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Intentional Living
March 9, 2009
In November, after a HARD fall I took, it was discovered I have something called 'granulomous disease'. It looks like it's snowing in my lungs. One of my sisters died of lung cancer a year and a half ago which causes me to be very concerned. Even when lung cancer is diagnosed in the early stages your longevity is about five years. Five years!!! "What do I want to get accomplished in five years?", I ask myself. The word 'intentional' keeps coming to mind.
After many tests the doctors are 'pretty sure' it's not cancer. But I will undergo two more years of testing before they declare me cancer free. At the beginning stages of testing I was quite afraid. I thought a lot about how I could live my life with more intention if I truly did have only five years to live.
As with any scare that is no longer an imminent threat I went back to living unintentionally. Oh sure, I still read my Bible and pray, surrender my day to God, ask Him to lead me by His Spirit, but I don't intentionally plan too many things. I go with the flow, trying to be flexible. God keeps speaking that word 'intentional' to my heart though. He spoke that word through a coaching client who recently had a breast cancer scare. He spoke that word through a fellow coach whose group I joined. He spoke that word through the National Women's Ministries of the Assemblies of God. Their theme this year is "The Intentional Woman". He spoke that word through a newsletter that just popped into my 'In' box called "Intentional Women". Just as I started wavering on whether or not to change this month's subject matter another newsletter I signed up for was sent to me and you guessed it it was about 'intentional' living. I think it's time for me to take this more seriously! It's time to listen, pay attention, and act on what God is telling me.
Intentional means: premeditated, on purpose, planned, thought out. So in my quest to live more 'intentionally' I have a set of questions that I am asking myself.
What do I want people to say at my funeral? That seems a little morbid but what they say about me is my legacy whether I planned it or not. So what legacy do I want to leave? How do I want to be remembered? Once I have answered these questions I can plan my goals for living intentionally. In my planning I will ask myself, "what Kingdom value does my goal have and how do I plan to carry it out?"
How are you living intentionally?
Blessings,
Rhoda
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