The InterVarsity Press contract arrived in the mail yesterday. Truly it was a beautiful thing to behold. The publisher asked me on the phone if I could have the manuscript finished and in his hands by March 1, 2009. SURE! No problem. Then yesterday I opened the contract and there it was in black and white: March 1, 2009. The date was screaming at me and well, yes, I panicked! So, I noticed on blogstats that only two people have ever read my very first blog posted back in October of last year. If you don’t mind I am going to rerun that puppy, go back to the book and ask everyone for a whole lotta prayers! Thanks for reading, commenting and giving me a place. Hope you enjoy Living Intentionally! Peace.

I travel a lot. Not just overseas, but here at home as well. I meet new people almost weekly and I love it. But something that has started to concern me over the past few years is that I don’t find people living intentionally. Most folks it seems are living by default, or worse yet, by happenstance. This grieves me because I don’t think any of us were designed to live by default. I think we were designed specifically for this place and this time for a very specific purpose. (Shout out to Rick Warren). This sounds so corny and maybe a bit “John Olsteenish” but I think each of us has a Divine destiny to fulfill and unless we find that destiny, that purpose, we feel empty and incomplete. Discontentment can manifest itself in many ways. For example, it can become boredom, depression, addictions like overeating or drugs. Discontentment can manifest itself as consumerism. If I can just buy enough stuff I won’t feel so empty. In my opinion some of the social ills we encounter as a culture are due to us not finding and fulfulling our Divine destinies.

A guy named Paul once wrote, “We are God’s own handiwork…His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus, that we may do all the good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us to do taking paths which He prepared ahead of time for us that we should walk in them living a good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live before we were even born.” I like this guy Paul. He wrote this letter originally in Greek and the word he used there for “handiwork/masterpiece” is the Greek word poema. Yeah, like the English word poem. We are God’s poem created in Jesus Christ to do these good works that the living God planned ahead of time, even before we were born, to do. I strongly believe that if we do those good works then we get a real sense of contentment and peace. I love the old Academy Award winning movie Chariots of Fire. It is the story of Olympian Eric Liddell, a Scotsman who won gold in the 400 meters at the 1924 Olympics. His sister was scolding him once for wasting his time running and racing. He says to her, “Oh Mary, God made me fast and when I run I feel His good pleasure.” Maybe the key to true contentment and peace is doing something with our lives that is connected to God’s design so that we literally feel His good pleasure.

Well, this is my first posting on my very first blog. Thanks Kevin (you mad scientist) for helping me get set up. I hope this site can be helpful to others and not just the ramblings of a big, loud, white woman. I want to end this entry with a quote from Os Guinness’s book, The Call, which I highly recommend.

“…calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to his summons and service.”

FYI = Here’s a picture of Eric Liddell. May you experience God’s good pleasure today! Peace.
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