A New Year is Coming!

 I can't say that I'm sad to see the year 2022 come to an end, it has been a difficult year in so many ways. The theme for the year was 'Keep Moving Forward', which I am grateful for because there have been some days when I needed to be reminded to keep moving forward. In a year filled with lots of loss and some big challenges 'keep moving forward' was a mantra I would repeat to myself many times.  The Lord definitely knew I would need these words in my life. In a year that has been sometimes so overwhelming that tears streamed freely, I kept moving forward and was often surprised by my strength to overcome. Learning to find the blessings in the journey has been a gift I am forever grateful for.

In the search for a theme for the year 2023 I've been praying and searching for something that speaks to me. I'm not sure what lies ahead, but I know the Lord will help me through it. He always gives me a simple set of words that are filled with so much power in my life, even if I can't see it sometimes. The words that have stuck with me lately are 'Be Intentional'. And so, I begin my journey to live an intentional life. 

BE: exist, live                                                    INTENTIONAL: done on purpose; deliberate.

These two words bring so many questions to my mind. Do I want to just exist or do I want to really live this coming year? What will living intentionally do for the quality of my life? What does an intentional life even look like? How do I live an intentional life? What blessings come from living intentionally? 

I'm excited to find the answers to these questions and to see how it changes and blesses my life. Not just my life, but the lives of those around me. So I begin in the scriptures.

What is a Godly view of living an intentional life?

There are plenty of scriptures that describe a godly, intentional life, these are the two that really touched my heart.

"But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all you soul." Joshua 22:5 KJV

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40 KJV

Time for a little verse dissection:

The words 'take diligent heed' are not lost on me. He is saying, "Listen up, pay attention, this is important. You will want to know this and take action!" 

Law of Moses or the Ten Commandments. As a little reminder here is what the Ten Commandments say:

1. You shall have no other gods 

2. You shall not make idols before me

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain

4. Remember to keep the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

5. Honor your father and your mother

6. You shall not murder

7. You shall not commit adultery

8. You shall not steal

9. You shall not bear false witness

10.You shall not covet

How important is it to keep the commandments? Well, its not enough to just know them, but in this verse from Joshua it says we are to keep them also. Know and do!

Next, to love the Lord they God. This is so important that Jesus taught it as the first and great commandment. It's not enough to have no other gods, we are to love the one we have with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind! We are to feel so much love for God that it fills our heart and is reflected in our spirit and body (soul), and to have Him in our thoughts (mind). That is an incredible love. It is the love he has for each of us. It's the kind of love that brings healing, peace, comfort, and understanding. What an amazing gift it is to love God and to be loved by him.

Not only do we love God, but we walk in all his ways. When I look up the footnote to this word in the verse it takes me to the topical guide with the heading Walking with God. What would it be like to walk with God? Would I behave differently if I knew God was beside me? Maybe this is a good thought in living intentionally. If God were with me would I...? I can totally see the benefit to living a life with God beside me. I would be a much better person in words and actions. Not out of fear, but out of love. Saying what he would say, doing what he would do. This is something I need to remember!

I think this is my favorite part of the verse: "...to cleave unto him," According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary cleave means to adhere firmly and closely or loyally and unwaveringly. This is a next level kind of closeness. My imperfect self does not always behave in such a way that the Lord would know I want this kind of closeness. Nor would he want to be around me on my grumpy days! If I choose to live an intentional life where I work on getting closer to God each day there could be so much more potential added to my life. I want this in my life! 

The last part of Joshua 22:5 states, "...and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul." I am easily distracted from serving God by all the things going on in my life and the world. I think intentionally serving God by serving others is a good goal to add to my list of things to Be Intentional. As Jesus says, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self." It's second only to loving God.  The great thing about serving others is it always eases the things that are freaking me out in my own life. In those moments I am focused on someone else and easing their burdens, mine take a backseat for a while.

I've got lots to think about in my goal to live my life intentionally. I can already see some weak areas I need to focus on and some of the benefits if I do. There's a long way to go on this journey and I'm sure I will have set backs, but I am looking forward to learning more about this topic and how it will change me.




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