Intentionally Living...My Daily Scripture Reading

Welcome to post #6 in my series on Intentionally Living. If this is your first time on my blog or this series then head over HERE to check out my 2010 Word of the Year: Intentional.

Be Intentional. In all things.

This week's Intentionally Living Statement:

I am going to be intentional about daily scripture reading. It is the most important part of my day and should not be skipped.

While this next part of the series was random on my part and simply the next in line to be written about, it is not random at all.

I decided today that I hadn't written a good post with substance in a while so I thought I'd do the next in the series on Intentionally Living. I pulled up my mission statements for the year and guess which one was next? Being intentional about Bible Reading.

Okay God...I get the message!

This was surly God's timing. Hubby and I have been struggling this year finding the time to read. I won't bore you with our school load and working full time. We are very busy this year. But that's not the point. The point is no matter how busy we get, our bible reading should be top priority to get done each day.

Yet when things get busy this is the first thing that often gets dropped. We have been on and off again reading and doing a Bible study together and also our own reading and bible study this year.

And the reason I am so amazed by God's timing today is that a week and a half ago Hubby and I started an intense Bible reading program.

We are reading the Bible in 90 Days. Go here to check out the schedule for yourself.

Go HERE to see the post I wrote about the 90 Day Challenge and get more info about it. I wrote that post in January when I first was going to do the 90 day challenge. Unfortunately I started it late and never was able to catch up. I ended up quitting.

And back in January I was frustrated with my daily scripture reading. And now it's July! Am I any better at it? A Little. But not really.

Now doing this post has re-motivated me. Last night Hubby and I were both feeling a little down about this commitment. We had to read between 10-20 chapters a night which can feel really long when you are reading in Leviticus! ;)

It's a big commitment but so worth it. God has re-motivated me today and given me the encouragement to keep going! When we pray and ask God for wisdom and encouragement he imparts it.

Daily Bible Reading is so vital to the life of the believer.

It makes your convictions stronger.

God's sovereignty becomes so much clearer.

The Old Testament comes alive in ways it never has before.

You get to see the story of God's people from creation until the early church.

God's love and promises scream out from the text.

Jesus' love for His people becomes crystal clear when you see the story of his life, death and resurrection illustrated from Genesis clear through Revelation.

Your Commitment to follow him in all ways solidifies.

You  begin to see the big picture. God's Kingdom Glorified!

It makes you want to shout and praise Him.

God's glorify is fully manifested within his words. Within his Holy Infallible Scripture breathed through men to us. Amazing!

Are you struggling today with finding the time? Do you feel like there just simply isn't enough time in the day? Do you have every good intention to read and when the time comes you simply don't have time or are too tired to read?

Then I ask you today to challenge yourself! Bring this issue to God and earnestly seek to make this a daily commitment! Do you plan to do it each night and then find yourself falling into bed too tired? Then plan to do your reading first thing in the morning! Kick dear Hubby and have him hold you accountable. Do it with dear Hubby! Read with your kids over breakfast.

Find the right time that works for you. And do it  every day. After a while this will become habit and before you know it it won't even be a struggle!

When do you find the time to read? What are your routines? Do you have any encouragement to share to those struggling to find the time?

Intentionally Living...My Degree

Welcome to post #5 in my series on Intentionally Living. If this is your first time on my blog or this series then head over HERE to check out my 2010 Word of the Year: Intentional.

Be Intentional. In all things.

This week's Intentionally Living Statement:

I am going to be intentional about my school work. I love it so much not to give it my all.

It's no secret that I am in the middle of my bachelors degree. I am a Biblical Studies and History double major and absolutly love what I learn.

But

I get tired sometimes. I get busy. I get stressed. I get lazy.

If you have ever been in school any length of time then you probobly know what I mean? Classes can be stressful with papers, tests, reading, working, friends, family, and everything else.

But

God has placed me in an amazing place with amazing oppurtunities to learn things such as the history of the Ancient Near East and how to speak Hebrew and Greek!!

This year I am trying to be very Intentional about being obedient to where God has placed me and to try and give my schooling my all. I feel God calling me to an amazing Master's program in Biblical Counseling/Biblical Studies and I am trying to be patent and obedient in that calling.

