The Intentional Life

  Heart. This past summer our family hiked up to the top of a mesa in New Mexico. The air was warm, the sun was hot, the sky was a gorgeous aqua blue, and occasionally a soft breeze would come along. Being in the desert, there wasn’t a lot of tall trees or flowers growing. But, there were a lot of juniper bushes, cacti, and sage brush. As we hiked, often the sage brush would grow close to the trail and our bodies would brush up against it as we moved past. When we hike as a family, I often take the rear. My husband leads the train, and I keep an eye out on the troop as the caboose. Being in this formation, I was in the prime spot for a beautiful metaphor. As my family hiked past the sage brush they stirred up the scent. So much so, that by the time I came walking through, the air was filled with the earthy, herby scent of sage. In a stark desert landscape, it was a beautiful reprieve. It made me think of how we live our lives, and how we “brush up” against others. When w

  This past week I had the conversation about how it is so hard for me to just sit. I enjoy the feeling of being productive, of doing. If there is something fun I would like to do, I often tell myself I can do it as a reward once ALL the other things are done. But here's the rub. The things are never done. And so often my "reward" is never gotten to. It was interesting to hear from others who are similar to my bent, some even more so. And I was fascinated with those who could set aside work to play without a feeling of guilt. I feel like we could have a balance of both in our lives.  For me, realizing that I don't have to have ALL the household chores done before I reward myself with 30 minutes with a good book. For others it may be seeing the benefit of completing a list before going off to do the fun thing....at least every once in a while. I think a good reason why we need to bring a little bit of both into our lives is because there is most likely a yo

 Dear Child,  You are a treasured child of the King.  The world is going to tell you that you are going to lose, but take heart - THEY DON'T KNOW THE RULES. Don't take it personally when some kid makes fun of your mismatched-on-purpose clothing choices or the stuffed animal that you brought in for show-in-tell or calls you some name that brings tears to your eyes.  They only call you that to make their own selves feel better.  There is something about you that threatens them.  And by calling you out on your 'lameness' somehow makes them feel like you are back to their level. I want you, dear child, to be sure of yourself, knowing God has created you as a unique individual, with unique qualities and tastes.  The best person you can be is YOU, not an imitation of someone else. People's valuation of you should not matter, only God's valuation of you should.  Measure yourself by His ruler, by His Word, not by the measuring stick of your peers. Love God, s