Living with Intention
Every year I have the same desire: To be intentional with my time, my family, my friends and mostly my spiritual life.
Being intentional in all of these relationships requires much of me. I have to be mindful of our time and be diligent about planning. I also desire the time spent to be full of life and sweet hospitality that grows our relationships and challenges our spiritual lives.
Start your Year with Rhythms
Download this free workbook and find a simple and grace filled way to prioritize your time.
As we walk into this new year, I decided to take the ideas from my Build Rhythms workbook and use the same basic principles to evaluate how to prioritize my time with the relationships in my life. Just as I organize my time into 4 beats, I can prioritize my relationships into 4 groups and priorities.
Family & Rest
In this season we have a lot going on. Each kid will have their own activities and schedules throughout the week and so, creating a day and place for rest is always a huge priority. Rest is important for my family because it slows us down and makes us make space for our personal relationships together. Rest also allows us to create a spiritual haven within our home where we can be encouraged and uplifted, where we can engage in conversation and breathe. Home is our place of rest; the place we can always come back to where we can find the strength and encouragement to be the light in the dark work he has called us to.
Extended family.
Spending time with grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins also need to take priority in our days. I need to make sure months do not go by without spending quality time with our loved ones. Time around the table, good conversation and laughter is a must. Family time establishes a string foundation and heritage of faith for my children.
Friends.
Honestly, I haven't been great at making consistent time for friendships lately. The old line that "we are so busy" is such a terrible thing to believe. The truth is you make time for what is important to you and you always have time. You've got to eat, right? I have lived outside of community and I have lived within community and believe me, living within community, with people walking alongside, is better. It's how God intended us to live. It doesn’t have to be complicated, in fact, simple is always better. And so we will make time for friends.
One on one time
Group settings are alwaya fun, but spending one on one time with your people is also very important, be that with your spouse, children, parents, family and friends. Date nights, coffee dates, time outside by the fire, one on one, deep conversations and connection.
I am making it a priority to include each of these elements into our monthly calendar, be it once a month or every six weeks, or in the case of Sabbath rest, weekly. My hope is to have monthly friend dinners, every second Sunday will be set aside for family lunches, every month I have scheduled dates with my husband and children…you get the idea. I am not going to live by the calendar, but I am hoping it helps guide me and remind me.
Every time we gather I desire for the following to be my focus, or foundation for what our time will look like, because remember the goal is hospitality and the growing of relationships.
Fun - Rest, family, friendships and one on one time will include some fun, together time. Be that watching a movie or playing games, going on a walk or outing. Fun is always relative, but an important aspect of building relationships.
Good Food - It's a given! A yummy meal, talking, laughing, and engaging in life together makes for a perfect time.
Friendships- we will build our friendships as family memebers and heart friends, new and old, because all this fills our cups. And having fulfilling, soul full conversations will be welcomed!
Freedom - give everyone the freedom to just be. To rest in the way that fills them. To invite and join in and move about freely, keeping things simple and easy and pure without judgement and full of understanding, love and grace. Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom!
I want to walk in such freedom this year. Free to love and give and live. Free to make time for myself and others. Free to serve and Enjoy life. Free to grow in grace and truth with the help of the relationships God has given me.
I will make time, I will put it all on the calendar with the greatest of intentions and the grace freely given to me.
May God bless all your purest intentions this year. Make time for Him and others.
Start the Year with joy!
Join me for an Online Bible Study on Philippians starting January 11th.
