Be Intentional

I am not a super organized or Type A person at all.  I tend to have broad plans of what I need to do or accomplish, but no immediate deadlines to get it all done.  And believe me, I am fine with that.  The thought of having to plan out my day with lists and time slots actually makes me nervous.  So sorry to all you list lovers out there...you can keep them.  And you can cross off trying to get me to like them.  That way you can feel accomplished. 

This does not mean that I am a mess of a person who doesn't get things done.  It just means that I may have something more pressing (or enjoyable) come up that pushes aside an item to another day.  This especially happens around nap time in my home.  I sit down with my laptop at the kitchen table intending to add to my book, research products that I am interested in, or learn more about homeschooling options.  This is when my time can run away from me.  I get distracted with texts or Facebook messages.  I simply MUST watch the latest episode of *insert lame reality TV show here* (Teen Mom...I know).  By the time I am ready to focus on my task, nap time is over and there are two pairs of little human feet running around upstairs like wild elephants. 

A friend mentioned that we need to be intentional about our goals.  How true.  I decided to spend that day's nap time at my computer working on my next essential oils class.  You know what?  I sat down with a cup of coffee (and my focus oil), and busted out a ton of information over the span of an hour.  You know what else?  I felt good about it.  I didn't feel like I had just wasted away another break in my Mommy-day. 

After that, I had to wake up the kids and hustle over to pick up my husband from work.  My car was at the mechanic for routine maintenance, so I was driving my husband's car.  On the way there, the check engine light came on.  Moments later I saw the temperature gauge spike up above the red, and the car really didn't want to accelerate.  Luckily I was about a half mile away from my destination, so we pushed on and I was able to get it parked after fighting with the gas pedal to get the thing to move.  Fun times.

I am a chronic worrier.  If there is some random thing to get concerned about, I am there in a flash to blow it out of proportion.  Don't get me started on researching medical issues or how we won't have water in our state before long.  But in the back of my mind I just kept thinking about how I needed to be intentional.  I needed to choose my reaction with a purpose.  I didn't freak out.  I didn't yell at my 5 year old who was asking why the car was being funny as I willed it forward.  I was calm.  I chose to be calm.  I chose to focus on the positive rather than the negative, and that simple intentional choice made the next 3 hours go so much better than they could have.

Yes, we had one car that needed to be picked up in the next 30 minutes or we would have to wait another day.  Yes, we had our second car stuck in the parking lot at my husband's work.  But you know what?  When I chose to be positive it opened me up to see all of the God things about our situation.

1.  I made it to my destination
2.  A coworker was able to drive my husband to pick up our other car
3.  We were at a place with restrooms (hello!  I have 2 kids who need to use the potty!)
4.  We were at a place where we could get dinner (thank you Caf)
5.  The kids were more than happy to run around for the next few hours
6.  The car didn't break down on me earlier in the day when I was far from home with the little ones
7.  We weren't strapped for cash to pay for two cars needing service

And here's a bonus one:
8.  The extra income we made this month almost exactly covered the cost of both cars going to the mechanic.  I'm talking a $10 difference.  This did not shock me at all, as this tends to be the way that God works.  When our fridge died years ago, my very last check from work was the exact amount we needed to replace it. 

So yes.  Intentionality.  I need more of it.  This is something that I am going to be working on in the next month.  I want to be more intentional in what I do, in how I speak, and in how I react to the things life throws at me.  Is it always easy?  Heck no.  But if that day proves anything, it is worth the effort.