Well, 2024 whizzed by, and then was quickly followed by January and almost half of February.

I’m not a big New Year’s resolution kinda girl, but there are things I want to work on in the next year, and hopefully for the rest of my life. We’re past the second Friday in January (also known as Quitters Day) and I haven’t given up on these things yet, so maybe there’s hope. 🙂

I’m not a big “Word of the Year” type of person either, but as I thought about the things I hope to improve on, the word “Intentional” kept coming to mind.

Intentionality has been a weak spot in my life. I’m part of the Fly-By-the-Seat-of-Your-Pants Club, (which in some cases is more of an advantage than otherwise..) but there are instances in life where I’ve become convicted that I need to approach with more intention.

I want to be more faithful in prayer and Bible reading. It’s so easy to forget that God wants to hear from me. When life is going pretty well and I’m busy, it’s not going to come naturally for me to stop and seek Gods listening ear. And when things are hard, it’s natural to try to work through things on my own. But God wants to hear from me, and wants me to come to Him first. To do that, I’m going to have to be intentional.

Much like my heavenly Parent , my actual parents would probably like to hear from me more. I don’t enjoy talking on the phone, so I don’t often call my parents (or anyone else) unless I need something. It’s nothing personal, just something I don’t enjoy*, and therefore I don’t naturally tend toward doing it unnecessarily. My intention is to take more time to let my parents know that I do actually think of them, throughout my days. 🙂

*Clarification: I DO enjoy talking to my parents. Talking on the phone in general is not a favorite hobby of mine:) I much prefer to talk with them in-person. (This probably has something to do with the fact that for 10 years I’ve lived where signal is so patchy, that if I want to talk on the phone, i have to go outside and stand in a specific spot to maintain the call.) It’s not too bad in the summer, but on a rainy or windy day, phone calls are misery.

Along this same line, I want to do better at reaching out to my friends. (Just a disclaimer if you’re my friend, please don’t judge our friendship by how often we see one another.) If you don’t go to my church, are not part of my family or my homeschool moms group, I basically never see you. This is not personal. My children and my other responsibilities take a lot of my mental energy and bandwidth. My friends are still very precious to me, but in this season, the interactions have been “precious few.”

Please know that this is not a reflection on how much you mean to me. It’s an evidence of my failure to be a great friend, yes, I need to be more intentional in reaching around; but rest assured, my friends are still dearly loved and appreciated. I know that I have hurt some of you by being too wrapped up in my own life, and that breaks my heart. I make no excuses. I intend to do better in this area.

Another intention I have is to be more like Jesus when met with disapproval, misunderstandings, hurtful assumptions and false accusations. These are to be expected in life, failing humans are going to hurt other failing humans. It just comes with the territory… but I have not always handled it very well.

Jesus, on the other hand, received all of the above, and He had literally no sin in his life. (Before and after the misunderstandings and accusations!)

My natural response when I face other people’s seeming unkindness, is to bristle. I want to be understood, and properly represented, so I want to go to bat for myself and set the record straight.

Recently I’ve been very convicted that Jesus didn’t spend His life doing damage control. He lived His life, and when he was misunderstood, He just accepted it quietly. He knew that His Father knew the truth and that was good enough for Him. And it should be good enough for me.

My intent for the future- y’all may have to remind me of this- is to rest, like Jesus, and trust the Father who knows the thoughts and intentions of my heart. When those are misunderstood, (and they will be) I want to push aside the need to clear myself, and just trust Him. He knows when my heart is in the right place, and He can convict me when it’s not.

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭139‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This Psalm is so comforting to me! ❤️

Another intention I need to put/keep in place is doing my dishes every time there are a few in the sink instead of waiting til they’re overwhelming. 🥴 Most of you may want to snort at the obviousness of this necessary habit, but maybe there’s one ADHD mama out there who’s wondering if they’re the only one whose life sometimes feels like a page from Inside, Outside, Upside-Down. Why is it so easy to procrastinate? I think “I’ll do dishes later, right now I’m going to read to the children.” Then I proceed to read for hours and then “later” comes, and as I’m trying to mumble through the final chapter without falling asleep, I look up and those dishes are just over there like 👀.

I want to find us an easy fix, but I think just doing it is the key. It’s easier said than done. I’ve been making major improvements, just by being more intentional; but don’t come over here today. (I’m still not immune to that thing that happens when you go away too much.)

Last week I was intentional and prioritized human interaction, and this week I’m struggling to catch up. Laundry and dishes abound, and it feels like I’m spinning my wheels. There must be a balance somewhere. 😅 The human interaction was wonderful and life-giving, so there’s that…

If anyone needs me I’ll just be over here doing dishes. 🙂