The Intentional Life

  Home. Laundry. Dinner prep. Dishes. Sweeping. Toy pick-up. More laundry.   There are just some chores that, no matter the size of your family unit, require almost daily attention. And often it’s all we can do just to stay on top of those daily tasks.   You’ve got other housekeeping items you would like to get to. But they all seem to require more time that what you have on a Tuesday evening. If you find you are stuck in getting started on any of those big-sized cleaning projects in your home, then it's time to start small.   Look at the large project as a whole, and then break it down into smaller tasks that can be accomplished bits at a time. This will help you start to make progress without leaving the house feeling like it’s been pulled apart in the middle of a big undertaking.   For example, I know our kitchen cabinets need cleaned out, everything wiped down, and reorganized. I generally don't have a 2 hour chunk of time that I can devote to ...

  Thoughts Flying gives me anxiety. Well, actually, the process of getting to fly gives me anxiety. I love the lift off, the cruising through the air, the view from the window, and the sudden stop when we land on the ground. None of those things causes my palms to sweat or heart to race. What gets me is the part where you stand in line, waiting to scan your ticket, show your ID, and walk through the scanners. The process of finding your gate and making sure you are in the right spot at the right time makes my shoulders tense and my breathing to go shallow. Questions loop through my head: Is my ticket correct? Am I in the right line? What if we don't get through in time and miss our flight? What if the machine rejects my ID? What if I set off the metal detectors? What if they find something in my bag that I didn't realize was there? Can you relate? As I near the kiosk where the security guard waits, I feel akin to a fugitive, trying my best to look normal and safe ...

  Heart. Can we talk about worth for a moment? Specifically, our own worth?   Webster’s defines worth as “the level at which someone or something deserves to be valued or rated.”   Now, if you are a Christ follower, we know that our worth is found in Christ alone. We know that we are sinners in need of a Savior. And that a price had to be paid for our salvation. We know that because of the shed blood of Christ we have been redeemed and can now be seen as worthy of eternal life in heaven because of what Jesus did for us.    We know all this. We know our worth is not in our own actions and deeds.   But it doesn’t stop us from falling into the trap of thinking that it does.   A couple months back, I went to donate blood. I have Type 0 Negative blood. The universal donor. And I had been getting emails for weeks (well, really months) telling me that I needed to donate. Because any blood type can have my donation, my blood was so “desperately needed...

  As we are midway through the year , I thought this would be a good time to look back over the 7 topics of the Intentional Life and give links to one of each topic, in case you missed any of them.   I am in the process of writing a book that is along the same lines of these topics, while also addressing the effect of what living with anxiety has on all of these areas. If there is someone in your life who you think would benefit from this topic, will you please pass this on to them? Ask them to subscribe to these weekly emails so they too can begin on this Intentional Life journey.   To pass on the link for signing up to your family and friends, copy and send this link to them : https://bit.ly/intentionalmomentsanxiousdays   “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12   The future book will help us see that as we ask God to help us to number our days, that He will in turn give us a heart of wisdom. With a heart of wisdo...