Put Down Your Phone...

This is the phrase that has continually been ringing in my ears over the last couple of weeks but it seems like the volume turned up this week.  So…what did I do proactively and on purpose to continue in my INTENTIONAL living?  Did I put down my phone?  Did I decrease my scrolling?  Did I change any of my mindless habits?  Was I intentional about having “live” conversations instead of constantly managing the buzzing of my phone?  NOPE!  I didn’t do any of those things!  And what has the Lord has done for me due to my obedience in this area, you ask?  He has graciously highlighted the amount of time and the # of times that I check my phone to SEE if anything is there!  I mean…I wouldn’t want to miss the latest scoop, pic, recipe or news within moments of it happening!

This week I have been AWARE of the constant checking, mindless scrolling, watching senseless videos, and time sucking that my phone is stealing.  But I am totally allowing it.  It is like I am watching a criminal come into my space, take my things, and I just wave at them as they leave…with my STUFF!  The stuff that I hold dear, the stuff that I would hate to actually have taken away but nonetheless I sit back and idly allow it to be taken away moment by moment, minute by minute, 3 minute video by 3 minute video.

I was listening to a study this week by a pastor from Montana named Levi Lusko…it was a message from the series entitled The Fourth Wall in which he is teaching on Practicing the Presence of God...the reminder that the Lord is always with us and we need to live as such.  It is a great series…I highly recommend it!  www.freshlifechurch.com.  The message covered so much but as I was listening he went on to share about the distractions that we are faced with that cause us to forget that we are living life with our Heavenly Father and that He is WITH us!  Then he gave a few statistics about phone usage that I don’t remember exactly so I found my own!

Keep in mind I listened to this message after the ringing in my ears about my INTENTIONAL living and the distraction that I have allowed my phone to become.  It was eye opening and it was convicting and it was gracious that the Lord continued to remind me that I am at a stage in life where I have been given some time back and that I am squandering plenty of it…looking at a 5” screen.  The Lord is with ME and wants to be with ME!  

Now…I will be honest…I do NOT plan on destroying my phone, never using my phone again, and right this minute…I’m NOT even deleting social media and every app that steals my time.  What I am doing is making small changes – turning off notifications that bing and beckon me even when I’ve intentionally PUT MY PHONE DOWN and living life with a timer!  I haven't determined what the time will be but it's all about baby steps in the right direction, right?  Once my PHONE TIME timer goes off…my phone gets put down!  I am hoping that with the Lord’s help and the gift of self control that I can intentionally put down my phone, look around, be intentional in my relationship with my Heavenly Father and in my “real life” relationships with people. 

What is God asking you to PUT DOWN?  I truly believe that for each of us…it is different.  We all have things that steal our time and energy from living the life that the Lord has laid our specifically for each of us.  I challenge you…ask Him!  Ask the Lord if there is something that you need to put down to intentionally enjoy His presence.  And be ready for the answer!  I’m all about some baby steps into INTENTIONAL living!  Let’s get going!

Guilt Problem...

I have a guilt problem!  And I know it!  I've heard it said that admitting you have a problem is the first step in winning the battle...well I know that I have a guilt problem...so now what?

I want to be INTENTIONAL in minimizing the guilt that I put on myself.

You see...truthfully...I have NOTHING to be guilty about.  I self impose guilt that was NEVER mine to possess.  I also don't think I'm the only one with this issue.  I think lots of moms/wives/women have this disease.  It's so crazy...our kids get sick and we feel guilty...because we took them outside, we forgot their coat, we had to get a job to assist in family finances so they were in daycare...and we feel guilty!  As kids get older...they make a dumb decision and have to suffer the consequences (some ugly consequences) and we feel guilty...because when they were little we didn't spank them enough or we spanked them too much, or we let them go to the party where they made the bad decision, or we just didn't warn our kids about the pitfalls and the real consequences that they could face.  We plan a personal day off and we feel guilty because we aren't there with our students, we work with a team of people and we feel guilty because we feel like we let them down by spending a day off campus or out of the office.  We sit down for a few minutes after a long day and our spouse asks what's for dinner...and we feel guilty because we haven't decided yet or we don't care!  Our spouse decides to help with the dishes to be nice because he sees that we are tired and we feel guilty because he was nice!  I mean SERIOUSLY...I have a guilt problem.