I need to get straight A's not because I am a perfectionist {which I often am} but because I know God is calling me to use those grades to get to something more. 

And because of this it is all the more important to really give my classes my all. In my classes I don't sit down and learn boring facts and figures...I'm learning about God and his people and I know how extrememly fortunate I to be having this education.

When I sit down in my classroom each morning I'm learning how to read the Bible in it's original languages!!! Wow! How amazing is that?!?

My prayer for this year is that I don't just sit down each morning and do my work. I don't want to get A's for the sake of A's. I want to learn. I want to gain the knowledge that God has placed in front of me and is calling me to one day use in his ministry {wherever that may be that he places me}.

My goal and my Intentionallity is to glorify God in all things.
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God". 1 Corinthians 10:31 {ESV-Emphasis Added}


What has God placed in your life that you are passionate about?

Intentionally Living...A Clean House!

This is the fourth installment of my series on Intentionally Living. I am so happy that I started this series! If your new to this series over the past few weeks I have been posting about my goals to Live Intentionally.

My 2010 word of the year is Intentional. Check out my post HERE explaining just what that means in my life. This series was built off of 12 main statements that I said at the beginning of the year. All twelve things are ways that I am going to Intentionally Live this year.

This weeks post will be similar to last weeks post on cooking. You can find that post HERE.

Okay so this weeks Intentionally Living statement is:

I am going to be intentional about keeping the house clean because it causes my husband stress.

Now this isn't just one that causes my husband stress but of course also causes me stress. The more cluttered my house gets the more cluttered my mind gets. I get anxiety when dishes pile up and when clutter starts appearing. And the worst part about all of this? I'm a total pack rat!

I'm super cheap so I can't bare to throw anything out because I may one day use it again. So I keep everything!! This doesn't work when you live in a one bedroom apartment..I don't have room for everything so stuff just piles up in little piles around the corners of the apartment.

And yes I know the clutter and mess that I deal with is nothing like what you mothers have to deal with! I just pray that I learn how to work really hard on keeping the house clean before we have little ones running around messing everything up so I can better stay on top of it.

Anyway during the summer time I have no trouble keeping the house clean! I have plenty of time to do all that needs to be done! But during the school year forget about it! We both are full time students and my hubby works full time and I work nearly full time. By the time the busy work/school day is over I have to head home and work on homework for hours. The last thing I want to do it clean!! forget it! I just want to sit on the couch and zone out or sleep.

So this year I have decided to be extra Intentional about

making sure the house stays clean. My dear sweet amazing Hubby is taking 19 units (YIKES!!!) which by the way is over full time and works a full time job during the day. (He is graduating in less than a month by the way!!) So this semester I have been trying to help him in any way that I can with being less stressful. God has been amazing to us in all that he has given us and I want to create a stress free environment while at home.

So to Intentionally live out this goal I have decided the following:

1. I will not let the dishes pile up! Right after dinner they need to be washed (otherwise they will make themselves at home in that sink!!)

2. I will not let our laundry pile up until we have no clothes left! I will work on getting our laundry done every week.

3. I will organize things better in our house so that clutter does not build up! {Not to brag but I have been very good about this lately}

4. I will make sure that after I try on my tenth outfit of the morning that the clothes don't end up on the floor.

I have more than this but I can't think of any at the moment.

Who I strive to be: The Excellent Wife

She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

"Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all."

{Proverbs 31:27-29}

What do you do to keep your house clean? Got any good tricks to pass along my way?!?

Intentionally Living...Finding time to Cook!

If your new here then welcome to my latest series. For 2010 I decided to pick a word that would describe my goal for the entire year. And I finally decided on the word "Intentional" and thus the name of my blog was born! Before it was just "My Faith, My Love, My Life".

But I think Intentionally Living beautifully sums up this stage in my life and will continue to be my mission word until I die! Intentionally Living is finding the time and the love to Intentionally Live out my life for Christ. I strive everyday to follow him and become the best Wife, Sister, Daughter, Employee, Student, Future Mother and Friend that God is calling me to.

Thus this series was born. Check out my 2010 Word of the Year HERE. I am currently going through all my mission statements of this year and explaining in more detail what Intentionally Living those statements out looks like in my life.

