I decided to choose a word of the year for 2024.  I reflected on the past year, and the need for discipline came to mind.  I then began to think about what it means to be disciplined.  To me it would mean doing what we need to do, what is right or good for us even when we do not feel like doing that.  A couple of examples would be exercising, reading instead of staring at a screen, meal prepping, and budgeting.  These are all categories I need to improve in and have set goals for myself.  Being disciplined and having better time management and achieving goals do not happen by accident.  In fact, just the opposite, you must be intentional.  You have to wake up every day and choose to be intentional.

Life happens, and we either sit there and let it happen to us or we get in the driver’s seat and take command.  I understand that there are things that occur that are completely outside of our control.  This post isn’t about those things.  This post is to encourage you about the things that you can control.  For example, let’s look at the first part Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God….”  How often in a day are you realistically being intentionally still.  I don’t know about you, but for me being intentionally still can be a really difficult task.  There is always something to distract me, always something going on or needing done.  The kids, the house, the laundry, my job, the husband, the dogs, the dishes.  The list that needs doing, is never really done.

But that’s the point really.  The work, the distractions are always there.  So, we must make the choice, to set aside time to be still and know.  You have to, (I have to) intentionally choose time to spend with the Lord.  Instead of thinking it will just happen on its own.  I’m not saying it never happens on its own, but I am saying if God is a priority in your life, make time with him a priority in your day.

I have found the best time for me to do this is in the morning.  Either before everyone else wakes up or maybe after they’ve all gone on their way in the mornings.  Before I start my own work for the day, spending that time in prayer and reading the word, or with a cup of coffee on the deck on a pretty morning, being still and knowing.  I really notice if I miss this time, my day just does not go well.  I started doing this more consistently last year and it is a habit I am very grateful I have learned.

Time goes by whether we are paying attention or not.  I know I have wasted far too much time, I have missed far too much with my family.  In 2024, one of my largest goals was to learn to manage my time better and looking at that goal caused me to evaluate how I was wasting time or not being intentional with my time.  Social media was a huge cause of this for me, specifically Facebook.  I have set a goal to break the habit of picking up my phone and mindlessly scrolling or as they call it now doom scrolling. 

Now, don’t get me wrong I am still using other forms of social media, just not that one.  For whatever reason that one seems to be the one that causes me to mindlessly scroll and waste so much time.  I had to make an intentional choice to stop doing that.  Then I had to put that choice into action, I simply logged out of the app.  By doing this every single time I mindlessly opened the app I was greeted by the log in screen and this little step caused me to remember the decision I had made to stop thoughtlessly opening the app and scrolling.  It was legitimately disturbing the amount of times I picked up my phone and clicked the app without realizing I was doing it.  It was that log in screen that would make me realize what I was doing and remember the decision I had made.  The decision to not mindlessly scroll and to break that habit. 

I have so many goals for 2024, and I look forward to sharing this journey with you.  What are some examples of what being intentional looks like to you, how you have made progress to being more intentional or disciplined, or maybe some goals that you have set for yourself in 2024?