seeking the Father intentionally.

Today, we are kicking off our Intentional Series! When I asked what topics you wanted covered in this series, time management and relationships were the top two answers.

So why am I beginning with seeking God intentionally? Because it is the beginning. The end goal of being intentional in every area of our lives is not to optimize performance - it is to honor God, by being a good steward of what He has blessed us with.
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Don't get me wrong, you can implement intentional living in other areas first and see results. But it isn't until our hearts and minds are stayed on Him that we welcome Him into every area - and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in being intentional. Seeking the Father has to be the foundation for every area of our lives.

why we seek Him.

The first step in seeking God intentionally is know that He has sought us. 

Each of us was created uniquely in the image of a God who loves us and desires intimate relationship with us. For some, this thought is almost too much to bear. The weightiness of knowing the Creator of the Universe is passionately in love with YOU seems foreign - or even, impossible. But friend, let me assure you, our heavenly Father is after your heart because He loves you fiercely.

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won’t He also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one—for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Romans 8:31-39

Don't skip over those verses, friend. Read them again and let them sink deep into your heart. If you've read them a million times, read them again. He is speaking to you, here and now - you are loved. 

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
- Ephesians 3:16-19

When we understand the incredible love the Father has for us, intentionally seeking Him becomes an overflow of our love for Him. That doesn't mean it no longer takes effort, rather the motivation of love is stronger than one of obligation.

I created a print to remind you of His love! It's based on the prayer of Ephesians 3:16-19, but personalized so you can pray it over yourself everyday!

Ephesians Prayer Printable

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when we seek Him.

​Three months ago, our youngest was still nursing at night and sleeping in our room. I had not slept through the night regularly in almost 8 years. Every single article I read about spending time with Jesus recommended the same thing: Get up before your kids for quiet time.

That would have been fabulous, if it had been possible. But in that season, it wasn't. I actually stopped having quiet times altogether. I didn't stop spending time with God - I needed Him far too desperately for that! But I began being intentional about spending time with Him even in the chaos of our days. Even when I was exhausted and the kids were extra needy and we had several worker meetings in one day - being intentional on those days meant putting on worship music, praying as I worked, and reading His Word at meal times.

In every moment, of every day, in every circumstance, we have the ability to intentionally choose to seek Him. Carving out time to focus on His Word is critical, but our time with Him should not be isolated to a 30 minute session at the beginning of our day. Rather, we should seek Him throughout our days - asking for His guidance, following His leading, expressing gratitude for His greatness, and experiencing the beauty of His glory.

how we seek Him.

1. ​Pray. In the quiet morning moments, as you wash dishes, while you shower, on your way to the store - pray. Just like you talk to your family and friends through out the day, you can talk to your Heavenly Father through out the day!
2. Worship. Put on a CD, stream music from your device, or watch a worship DVD. Youtube has an ever growing number of worship videos. 
3. Read His Word. It is living, active, sharper than a double edged sword, and the very bread of life, Whether you read several chapters at a time, or choose a verse to meditate on - make sure you are in the Word daily. Place scripture around your home, in your wallet, on the screen of your devices. Set up an app on your phone that will remind you it's time for your daily reading plan. 
4. Be part of the body of Christ. God's Word reminds us of the importance of being in fellowship with other believers. (Hebrews 10:25) If you have a home church, make it a priority to attend. If you don't, find a place! Remember, you are joining other followers of Jesus to gain understanding of His word, seek Him, bring Him glory, and tell others of His glorious truth and love! You are not seeking a perfect group of people, a place that gives you warm and fuzzy feelings, or source of entertainment. You will be doing life with other people - and people have different opinions, personalities, and giftings - and not a single one is perfect. 
5. Spend one on one time with God. I know I said earlier that for a season I 'gave up' quiet times, but remember, I didn't give up meeting with Him. Put it on your calendar. If you're anything like me, when life gets really busy, appointments get high priority because they have to be kept. Make an appointment to meet with God, and guard that time with the same importance you would a meeting with your pastor, best friend, boss, or doctor. Because, really, He fills all those roles! 

what seeking Him looks like in my life.

Every morning, I wake up two hours before our kids come out of their rooms. (More on this, time blocking, and schedules later in the series!) My first 30 minutes of every day are spent with God. I grab some coffee, pray for our family, friends, and strangers, and then spend time in His Word. Some days, I get caught up and go over 30 minutes during this time.

Before breakfast, on week days, we do worship time as a family for 20-30 minutes. We usually stream videos on Amazon Prime. Some of our family favorites right now are Desert Song and Beautiful Name by Hillsong!

Every evening, we do a family devotional and prayer time. With little ones, we have been careful to make this part of our night time routine. Some nights, we read a quick devo, and prayers are short. Other times, we each take as long as we need to pray about any and everything on our hearts. We set aside 30 minutes for this, but are flexible about it.

Before bed, John and I read and pray together. We are going through

The Love Dare Day by Day: A Year of Devotions for Couples.

Seeking the Father intentionally for me has meant setting time to meet with Him. Instead of giving Him what's left, I make meeting with Him a priority. There is still so much I have to learn - so far I have to go. But I am falling more in love with my Savior - and growing in my knowledge of His love - every day. Seeking Him intentionally has given me the grace, strength, and joy I need to accomplish everything else He has given me to do!

I'm looking forward to continuing this series with you over the coming weeks! Feel free to reach out and let me know what areas you'd like to be more intentional with!

How do you seek the Father intentionally? What are some of the challenges you've encountered in seeking Him?