I read a quote today: "We judge others by their behavior, but judge ourselves by our intentions."
Ouch.
Inwardly smirking at morbidly obese people? Guilty.
Intending to change my own eating habits to live a healthy life? Always.
Actual change? Not so much.
Wondering why our neighbors don't clean out their packed-to-the-max garage? Guilty.
Intending to maintain a schedule to clean out my closet? Of course.
Actually ever cleaning? Hmm...no.
I live my life intending to do things. Be more careful with the household budget. Work out daily. Wash dishes immediately after using. Volunteer at the animal shelter. Go to sleep at NINE P.M. Wake up early enough to walk the dogs. Walk the dogs if I wake up early enough. Be the one to keep the peace. Be a truly kind person. Shut my mouth. Open my mouth. Call a friend. Write a friend. Forgive a friend. And on...and on...and on...
When do these intentions ever produce action? Does there have to be some reward to me? Do I have to see a gain from the activity? That isn't great reasoning, but it seems to hold true for me. I want to see every good intention actually produce results! Otherwise, I'm only left with a bunch of wasted thought and guilt when the moment as passed.
Does this begin with lowering expectations or focusing on follow-through? When I find out, I'll let you know!
Армагандонизация истории Курска
5 years ago
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3 comments:
I hear ya! I am the queen of good intentions. many of the same ones you have...I finally decided there was only one thing to do. Make a decision and DO IT! This is why I am now getting up at 4:30 for quiet time! I'm starting with the most important stuff first! Going on my 2nd week now... :)
Wow, Andi that is incredible. Do you ever have something that keeps coming up so much you start to think that maybe God is telling you something...? It seems everywhere I turn people are getting up early for quiet times... very inspiring and convicting as I race through my day with nary a glance at the Word.
I have heard it said that if we suffer enough pain, or become uncomfortable enough with our situation, THEN we will make a change. We work a life time on these things. The apostle Paul said...not that I have already attained, or am already perfect, but I press on toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (That quote is from my head, so might not be quite right) That reminds me...I always have good intentions of memorizing scripture. Anyone out there really disciplined in that area? How do you do it? I guess I would do it more if I felt I needed to, and the truth is, I do need to. True confessions.
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