So, after a month of reading The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family, is your house chaos-free? Do you come home from work and say, “Wow, I can’t believe how our household is so together!”? And the kids—of course they’re cleaning their own rooms, helping with chores, and doing their homework without prompting or complaining.

Of course not! Does this mean that reading the book has been a waste of time? Or that your family is a failure when it comes to having a calm and peaceful family? Rest assured, you can be certain that no family is perfect; no family has it all together. But the principles we’ve been reading about over the past month are a great tool to help your family “think” before they “act.” Hopefully, your chaotic home (and yes, it’s normal to still have some chaos in family life!) is at least more purposeful, that the distractions that have taken your family away from its priorities are a little easier to squash and overcome.

You’re Not Alone
As we close on reading this book, author Patrick Lencioni is candid in telling his readers that his family still experiences bouts of chaos—but they are more purposeful about the chaos they choose to enter into their family life. If you’re having trouble getting started answering the three questions, take the time to read the Family Examples at the end of this book. There are a wide variety of examples and family structures to help you get thinking and started. Sometimes we need to hear from others—what makes your family unique? What are your family priorities? What is your greatest rally cry right now? We’d love to hear how you’re doing!

It’s About the Journey
Don’t expect your family to be perfect, no family ever is. But these simple questions can help you begin to concentrate on what really matters for you and your family. It can help shed that guilt you used to feel when you’d say “Yes” to everything because it was all equally important. Your family life may not be free of stress, but when you have purpose and clarity, it sure makes it easier to not let the urgent, pesky distractions that we all experience derail us from what really matters—our family.

Think on This
What has been the most difficult part of answering the three questions for your family? What has come easily for your family when answering these questions? How can you partner with families in your ministry to help them go from frantic families to families with clarity and purpose?