Live Intentionally

My prayer as of lately is that I would not just go through the motions of life. I don't want to wake up, eat breakfast, go to class, say hi to a few friends, go to work, sleep and then repeat it all again. I want my days to have a substance and a value greater than what this world tells me I am living for; myself. I've been asking God to help me live intentionally. The funny thing about that is, you actually have to be intentional about living intentionally because at first, it's not the easiest thing to do.

I'm finding that I need to actually think about what I'm doing, who I'm hanging out with and why. The ultimate driving force in my mind is that I want to love everyone that I ever encounter. If there is an area they are struggling with, I want to walk alongside of them to encourage and support them all to attempt to love them in the same fashion that Christ does.

Today was a great example of how I want to live my life with purpose. I hung out with a girl, now a new friend, who is getting adjusted to a new place and just wanted to feel included. It was amazing company, I branched out of my usual circle. Later, I did a scavenger hunt with Rocketown and I met people that I never thought I would associate with. But they needed help, and they came looking for community. It was so awesome to be able to see what I've been praying about come to life. I pray that I would continue daily making these decisions to live intentionally.

I don't write about my experiences today for you to give me a gold star, or a high five. I write it as a check point and an example of God's answers to my prayers. I write it because I need to remember what living intentionally looks like. I didn't use much detail with those scenarios because, one, I'm tired and can't formulate the best way of telling those stories, and two, it doesn't really matter. The point is, today I woke up with the mindset that I didn't just want it to be another Saturday. I could have gone to the pool or hung out with the people I am all to comfortable with. But where is the growth in that? Where do I see God's kingdom advancing in all of that? Yes, there are without a doubt times when things like that are needed, rest is needed. But I don't want to rest for all of my life. I want to see change, I want to see life.

So tomorrow, when you wake up, I challenge you to take a look at your schedule and intentionally think about ways that you can live intentionally for that day. I think, and I hope, the longer we are intentional about doing so, the more natural it becomes so that we won't have to "plan out" our intentions (note, even when we plan these things, know that God has complete authority to change those directions). For now, I'll keep training my mind and actions to: live intentionally. live intentionally,live intentionally,live intentionally.....