Am I the only one with this issue?  I am hoping that the answer is NO!  But I do know that my case is pretty severe.  So today I did something INTENTIONAL: performed with awareness, done deliberately, consciously, or on purpose to work on my guilt problem!  And for the moment...I don't feel guilty!  I did something FOR ME!  I took a PERSONAL day off (before Spring semester hits full tilt) and kept it personal!  I was determined to be INTENTIONAL about it being FOR ME...full of down time, time with my heavenly Father, rest, without a list of to dos, minimal email checking, not checking in on my classes (my sub is awesome and I made sure she had what she needed before I left campus yesterday), and doing what I intentionally chose to do.

We all have areas in our lives where we need to intentionally tackle things that the world has let in that God never intended for us to hold on to!  Things that bind and trap us!  Guilt is a trap!  Your problem/trap might not be the same as mine but it needs to be tackled nonetheless.  What have you self imposed or picked up that the Lord has not placed on you or given to you?  What can you do today to INTENTIONALLY take the first step in winning the battle?  John 8:36 says, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  Let's live free!

Now...let's be real for a minute...I do not think that my guilt issue is solved because for one day I focused on me and didn't get caught up in the guilt that might be knocking at the door.  But I do know that the Lord never intended for me to live under the weight or bondage of guilt that is self imposed.  So today I feel free and that is a WIN for my INTENTIONAL 2016.

    

An Intentional Check Up...

I started the year with an INTENTIONAL leap!  Forward progress...leaping along...one good jump...so how's it going?  Well...maybe it's time for an intentional check up. Standing today NINE days into 2016 with the word intentional as a banner over my year. Have I been?  

According to Webster INTENTIONAL means the following: done with intention [an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result] on purpose; intended, of or relating to purpose.

What have I done in the last NINE days to be intentional [on purpose] in my relationship with people and in my relationship with my heavenly father? What have I done intentionally in regards to my health and wellness? What have I done intentionally in keeping up with the daily chores of life?  What have I done intentionally to LEAP?  Or was my LEAP 9 days ago my last INTENTIONAL move and now I'm stuck on other rock?

I don't want to forget my INTENTIONAL plan...so today I get back to it and LEAP onto a path but am I on the right path?  And how do I know?

Sometimes paths are paved and pretty easy - Other times the path takes you off-road...it can be messy and difficult.  You have to watch your step!  Sometimes there is no path at all but there is a little bit of a clearing.  Your visibility isn't completely blocked.  So you trust the Lord and keep INTENTIONALLY walking into where the Lord has lead you.  Yet sometimes the path is non-existent, blocked, or packed with obstacles.  After seeking the Lord and determining this is the way to go..."walk in it" you pull up your boot straps and move forward...trusting completely in the Lord and with purposeful, intentional, determination in your steps you move forward.  NOW...just KEEP walking well - one step at a time, forward motion on the path that God has you on today.  The great news...God's plan doesn't change NO MATTER THE PATH!!  So leap off the rock and get moving on YOUR path and I'll get moving on MINE!

My INTENTIONAL check up on Jan. 9, 2016

• I have cooked dinner 3 days this week (I was out of town 2 days!)
• I have been to the gym or to the park 5 of the last 5 days!  YAY!
• On my walk today - I listened to a great sermon that fed my mind and heart!
• I took the time to INTENTIONALLY do a check up! 

Looking back BUT looking ahead

Today is always a day to reflect and dream.  The reflection can often bring regret but the dream pushes us to hope! Today I think back over the year 2015...the things we saw (the good, the bad, and the ugly), the things we did, the things we accomplished and the things that we will continue to dream about.  Did I follow hard after Christ? Did I stumble all over myself? Did I stand firm when it was required? Did I see and seize moments that the Lord laid in front of me?  Did I walk well?  As we stand on the edge of a new year what's in the past is in the past (praise the Lord for fresh starts).  Will you leap with me into this new year?  Dream big.  I listened to a message not to long ago that asked this question, "What are you doing that's so BIG only God could accomplish?"  I didn't have an answer...do you?  We serve a BIG God with BIG plans...seek Him and then let's take a leap!

