Intentionality and Homemaking

Brilliant purples and the crisp scent of creation ever surrounds me.  Spring abounds!

 One thing the Lord has been laying on my heart lately is a burden for intentionality in my marriage, in my role as a woman, wife, and homemaker, friend, and child of God.  Before I was married, I focused only on my career, my dreams, and what I wanted out of life.  Marriage has taught me about selflessness, balance in priorities, how to love more fully, and of course--about the character of God.


In order to walk more fully in a joyful and God centered marriage, I have resolved to be more intentional.  These are some things I am learning to incorporate:


Spend plenty of time with girlfriends.
As a newlywed, it is really easy to get caught up in spending all my time with my husband.  I think a bit of that is definitely healthy and I would rather err on the side of loving him too much rather than too little.  However, for me to be the most healthy, I need time with the girls and someone other than my husband to lean on from time to time.  Gathering with sisters in Christ encourages me and reminds me how to be a woman of Christ, always seeking to serve others and my husband. 


Learn to take things to the Lord first, then if necessary-my husband.
Overburdening Matt with every trouble I encounter is not good for him or for me.  Instead, I hope to lean on the Lord solely, first, and foremost as the solution to my problems and the source of my strength and hope.


Spend about 2 hours a week and take time to pray about the week ahead, dedicating it to the Lord's plans, seeking Him and what he wants to do, planning appointments, meals, and a general schedule.
Aside from saving a great deal of time during the week, I absolutely love asking the Lord what he would have me do with my day and week ahead.  This helps me stay organized,  but also focused on the Lord's plans rather than my own.  Also, meal planning helps to keep the budget down by getting the right amount of food.  At the same time, it is important for me to plan, but keep the plans flexibly in favor of interruptions from God!

Establish a morning and evening routine.
Ever since I established these routines, I have started and ended the day with so much more peace and focus.  I am able to prioritize and accomplish the most important tasks first thing, and effectively wind down the day.  This is my morning routine (which can be changed depending on changing schedules/time of life):


Morning routine:
Wake up early (7am) and drink 1 full glass of water, daily planning for 5 minutes
Independent bible study, prayer, and meditation
Prayer walk and devotion with my hubby
Breakfast
Get ready
Pick up the house for 10  minutes
songwriting exercises for 10 minutes and/or yoga
(This is all done by about 9-10am)


Begin the day with devotions, prayer, and Bible study.
Doing this first focuses my sights on the Lord for the rest of the day.  I never want to go anywhere without Him.


Pray daily with my husband in prayer walks, and also on my own.  In my own prayers, I always pray for my husband.
This has strengthened our marriage so much as we learn about the Bible and pray for our ministry partners, our marriage, and what the Lord is doing around the world.  Praying for Matt in my independent prayer time helps to profess out loud my faith in him and his ability to lead our family.  We are one and this is one of the most important things I could do for him!  This is a resource I am using to pray for Matt on a regular basis.


Joyfully serve by keeping the home clean and desirable place to be.
It is all too tempting to complain about what isn't happening around the house, or about your husband.  Intentionally practicing a joyful heart through the strength of God always makes serving fun.  I find that when I keep the house clean and work hard to make our home a haven and have meals prepared, I enjoy the peace of The Lord and seeing my husband's grateful face brings me so much happiness!


Have one date night a week.
Matt is very protective over our date night.  This is non-negotiable to him, as a time where we choose to be together and romance each other, as opposed to being together because we are in the same class, we enjoy the same things, or because we live together.  It doesn't have to cost much, and it strengthens our marriage.


Plan ways to bless my husband, friends, children, and stranger each week.
This can manifest in the form of a letter of encouragement, a phone call, affirmation or act of service, or a gift!

Cultivate thankfulness.
Each day, I am trying to intentionally record 4-5 things I am thankful for throughout the day.  My goal is to reach 1000 recorded acts of thankfulness this year.  I am going to post them on this blog, and I encourage you to join me and many others in this!  Refer to the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp to read more on this journey!


 For each way I consume, find a way to produce.
 I'm a big reader and researcher, a lover of hobbies.  It is easy to consume WAY too much.  For each time I consume (read a blog, book, etc.), I try to produce something (blog post, practice guitar, photography, etc.).


Make time for hobbies.
It is really important to have hobbies and give yourself time to explore something just for fun!  On top of class and work, I try to make time to explore photography, songwriting, fitness, guitar, and culinary arts on a daily basis.


This morning, I told my husband that there are times when I feel like I am trying to give tips and ideas that I myself have not perfected, and it sort of makes me feel hypocritical.  In many ways, I am writing this for myself.  I am writing this because the Lord has prompted me to change some things in my life to make more room for Him.  I want to live a life of health so that I can bring Him more glory and know the Lord more fully.  As I learn to put the Lord first, honor my husband, find the beauty in life around me, cultivate my passions-I see more of God, and I hear his whispers more clearly.


What do you do to live intentionally?
What is the Lord prompting you to do to open up more space for Him in your life?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!