Encouragement to Live Your Most Intentional and Present Life

It’s Thanksgiving a week, a time that can mean so much, yet be full of so much dang expectation of what things should look and feel like. And when we live life with constant expectation, it can take and steal so much of our joy, therefore, today’s episode is a message to encourage you. A specific pep talk full of FOUR words encouraging you to live your most intentional and present life this week!

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Words Encouraging You to Live Your Most Intentional Life

I usually always love this time of year. A time of year for all things family, gratitude, food, and joyful gathering. It’s a special time of reflection. Thanksgiving can mean a lot of different things for so many different people. And the older that I’ve gotten, more and more of Thanksgiving to me means joy.

Memories of Thanksgivings Past

I have the best memories of Thanksgiving growing up. We always did a ginormous Thanksgiving celebration with the entire extended family. I have the best memories of spending the entire day, surrounded by love, fun and family. And while, every single family truly can bring its own dysfunction to the mix,  it was just the best feeling of togetherness.

And I think no matter how old I get, when I think of Thanksgiving, I will think of joy and I will put a smile on my face as I reflect on all of those moments. Of course, now Thanksgiving looks so different. We stopped doing that giant combined family celebration years ago. Now I’m married with my own family and the celebration is smaller, not as many people sitting around the Thanksgiving table.

The Many Emotions that Thanksgivings Past Can Bring

Yet, the memories live fully and they go back so deep and so raw. I remember specifically the Thanksgiving right after one of my closest friends in college had passed away. She passed away to cancer my junior year of college.  And I remember feeling so broken that Thanksgiving. I remember being surrounded by family, family that means the world to me and just feeling so disconnected and so disheartened by the pain and the loss.

I know for so many people that Thanksgiving can be so hard and full of deep, deep emotions. For our family, this year is the first Thanksgiving without my father in law. Therefore, I know that it’s going to be hard and bring a lot of moments of deep pain and sorrow.

Additionally, I’ll always miss my grandmother at Thanksgiving. And I know that this is a week that brings so many emotions and so many pulls at your heart.  Ass much as this week is so meaningful to me and as much as I understand the real pain and the desire for hope and regret as we focus on all these different seasons of life that we’ve lived. I feel like more than anything, it’s the time of Thanksgiving that I truly think through them all, and I can easily relive these moments deeper.

Four Words Encouraging You to Live Your Most Intentional Life This Week

Today’s message is to encourage you and speak directly to your heart in order for you to embrace this week, for all that it is and work on cultivating an intentional presence through it all. I have four specific words encouraging you. Think of this as four specific pep talks, to really allow yourself to focus on cultivating an intentional mindset and presence throughout your week!

Encouraging Word #1 – Focus on where you are currently and accept it

The first words encouraging you to embrace an intentional and present mindset this Thanksgiving is to focus on where you are currently and accept it. Whether it’s conversations you have with friends you haven’t seen in awhile, or with your family members that you haven’t been able to talk too since last Thanksgiving. Allow yourself to focus on where you currently are and accept it for the time being.

We are always either dwelling on the past, or dreaming of what something should look like in the future, and for good reason. Either we are holding to the memories of how things used to be, before pain and the sting of death, and the harsh realness of life took from our joy. And in the same way, we look to the future as we cling to hope, desiring for our current situation of hard and uncomfortable to change.

Words Encouraging You to Focus on and Accept Where You Are Currently

However, the words encouraging you to hold on to this week – is to truly focus on where you are currently and accept it. Accept who you are in this moment. This is the first step to moving on from what is holding you in the past, and keeping you from moving ahead in the future.

Take a moment and reflect if you need to. Journal it out. Journal specifically what season of life you are in. Process it out and watch as you see your thoughts actually formulate into feelings and desires. And as you move through this week, a week that is so deeply rooted in the memories. The memories of Thanksgivings past, of gatherings back when, allow yourself to be reminded of the very things that make you, you. And focus on where you currently are right now, giving yourself the permission to accept it.

Encouraging Word #2 – Maintain a posture of gratitude

The second words encouraging you this week of Thanksgiving is to maintain a posture of gratitude. I know it’s incredibly cliche as this is the time that we are supposed to focus on these things. But there is a reason for it. Now, is one of the most beautiful seasons to truly maintain a posture of gratitude.

Allow yourself to start your day with a thankful heart. Cultivate a few moments just to yourself at the beginning of the day where you reflect on the very specific things you are thankful for. Shift your focus back to this at the end of your day as well.

