“If I live intentionally, being true to my own personality, serving out of my God-given giftedness and calling, I no longer feel the urge to envy anyone else's career, marriage, ministry, talents or mission.”

The day I (Joan) jotted these liberating words into my journal, I sighed with relief. Although I rarely voiced envy, I was secretly disappointed that others had fulfilled their dreams but I had not. I wanted to glorify God as the woman He created me to be. Yet I wasn’t certain how to do that and I was afraid to even try.

Afraid that God (and others) would think I was selfish if I took the initiative to nurture my interests and gifts. Afraid that my past endeavors might have been a waste. Afraid that I might misinterpret God and do it wrong. Repeatedly I recited 2 Timothy 1:7: For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Then I met Carol Travilla and together we embarked on a journey to discover how to live courageously and intentionally for God. We learned that being intentional means becoming proactive instead of having a knee-jerk reaction to situations. The intentional woman with a heart for God accepts what she cannot change about her season and circumstances, making courageous and deliberate decisions about the things she can change. The attitudes and pressures of other people do not unduly influence her. She is focused and directed, not floundering or driven.

In Eph 2:10 God affirmed that the primary reason for intentional living is to glorify Him as the person He intended us to be and to live out the good deeds He planned for us to do. We also noticed that living intentionally helps:

• Reduce stress
• Develop self-respect
• Establish healthy relationships
• Avoid overcommitment.

As we practiced making intentional choices, we noticed a 5 step pattern emerging. We called it The Intentional Woman process:

Step One: Come As You Are Today
Step Two: Celebrate Your Yesterdays
Step Three: Commit It All to God
Step Four: Consider Your Choices
Step Five: Clarify Your Next Action Steps

At each new life phase or transition point, we return to Step One: Come as you are right now—today—and honestly answer the following questions:

• What is good about my life today?
• What concerns me about my life right now?
• What is lacking in my life right now?

Then we intentionally bring our responses before God in prayer, even writing them down. Our perceived lacks are opportunities to make choices that foster growth and propel us into new adventures with our Heavenly Father.

Perhaps your circumstances are not exactly as you envisioned they would be at this stage of your life. Yet when you come as you are to partner with God, you can be assured that He is in the process of fulfilling His commitment to guide and produce good in you. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10, NLT