Word to the wise ...

Lately, friends have been talking about the "word" God has given them for the year. Not sure if this is a fad, trendy, or something wise Christians have been requesting for years. Nevertheless, I decided to ask God for a word of my own, and he let me know that he'd already given me one.

Intentional.

The word that had been rolling around in my head even before I asked the question, was intentional. Actually, there was a phrase, too: intentional living.

I haven't exactly begun to define it, but I've already found myself doing and thinking things intentionally. Not just going through the motions, or "getting through it" but living the life God gave me consciously. Ha ... seriously, sometimes when I have to think too hard I find myself glazing over and watching the minutes tick by so I can call it a night. But that's not living!

Don't get me wrong, though. I don't think that intentional living means adding more to my schedule. That's overbooked as it is, thank-you-very-much. I think it's more of a "stop and smell the roses" kind of thing. (Or in my case, "stop and smell the sea air.") Or when life gets tough, and it does at times, I've already begun to "stop and praise the Lord" through it.

So here's to 2012 and living intentionally--and finding out more about what that means. What about you? Any thoughts on what you're going to do differently in this new year?