Good Intentions

I heard it said once that we judge others on their actions while we judge ourselves on our intentions.  Give that some thought. 

Once I thought about it, I realized the truth of that statement, at least for myself.

My husband can attest to the fact that I have A LOT of intentions, but the action related to those intentions is embarrassingly miniscule.  My follow through is TERRIBLE.  I am an A-B type of person with a new idea Every. Single. Day. All. Day.  One of my friends commented, “That must be fun.” 

Well, maybe, but it mainly leads to a lot of good intentions and a lot of frustration as I am slow to carry the good I know I should do.

Hindsight is 20/20, and you know what?  I am done with that.  As we roll into 2024, I am declaring to all who are listening; 

This is not who I want to be and furthermore, this is not who I am going to be this year, or next year or the one after that.  I am done with all the good intentions that amount to nothing but a false sense of goodness about myself.  I am done getting ready to be ready.

Biblical Call to Action

In the Bible, James asks us a question that all believers in Christ need to take to heart. 

“What good is it dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions?  Can that kind of faith save anyone?”  James 2:14

No, it can’t. 

If we go to church and believe in Jesus as the Savior that gives eternal life, but no one ever sees it through our actions or hears it through our words, it’s not helpful at all.  No one is impressed or wowed or won over to Jesus because we simply show up at church and claim we have faith. 

They aren’t.  

Just like your spouse isn’t won over by you showing up at home and claiming you love them.  Our actions must align with your claims. 

I have A LOT of work to do in a lot of areas, but one of my good intentions has been to write this blog.  I find that by writing, I hold myself accountable while also helping others who struggle with the same problem or who just want to know that there are real people out there who are not perfect Facebook caricatures created to make the rest of us feel less than perfect. 

But…..I haven’t been writing for years now.  

            I’ve been getting ready to be ready.

            I let the discipline go.

I started to allow myself to listen to fear instead of faith, the same old fear we all wrestle with.  What if no one reads it?  What if I say something stupid?  What if I THINK I have something valuable to say and I really don’t.  What if I do all this work for nothing?  There are millions of other voices, what makes mine worth hearing?  

Blah, blah, blah.

Fear is the opposite of faith.  I have known very clearly for years now that I am supposed to be writing and publishing it.  It is one of the best ways for me to authentically connect with people.  Talking is fine, but I can be a little evasive in certain situations.  Writing is therapy for me, and in the past, it has provided some therapy for others. 

            But, I just haven’t.

            Today that all changes.

At the very least, I hope that through these posts, you will be encouraged.  My word for the year is ENCOURAGE.  By God’s great design, our church’s word (which I did not know when I picked mine) is COURAGE.  There are some fancy definitions for encourage, but I like to think of it as putting the courage in someone, helping another find their courage for the day, to move forward boldly in faith. 

• This year, I will not be the person who has good intentions or faith without actions because both are a waste of time and if there is one thing 2023 made clear to me, we only get so much time.
• I will not be the one sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone else to call the play that needs to happen.  In the gap of a mover and a shaker, I will step into the things God has asked me to do.

It seems that at some point in our life, we all slide a bit.   We forget to clearly define and decide who we are becoming and instead let our circumstances and our thoughts railroad us into people we never wanted to be.  We become reactors to our life versus creators of it.  We can blame someone, we can blame something, we can make another excuse, we can procrastinate ANOTHER year. 

Or maybe today, you and I will both be encouraged to be clear about who we are, align our actions with that person, and do the things God is asking us to do, to step out in faith and act. 

Let’s goooooo!

Caveat – you have to say the above in the teenage boy way

**Photo credit Unsplash, Venus Major