Live Intentionally

1. Wake up each day and fix your mind on a sense of purpose. Don’t just go about the day, minute by minute, hour by hour, with only a “to do” list guiding your decisions or actions.
2. Just as you nourish your body with healthy food, nourish your mind, with the Word of God, with new information, knowledge, healthy thoughts.
3. Decide that each day is encompassed of a series of moments, some of which you can manage and some of which you can’t. Manage your moments wisely, deal with the other moments just as wisely trusting God to be your compass leading you to True north.
4. Prepare for the unexpected. In planning events, my cardinal rule is to prepare so well, execute your plan to the most minute detail. Visualize everything going as planned then anticipate for—and prepare for—the unexpected. Something WILL happen that you can’t anticipate or foresee. If you understand that, then when IT happens, it won’t throw you off your game.  IT is going to happen, because you don’t have as much control as you think you do. Just be prepared.
5. Reinvention is key.
6. Drop the labels please.
7. Define it yourself.
8. Reframe, reframe, reframe.

I dance because I have to
God made me this way
I express myself fully in movement
When I shake my hands and head and feet it is my
total surrender
To His rhythm of life that beats inside of me.
You wonder why I dance…
Every time I think about the LORD and His greatness, His holiness
and how He chose a wretch… a wretch like me
for His service and for His purpose
The thought is unfathomable, incomprehensible and cannot be contained
It makes me undone, deep down inside.
You wonder why I dance…
I know you do because sometimes you watch in bewilderment when I jump around like a child
free and unhindered
Shameful it may be to others
but for me
It is my way of telling my heavenly Father that His Presence awes me to my core
MOVE I MUST, to thank Him
Move arms, hands, legs, feet, head for His joy is
UNSPEAKABLE!

After church today my dear friend and I chatted briefly. Although it was a short and sweet conversation; it wasn’t the typical after service banter about nothing much. It was a chat that after I reflected on it, shifted my perspective about this stage of  life as an empty-nester entrepreneur. My friend looked at me with the kindest expression on her face and said, “KP, it’s time to enjoy your life.”  The three simple words “enjoy your life” meant so much to me. Certain popular Christian speakers say this to folks all the time. And frankly, I’ve given this advice to others. Today though, on the direct receiving end of this exhortation, something clicked for me like never before.

The three words stirred a desire in me to be more intentional about enjoying my life AS IT IS and ALL that it entails. This is more than just being grateful for living. I already express gratitude to God for that. I have a deep awareness of life’s fragility since I was once on the brink of losing it. No, this is different. I am talking about ENJOYING, taking pleasure and satisfaction in, my LIFE and every aspect of it.

I acknowledge that difficult circumstances will come my way and test my faith but I’ve lived long enough to witness God’s power, faithfulness, and mercy to know that I will be well cared for all the days of my life. I have so much more to learn, so much to get together, and so many unforeseen challenges to face. But I’d rather embrace each challenging task or situation maturely with confidence, not in myself but in Christ.  I also want to stop for a moment and savor each triumph.  I don’t do this enough.

My dear accountability partners, please help me with this. Hold me to this pledge to myself.  I will exhort you to do the same.

“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10b (NIV)