Intent

I'm not one to keep resolutions.  I've been known to change my mind.  My husband has characterized me as impulsive more than once.  It is true; I am all those things.  But, the important parts of my life are lived with intent.  My core, my heart, my beliefs, my faith, and my internal wars.  My intent this year is to be more thankful.  And God has given me a means, a road map, to guide me.  My friend, Betty, mentioned Beth Moore's website and how she is doing a scripture memory team.  We choose two verses a month to meditate on or memorize.  At the end of 2011, you will have 24 verses of God's Word {hopefully} sewn into the folds of your overworked, overstressed brain.  Sounds like a plan.

My first verse comes from Psalm 73.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26 NIV

Below my written verse, I have the names of those I need to pray for, two cousins, two friends who are more like sisters, my family and myself.  I need a lot of prayer.  Seem to always be in need of it. 

So much of what we say and do is without real intent.  A man flirts with a lady, just for the heck of it.  There is no real intent there.  How can a person know what their actions and words do to another.  I've been guilty of it myself.  I've been just as guilty of masking my intent, too shy or closed off to get my point across.  We should all speak with intent.  We should all act with intent.  A hundred years ago, you would write a letter over the course of a day or two, pondering each line and bit of information.  Now, five seconds of typing gives us more information than we'd ever want or need to know.  We communicate without thinking.  We live our lives in instantcy.  That isn't a word, but I can't think of another.  It has taken me years to get through situations were there was no intent, or where the intent was mistaken.  I want to live in intention and study intent, and God's will.  I'm getting older and time is running out.  I'm thankful that time isn't up yet, thankful for the journey.