Leaping requires trust, belief, and faith!  This year I am choosing ONE word to help me continue to leap and to leap well into something BIG!  That word is going to be INTENTIONAL!  I want to be intentional in my relationship with the Lord and in my relationships with others, I want to be intentional with my money (where it goes and when), I want to be intentional in my work and ministries, I want to be intentional in my health and workouts, and I want to be intentional in life!

Tomorrow I will leap INTENTIONALLY into 2016!  Here's to the best year yet!

Ready, Set, LEAP---wheeeeeeeeee!

Lessons from Spring Break 2015 - WEEDS

Isn't it amazing what you can learn when you SLOW DOWN and BREATHE and LISTEN?  Breathing comes pretty naturally, slowing down and listening not so much!  But today (Spring Break day 3) I took some time to pull some WEEDS!  Lots of weeds, way too many weeds, but weeds nonetheless.  As I was pulling weed, after weed, after weed a few things came to mind.  It would have been easy to dismiss them but I chose to SLOW DOWN and LISTEN.

1. Neglect allows weeds to take root and take over (often we are surprised by the vastness of the weeds when we finally choose to deal with them!)
2. If you handle weeds when they 1st pop up...the task isn't near as daunting
3. The longer they remain close to the earth the more roots they put down and the more difficult they are to get rid of
4. In order to really get rid of them you have to get your hands dirty
5. Stick to it and finish the drill - it will be worth the back pain in the long run once they are gone
6. Don't neglect them again

Here's the deal...this isn't the 1st time I've taken several hours to pull LOTS of weeds and it isn't the 1st time that these thoughts have crossed my mind but today I chose to BREATHE, SLOW DOWN, LISTEN, and attempt to APPLY the lesson that I felt like the Lord was sharing with me.  Scripture talks about weeds in several places...but specifically Jonah talks about feeling trapped by weeds and later in Matthew Jesus tells us the parable of the sower.  In this parable the weeds choked out the seed that was planted.   As I was elbow deep in weeds today I thought about how sin comes in like weeds and chokes us and traps us!  And it's sneaky...often it's subtle...it starts small and then takes root.  When we ignore it, neglect it, or just decide it's part of everyday life it takes over...it consumes us...it chokes us and traps us.

So...what do we do?  How do we learn from the weeds?  First, I think we understand how they work!  We open our eyes to the weeds (sins) that we've neglected that are beginning to take root and we deal with them radically and quickly!  We get our hands dirty and we take whatever measures necessary to pull the weeds...no matter how many roots they have put down or how bad our backs hurt while working to get rid of them...we get them all!  Then we stand guard.  Proverbs 4:23 says, "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."  At the first sight of a new weed (which there will be new weeds) we pull it...from the root, when it's easy, when it's not attached deeply, when it doesn't take handfuls of soil to eradicate, we get rid of it and then we stand guard again! Guarding our hearts from the weeds that creep in while we aren't paying attention.  

My hope as I look at my dirty hands, dispose of the weeds, and rest my aching back that I will remember the lessons I am learning from the weeds!

Another graduation!

Harrison graduated from Airborne School today...crazy to think how far he has come in just a year!  Hoping to help him purchase a new (to him) vehicle as he goes to the next phase of training.

I'm still trying to learn to be a parent of a young adult.  Our goal as parents are to get our kids out of the house and independent right?  If that's the case...why is this so hard??  I guess I will figure it out!

It's been a while!

Not sure that I will keep this up but decided today would be a great day for a blog post!

So many things have changed since my last real post...the TEST post didn't count!

All of our kids have graduated!  Harrison from Basic Training for the US Army, Lindsey from the University of Georgia, and Mindy from Grayson HS.  Our May has been one full of blessings!

I am excited to see all that the summer holds as we transition into a new phase of life.  Parenting young adult kids!  It is strange but exciting!