4 Ways to be Intentional

I have shared with you all before that I started this blog as a way to be intentional and accountable to myself, but here are a few more specific things that have been on my heart lately. I am committing to doing these four things to celebrate the month of November and hope you will join me.

1. Call a relative. With texting and social media consuming our lives, I rarely talk on the phone with friends and family. Just take a few minutes to pick up the phone and call someone. For me, it’s those that do not have social media or cell phones that I need to put more focus on, like my grandma. She is so special to me, yet I talk to her maybe once every 2-3 months. This month I am going to make a point to call her. Busyness should not get in the way of spending time in true fellowship with those you love, especially family.

2. Join a bible study. My friend Jessica has recently started a group called Wine, Women and Word. We only meet once a month, but I could not tell you the impact it has already had on my life. Those girls are great! It is such a soul quenching thing to join together with other believers and bare all. Telling our hurts, joys and prayer requests. There is almost no greater thing you can do for yourself or your family than to join a bible study. Whether it is in a group like mine, or on your own, we need it, it feeds us. That short time away from life, chores, and kiddos is priceless to me and leaves me feeling refreshed and renewed after each meeting. If you are near and interested in joining our group, we would love to have you! Just leave me a note in the comments.

If you currently don’t have a group to join, starting your own does not have to be a big production and you CAN do it! Its as simple as inviting a few close friends over and deciding on a book or weekly study to do together. Or, the YouVersion bible app is a fantastic free resource for studies to do on your own or in a group, in fact we are doing one together as a group in a couple of weeks. It will also remind you daily so you don’t have to worry about forgetting. :)

3. De-clutter your home. I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of stuff. And even though I cherish many things, there are definitely quite a few that I could (and should) donate this season. We don’t have to wait for Spring to clean out the house. Our church is doing a coat drive this season and I can not wait to dig into our coat closet and give a few to someone who really needs them. Both my husband and I have more than we need to keep us warm, so giving a few away would be such a blessing to others. Not to mention help me get the vacuum out of the coat closet with more ease than before. ;) It is such a freeing thing to realize that you aren’t held down by your worldly possessions. I am working on intentionally remembering that my value is not in stuff, but in Christ and I encourage you to do the same. What areas of your life need to be de-cluttered? Clean out the pantry and donate it to a local soup kitchen, take some old clothes to Goodwill, help a couple in need by donating some home furnishings, or clean out the garage so a very lucky kid can be blessed by those bikes you haven’t ridden in years.

4. Invest in others. It seems so difficult to find lasting relationships for my generation. Everyone is hidden behind a screen (or screens) and we often put things that don’t matter in front of time with those who do matter. I know this has been a struggle in our family for quite some time now. A couple of years ago Pastor Craig Groeschel shared with us that sometimes we need to give up something that is good, for something that is even better. Wow. How true is that?! Crafting, decorating, photography, work, etc are all good things, but if they pile up too much and begin to get in the way of your relationship building with others, it is just not worth it. Take the time to say no to something good this month in order to say yes to something better. Sit down and intentionally think about who in your life you need to invest in. This doesn’t mean you need to preach to them, pray for them, etc. but to just set things aside to be with them, building friendship and relationship the way God intended us to live.