One Mom’s Secret to Changing the World {Live Intentionally}

She lies in her bed. Her hair once a vibrant red is now gray. The skin that once radiated with youth is replaced by wrinkles proclaiming the years she has endured. She reflects and ponders the days gone by, and remembers with regret, there were many things she wishes she had done differently.

For some of us, this will be our last thoughts before we leave this world.

I wish I had done _________ (you fill in the blank).

What’s the answer to avoiding this sad scenario? Pursue intentional living.

For some, living intentionally often becomes synonymous with legalism  -changing what God intended as a means of experiencing grace into a means of earning grace (Living the Cross Centered Life, pg  115).

However, I like to think of living intentionally as a means by which we place ourselves in the path of God’s grace so that we can fully experience His grace. Who doesn’t want more grace, right?

In short, living intentionally is the pursuit of holiness. It is the pursuit of godliness. I want to be like Christ. And, I want to change the world. I really do.

Sure, I am a stay-at-home wife and mom – arguably the best job in all the earth. However, contrary to popular belief, my dreams did not die when I came home from my office job. My dreams have only just begun. I am pursuing ambitions that only God could have implanted in my soul. I want to create a home that makes it impossible to not think about God. That’s a tall order, but I’m chasing it, pursuing it, and embracing it.

Here at Intentional By Grace, I want to help you look back on your life lived with joy and gladness. I don’t want any regrets or what ifs. We may not remember everything we have done, but we will remember what we failed to do. <–Tweet this!

I am passionate about spurring you on to live intentionally so that when you get to the end of your earthly road you see the glorious grace and mercy you have received. I am passionate about helping you to praise God with all your heart. I am passionate about helping you live intentionally so you can look back at your life and say,

“It is finished. I did all I could do. I regret nothing.”

To borrow the words of Mark Batterson from his book, In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day:

Our ultimate destiny is determined by whether or not we seize the God-ordained opportunities presented to us. If we seize those opportunities, the dominoes continue to fall and create a chain reaction. But if we miss those opportunities, we short-circuit God’s plan for our lives. That doesn’t mean we should live in fear that we’ll somehow miss the will of God. He’ll keep giving us second and third and fourth chances.

Forty years after a felony made Moses a fugitive, God reopened the door of opportunity and gave him a second chance. The grace of God has no expiration date. God will keep opening doors of opportunity as long as we live. But I don’t want to delay the process forty years, do you? Life is too short. I want to seize the opportunity the first time it is presented (page 128).

God is writing our story. He is ordaining our days. He is calling us to fully experience all that He has for us. But for some us, we will miss it because we’re so caught up in what is comfortable, normal, and routine that we fail to seize not just our days but our lives; thus missing our opportunity to change the world.

I am not writing a recipe for an easy life, or a life that will actually end without regrets. I’m not talking about setting up a list of do’s and dont’s. And I’m certainly not telling you that all moms have to do it the same way. So, don’t get distracted by that.

What I am saying is that God has given us one life to live. We only have one chance to raise our children. We only have one chance to love our husbands well. We only have one chance to make a lasting imprint.

Are you going to miss your opportunity to change the world?

This post is linked to Time-Warp Wife and Women Living Well.

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