Living an Intentional Life – Luke 5:16

Living an Intentional Life

Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed. Luke 5:16

This year, I made one major change in my life, and it is all credited to my daughter. For so many years, I have tried New Year’s Resolutions and either failed to follow through or failed and restarted over and over again.

What do successful people have in common?

Good habits. Successful people, those who have their lives running a least mostly smoothly and seem like they are not overwhelmed constantly by all the tasks to be done – they have established a set of excellent habits.

What is a habit?

Habit is defined as “a settled or regular tendency or practice”. For our purposes here, a habit is something you do almost without thinking. It becomes so much a part of your life, that you feel as if something is missing if you skip it.

Jesus had habits

Over and over in the Gospels, we are told of one specific habit that Jesus had. I’m sure he had more than this one, but it is the most important.

Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed. Luke 5:16

Jesus went off by Himself and prayed. He kept in regular and consistent communication with the Father.

Examples of Jesus exercising this habit:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying. Mark 1:35

After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone. Matthew 14:23

After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain to pray. Mark 6:46

During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

Get going with the best of habits

If you don’t yet have a daily habit of spending time in communication with God, there is no time like the present to start. This is your year to start a habit that will transform every aspect of your life.

Over twenty years ago I started this habit and have never regretted it. That is not to say that I have not had seasons where I backed away from God or been discouraged or had to restart. There have been. However, I always knew that something was wrong and wanted that communion back one some level.

Other habits have eluded me

I felt like I could never catch up. I was perpetually behind, exhausted, and overwhelmed. I couldn’t catch up with any area of my life. I was easily irritated at any interruption.

A housekeeping routine – totally did not come naturally to me!
A laundry routine – didn’t like to do it
A blogging schedule – flew by the seat of my pants, often finishing posts at the last minute
Planning time for my teaching job – what, you are supposed to do that?
Scheduling homeschooling – set it and forget it
Volunteering responsibilities at church – wing it

My daughter noticed

My twelve-year-old daughter noticed my struggles. She realized what I needed when I was so buried in “to-do’s” that I couldn’t see it. You see, she realized when I didn’t that an intentional life does not happen by accident – it has to be planned).

Such a simple solution, but she sat me down and told me that I seemed tired all the time and needed a change. She asked me to list the things I need to get done every week. So we made a list.

Then, she had me make a grid of all my time during each week. We put the necessary items from my list into the grid. Voila! I had draft one of a schedule for daily life.

A Schedule? The Tool of an Intentional Life

Now, you might want to tune out right now, but wait just a minute. I have been amazed at how this simple tool has totally changed everything.

Suddenly, my house stays clean, the laundry is caught up, the dishes are done, my plans for both my teaching job and homeschooling are done ahead of time, and I am able to get blog posts up and plan for the future. We even added some time for creative pursuits and self-care.

Make the Most Impact

If you don’t have a schedule for your life, you are probably wasting a lot of time without even realizing that you are doing it. I certainly was. I always thought I was doing what had to be done, but in reality, I was doing whatever was in front of me.

When I made the schedule, I looked at tasks and decided what was going to make the most impact on my life as I scheduled it. After implementing the schedule for a couple weeks, my daughter and I reviewed the schedule and made a few tweaks. It has been going strong since then.

Lay Aside Your Objections

There are several reasons I had never put myself on a schedule before. You might be talking yourself out of implementing a schedule because of one of these reasons too.

1. I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to fit everything in and would feel even more overwhelmed.

Here’s the thing. If that happens, something might need to go. Or, you might need to ask for help with some areas. For instance, my children have weekly cleaning chores. I don’t clean my whole house by myself. It took a small amount of time to teach them how to clean their assigned rooms and make a checklist for them. Now, it works each week without my input (except for the occasional reminder).

2. I thought I would rebel at the rigidity of a schedule.

I did follow the schedule very rigidly for at least three weeks. I realized that I had to give it a real chance to establish habits and do any good. I was astonished to realize that I did not feel trapped by the rigidity, but freed by it. When it was time to move on to the next item on my schedule, I could let go of continuing to work without guilt. I knew that there would be more time scheduled later to keep working on those items that seem never-ending.

3. A schedule seemed too simplistic of a tool to do any good.

I tend to want something more joyful, fantastic, ”sexier” than a schedule. A new plan, a new book, a new system is so much more fun. But, this establishing of a routine is what works over and over again throughout history.

With God’s Spirit leading me as I plan how I will use my time, this schedule is doing more good than any tools or books I ever purchased trying to transform my life.

4. I thought I would fail.

When I feel like I will not succeed, I typically choose not to try. I sabotage myself by avoiding it altogether. However, those were lies. Success in most things only comes after failures. Invention, the creation of art, building a business, a great marriage, raising awesome kids – none of these things happens without some stumbles along the way. First and foremost, I had to realize what God says about me.

I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Maybe you have more objections. If you would like to bring them up or ask me any questions, please comment or send me a message and ask! I would love to continue the conversation with you.

Living an Intentional Life Action Step:

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

It is time to stop reading about it and get started doing it.

Step By Step Guide:

1. Pray and ask God to bless your efforts.

2. Make a list of your necessary weekly responsibilities (BE SURE TO INCLUDE TIME WITH GOD IN BIBLE READING AND PRAYER).

3. Make a grid of the hours in your days Sunday through Saturday. It might be that you need to wake up a little earlier, or maybe you have just been misusing your time like I was.

4. Fill in the grid with your responsibilities. When at all possible, put daily things at the same time each day. For instance, each night before bed, I lay out clothes for the next day, floss and brush my teeth, and start the dishwasher. The next morning, I get up, read my Bible, get ready for the day and put away the clean dishes. These have become automatic for me.

5. Check for areas that can connect to one another. For instance, Once you start a load of laundry, is there something else you can get done while the clothes are washing?

6. Implement the schedule rigidly for at least 2-3 weeks. Then, make the tweaks you need to and repeat.

If you would like a downloadable grid and step by step guide for this or a free printable for the Bible Art Journaling above, there is one in the Free Resource Library.

If you do not have the password for the Free Resource Library, click here.

Prayer:

Dear God, help us to be like Jesus – to spend regular and consistent time with You. Show us what habits You want us to have in our lives. Show us what responsibilities to say “no” to and where we might need to ask for help. We need Your help, but we can do all things through Your strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.