Is your living in vain???

Hello Blogland!  I hope that everyone had a great weekend (we have been having great weather here in Chicago, today it was low 50s- Spring is on its way)! I went to my first painting party at Colorful Canvas, which is owned by one of my sorority sisters (I don't know her personally) and had a blast!  One of my girlfriends hosted the party, brought together about 14 of us to paint a picture that she selected.  Even as a crafter, I can say that it was very challenging and I have even more respect for artists!  If you are in the Chicago area and looking for  a fun evening with girlfriends, a kids' party or even family, you can check out Colorful Canvas Art Parties here.  Ok, so here is my masterpiece (ignore the squiggly lines, my hand wasn't very steady):

Not too shabby, eh???  Today I got to spend time with the Tween, doing some Easter shopping.  In pure frugal fashion, I got her 3 dresses, from the clearance rack at K & G, originally $100, for $9.99 each.  Oh yeah, we did that today!!!  And I had a coupon... Yeah, I shop like a Boss!!!

Moving on to the topic of today's post - Is your living in vain???  If you listen to Gospel music, you may be familiar with The Clark Sisters and a song they recorded back in the 1980s called, "Is My Living in Vain."  The lyrics are below (courtesy of AZ Lyrics):

"Is My Living In Vain"

Is my living in vain?
Is my giving in vain?
Is my praying in vain?
Is my fasting in vain?

Am I wasting my time?
Can the clock be rewind?
Have I let my light shine?
Have I made ninety-nine?

No, of course not
It's not all in vain
No, no Lord, no
'Cause up the road is eternal gain

Is my praying in vain?
Is my labor in vain?
Is my singing in vain?
Is my speaking, is it in vain?

Is my playing the organ in vain?
Is my praying in vain?
Is my, is my, is my labor in vain?
Is my singing, singing, singing, in vain?

No, of course not
No, of course not
No, of course not

No, no, no, no, no, no
Of course not
No, no, no, no, no, no
Of course not

It's not all in vain
Up the road is eternal gain

Is my praying in vain?
Is my, is my, is my labor in vain?
Is my singing, singing in vain?
I know I'm speaking in vain

Is my playin' this organ in vain, at the temple
At the cathedral, at all these churches?
Is my praying, my praying, my praying, in vain? Ooh

Is it in vain? Is it in vain?
Is it in vain? Is it in vain?
No it ain't in vain
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

No, no, of course not
No, no, no, no, no, no
No, no, no, no, no, no
Of course not

No, no, no, no, no, no
Of course not
No, no, no, no, no, no
Of course not

It's not all in vain
It's not all in vain
It's not all in vain
It's not all in vain
It's not all in vain
'Cause up the road is eternal gain

If you are interested, you can hear the song, from a live recording in 1980, here.  Now, this was The Clark Sisters before the money, so they may look a tad different than what you are used to...

I'm sure I'm not the only person who has ever wondered whether this life we are living is "worth it."  I mean with all of its trials, tribulations, hard times, and if you add trying to live right to it, it's more than a notion, and I've sometimes wondered if it's all in vain???  

On Sunday, Pastor Singleton's sermon was captioned, "Living a Life that Matters," text verses Luke 9:44-56.  He started off asking the question, "Is the world a better place because you were born?"  The answer, he said, depends on if you live a self-centered life or an others'-centered life.  Pastor went on to discuss King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28-35) and his fall because of his puffed up spirit, in contrast to how Jesus humbled himself and became nothing so that we could be saved (Philippians 2:1-11).  He noted that humility leads to exaltation - it takes humility to be saved.

Pastor Singleton also made a very profound statement that rings true:  Sometimes we make the foolish mistake of focusing life on quantity instead of quality - quality of life trumps quantity.  He then noted that one can't live a successful life without "intentionality,"  and that you need positive intentionality;it's not enough to have great talent.  (To tie it in with the text, Pastor Singleton noted that Jesus was headed to Jerusalem with intention for his fate to fulfill the prophesy).  He then said something that really resonated with me; he spoke about how when you lose a person that you care about, that had value to you, you have a hole in your heart when they leave.  And I KNOW that to be the truth; my heart has a series of small holes in it from the loss of loved ones, some in death, others who are still here but just not in my life anymore.    

Almost every week in class, Pastor Thornton reminds us that growth is intentional, when it comes to increasing our knowledge of scripture; he did so again tonight, which confirmed my topic for this post.  It got me to thinking, what is intentional living?  On wikipedia, intentional living is defined as "any lifestyle based on an individual or group's conscious attempts to live according to their values and beliefs."  An intentional life in Christ requires that we figure out what will please Christ and do it (Ephesians 5:10); intentional living is our gift back to Him (Dr. Randy Carson, The Intentional Living Center).  Intentionality happens when you combine information, insight and action.  

We must strive to live life with intention - with clear goals and being others'-centered as opposed to being self-centered.  We must live our lives in such a way that the world is a better place because we were born; so that a hole is left in someone's heart when we are no longer here.  My belief is that if we are doing what it takes to maintain this here faith walk, then our living is not in vain.  Intentionality.  Sidenote:  I found this neat blog post about intentional living; you can take a look at it here.  

And I will leave you today with a quote:  "Change is inevitable, growth is intentional."  - Colin Wilson 

So tell me, are YOU living with intention or is your living in vain??? You know the drill, Holla @ Darvi!  Be Blessed!

xoxoxo