Posts tagged as:

Living Intentionally

Compassion: Write a Letter

by Jessica on January 14, 2011

For the last 5 years I’ve had the joy of sponsoring a child through Compassion (first Diana and now Pamela). I’ve not only been able to help support these girls, but I’ve had the privilege of getting to know them through letters, pictures, and drawings they send. In November, we were able to support a second child. A little boy named Gabriel from Ecuador.

They really are precious gifts and the only downside is how long it takes to mail and receive letters back!

{Compassion is a Christian child advocacy ministry that releases children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty and enables them to become responsible, fulfilled Christian adults. For more info click here.}

I’ve not always been the best sponsor as far as writing letters and over the years I’ve gotten better, but when Lisa-Jo wrote her Lame Sponsors of the World Unite post my motivation was renewed.

Why?

Because letters mean more than I think.

A group of Compassion sponsors have committed to setting aside the second Friday of each month to write their sponsored child. I’m one of them. If you sponsor a child, would you consider joining us?

It’s quite simple, just take 20-30 minutes to sit down and write. That’s all it takes to impact a life.

If you don’t know what to write, wonder how the letter process works, or even if your letters matter then take some time to browse these posts:

Tagged as: Compassion, Living Intentionally

{ 0 comments }

Planning with Intention

by Jessica on January 5, 2011

in Living Intentionally

:: a repost from the archives…with a few thoughts from today::

A few years ago I read Anne Ortlund’s Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman. In it she has a chapter on planning goals and living intentionally that really spurred me on to write my own goals on how I want to grow and what I want to be in life.

I’ve found sitting down and writing out my goals has helped me to be intentional about what I want to learn, grow in, and be able to articulate to myself and others what’s important to me.

Ortlund defines two different categories for priorities and goals: life purposes and life goals.

A life purpose is what I hope to be.

A life goal is what I hope to do.

The life purpose is a personal mission statement for your life, while life goals are smaller steps that will help you in fulfilling and achieving your life purposes.

Under life purposes and goals are your priorities, which Ortlund outlines for the Christian woman as,

Relationship with God (spiritual growth)
Family (relational and serving)
Community and the world

Over the years I’ve added a few more questions to help me review the last year and move on in the next. Answering these questions help me to know myself better, think about how I’ve grown, and evaluate what I want out of life.

Reviewing Life Purposes & Goals

What do I see myself doing in 5 years? What types of things can I be doing now to get me there?
Review the previous list and evaluate your growth in these goals and purposes.
What am I truly passionate about?
Why am I passionate about these things?
How does what I’m passionate about make me feel? What do I value in it?
What type of things bring me joy?
Can I think of anything I could have more of that would bring me more joy?
When do I feel the happiest or most joyful?
What are the biggest obstacles to happiness and joy in my life?
How do I want to see Jesus in my life?

Yearly Reflection Questions

In what ways have I grown in the last year?
What was my biggest challenge?
How has God revealed himself to me?
How have I come to know God deeper?
What am I thankful for?
How have I been blessed?
Have I grown in encouraging and edifying others?
How have I grown in sharing the gospel?
How have I grown in ministering to those outside the faith?
Have I been hospitable those I’ve come in contact with? Both in and outside of the faith?

Casting Vision for the New Year

Reflect on the last year. Consider your growth, experiences, and lessons learned. Ask the Lord what areas he’d like you to grow in or step out in faith. (An example would be to pursue personal growth, nurture meaningful relationships, and reach out to your community.)

Once God has revealed these focuses, come up with two or three questions to answer each month so that you can consistently evaluate your growth (or lack of) and identify any areas that you’re not pursuing.

Thoughts from today:

It looks like a lot of questions to go through, but–for me–I feel its worth it.

I hate looking back on a year, or even a few months, and not being able to see what God has taught me or how I have grown. How am I supposed to be ready to give a testimony if I can’t recall to myself God’s provision, blessing, and correction?

{I also have a series of weekly and monthly reflection questions I *try* to do that help me remember and see what God has done and is doing in my life. I’ll be sharing those in a PDF tomorrow.}

I find that these not only help to give me vision for the coming year, help me to understand and know myself better, but also encourage me to walk deeper and more fully with the Lord.

But also, reflecting on life...not necessarily making radical goals and resolutions, but looking at my life and saying, “I want to be there–what will it take me to get there? I want to grow into that–what needs to change now, in the day-to-day to get there?” That’s what these help me see.

This morning I was thinking about how one of the things I’m passionate about is writing, but what am I doing to grow as a writer? I blog a few times a week, I read the work of others, and occasionally pull a book about writing off the shelf.

But to be honest–I’ve not been very intentional about growing in the craft of writing, being bold enough to explore new areas, to share the story-in-progress that’s sitting on my shelf, or join a writer’s group. Those are a few things I hope to grow in this (that I’m planning to make changes to), but if I never take the time to think about where I want to be and just stay where I am…when will change come?

Does change grow unassisted? Does it come about without encouragement or prodding?

I’d rather live with eyes open…knowing where I want to go and pursue it, instead of just assume growth and change will come on its own.

What about you? Thoughts?

photo credit

Tagged as: Anne Ortlund, Books, goal planning, Living Intentionally

{ 2 comments }

A Focused Pursuit

by Jessica on January 4, 2011

in Living Intentionally

Last week I shared how 2011 will be the year of pursuit–as, hopefully, will be the years to follow.

To live a life in pursuit of something meaningful, apart from myself, and eternal.

To live without regrets.

Unwrapping each day as a gift and not taking advantage of the empty calendar before me.

It’s helpful for me to break those things down. It’s great to have ideas, but if they stay as just ideas with vague direction and immeasurable goals, then in reality they do very little.

I’m focusing my pursuit. Breaking each goal down and listing what I hope to attain in each.

To be passionate about God, His glory, His mission, and His people. By,

studying the Bible
loving God deeply
spreading His love and grace confidently and with great conviction

To be purposeful in my pursuit of Him, in the resources and responsibilities He’s given me. By,

taking a weekly and monthly spiritual inventory (more on this tomorrow)
spending my money and resources as if they were not my own
living simply and being content with what I have
being intentional in my role as wife and mom

To be authentic in my walk with Him, joining with my husband, and walking in community with other believers. By,

being in an accountability relationship
getting involved at church and pursuing relationships
pursuing freedom and being real about sin in my life

As I move through this next month, I’ll be setting aside little bits of time here and there to break these down even further. To not just have a what, but a how…a plan.