Intentional Living

 One of the things God has showed me recently is that He wants our relationships to be intentional.

My time overseas made me realize that all people in a sense are the same, most relationships are made and based on the premise of what "you can do for me" or "what I can do for you." I myself have been found guilty of treating people this way, especially in my quest for employment. My relationships with others have been more about connections I made and whether or not I thought they could find me a job than the condition of their soul.

In some places in the world it might be shown through arranged marriages, that when two families join together there is some sort of profit for both parties involved. Whether it's wealth, status or possessions this kind of living leaves an emptiness that can only be filled by having an intentional relationship with Jesus Christ. By recognizing are need as sinners for a savoir and believing that He became the ultimate sacrifice and died the death we should have died, so we can have everlasting life with Him. As followers we are to be in constant intentional relationship with Him so our relationships and lives can be guided by His Spirit. As followers we are to be intentional about Christ and to be responsible with His death.

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation." Galatians 6:14-15 

 John Piper's book titled Don't Waste Your Life helped me see how deep and prominent the call of Christ should be in our everyday living. Intentional living is when our joy is found fully in the cross of Christ that when He becomes our all satisfying Joy we start boasting in the cross and valuing relationships above return. When we are intentional about living we glorify the Father in that our joy points others to Him.

As Christians when we live intentionally we no longer live for ourselves but for Him. The world has been crucified to us and we have been crucified to the world, meaning our old ways are now dead we must begin to live a new life because we have been given a new life worth boasting about.
 
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God." Romans 5:1-2

 Living Intentionally is all about boasting in the cross to point others to Jesus.When we fully understand that He is enough then everything we once held onto holds no meaning because once we understand and recognize that the things we were holding onto hold no eternal value then our dependance or attachment to those things is made void.

"Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:3-4

My goal is to live intentionally, to act and tell others about Him and to point them to the cross that they might find everlasting all satisfying Joy in Christ Jesus. That In my relationships with others whether at work, home or in my community that I boast only of the One who is satisfies all. 

Praise God From Whom all Blessings Flow

I am glad to know guardian angels are all around us working constantly. I can attest to this due to the fact that I was on my way home from feeding a friends dog. I came back on Tryon and turned onto 70 and the car I was driving stalled, I was going left toward the Garner ramp but since the car stalled I just tried getting all the way over to the curb and all was going well until the steering wheel locked. It Locked going left into traffic coming from behind. I can tell you I've been in a lot of random auto situations but this was definitely the scariest thing I ever experience. I was praying that I could make it home then I just prayed that no one would hit me since the car was on the lines between the two lanes of traffic. It was as if instead of parting water God had cars going around me on both sides. I flashed the lights a couple times, put the car in park and restarted it. I made made it home with it stalling two more times on the way but thankfully without the traffic.

Since the almost accident I got a minivan... it's just one of those random God things! I saw a post about a minivan on Facebook my friend shared from her friend's page and they are giving me a minivan, it has a bunch of miles but I cannot be more excited because after being scared to death that I was going to die in the "almost accident." I told God I couldn't afford a car and that I needed one and that the only way I would be able to get one is if He made it possible. Not sure why He's given me a minivan but I'm not complaining! So far the van has been amazing. I feel so much safer in the minivan than I did in a car. God is SO good! I am so thankful and so blessed!

Valentines Day, A Day of Remembering Those We Love

I thought I was prepared for the day, the day of my grandma's viewing. Most of the girl cousins have been busy working on some picture boards for the viewing today; pictures of grandma with her grandkids, pictures of her with her kids, teams, associations and ministries she has been a part of over the years.
My mom told me before we got to the funeral home that the casket would be in the same room, so I asked if it was open and she said it would be. So I was quite prepared going in, I looked at the picture boards we had worked on and pretty much skipped passing by the coffin, but I could not help but looking at it. Grandma looked pale and stiff but at the same time it didn't even look like grandma because she didn't ever look like that. She always had a smile and was easy to make laugh. She was the most stubborn and strong willed woman I ever knew. The body in the casket was not my grandma...
Friends of the family came to pay respects, some I have met before while most I had never seen before. I spent time talking with my cousins talking of good times we had over the years and our favorite memories with grandma. When the viewing ended, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next... My grandpa walked with his cane over to the casket stood there bent over looking at my grandmother, the woman he shared 58 years with, was a special and tender scene that expressed all the love, commitment and dedication to each-other over the years. No my grandparents were not perfect nor did they have a "perfect" marriage, but  with the love of Christ were committed to each-other and to God until death.  

^"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."1 John 4:9-11

^{Today may not have been a typical valentines day, but I am thankful to celebrate the life of my grandmother Norma Ruth Stachowiak and the love she had for Jesus and her family.}
 

<sup>"For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

"For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul." ~ It Is Well with My Soul H. G Spafford ♥</sup>

Losses, Friendships and Coffee?

The past year has had it's share of tough times. I lost two pets, one a sweet little bunny named Jasmine the sweetest mini lop ever! She loved to be held and my all time favorite cat Cody (aka Code Man) Life is bitter sweet without Cody. He always woke me up in the morning with his clever knock something on to the floor routine in the morning, he always made sure I made it out the door in time in college. He could also "come," "sit," "paw" and "five". He was the cat that let me do pretty much do ANYTHING to him! I am not exaggerating. He loved to cuddle and liked it when I held him like a baby and rubbed his belly. Forever missed sweet boy. You're still my favorite! :'(

Then one of my best friends moved away. I always hate it when that happens. Anyone who has moved surely knows how hard it is to keep in contact with friends afterwards, life moves on and so do people. I believe God puts certain people in your life at a certain time for a certain for a reason, they may be there for only a moment or maybe several years. But God in His wisdom knows how they will impact your life. The decisions you will make because of their influence, both good and bad. They may have been in your life for only a moment but what they brought to your life in way of friendship or even just conversation may impact you for the rest of your life.
I am so thankful for all the people that are a part of my life story.
Now how about meeting for some coffee?