Sunday Sentiments: An Intentional Life

When we lived in Kokomo, it was common to see cars around town with a 1/168 window sticker displayed. It took me a while to hear the story behind the sticker, but I finally learned it! They were from one of the churches in town and represented the number of hours we spend in church each week (1) in comparison to the number of hours in a week (168). The stickers were meant to challenge people to consider how they spent the rest of their 168 hours every week.

It’s a question I ask myself regularly, but especially at the start of a new year. Am I being intentional with the days I have been given to live? Am I choosing to use my time on things that matter over the long term or am I whittling away the hours in ways I’ll never recover?

I have one week of 2023 behind me, and I pray I have used it intentionally. (This has been a literal matter of prayer for me. I don’t just throw that out as a figure of speech.)

·        I have been intentional in spending time growing my relationship with the Lord. That includes Bible reading and study, prayer, worship, and spending time in the fellowship of other believers.

·        I have been intentional in our marriage, making my time with Ryan a priority and trying to show Ryan – in tangible ways – how much I love him and value our marriage.

·        I have been intentional in my new work, devoting myself to learning as much as I can about this field, so I can do my very best to be a meaningful employee.

·        I have been intentional about reading at least a little bit every single day – chipping away at the book challenge I selected!

·        I have been intentional in exercising each day. This was a goal Ryan and I decided to make a priority after wayyyyyyyyyyyy too many months of not elevating it to the importance it should have had.

·        I have been intentional in resting, which is something that probably most consider to be a waste of those 168 hours, but it matters. I can’t be intentional about the other areas if I’m too exhausted. Rest is crucial.

·        I have been intentional in prayer, writing down the things I’m committing to the Lord and nailing them to the Surrender Cross that hangs in our home.

This week was 1/52 for the year. Each hour I spend is 1/168 for the week. May I use each of them this year to the fullest for the glory of God! Join me?