What is the first thing you feel when you think about the holidays? I’m hoping it is excitement and joy about celebrating and giving thanks for our freedoms, the coming of Christ, and spending time with family and friends. My guess is that either anxiety or fatigue closely follows that feeling. The holidays are great for so many reasons, but they are also exhausting and overwhelming. In trying to be more intentional with my life, I’m also coming to realize that those feelings are a result of two things: my expectations and my choices. First, any expectations I hold of having a Norman Rockwell picturesque Christmas should be thrown out.…

Every year when October comes around kids start to think about what they’d like to dress up for on Halloween. Then on October 31st we dress up in that costume, grab a bag or bucket, go door to door, knock and say “Trick or Treat” in exchange for candy. I think the holiday has become too commercialized and we have forgotten why Halloween started in the first place.  Halloween means hallows eve, which is the day before All Saints Day (November 1st). All Saints Day is a day designated to celebrate our loved ones who have gone before us and their journey from our world to the afterworld. The holiday…

Remember when we started the conversation on conflict, we defined it as “perceived incompatible goals” (Wilmot & Hocker, 2018). So, what are some of these goals that we perceive to be incompatible? Wilmot and Hocker (2018) identified four categories of conflict goals. Topic: What is the conflict about? Often, conflict parties will be going round and round without realizing that they are actually not in conflict about the same thing. For example, my husband and I once had an argument over a purchase he made. He believed that the argument was about what he bought and I believed the argument was about him not asking me about the purchase before…

As summer fades to fall and the flurries of winter tease us, I am reminded that intentionality includes quiet moments celebrating God’s blessings. His creation. His creatures. His love. One of my greatest joys is watching my black lab, Blue, enjoy the changing seasons. He absolutely loves the snow. I am never more present than watching him enjoy God’s creation. Get out there. Enjoy the changing seasons. Say thanks. Be grateful. How do you bring intention to the changing seasons? We would love to hear from you in the comments! Contributed by Liz Hunt

Summer is a rejuvenating time of the year. Warm temps, endless sunshine and fun with family and friends fill our days. One of my favorite hobbies is gardening. In our northern climate, we have a short growing season and I want to make the most of it.  Why grow a garden? So many reasons but here are a just a few:  exercise…as gardening can truly be a workout relaxation…as there is nothing better that digging in the dirt producing your food and knowing how it was produced teaching life skills to your children creating cooking master pieces from your hard work You will find gardens of all different sizes. Some…