Purposeful

Bill and I took a trip to Kalispell to be with our Montana family. Christmas-time is so full of activities for them that going either early in December or January works best. We love our times with Phil, Jenelle and our three amazing grandchildren. One thing we know about being in ministry is you have to be flexible.
This month I am going to take the letter P in PURSUE and use it for the word
PURPOSEFUL
How to be a Purposeful or Intentional Leader
Whether you’re leading your family, working outside the home, or working in ministry we are all leading. Doing life on purpose, gives us a pathway for what we want to see happen.
Recently I was with someone who was asking me about raising my kids and working. She had questions of how I did my schedule. I’m going to share a few ideas on how I had to be purposeful.
During our early years of ministry, I wore several hats, so I knew I had to be purposeful with my time. My children and Bill were my first priority, but I was also working fulltime teaching school when we came to Portland.
Some practical ideas:
Saturday I took an hour and planned meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner, I then wrote my grocery list from the menu. This helped me stay on track when I went to the store. It was the days of using coupons and I used them to make sure I stayed in budget.
Sundays I made all the lunches in paper bags and lined them up with the kids’ names on them, the only thing I made in the morning was their sandwiches. That was one way I had to be purposeful to help myself stay organized. Of course, as the kids got older responsibilities changed and they helped.
I also found that going over our weekly and monthly schedule with Bill was very helpful. We always had a Friday date time where we would regularly discuss calendars. It was so essential having three children in three different schools, all in school sports. Bill and I both tried to always be at their games. Sometimes we would each go to one half and switch so we could see each of them playing.
One area that was so important to be intentional was in my devotional life. Because of our schedule I wasn’t always able to have a set time. What I learned to do is look at my schedule, make a time and write it in as a meeting; that way if someone called or wanted to schedule an appointment I could say I had an appointment at that time.
It is so important to have that time each day. Don’t let the busyness of life rob you from spiritually replenishing yourself daily. It’s during these times that Jesus can speak to you. Pray in your car. When I am driving even now, I often take that time to pray.
So much could be written on this subject. Hopefully, these ideas are helpful to some of you reading this today.
My question to you is: Where do you need to be more purposeful? Make a plan and work the plan.