Trust Me . . . You’ve Got to Try This!!
“She looks well to how things go in her household” Proverbs 31:27a, AMP
Who all is included in your household? Don’t forget you are part of your household! So is everyone else, so here is a practical way to look well to how things are going for everyone: You’ve got to try quarterlies! If you don’t know what that is, first check out
Fun Monthly and Yearly Marital Enrichment Habits and Living Intentionally in Marriage: Quarterly Check-ins with Your Spouse.
Recently during my quiet time in Esther chapter 9, I was humbled by the intentionality of the people. They were even strategic and intentional with the way they celebrated! I desire to grow more in the way I celebrate others, so this passage inspired me to take a few preparatory steps before diving into our next quarterly, in hopes of living with greater purpose and intention. Here’s how it unfolded:
Intentionality is a theme I repeatedly encounter throughout the Bible. I had also recently listened to Sandra Stanley and Allie Stanley Cooney’s Mother Daughter Relationship episode, where they not only talk about quiet time to study the Bible, but they also recommend we take one step before that. They convince us to first think about how we want to use that quiet time. It’s great to be strategic and intentional, but a planned process is what gets us there. This process begins a few steps before our intentional action, first with ideation, then clarifying our win, preparing the soil, and then beginning. It may require a little more time on the front end, but our intentional actions and rhythms will be far more strategic and profitable if we take these steps first.
I was inspired in that moment to follow this process to see if we could elevate the intentionality of our quarterly and its outcomes. Our meeting time together is short, but the dividends it pays linger for months to come. So I texted Mark these questions and I wondered if they might be helpful for you too, as you prepare for your own quarterly. This is the summary of my ideation, hope for clarification of our win, and preparation of the soil so that we could hit the ground running for our quarterly as soon as we began our actual meeting time together.
How can we come well prepared for our quarterly?
How can we time block the allotted 9-5?
What do we want to be true of that time when we conclude?
What areas are we seeking clarity?
Where do we desire a fresh/clear vision?
What tasks do we want completed by the end of our time together?
Can we both come to this planfully, going over the plan the night before executing the plan because the protected execution time is such precious time!
Mark was on board and inspired to do his own prep work. I could hardly sleep the night before because we’d never been this strategic on the front end. I couldn’t wait to see what clarity and purpose came out of our meeting time together . . .
And then our sitter canceled. This usually happens when we are looking too forward to something AND it’s something pleasing to God, so the Enemy wants to come and kill/steal/and destroy it all.
But no good thing is ever lost with God!
Our prep ahead of time was a gift and a fore planned blessing from the Lord because we paid our girls in marbles (more on that another time) to look after one another while we proceeded to meet at our dining room table for a shortened, flexible, and louder quarterly than expected!
It was a good reminder of the truth found in Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (NIV)
We can’t plan for everything, but I love Benjamin Franklin’s wisdom here, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." Let’s do our part to plan well so that we can follow through even better!
As always, I hope these questions inspire you to plan ahead so that you too can enjoy your own practical chats for intentional living, Amen!
Love always,
Laura
About The Savvy Sauce
Practical chats for intentional living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.
They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!
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