The Intentional Life

      Relationships. I feel like I have been having this conversation with our children quite a bit lately.  First, they come to me with the complaint that So-and-so is treating them a certain way and So-and-so needs to change and it's all So-and-so's fault. I do my best to listen, hear them out.  Seek to understand. Ask questions to lead to understand...on both sides. And then, eventually it comes back to the phrase, "Well, you cannot change So-and-so. Their behavior is up to them. And it is up to YOU to decide how YOU will handle YOU." I tell this to my kids....but I often need to stand in front of a mirror and tell it to myself. We can point fingers. We can blame it all on the other person. Maybe we are completely blameless in a certain situation. However, we still have a choice how we will decide to behave. I recently came across an article by Dr Gary Chapman, and he had some great points to think on. I'll pa...

Home. It's that time of year. School is back in session….kinda. Even through it may look different from every other school year that we know of, there is still school happening (praise the Lord!) in one form or another. And with our Covid-style school starting up, the lazy days of summer are diminishing and the hustle of routine and obligations is upon us. I love routine, I often crave it. But I know with school starting, chaos seems to reign despite the routines that are in place. When I start to feel like everything is "noise" - kids, making meals, helping with homework, doing laundry, making sure the kids get where they need to be, etc - then I feel the need to be able to "quiet" at least one thing in my life. A few years ago I came across a blog artice by The Nester that talked about quieting the house. I instantly felt this was talking to me and jumped in immediately. I've done it every once in awhile since then. Often at the start of the ...

  It was a random Wednesday night. My husband had of course fallen asleep in about 3 minutes and I was lying there, listening to his breathing, wishing I too could fall asleep that easily. As I lay there wishing, a sense of melancholy came over me. And, as is my nature, I follow that emotion and try to figure out where the root originated. And so, my mind began to think back through the day. As it did, I started to take note of everything I didn’t get done. I didn’t get the kitchen cleaned up and decluttered like I had wanted to. I did zero work on that book I dream of publishing some day. I made no sales in my online business. I didn’t get any exercise in. At my offie job I did many things, but nothing that felt like it really made a difference in anyone’s world. Basically, I felt like I didn’t move the ball forward on anything.   I eventually fell asleep, somewhere in the middle of my rumination on my failures. And, with the unfinished business in my mind, it greeted me the ...