your sign to be more intentional with your life

We're back! Season 2 kicks off with a conversation about intentionality and why the opportunities meant for you require you to show up as you, in alignment, ready to receive. 

This episode, I get honest about what unintentional living looked like for me (the situationships, the money with nothing to show for it, the places I stayed just to "fit in") and what it cost me. 

We dig into Haggai 1:6, look at Jesus and Esther as examples of intentional living, and I share the practical framework I'm using to actually make this season different, a personal "skill, knowledge, wildcard" curriculum, plus real game plans for health, wardrobe, social life, and finances. 

If you're six months into the year wondering why things haven't been working out, this one's your sign. Let's be intentional together.

Scriptures referenced: Haggai 1:6, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Ephesians 5:15-16

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, hello, friends. Welcome back to What If It All Works Out Conversations for the Overthinker, Turned Overcomer. I am your host, Daviana, and it's so good to see you guys again. If you're new here, welcome. And if you're returning, it's good to see you guys. I'm so happy to be back. I took about a month off and it's been a much well-needed break. Um, I have just been trying to balance all the things of life along with like school work and making sure I spend intentional time with family and friends. But I pray that, you know, during our little hiatus that you all have been super well and that things are going well for you. We're seven months into the year and we are going to be running in the latter six months. And once I stepped into July, I don't know if it's just me or if y'all are feeling this too, but once I stepped into July, I felt the sense of like newness, like a new beginnings, and it's feeling a lot like opportunity, right? And what I mean by that is I know that there's blessings for you, there's blessings for me, there's blessings for them. In order for us to obtain the blessings, we have to show up as us, and we also have to be in position to receive those blessings. And in order for us to do that in these next six months of the year, we have to be intentional with our lives. And I know that as I reflect, I have felt the most stagnant and I felt the most resistance when I was out of alignment when I wasn't being intentional. So the word of today is going to be intentionality. And I believe that in order for us to obtain this opportunity that's presented to us within these next six months, there has to be a blend of intentionality and alignment. And I want us to lean into that today. When I was out of alignment, when I wasn't being intentional with my life, I was doing things that I shouldn't have done. And I'm gonna tell y'all exactly what I was doing. I was dating the wrong people that didn't align with my values, that didn't exhibit behaviors that I want to see in a husband. I was spending unnecessary money. I was spending time in places that brought me anxiety or boredom. I was doing things, engaging in activities that hindered my productivity, my well-being, i.e., hangovers. And it could also be work too. And when I say work, I want to be careful with that because one, we're all doing the best that we can in this economy, in this job market. Two, I believe that there are some types of experience that you gain from work that you may not even be happy in, you know, but it is necessary for you to obtain those skills to put you in a position for whatever it is that you're working toward. And also not everyone's job aligns with their purpose. So I want to be careful when I say work and unintentional living. But what I do mean by that is engaging in a job that goes against your own core values, I guess. So not living intentional lives can bring you compromise, fatigue, um, dissatisfaction in life, misalignment, and all the other things. So we're gonna talk about in the word what it says when you're misaligned. And I wrote down scripture that I feel like would help us today. And that is gonna be in Hayguy. Hayguy one and six says, You have sown much and bring in little. You eat, but don't have enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe yourself, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages earns wages to put in a bag what holds. That speaks to like doing things that rob you of a fulfilled life, doing things out of mere motion, but it's not like giving you any fruit from your labor. So when I say that in these next six months, we have to run, we have to live intentionally, I want us to see fruits of our labor before the year is out. I want us to take advantage of these open heavens, of the blessings I believe God is ready to pour into us. And I just don't want us to like continue in life with things that don't make sense to where we're trying to go. Like, we're done with that. Okay. So I dug a little deep into the word intention, and I really do like the philosophy and psychology definition. And it says in cognitive science, an intention is described as an active practical commitment to carrying out an action, and that separates it from a mere wish or just admiring a plan from a distance. That is exactly what I mean. You're not just doing things out of mere motion, but you have a practical commitment to carrying out something that you want for yourself. So why should we be intentional with our desires? For me, it's two things accelerated success and a fulfilled life of purpose. When I say accelerated success, I am speaking in the terms of you have a goal and you're dedicated to that goal, and you do what it is necessary to do to get to that goal within moral means, though, right? And then you're not wasting time doing other things, but once you have your eye on the prize, you're focused on that, and that's all that matters. And then also, when I say a fulfilled life of purpose, you're carrying out something that can affect the world around you, but also bring you joy, bring you happiness, bring you fulfillment. And that's the simplest way to put it. And I created a formula, right, when it comes to intentionality and building the bridge from that and the word fulfillment. So I said that intentionality leads to alignment, alignment gets you positioned for opportunity, and being positioned for opportunity leads to fulfillment and purpose. So I want y'all to write that down and make sure that you actually understand like how that flows together. And I also, of course, want us to look into scripture as well, starting with 1 Corinthians 9 24, which says, Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win. All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others, I myself might be disqualified. The other one is also in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 31. And I love that it says, Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. We know that God has plans, right? Plans to prosper us and not harm us, to give us a future and a hope. So when we're doing whatever we do unto God, we're doing it with intention. I have to make sure I really comprehend what that means. If I'm doing things unto God, that means I want to present it in a way that is pleasing, acceptable, that is that's something that I'm proud of. So whether I'm doing a podcast, whether I'm doing makeup in my job, when I'm talking to people, when I'm eating, when I'm working out, whatever it