Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. They go from strength to strength (Psalm 84:5,7).
From the back of the room, a hand popped up. “So what does your subtitle, Living With Eternal Intentionality®, actually mean?”
On this May evening, forty friends gathered in our home for praise, prayer, and dedication of my (then) newly released book, The Leader’s Wife, Living With Eternal Intentionality®. We called it, “A God Party.” While the group mingled and enjoyed Polish and Hungarian appetizers, Larry slipped to the garage and returned with a nondescript cardboard box. I stared in disbelief as he placed the sealed carton containing the copies of this brand-new publication on the hearth.
Moments later, with anticipation at a peak, we invited our guests to be seated and to join us for the unveiling. Suspense mounted as all eyes—mine included—focused on the brown box now placed front and center on a tall stool. Larry reverently pulled back the folded flaps and I gasped. Speechless, with tears, I lifted the first copy from the top of the stack, and marveled at a dream come true.
Oh, I wish you could have been there to join us in praising God! That night, we did, indeed, dedicate this book with a mission to His glory and to the encouragement of women.
Following a brief interview—during questions and answers—my friend asked, “What does Living With Eternal Intentionality® actually mean?”
My answer is as follows:
For you and me—followers of Jesus—Living With Eternal Intentionality offers a personal manifesto for ordinary people who choose to live extraordinary lives—wholeheartedly for the glory of God. As pastor Matthew Heard says, “I am not the star of the story.”
Three words constitute our ethos: acknowledge, dedicate, reaffirm.
• I acknowledge my life is not my own; I belong to my Savior Who set me free.
• I dedicate myself to God and to His purposes for me.
• I reaffirm on a daily basis my submission to His will.
I acknowledge that my life is not my own.
The Designer signed His Autograph across my heart, and His Words formulate my thinking: You were bought at a price (I Cor. 6:20). And he died for all that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again (2 Cor. 5:15).
With every fiber of my being I desire to bring honor to Him. This decision forms the bedrock foundation for life at its richest and best.
I dedicate myself to Him and His purposes for me.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will prove what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).
I view my earthly sojourn as a stewardship from God. My relationships, choices, pursuits, priorities, hobbies, hopes, habits, interests, investments, dreams, and decisions are offered to Him for His glory and my good. Thus, my life in all aspects and arenas is His. Whatever you do, do your work heartily for the Lord … (Col. 3:23a).
I reaffirm on a daily basis my submission to His will.
Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)
My eternal destiny sets my daily direction. With His supernatural power filling me, and His anointed Word guiding me, I sift each aspect of life through the grid of my commitment to Him. This perspective—neither a formula nor a fix—emerges out of a burning desire to please Him. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it (2 Corinthians 5:9).
When challenges drain our spiritual vitality, and they do –
When self-focus shifts our gaze, and it does –
When cravings tempt us to chase empty pursuits, and they will –
… we recall our commitment and realign our sights. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we lean long and hard into The One leading us in our pursuit of Living With Eternal Intentionality. After all, in His presence is fullness of joy both now and forever (Psalm 16:1b NASB).
As Chris Tiegreen aptly says, “Eternity is in your heart because God wanted you to live with that perspective. Step into His Story in every area of your life, and live as though everything has meaning. Because it does.”
Living With Eternal Intentionality®
Lord, I give up my own plans and purposes, all my own desires, hopes and ambitions, and I accept Thy will for my life. I give up myself, my life, my all, utterly to Thee, to be Thine forever. I hand over to Thy keeping all of my friendships; all the people whom I love are to take second place in my heart. Fill me now and seal me with Thy Spirit. Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, for to me to live is Christ. Amen. -Betty Scott Stamm
https://www.reviveourhearts.com/true-woman/blog/betty-scott-stam-life-surrender/
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