This Weeks:

I am going to be Intentional about finding the time to cook around my busy schedule.

This one is a big one to me! I have never been the biggest cook! I actually really enjoy cooking but never thought it was very important to learn. My Mom is a fantastic cook but I never really found the time to learn from her. I mean I knew how to cook. I could pick up a recipe and follow it just fine! But that was it. I couldn't just throw together a meal for my Husband and I. So this year I have tackled the challenge of trying to become a great cook for my husband!

My husband loves food and I knew from the very beginning that this was going to be very important to him. We both love eating out but this is usually not healthy or financially smart. So I decided to start trying one new recipe a week. And let me tell you...it has been amazing!! I have learned so much.

I now have a ton of things I can just pull out and whip together a meal. But this is very hard sometimes with our busy busy schedule. I know that all of you Mom's out there are thinking that I'm not nearly as busy as you and you still find time to cook..and I'm sure your right!! So I'm very thankful that I am learning right now how to juggle everything and still have a hot home cooked meal on the table nearly every night! I am praying that my practice now of doing it every night will help me to make this a life long habit.

Not only have I been concentrating on making good home cooked meals I have been trying very hard to make them as healthy {and as yummy} as possible! One great resource that I have found is The Abs Diet. I recommend everyone buy this book right now!! They also have companion books to it that are full of

recipes. I have found most of our favorite recipes from The Abs Diet and they are ALL healthy! In fact look tomorrow for a new recipe I am posting on a new Abs Diet recipe I tried this week. In the meantime go HERE to check out past healthy recipes I've made!

I think that great home cooked meals eaten around the dinner table every night has immense impact on the family! Check out this video by Dine Without Whine HERE.

Dine without Whine is also a great resource. You can find them HERE.

To Love, Honor, and Vacuum also recently did a post on this very subject. Check the post out HERE.

The Excellent Wife-Who I want to be:

"An excellent wife who can find?

She is far more precious than jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her

and he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life...

she brings her food from afar.

She rises while it is yet night

and provides food for her household."

{Proverbs 31}

What do you think on this subject?

Where do you find great new recipes?

Please share with me :D

Intentionally Living...My Attitude

Okay after a longer break that I anticipated here is the second post in my Intentionally Living series.

If you’re new to my blog then head up to my menu bar and check out my 2010 Word of the Year post or click HERE to see it. For 2010 I decided that my word for the year would be Intentional. I am going to be Intentional about living out my faith, my love and my life.

So far I have 12 statements that about how I am going to Live Intentionally this year. The first was on living as a godly wife. Click HERE to view that post.

My second statement for this year is…

I am going to be intentional about being in a good mood whenever I'm at home.

This is the perfect one for me to writing on this week. I have been in a funky mood all week. You know sometimes when you just get in a funk and can’t seem to get out of it? It happens to be everyone once in a while and I hate it!

Anyway…this is a big one for me. I’m not a too terribly moody person. However my frustration with things often gets taken out of my poor innocent Hubby.

When I’m having a bad day I don’t often let many people in on that. At work and class I may seem tired but I seldom let on that I’m just in a stinky mood. Which is good..I shouldn’t take it out on anyone! Lol

But then I get home and I’ve covered my bad mood (I’m sleepy, I’m hungry, I’m sick, I got a bad grade, I feel embarrassed about something…whatever that bad mood may be) all day from everyone and I get with my Hubby and don’t want to cover it anymore. So even though I’m not mad at him in any way it ends up getting taken out on him.

And sometimes it’s not even that I get mad at him it’s just that he’s all happy to see me and I’m in a depressed mood. This is not fair to him!!!

Now this may seem like I do it allll the time, I don’t! Only once in a while…but even that is not God honoring and is not fair to him! My Hubby is a very happy guy and can let things roll right off his back. So no matter what kind of day he has had…he picks me up from work and he’s the happiest guy just to be with me.

Can I share something with you? This has been one of the biggest sin areas in my life when it comes to mine and my Hubby’s relationship. I struggle with having the right response to him when I’m angry. 99.9% of the time he is not even the source of my anger…he’s simply there…wrong place at the wrong time kinda thing.