is that I do, I do it unto God because I know that God doesn't shortchange me when it comes to his intentions for me. We should be putting our best foot forward and not um giving God just anything. So that's what I personally have to remember when I'm doing things with intention that if it's going to God, then God deserves the very best of me. Another scripture that I really also resonate with when it comes to intentional living is Ephesians 5, 15. And that says, so be careful how you live. Don't live like fools, but live like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Make the most of every opportunity. I feel like these next six months of the year are going to bring opportunity. And again, we have to be in alignment. We have to be in position to receive those opportunities, to make the most of them. Um, and we can only do that if we're living intentionally, when we're living in alignment to what our desires are. When I think about the Bible and who represents intentional living, the first person I think about, of course, is Jesus. Jesus came, he saw, he conquered death, hell, and the grave for me and for you. He was not moved or swayed by the enemy when he tried to tempt him on the mountain, when he was ridiculed and humiliated from government officials and even his fellow Jews. He stuck to the plan. And the plan was to come to spread the word of the kingdom and to save us. And that's exactly what he did, regardless of how painful it was, humiliating what it was. Um, even from the people that he hung out with, that he chose as his disciples, he was intentional about those things, he was intentional about the words he spoke because it ultimately fulfilled destiny in scripture. Another person in the Bible that I also resonate with that lived intentionally was Esther. When she got married and there was a decree for the Jews, what did she do? She prepared, she fasted, and then she ultimately took action. And that led to saving her people. So there's many examples in the word that shows, you know, people who lived intentionally and then also scripture. And I really do want us to resonate on that as we go throughout July, August, September, and the rest of the year, because God can do a lot with us in um six months. So let's get practical, right? And this looks like writing down the goals. We know that Habakkuk 2 says, write the vision and make it plain. So for me, I have my journal right here and I have my notebook about the things that I'm gonna be intentional about when it comes to my physical health, social, financial, all of those things I want to see a change in. And then I also want to encourage you guys as well to probably write down one thing in different categories of your life where you're trying to see increase or change, where you want God to bring opportunity for you. And then also when it comes to fulfillment in life, get some hobbies. I've seen this TikTok, this girl was like, the reason why you're so bored and unfulfilled is because you don't have a personal curriculum. And she said that it's it'll be a good idea to write down like a skill, a knowledge, and a wild card. So in this case, we can get intentional about a skill we want to learn, about knowledge we want to obtain, and then a wild card. For example, I want to pick up knitting. That's my skill that I'm gonna get intentional about growing in. Knowledge is some of y'all know that I'm in school. I'm not gonna make it complicated. I'm gonna just make sure that I continue to focus and, you know, do my best in school learning the things that I'm already learning. And then my wild card is this podcast. Learn so much that I can, grow in this area, and see how God shows up for us. Yeah, so I want you all to participate in this with me because I know that there are desires that we all have, and there are some things that we're slacking on that that we're not being super intentional about. And you never know what God can do with you. God is a redeemer of time, he can do things in such little time only if you give him something to work with. So find three areas in your life that you're not showing up as best as you can and get intentional about those things. It could be anything, it could be physical, social, financially, it could be mentally, it could be at work, it could be anything. And then also find a hobby or something that you're gonna get intentional about growing in. I truly believe that these next six months are gonna be beautiful, they're gonna be transformative in a great way. And I know that God can show up for us. And I want you all to share your testimonies with me as God is doing it for you, and I'll be sure to share the same because we're in this together. We're all working through life, we're all doing the best that we can. And I understand that it's gonna take some sacrifice, but I believe that sacrifices are worth it when you have something that you're trying to obtain at the end. Um, there's nothing that can really take away from the fulfillment that you get from achieving something that you put your mind to that you got intentional about. So give God something to work with. Make the sacrifice because at the end of the day, it's gonna reap a harvest if you faint not. Before we wrap up, I always want to leave us with a journal prompt. There are three questions that I want us to reflect on that's gonna help us understand what it is that we need to be intentional about as we go throughout these next six months of the year. These questions I got from another amazing creator. Her name is Jodi. She helped me think a little deeper and understand what it is that I need to get intentional about over the next um couple of months of the year. One question is, what is God asking me to build? The second question is, who does God want me to become? And the third question is, what does God want me to broadcast? There's things that He put in you, there's things that He gave you, their visions, their desires, their ideas. And it's like, when will you ever do it if you don't start now? And what I'm understanding in life is that there's always a beginning. Don't despise small beginnings. And I resonate with that so much because a lot of us want to see a big impact from a small beginning. And it's not always like that. There's momentum that we have to build, there's trust that we have to build with ourselves and with others before it gets bigger. So what I usually overthink in this is like, oh, it's not working because I'm not seeing results. So I shouldn't be doing this. When really it's this is new, it's unfamiliar, and it's gonna take time to build. And that is okay. So again, I charge you guys to think, think a little more, get reflective about what it is that you're being intentional about because these next six months mail a lot like opportunity, and it is definitely time for us to take advantage of that. As we wrap up, I want to say again, thank you all so much for joining me in season two of What If It All Works Out, because there are so many things that we're going to overcome. God is going to do so many things, and I look forward to doing it with you. I thank you all again for joining me on this journey of overcoming all the things. And don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, share this with anybody that you feel it can resonate with. And let me know what you all think. I look forward to your feedback. I look forward to connecting with y'all again. What if it all works out? I'll see you in our next talk.