And if things are starting to feel overwhelming and stressful, or moments where you just feel like it’s all too much, stop yourself right there, in the middle of those thoughts and take those roots and find the gratitude in them. This is such a powerful mindset shift that is essential as we head through the week of Thanksgiving, as well as the craziness of the remaining few weeks of the year!

Encouraging Word #3 – Minimize the expectations

Another important encouraging word for this week is to minimize the expectations. One of the best things you can do for your heart this week is to minimize the expectations. We tend to put so much pressure on ourselves and our family during the holidays. We expect things to look perfectly. The instagram worthy, pinterest perfect picture, color-coordinated outfits, decorated tablescape, and perfectly and deliciously cooked meal. We expect everything to go close to perfect, even though we know that is not going to happen, yet we expect it anyways.

Therefore, a specific word encouraging you this week of Thanksgiving is to truly allow yourself to minimize the expectations. Allow yourself to be flexible. And when you choose that flexibility, find freedom in it and a joy.

Be willing to laugh and smile in the moments that go completely opposite of what you had planned and what you had envisioned. In order to truly live as your most intentional and present self this week so that you can feel all the things and soak up the moments of gratitude, minimize the expectations.

Encouraging Word #4 – Appreciate the moment as you are in it.

Finally, the fourth words encouraging you to live a more intentional and present life this Thanksgiving, is to practice appreciating each moment that you are in. Appreciate where you are in each moment. Focus on what is good in that moment. To actually do this, allow yourself to truly take in the scene as you are in. As you are sitting around the thanksgiving table, enjoying the meal that took so many hours of preparation to finally get here.

Additionally, as you are standing in a messy kitchen, looking at a to-do list completely maxed out at capacity. And as you are wondering what task you should turn to first, wishing you had started this list earlier. Specifically, in each moment as you are in it, with all the feelings and emotions that are moving through you and your heart – be still in that moment. Ground yourself in that moment.

Stop and look around you. What can you immediately identify as a good thing. What can you immediately define as something to be immensely grateful for. And focus on those things. Dwell on those things.

Words Encouraging You to Appreciate Each Moment You Are In Through Our Current Season of Life

We currently are going through another season at home where bedtime is a challenge. My son is only wanting to fall asleep when he’s sitting next to me on the couch doing whatever mom and dad are doing downstairs, and he has figured out how to climb out of his crib safely and to shimmy down and open his door and burst out. 

Therefore, it’s made bedtime a real challenge. Full of really late nights and lots of tears. The other night I found myself sitting on the floor of his room, as he is so overtired, but not wanting to fall asleep. As well as not wanting to leave mom. I found myself feeling stuck, determined to not let you win this battle.  Unable to get to that next part of my day, the time for me and my own personal to-do list. 

As I sat in that moment, on the floor of his room, with him curled up in my lap, I felt a huge push to take all the feelings of stress, frustration and all the other big feelings which were valid. And instead, push them aside and appreciate the moment. 

The Beautiful Thing That Happens When You Shift Your Thoughts to Appreciation

Appreciate that my sweet, sweet two year old just wanted to sit on mommy. That he wanted snuggles and more books.  It was such a beautiful moment to acknowledge, that while I could feel frustrated and be annoyed, feeling completely drained. I also could focus on appreciating this moment as I’m in it. When you do that, take the time to fully appreciate the moment, it’s such a powerful release.

It allows the moment to become sacred,  and it’s such a sanctifying process for your heart. To take what normally should feel overwhelming and stressful and instead to find a real rawness and a joy in that moment. 

Therefore, one of the best things you can do for yourself this Thanksgiving break is to truly allow yourself to appreciate each moment that you are in. And as you do that, slowly but surely you will allow your thoughts and attention to focus on the good, and not what is causing you to feel the other things.

Wishing You a Very Happy Thanksgiving

There you have it. Four words encouraging you to embrace a more intentional life this Thanksgiving. This week has the potential to be a week of great joy, or a week of regret. And it’s a matter of how you choose to frame your mindset, position your heart. Therefore, I encourage you to let yourself focus on living with an intentional presence.

That you would focus on where you currently are and accept it, maintain a posture of gratitude, minimize your expectations, and appreciate each moment as you are in it. Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving and a week full of joy, no matter the circumstance. Until next time friend, have the best day!