Life is a Series of Intentional Choices

Today I made a choice.

Rather than my usual trip to Starbucks to do my assignments for class, I stayed home. 

I went onto our back deck and that is where I chose to do my work for the day.

Before tackling that work, however, I made another choice.

I chose to pick up two of the books I am currently reading and I chose to read one chapter in each before starting my work for the day.

The truth I am coming to realize more fully in this season of my life is that life is a series of intentional choices.  

Whether we own intentionality consciously or not, our lives are made up of intentional choices that we make every day.

It seems like my entire life has been focused on productivity.

In school - Make good grades.

At work - Be the one everyone can depend on.

At church - Be the one that never says no, after all the greatest examples we have of Christ-followers are martyrs... right?

I am beginning to recognize that one of the greatest blessings in my life is my oldest daughter.

Not it's not that I love my youngest any less, but expecting my oldest daughter became the means by which God began to break down the lies I have lived with for most of my life.

When we discovered we were expecting Myka, I was stretched to my breaking point.

My health was impacted by pregnancy...

My emotions were raw from extremely difficult situation I was dealing with...

We were moving into a house that needed a lot of TLC

and over the course the my pregnancy 

several relationships began to change leaving me with an incredible feeling of loss as I tried to hold on because being alone scared me.

All of this was so much to handle emotionally and physically,

Myka was the way God began to teach me about choosing intentionally.

Two years later when we found out we were expecting Eden I was much more intentional with how I managed my health, emotions and time.

Sometimes I am hard on myself because I think that things should happen more quickly than they do, but I am noticing that it is actually the small intentional choices we make and not the grandiose life changing decisions that truly impact the fabric of our lives.

Shortly after Myka was born I met our neighbor over the back fence.  Over the past nearly 3 years we have chatted, shared life in small ways and mourned together over the loss of our beautiful flowers last summer!  

The last few weeks as the weather has improved, we have been working in our yard, trying to make a restful and peaceful place to relax.

We have visited with those same neighbors learning more about this little section of town we all call home.

As this has happened not only have we started to get to know our neighbors better, Myka started a friendship.  She now heads out to the back fence to see if she can find her "friend" to visit with when she is playing in the yard. 

The first time Myka ran to the back fence calling for "anybody" her friends, I had a realization...

In a 2017 way, I am living the dream I had as a little girl...

As a pre-teen, I devoured books from the 1950's...

I dreamed of a life where my friends came over or you visited with the neighbors across the back fence.

I dreamed of walking around town, walking to the store and having the shops and restaurants where people recognized you.

As an adult, I had given up on that dream...

It's just not the world we live in anymore...

And then I realized that by intentional choices over four years of marriage, 

that's exactly the life I am living.

It looks different, but I can walk to a market right down the street from our house.

I visit a local coffee shop, where people know me.

I can visit restaurants on Main Street just a few blocks from our house and find people I know.

We all make intentional choices....

We choose to not go against the status quo...

Or we choose to ask if there is a better way?

We choose to meet our neighbor and get to know them...

Or we choose to hide in our homes and behind our privacy fences.

We choose to engage in and get to know our community...

Or we operate out of what we think we know about those who surround us.

We make choices every day.

We intentionally chose everyday.

Sometimes I am learning it takes years to see what exactly those choices produce,

but they will produce something.

I encourage you to take a moment today.

Look at past choices and present choices.

Are your intentional choices creating the life you want to live?

I'd love to hear what Intentional choices you and your family are making!

Please share in a comment!