So the past few years I have been very aware that I do this and have really been trying to change. Some days are much better than others. Some weeks are better than others. But with God’s grace I have noticed my attitude has been changing. And looking back 2 or 3 years ago my attitude has drastically changed.

On days when I’m not responding in the most godly way, God always somehow reminds me of these Bible verses on how to respond in a godly manner.

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31

ALL! Let All bitterness. Wrath. Anger. Clamor. And Slander. Put it all away…don’t let any of it sneak out!

“and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure…” Titus 2:4

We are to be self controlled in all things. INCLUDING our moods! As wives we need to live self controlled lives.

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:1-3

This passage is particularly important to me and consequently very convicting. We are to walk in all ways in the calling to which we have been called.

So this year I am going to be even more Intentional about being in a good mood whenever I’m at home. This doesn’t mean that I will put on a smiley face and be “fake” around my husband. I will simply make sure that I don’t let my mood get the better of me and ruin the precious time spent with my hubby. And when I can articulate my feelings in a more calm manner than it’s easier for my husband to comfort me and get me talking about what’s eating me up (which even I don’t always know what that is until I start talking it through.

Do you struggle with this sometimes? I’m sure it must be even harder for you Mothers!! How do you all handle your mood?

Intentionally Living...My life as a godly Wife

So my word for the 2010 year is Intentional. I began the year by thinking hard about what word would define my year. And no other word would do but Intentional.

 I am a new wife working hard to figure out what exactly that means. My hubby and I are graduating college soon and will be starting a new phase of life. So in all of that I am going to be Intentional about My faith, My love, and My life.

But I'm not going to repeat my whole post about being intentional you can read that HERE. But as the months get away from the new year I forget more and more what it means to be intentional about my life. So I have decided to do a new series on what it means to be to live intentionally and my trials and errors in that. Try not to get too excited ;)

I currently have 12 things in my post that I am going to be Intentional about. I may be adding to this list throughout the year but for now it's 12.

So my first statement for this year is...

I am going to be intentional about being the wife that God has called me to be.

So often in our culture being a wife is not something that people feel they need to work at. But being a wife is incredibly important!! And becoming the wife that God has called us to should be something we are always working at.

But what kind of wife is God calling us to? Of course the first place to look is Scripture :D

So what are we as wives created for?
Genesis 2:18 says, "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." (NASB)

So what does this really mean? One of my absolute favorite books of all time is The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace. I would recommend this book to ANY and EVERY wife! Or engaged or single woman!! Every woman should read this book!!! (And your husbands should read it's counterpart The Exemplary Husband).

Anyway in her book Martha Peace explains this passage as follows. She say, "God created  a wife for Adam who was to be his helper suitable. if you are a wife, He has also determined your primary ministry  and role in life. Yours and every wife's chief end is life is to glorify God, but it is to glorify Him in the manner in which God planned. You are to be  a helper suitable for your husband".

Wow, I know that this is a total counter-cultural statement! (But hey...our Lord and savior was radically counter cultural!!!)
I know that this sounds domineering and many women would cringe as this idea of being a "helper" to her husband. But God wants us to find fulfillment and joy in being submissive (YES, submissive) to our husbands and "helping" him in all things.

Peace points out in her book that "God wants you to be a joyful and fulfilled wife."

Let's take a look at the most famous scriptural reference about being a wife. Proverbs 31 of course! This is a description of "The Excellent Wife"

"She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight...she senses that her gain is good; her lamp does not go out at night...strength and dignity are her clothing and she smiles at the future...her husband praises her saying, "Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all".
Proverbs 31: 13, 18, 25, 28, 29 (emphasis added)

Peace adds to this by saying, "Joy will come to you as you look forward in anticipation to what God has planned for you. A delight from doing your work, a sense of fulfillment that what you are accomplishing is good, and a husband who praises you, are just part of the joy and fulfillment that God would like for you to experience".

Okay enough of her words...she just says it so perfectly!! But when we follow God's design for us we find joy and fulfillment! The excellent wife's husband loves her more than anything. He praises her in front of people for being such a hard worker and so loving to her family. The excellent wife isn't selfish! she wants to see her family succeed in the Lord.

