The 5 F’s (Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness and Finance)

Why is it time for me to address The Five F’s (Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness and Finance) and how they impact my life?

As a youth, I did not fully understand how they would play an essential role in my life as an adult. Many people have heard my story of being a cancer survivor and cardiac patient. It was my belief in the power of my Five F’s that have helped me overcome.

Faith

My relationship with GOD is what I value most in the world. In my darkest days; when the pain would not subside, I turned to my church community and GOD to get me through. Did I question GOD? Oh of course! I am human, but my faith in him never wavered.

Family

I have had two families in my life. My spiritual family and my genetic family, both have helped define the person I have become. From a young age, both have imprinted on my life. Both have taught me the valuable lessons about being the Pastor GOD wants me to be and the daughter, mother, sister and mother my family need me to be.

Friends

As I age, my friends mean so much more. Many of my dear friends have passed in to the afterlife far too young. I am saddened that I never really got to share with them how blessed I was to have them in my life. To my friends that I have not spoken to in a while and ones that we are currently in disagreement (I love you! I wish GOD’s great blessings on you! And I wish you peace in your heart, mind and soul!)

Fitness

This is one area I have never given it’s due respect. You have one body, we need to all learn to respect it. When I think of fitness, I reflect on how I could have walked more, ran more, cycled more, etc. My point here is that more activity is a good thing. If I think back to my 20’s, I should have joined or started a church volleyball league.

Finance

This my “Achilles Heel”! Like many of you, my lesson on poor finance were learned from personal experience. Personally, this has always been a challenge for me. I wish they taught us more about this in school. One of my goals in the next 5 years is to have a professional visit Shiloh Apostolic Church and help us build our financial understanding. I want my church members to be debt free, homeowners and have strong retirement plans.

Now that I have shared a few thoughts, you may be wondering where I am going with all of this. The objective of my first ever blog is to share some of the knowledge I have acquired recently. Thanks to reading about developing my business acumen and leadership development, I am starting to put my lessons into practice.

I encourage you to join me on this journey. Write out each of the Five F’s twice on a piece of paper. Then write “start” next to the first F and “stop” next to the second F:

See example:

Faith - Start

Faith - Stop

Family - Start

Family - Stop

Next to each start, list actions you want to start doing in that area. Next to each stop, list actions you need to stop doing in that area.

Then list out activities you plan to pursue at the one year mark. This is about setting up goals for all Five Fs. Finally, be aspirational. Write out 10-20 year goals for each of the Five Fs. For your 10-20 year goals dream big. Do not sell yourself short!!

After you have completed this activity, store it in a safe place and review it each week. In a future blog, I will address the outcome of my journey.

God bless you and may he shine his light on you.

Key Resource: Scaling Up - How a Few "Churches" Make it... and Why the Rest Don't - V Harnish