Choosing to be intentional.

I'm going to need to look it up, the formal definition that is.  There, I found it.  Gotta love dictionary.com!

Intentional:  adj.  done with intention or on purpose; intended

Done on purpose.  Choosing to do on purpose.  There's a great deal of intentional or on purpose items going on in my home recently and I'm pondering a new what intentional means in my life.  How was intentional born in me.  Purpose-filled with intent.  My memory took me back about 22 years or more.  A quiet cup-de-sac at Fort Ord, California and a very young couple raising a very chubby toddler.  

Snot crying!  That's what was going on.  I was snot crying, tired, hurt and worn out.  Working for the last 22 months and leaving behind my wee baby every day so we could survive had worn me out.  I was idealistic and young.  The last straw came a work from a co-worker.  Pushed over the edge, I quit.  Not sure how we were going to eat with my loss of income, I was snot crying.  

To my surprise, my hubby was thrilled.  WELCOME HOME, MOM!  hugs, kisses.  I was so blessed.  I was scared out of my mind.  

Next morning, as my hubby left for the start of work at the crack of dawn, I made the decision to get up and get to work to.  Stay at home mamas were very busy, right?  I needed to get busy working and moving my little family forward.  Truth was, we had so little, there wasn't much to manage, except our sweet cherub of a baby girl.  So, I started laundry at 5am.  Yet, as I look back, that early morning when I got up and started taking control of creating a home for my family was the beginning of intentional.  

The beginning of intentional for me was swinging our babe each evening after dinner in the mist, going to ladies Bible study at church, participating in VBS, story times at libraries for toddlers, cooking dinner.  Intentional caused me to pray, plan and choose.  What could we afford to do and what was best for our growing family?  As I look back on those very young days in my life of mothering I'm so grateful for them.  I'm grateful that I chose to be involved in my home, not simply watching soap operas and chatting on the phone with other women.  I chose my baby, my husband and his very young career.  We also chose jointly, our sweet church.  

During those years of not comprehending the word intentional and purposeful living, we were both building faithfulness to Him.  Compared to now, with a life racing by us at breakneck speed, purpose-filled living was a breeze.  Yet, time has taught me the principals discussed in Hebrews 10 of holding fast, not wavering, choosing to intentionally live the Gospel of Christ each day.  Our pastor used those verses in his sermon on Sunday.  It brought home the idea of intentional living and not giving up.  With this simple beginning, I hope to share more intentional living moments in my life as a wife and mom.  But tell me, what does intentional mean to you right now?  What are you doing in your home and life, On Purpose?