“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”  Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV

Has life turned out the way you thought it would?  Are you fulfilling your purpose?  Do you know your purpose?  Are you who you want to be?  Are you who your family needs you to be?

These are common internal questions for most men.  I am not exempt from these questions.  These questions that men have hovering over us do one of two things.  They either DISCOURAGE us or they DRIVE us.

Does this describe an average day for you?  Hit snooze three times.  Get up.  Get ready.  Put the car in drive a few minutes later than planned.  Work an exhausting shift.  Come home.  Eat dinner.  Yell at kids to go to bed.  Sit in recliner.  Have a nightcap or two…or ten, and fall asleep to Netflix.  Rinse.  Repeat.

If so, then these questions have moved us into discouragement.  You have tried but every time you put your foot forward you hit a roadblock.  It takes a little extra surge of energy that you just don’t have to get over the hump.  I get it!  It is so much easier to find distractions and ignore those questions that keep circling your heart and mind.  The problem is that those questions will never leave.  The more you ignore them the greater the discouragement becomes.

I want to encourage you to embrace these questions and let them drive you.  There is a reason that those thoughts about who you are constantly stay with you.  You are a MAN.  You were created to be a warrior, not a permanent fixture in your favorite chair.  Men, you have the heart of a warrior.  When you are not engaged in the battle you feel lost and out of place.  You do not need to look for a battle to fight in.  No matter who you are or where you are, you are already in the middle of one.  There are constant forces that are warring for your mind and attention.  These same forces are also fighting for the hearts of your wife and kids.  Its time to stand up and fight.

Where Do I Start?

Let these questions begin to drive you, rather than discourage you.  How do you do this?  How do you turn the tide of years of ignoring them?  Is it too late for you?  Its never too late!  You can find the answer to these questions in one word:  INTENTIONAL.

Be intentional in the things that matter the most.  We all understand the concept that when we ignore little problems they then turn into big problems.  Well, the opposite is also true.  When we are intentional about the little things, they can turn into big victories and cause us to win in many areas of our life. 

Start small.  Focus on one thing first.  I suggest starting with the alarm clock.  Be intentional about what time you are going to get up tomorrow.  Establish in your mind right now that hitting snooze will not be an option.  Let’s take it a step further.  Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier than normal.  When the alarm goes off, get up!  Get some coffee and spend those 15 minutes doing something productive, or as I call it, creative.  Focus on doing that one thing this entire week.  You will be amazed at how this one little step toward being intentional will cause more victories throughout your day.  The first battle you face every single day is getting out of bed.  Too many of you men have been starting every single day by losing the very first battle you face. 

Other examples of being intentional:

  • Listen to something positive or educational on your drive to work
  • Smile (I’m terrible at this one)
  • Don’t reach for the TV remote until you have had one conversation with each member of your family in the evening
  • Spend at least a few minutes every evening doing something creative instead of 100% screen time
  • Go to your kid’s practice or game
  • Tuck your kids in at night instead of just telling them to go to bed

Each one of these examples are easy ways to be intentional that only take minutes to accomplish.  If you work toward these things, you will quickly see how these very small things will make huge impacts in you and your family. 

Men, it is time to be intentional.