I-Intentional Living the Word of the Year
Being Intentional"
Now is the time to be intentional!
It’s been a very busy time and I feel on the edge of being overwhelmed. That puts me in danger of letting the default of shutting down take over. I’m determined to grow past that into healthy purposeful action.
Keeping a journal has become the most helpful tool to living with intention and staying focused on what I believe is important in life. When I am busy, it is even more important… Here is my journal page dedicated to being intentional.
When I sat down to consider what it means to be intentional in my life and with my word, Light, here is what I came up with:
“Being intentional is living out my ‘how’ with purposeful action based on my ‘why’ as a result of ‘who’ I am.”
What to do?
Look at what I have and have done and be grateful. I can add these things to my ‘Grateful’ pages in my journal.
Simplify - Lighten the load and the expectations I put on myself
Let go of perfectionism and performance
Seek to bless
Don’t feel guilty or a lack when saying ‘no’
Ask for grace and do what God is giving me grace for
Choose to keep growing and engaging my ‘why’ with intentional action
The A-Z Challenge of Living Your Word of the Year is stretching me. I mentioned in the last post that my friend Bernice Hopper gave me some wise advice on how to live out my word, Light.
She said, “In ‘light’ of your stress levels, have a look at whether you can write ‘less,’ research ‘less,’ make your pages simpler - work on lightening your load.” She also mentioned when I talked to her in our meeting that I may want to revisit some of my journal pages from the past in my posts.
This advice came to me like balm for the soul, lighting the fire, spurring me on. It gave me the opportunity to be intentional about putting it into action.
After I made this page using the Mid-Century Modern Banner Stencil, Gelatos®, and Washi Tape, I listed what I will do today below "Today I Will:" It really helped me focus and be proactive with the few things I wrote on the list. I am pushing past the paralyzing feeling of being overwhelmed and into intentional action.
Questions to Consider
How am I doing about being intentional to live out what is important to me?
How am I living my word of the year?
What do I want living my word of the year to look like?
What do I need to change in order to live out my word of the year in a way that is fulfilling to me?
What is God giving me grace for?
"let us not grow weary in doing what is right,
for we will reap at harvest time
if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9 NRSV
Deeper Questions to Consider & Journal
In these past two posts I've been talking about how to live intentionally. I believe two other questions should be asked and answered first. They both take intentional time and effort to answer:
Who am I? (Who did God make me to be? What are my strengths? What are my passions?)
What is my Why? (my purpose, calling...)
These two questions are ones worthy of visiting and revisiting. Knowing who we are and why we are here make knowing how to live doable.
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