intentional

happy 2013. i suppose before i said that i should've said merry christmas. it's been so long since i've been here to post. i do sincerely hope all who read this had a blessed christmas and have seen the new year begin with anticipation and happiness.
and so it begins. a new year. resolutions, plans, new ideas,  hope unbounded. prayers for blessings, both new and continued. prayers for guidance and direction.
i've given thought to what i look back on from 2012. what made it different? what were the happiest parts? what did i learn? what would i remember most? what would i change if it was within me to change it? many things came to mind in answer to all of those questions.  finally, i've come to this conclusion.
i do not want the remainder of my life, hopefully a very long one, to be lived by accident. i do not want to look back and see a series of haphazard things that "just happened", with my life being summed up with the statement "i just dealt with it." i do not want to live my life "just dealing with it." i want to choose. on purpose. with thought and prayer. so this year, i want to begin to live a life that is intentional.
webster's says this: "intentional: done by intention or design."
synonyms are: conscious, deliberate, intended, knowing, purposeful, voluntary, willed.
so i looked up intention, and found this: "a determination to act in a certain way; resolve, import, significance."
so here it is...to the lady looking at me in the mirror.....think first, from your own heart, with your own brain. pay more attention to that which is within you. realize that it's ok to want something different from others, or different from what they think you should want/need/have...and it's even ok to speak up and say so. you aren't really living your life intentionally if you aren't making your own choices. it's time to choose for yourself. you choose the path rather than being pulled down one that is not authentic to you and your life. it is time to make an intentional choice about who you are, what you want and where you're going. someone told me recently that the pruning process is difficult but often necessary in order to have the best fruit and new growth.
i couldn't have put it better myself.