Skydiving: Learning About The Parachute

I finally picked up a copy of Richard Bolles' classic What Color Is Your Parachute? from the library. I must say, it's not at all what I expected. I had a vague misconception of it as retirement planning, as in 'golden parachute'. Turns out that's not what the book is at all!

Time is too short to do a review of the book now. I plan to periodically post here as I go through the Parachute Workbook, basically finding myself (which is really the point of this here journal).

First off, my ten Who Am I? answers and the common denominators:

1. I am a reproducing disciple of Christ.
2. I am a kid of the King.
3. I am husband to Tiffany.
4. I am a responsible adult.
5. I am a father.
6. I am a provider.
7. I am a respecter of people.
8. I am a planner. (and more than just an "urban planner")
9. I am a teacher.
10. I am a nerd.

The common themes that I see among these are:

• relationship with God
• following rules
• leading people to understanding
• long-term and/or eternal focus
• loving and helping people
• thinking before acting
• focus on the next generation
• peace of mind
• facts and details
• sense of control; order instead of chaos

In the context of a relationship with Christ, I obediently make disciples, teaching and showing them how to focus on future generations. I am deliberate, fact-focused, and precise so as to bring peaceful order out of chaos. I am a lover of people and emphasize relationships with an eye toward eternity.

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The first step of the Parachute Flower is determining what values I want my life to serve. After coming up with a (incomplete) list of values, I used Bolles' prioritization grid (an online version can be found here) with the following top-five result:

1. Relationship with God - bringing more spirituality, more faith, more forgiveness, more love for God, more Biblical foundation into the world
2. Integrity - bringing more morality, more righteousness, more honesty into the world
3. Relationships with others - bringing more love and compassion, more fellowship into the world
4. A proper perspective of possessions - bringing into the world better stewardship of what we possess (with an emphasis on savings, simplicity, enough) as individuals, as neighbors, as communities (small and large), as nations
5. Intelligence - bringing into the world more knowledge, more Truth, and more clarity

As a result of my life, there will be

• a stronger focus on man's relationship with God and the Bible as the foundation of life;
• greater personal integrity as people learn to take responsibility for their actions; and
• a renewed interdependence on personal relationships as neighbors strive together to meet needs and achieve dreams.

More to come later.