight) to check out these past challenges!

This month, though, is a different sort of challenge- one that I didn’t even think of myself.  Liz Montigny, a Catholic life coach for women, approached me on Instagram and asked if I would like to swap guest posts.  I wrote a post on her blog about the importance of getting out for date nights occasionally, which you can check out here.  Now, it’s her turn!  Liz has a challenge for my readers in October: to create and live out a family legacy.  

So, what exactly is a legacy and how do you create one for your own family?  Take it away, Liz!

My Mother’s Legacy

As I approach the one-year anniversary of my mother’s passing, I am reminded of the stories we heard of how she impacted family, friends, and even acquaintances. Common threads throughout these stories were how much she valued friendship, serving others, and her faith. This was her legacy. 

Legacy is spiritual; inheritance is material. Legacy is what you want to be known for after you’re gone – it’s not fame, it’s influence and impact. This means you live your legacy in the everyday moments of your life – right now. How would defining your legacy help you and your family live life and serve others now? 

Defining your legacy gives you peace of mind and freedom. Who doesn’t want that? Despite what’s going on in the world right now, the one thing you do have control over are your choices. What do you want others to say about your family when you’re not in the room? Our number one goal as a husband or wife is to get our spouse to heaven. How are you doing this on the daily?

Creating a family legacy doesn’t have to be a heavy discussion. It can be a fun family dinner exercise.  We know children love to share their opinions! Here are some tips to help you define your family legacy and live life on purpose:

1. Pick a few words/ short phrases you want your family to be known for

You could even use your family name as an acronym.  Here’s an example from Choose to Win by Tom Ziglar for a family with the last name “Hallas:”

Hard working, Adding value, Loving the Lord, Living Joyfully, Applying Knowledge, Serving Others

2. Create a mission statement for your family

The next time your family has a decision to make and you’re not sure of the next right step to take, ask yourself, “Is this bringing us closer to or further from our mission?”

3. Consider your 10 year vision

This is a fun time to talk about all that you want to be, do, and have as a family. Ours included everything from getting out of debt to travel. Don’t hold back and make sure all family members contribute.  Include how your family can serve others. Try making it visual- a vision board or tracking sheet could be fun.

4. Write down your short-term family goals

These more immediate goals should help you get to #3. Consider posting them in a prominent place so they stay top of mind. 

5. Commit to your top three opportunities for growth or challenges

This helps with holding each other accountable. And it also reminds you to celebrate progress no matter how small or big!

The Benefits of Living Your Family Legacy

You’ll find peace of mind and freedom in living your family legacy now. When you live your legacy, gratitude flows and you enjoy giving back to others. You can also say, “no” to non-family commitments and not feel guilty about it. A well defined legacy means you are in charge of your time. Time is your most precious resource because once it’s gone, that’s it. Stop wasting it. 

For my guides on how to create your legacy, you can download your freebie here!

Thanks for the inspiration and practical tips, Liz! I am personally very excited about this challenge.  The idea of getting a mission statement of legacy down on paper is one I had never really thought of, but now that I feel empowered to do it, I can’t wait to get started.  If you take this one on, let us know how it goes in the comments below!

Update on last month’s challenge

In September, our “Back to School” challenge was to be students ourselves and learn something new about our spouses.  My husband Chris grew up watching a lot of older movies, and I did not, so I have been watching a few with him recently.  From these experiences, I have learned, among other things, that Chris is fiercely loyal to his favorite actors (ie… maybe a little defensive!), and that he knows a fair amount about how long each camera shot was on average throughout cinematic history.  In turn, he has learned that newer movies tend to elicit more emotional response from me, but that I do love the sweet innocence of some older films that is often lacking today.  

If you haven’t done last month’s challenge yet, the original post has some good question prompts to get you chatting.  Or, try something new together like Chris and I did, and you are sure to learn something from that experience, too! 

Guest post author bio: Liz Montigny coaches Catholic women to go from daily chaos to simplicity so they can love life. She is a wife, mom to three boys, and tea, big earrings, living a non toxic lifestyle, and creative evangelization are some of her other loves. Follow her @lizmontignycoaching or visit her website http://lizmontignycoaching.com