Living Intentionally

One of the blogs I love to read is finding joy. She writes often about living intentionally, and about slowing down and embracing today, and these posts always inspire me. I have a lot to learn, but I recognise a great need to be 'in the moment' with my family more often. I find I all too easily slip in to the pattern of stressing too much about spills and toys on the floor and things that need to be done and always rushing on to the next thing. I think, "I'll tidy the kitchen, and ______ and _____ .... and then I'll read some books to my girls / watch a movie with my husband / put whatever it is aside and just have fun with my family - and then I get to the end of the day and more often than not it's another day in which I haven't taken full advantage of the wonderful opportunity to just stop and enjoy the wonderful gift of family.

Even as I started this post last night, Jonathan was getting ready to go to bed and I knew that if I finished this post then, he would probably have fallen asleep by the time I got there, and I would miss the opportunity to just talk and that time we spend letting each other know about small things that happened throughout the day while Jonathan was at work or I was out at a choir rehearsal. And so this waited until today.

Those are the types of things that don't make much difference in our day-to-day living, but they make all the difference in our relationships. They're the kind of things that help us realise the joy that we are meant to have in life.

So, I am trying to identify ways in which I can be more intentional. Here is an example of my planned 'intentional moments' for today.

1. Organise a surprise for when my eldest gets home that will be meaningful for her. Enjoy with her.
2. Spend at least 20 minutes on the floor with my youngest with lots of talking and laughing (instead of working while she plays)
3. Write a gratitude list for the day.

Be intentional.