What will you leave behind in 2022?

It’s New Years Eve AND it’s a Saturday which means MOST of us have time to ponder this question👇🏽

“What will I leave behind in 2022 so I can live a life of unhindered purpose in 2023?”

It’s a serious question to consider BEFORE setting goals.

Goals are super important, but I don’t think that we begin with goals…

Goals are not just about achieving something.

Sometimes, most times, they require us to leave something behind.😬

Living a life of intention takes work. I like to call it, “The Sifted Life”, & here’s why:

The word, “intent” literally means, “to sift”.

If we are going to lead a life of intention & purpose, we need to sift our lives, allowing harmful, hurtful & unproductive

👉🏽things

👉🏽relationships

👉🏽& habits

fall away SO THAT we can focus on what remains => that which is helpful, important & productive!

Living an intentional life of purpose takes work, so what will you leave behind in 2022 so that you can enter 2023 unhindered by the things that rob you of productivity & purpose?

P. S. I’m leaving behind over-thinking & over-planning!💯

#goals #2023goals #goalsetting #2023 #purpose #intention #intentionalliving #intentionality #visionboard #vision #sift #thesiftedlife

Sacred Time: Creating a Divine Rhythm for the Cadence of your Calendar

Benjamin Franklin once said, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail."

This morning, I awoke after sleeping 9 1/2 hours feeling the effects of failing to plan...foggy-headed, tired and lacking motivation.

I felt led to write those words on the top of my journal, so I did…

Then my morning reading led me to learn about the “sacred time" of the Jewish calendar. I then felt led to write those words on the top of my journal, so I did...

As I looked at the words, I quickly realized how the lack of “sacred time” has led to feeling foggy, tired & lacking motivation.

Somehow, “Planner Girl” allowed her calendar to dictate the pace of her day instead of FIRST intentionally setting aside “sacred time”, a time that creates a Divine Rhythm to the cadence of my calendar, a cadence that allows time, space and place to simply, “Be Still…" Planning 101, right? I love to plan and yet so many “good” things are presented during this holiday season and before I know it, I am saying “yes” to too many good things, which ultimately rob me of what’s “best”… When I look back at the study of the Jewish calendar, I am stunned by the intentionality held within… whether the daily sacrifice, the gift of the weekly Sabbath, the waxing and waning of the monthly New Moon Festival, or the various annual festivals throughout the year, each and every event is intended to help maintain a close connection between God and his people and to remind the Jews of His faithfulness and His plan of salvation.

• The Daily Sacrifice reminded them that the LORD was their Daily Sacrifice

• The Weekly Sabbath reminded them that the LORD was their Creator

• The Monthly New Moon Festival reminded them that the LORD was their Tree of Life

• The Annual Passover reminded them that the LORD was their Redeemer and Justification

• The Annual Feast of Unleavened Bread reminded them that He was their Sanctification

• The Annual Feast of First-fruits reminded them that He was their Resurrection

• The Annual Pentecost reminded them that He was their Latter Rain

• The Annual Feast of the Trumpets reminded them that He was their Sentinel

• The Annual Day of Atonement reminded them that He was their Judge and Advocate

• The Annual Feast of Tabernacles reminded them that He was their Light, their Water, their Shelter, their Provider and their Savior form this world.

The Lord placed this sacred calendar of events before the Jews to remind them that if they would honor Him as LORD, then He would honor them with His Presence.

During this season that has the potential to wreak havoc on our priorities, it is vital that “sacred time” is set aside to connect with our LORD and Savior…time where the effectual smoke of our morning sacrifice rises through the air and sustains us until the day comes to a close and we meet again in intimate evening worship with the One who Sacrificed for us, our Creator, our Life-giver, our Redeemer, our Sentinel, our Advocate and Provider of all things…

Stapleton, Tom. "The Daily Sacrifice of Daniel Chapter 8 Explained in a New Way." Jesus' Resurrection. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016. <http://www.jesus-resurrection.info/the-daily-sacrifice.html>.

#planning #calendar #season #busy #bestill #intentionality

Brevity Barometer

I woke up early this morning with these two words running like a ticker tape through my thoughts:

Brevity Barometer.

After a few moments, I had the picture of an hourglass with sand grains incessantly falling through.

Lastly, Psalm 90:12 surfaced in my thoughts…”Lord, teach me the brevity of life so that I may grow in wisdom.”

I pondered it for a while and finally fell back asleep around 3:00 a.m. I woke up a few hours later with a deep longing in my heart for another week-long Thanksgiving break to spend with my family. I so enjoyed the funny quips, the nerf gun fights, the decorating of Christmas cookies, the good food at family dinner and the even better pockets of sweet conversation in between…

There have been several women who have gone before me in life who gently reminded me on many occasions, “Kimberly, enjoy your sweet boys while you can…before you know it, they will be off and running the race set before them.”

Having two sons out of the home is surreal at times…the quietness can be stifling. I have spent many of these still moments wising I could go back and undo or redo or highlight and delete the moments of striving, the moments of perfectionism, and the moments when my desire to control the variables in life ended up “wasting” the precious moments that could have become a sweet memories.

All that to say, I ended up walking through the day today with a renewed gratefulness for what really matters, and a gentle reminder of the brevity of time that we are given with our children and even our parents…

Holy Spirit, become my Brevity Barometer, nudging me to slow down when things inevitably speed up. Lord Jesus, help me to relish each moment You allow me to breathe on this earth. Grant me a heart of wisdom, o God, that allows me to love deeply with your love, your compassion, your grace and your Truth.

#brevity #time #intentionality