awake & free: Five Things Fridays {Fall Intentionality} // Meg

It feels like it’s been f o r e v e r since I’ve popped in on this blog! And it has! I think the last time I wrote was back in April so it’s been a solid six months. I like to join in on the {awake & free} conversations on Fridays with a little thing I call “Five Things Fridays” aka a list – sometimes short and sometimes with more explanation – of five things for your weekend ahead. I think there’s something to be said about resting well, soaking in Jesus, and seeing the beauty He brings to this world. Weekends can encompass all three of those things together & I love that about them. ((I mean, who doesn’t love weekends, though, am I right?!))

Without further ado… here’s this first installment in the 2015-2016 school year [Five Things Fridays] post with a little something about: FALL INTENTIONALITY!

Five things to be intentional with this fall:

Scripture. How can a young (wo)man keep her way pure? By guarding it according to Your Word. –Psalm 119:9– What does it look like to create in your schedule this fall a morning intentionality with God’s Word? It’s a time to create new habits for the school year… it’d be a shame to leave this one out. Use those cool mornings & crisp autumn air coming through your open windows to lean in to Jesus. The perfect fall date.

Reflection. We will not hide them… but tell… the glorious deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonders that he has done –Psalm 78:4– Take time to pray, to ask God to reveal His wonders in your life to you, to begin to reflect on this past year. Take time in the stillness to know that He’s God. What is He teaching you? Where would you like growth? He’s worked mighty wonders. Remember them, thank Him, & declare them.

Rest. My soul longs, yes faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. –Psalm 84:2– Our souls and our bodies are created for rest, and our hearts, for believers, sealed with the Holy Spirit, must find rest in the courts of the Lord primarily. Nothing else satisfies us. Rest in Him this weekend, rest in Grace; take time to slo o o o o w down and find refuge in God alone. Rest is good. Sing for joy to the living God.

Friends. Who doesn’t love a good apple picking adventure or pumpkin patch or feasting around the table full of fresh fall goodness? Even I – a spring & summer lover through and through – can appreciate the richness of fall. And what’s the fall richness without those deepest treasures of friends nearby? Take a risk with them. Go deep. Open up. Share your dreams. Ask those tough questions. Forgive & give grace. Treasure your friends.

Creating. Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. –Genesis 2:7– What does it look like to bring beauty into your life this fall? To create where something hasn’t been created before? To hear new music, to make your own, to be inspired by the beauty around you? Reflect God’s heart for creation in your own life – in your dorm room or simply in your mind – and join creation in giving glory to Him.