And yes wives we are to be submissive to our husbands. This is NOT a male dominating social idea that society would love for us to believe. This is NOT the schemes of thousands of years worth of dominating men. This IS God's design. And when lived out in God's will it is the best way to live one's life.

Ephesians 5:22-23 states, "Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything."
 
When this submission is carried out it also comes with the male having some obligations as well!

This passage in Ephesians goes on to say, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her...So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself..." 5:25-30.

The first thing to take away from that is husbands are to genuinely love their wives! They are to put their wives before themselves! Husbands are to give up their life for their wife just as Christ did for all of us! This is not just physically saving your wife from death but in everyday sacrificially giving up things for your wife. Husbands too are called to be selfless.
This street is two ways. Yes, God calls us ladies to submit lovingly to our husbands. But our husbands are also to love and care for us. When God's will is followed in this then the most beautiful marriages emerge. When we marry we become one with our spouse. We are no longer separate but now together, in everything.

Ephesians 5 ends with
"FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND SHALL BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH...Each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband." 5:31-33

God created this thing called marriage to be beautiful! God's laws always have fantastic reason's behind them..we just don't always see those reasons.

So for me this year one of my biggest priorities is to love my husband and figure out what this whole thing called being a wife is all about. I am going to be Intentional about following God's standards for me and being a wife. I am going to lovingly submit to by husband and allow him to be the head of our family.

I know this is hard for some people to swallow and I have soo much more to say on this subject but this is all I will say for now. If you want to know more then go pick up Martha Peace's book! You won't regret it!!! Or email me and we can talk more!

Also don't forget that I have a Q & A post that you can ask me any questions. So if after reading this you want to know more about me and my life then leave a question in a comment of that post HERE.

2010 Word of the Year

Wow, it seems like every single blog I follow is doing a word of the year. So of course, I am to ;).

I've seen many great ones this year:

Slow
Dance
Create
Love
Beauty
Honor
Worship
Just to name a few...


So I started thinking about what mine should be. If you don't already know, almost 8 months ago I married the Love of my Life. I love my man so much! And everyone told us the first year is going to be the worst! It's going to be sooo rough, but hang in there! Well so far we have not hit this snag :D. We are going good!


But I'm beginning to see that if we are not extremely intentional about our relationship things could always lead down another path as I'm sure is the case with many couples. The newlywed buzz is slowly wearing off and we are settling into the daily grind of life. Yet we can't let things just settle into the daily grind of life. If we do then all passion and all the little things we love about each other will slowly fade away.


As a new wife, a student, an emplyee, a daughter, a sister, and a friend, I felt that the most appropriate word for me this year would be "Intentional".

{Click the Link next to each sentence that says Post and will take you to a post I wrote about that particular goal..more are being added so check back!}
I am going to be intentional about being the wife that God has called me to be. {POST}

I am going to be intentional about being in a good mood whenever I'm at home. {POST}

I am going to be intentional about finding the time to cook around my busy schedule. {POST}

I am going to be intentional about keeping the house clean because it causes my husband stress. {POST}

I am going to be intentional about my school work. I love it so much not to give it my all.{POST}

I am going to be intentional about daily scripture reading. It is the most importat part of my day and should not be skipped. {POST}

I am going to be intentional about keeping up on my family relationships. Not letting them sit on the sidelines.

I am going to be intentional about keeping and forming relationships with new and old friends.

I am going to be intentional about learning Hebrew and go above and beyond my class requirment. I am going to really learn Hebrew.

I am going to be intentional about listening to God and where he wants to place me.

I am going to be intentional about blogging. I don't have a whole lot of time but this year I am going to be intentional about building up my blog. And asking that God shows me how to use it for his glory.

I am going to be intentional about moving towards living off of one income instead of two. See my post about why we are making that move HERE.

I am going to be intentional about opening our Etsy shop, Sister's Sweet Creations. This is my first step toward one day being a SAHM.

I am going to be intentional about learning how to sew.

I am going to be intentional about welcoming our sister, Sienna, into our home. We are opening our home to her to stay with us for the school year so she may attend the University God has called her to while *trying* to stay out of debt.


Now I'm sure this list will grow but these are the goals I am starting out with.

I am going to be intentional about

My Faith

My Love

My Life