Intentional

By Sarah Weintraub

​I’ve decided to share this because even though I have a new word for 2016 – REDEFINE, my word from last year is still very relevant.  Whatever we do, we need to be intentional, give it our all and hold nothing back.  Intentional with our “YES” and our “NO”; intentional with our pursuit of a relationship with our Father in heaven; intentional in our relationship with our hubby / significant other;  Intentional with our relationship with our kids – step and bio; and intentional with our pursuit of God’s calling on our live, our heart’s desire. 

The following was written last year:  

I have had this word floating around in my mind for a little over three months now and have finally decided to put my thoughts down.

A little after January 1st, Mandy on Air1 was talking about how she and her husband choose a word to focus on during the year rather than a resolution.  The more I thought about it, the more I really liked the idea.  Of course, after having multiple years of unfilled resolutions, anything would be better than another failed attempt.  

After three months of thought, I have chosen INTENTIONAL as my word focus for 2015. 
Intentional – done in a way that is planned or intended

Synonyms relevant to me: deliberate, purposeful
Habits – good and bad – are formed by intentional actions and choices.
Relationships – healthy and unhealthy – are developed by intentional actions and choices.
Career growth is developed by intentional actions and choices.

I have a lot I want to accomplish in 2015; however, I only have so much time in a day to be intentional with my actions.   In order to meet my narrowed down list of want to accomplish in 2015, I will have to be intentional with my time and actions. 

In my life, the Enemy is constantly undermining my intent.  I allow him to do this to me because I don’t always rely on God to give me the strength I so desperately need to stay intentional in my actions and choices.  It takes all of the strength God has for me to say no to chocolate!
Time is limited to 24 hours a day, no borrowing from tomorrow because tomorrow is only 24 hours too.  The clock only goes around twice in a day, no more, no less.  24 hours to accomplish my best for God’s glory; 24 hours to make someone’s day; 24 hours to show my husband and kids – two legged and four legged-, and family how much I love them; 24 hours to spend quality time building my relationship with God; 24 hours…you get the point. 

Some days, I just want to spend 24 hours sleeping, reading, or being a couch potato.  Probably not ever going to happen, but it sure is nice to dream though. 

God intentionally sent His Son for us – before any of us were even thought about (even many generations of our ancestors weren’t thought about yet) Jesus intentionally sought out opportunities to share His message.  He never stopped – we still feel His love all around us and see miracles happen in His Name.

I won’t bore you with the details behind how I plan to be intentional.  Just cheer me on when I need it and remind me my word of the year is INTENTIONAL. 

How will you be intentional this year?