The Queen of Good Intentions

tiara III remember wanting to be a beauty queen during my preteen years. I am not sure what pulled me in the most – the gorgeous gowns or the desire to be officially labeled beautiful. Bless my awkward pre-teen heart…it was for the best my family could not afford for me to participate in beauty pageants. Pimples, braces, and a lack of anything curvaceous would have kept my head quite tiara-free.

Thankfully, as I have grown older, my desire to be found beautiful has shifted from wanting to look fantastic in a swimsuit competition to longing to see and share the beauty the Lord has placed inside of me. I am an encourager by creation. I love to stir hope and instill strength with words, both written and spoken. My heart feels most alive when I am sharing words of encouragement. And I could spend hours at my local card store picking out just the right cards to send to those I love.

Yet, I have to admit that all too many times I end up being the queen of good intentions and poor excuses when it comes to getting said encouraging cards in the mail. Sigh. I never had dreams of being that kind of queen as a young girl.

Maybe you will recognize some of these passing thoughts:

“Oh, I should send _________ a card just to say hi.”

“Wow, I sure do love __________. I need to send her a note telling her that!”

“Hmmmmm…You really seem to have _________ on my heart a lot lately, Lord. I should drop her a card in the mail.”

“Did I ever send __________ that thank you card I meant to write?”

The thoughts enter my head, I decide sending a card is a fabulous idea, and then I let myself get caught up in the busyness of day to day life. Even when the thoughts persist, I all too often end up telling myself I will get to it later.

But the truth is, we are not guaranteed a later.

The Lord nudged me recently to send two LONG overdue cards, and I am so thankful He did. Those two precious people passed away within weeks of me finally mailing out my notes. How my heart would have grieved if I had never sent those last words of love in the mail.

“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

You and I have been given gifts. We have been given beauty to minister to the world in Jesus’ name. But we have to be intentional, purposeful in sharing our gifts. We need to be sure we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit instead of making excuses on why we will get to it later.

I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be the queen of good intentions. I want to be a beautiful, intentional daughter of the King.

How about you? What is your gift? Anyone the Lord is leading you to share it with today?

14 Responses to The Queen of Good Intentions
  1. Kathie
    May 3, 2012 | 7:42 am

    I’m with you, Kimberly! Queen right alongside! And yes I have a MUST get card in the mail TODAY to someone I am hoping will open a window of grace and start again. So many, many times a good intention will come, especially on Sunday to do before the week is out. More often that not the week is out and the good intention remained only a good intention. BUT in JESUS name I will to step by step become less and less a queen of good intentions. Thanks, Kimberly!

    • Kimberly
      May 3, 2012 | 7:46 am

      Praying your card is well received and that grace does indeed flow! And praying right along with you that I, too, will become less and less a queen of good intentions. 🙂

      Hugs to you, sweet Kathie!

  2. Jill
    May 3, 2012 | 7:47 am

    So good Kimberly!! I’m right there with ya…card shopping was my hobby before kids!! This ties right in with what God’s had on my heart – the sin of complacency!! Wow…He wants me to get the message and those He’s placed in my path need me to! Thanks again for being a vessel!! Blessings to you, Jill

    • Kimberly
      May 3, 2012 | 7:57 am

      Complacency. Sounds like such a mundane and non-threatening word. And yet, it is such a great big dangerous one for me as a Christian. It is indeed a sin! One I think we may all too often overlook. I need to be so sure I do not slip into it. That is exactly where the enemy would love each of us to be. May we let Him stir our hearts to love in action today. 🙂 Love you, friend!

  3. Rose
    May 3, 2012 | 8:19 am

    Thanks to you Kimberly you have told me today one of the gifts I had possessed for so many years. I, like you, feel alive encouraging people and now I know I’m an encourager also besides the other gifts God has blessed me with. Thank you so much for your little stories. They bless me so much. Keep on doing the good job you do and have a wonderful day!

    • Kimberly
      May 3, 2012 | 2:39 pm

      I did not know that being an encourager was a gift for so long. But when I took a test on spiritual gifts, one of my main gifts showed up as exhortation…encouraging. It felt so affirming to know God wants to use my love of encouraging. Blessings to you, sweet Rose! Thanks for taking a minute to encourage ME. 🙂

  4. Laura Rath
    May 3, 2012 | 6:25 pm

    Hi Kimberly,
    Your post is reminding me that I need to get better about reaching out to people, and not just have the good intentions to do so. But it’s also reminding me that I shouldn’t just have good intentions to tell others about Jesus. We are called to do so even when I get nervous or think someone else can do it better. Writing has helped me in this area. I think it is the gift God has given me and now He’s calling me to use my gift for His glory. And what an incredible experience it has been!!!
    Thank you, I really enjoyed your post today!
    In Christ,
    Laura

    • Kimberly
      May 3, 2012 | 8:47 pm

      Thanks so much, Laura! And you are so right about not just having good intentions about sharing Jesus either. Our pastor recently gave all of us little lead fishing weights to carry around in our pockets. He said he hears so many times people questioning whether or not the Lord is leading them to witness. “Lord, is that You?” He told us to reach into our pockets, touch that weight, and know that we are indeed feeling “led” to share Jesus. 🙂

      Blessings, to you!

  5. Amy Alves
    May 3, 2012 | 7:01 pm

    Good Evenin’Kimberly,
    That was cute and deep all in one post! I was working on my homeschooling “schedule” this morning, and I had a thought. What about doing a “charity” or hospitality act each week with my kids? There is specifically an old man in our church family who can’t come out to church anymore. His card is long overdue. He is now on our list! I’m so blessed by your sharing sister, keep sharing! ~ Amy

    • Kimberly
      May 3, 2012 | 8:50 pm

      I think getting your kids involved in a hospitality act each week sounds like a great idea! 🙂 Blessings to you as you get your kids in on the love in action! And thanks so much for the encouragement. 🙂

  6. Faith
    May 3, 2012 | 8:54 pm

    Wonderful!! Yes…I want to be a queen of godly intentions….intentional daughter! Loved that!! this was convicting in a way for me because as i work thru an issue in my own life right now, I’m finding i am keeping some of my friends at arm’s length….and i DO NOT want to do that…so..that nudge I felt from God as I read this makes me realize i DO need to place that text or call in the morning to check on someone! thanks for opening up your heart!! (and yes, you are beautiful, inside and out!) 🙂

    • Kimberly
      May 3, 2012 | 9:08 pm

      I so understand the temptation to retreat, to pull away when life gets hard or stressful. I think the enemy loves it when we isolate ourselves like that. I know that as you obey the Lord’s promptings to reach out even in the midst of your own storms that there will be blessing. 🙂

      Thanks for always being a sweet source of encouragement to me, beautiful Faith!

  7. Barbie
    May 10, 2012 | 10:54 am

    Oh this reminded me I still have a package to send to you 🙁 I do have good intentions! I can tend to procrastinate too often in my life and then I get overwhelmed with the back log!

    • Kimberly
      May 10, 2012 | 6:18 pm

      I promise, promise, promise I did not even think about that when I wrote this. I am SO bad about it myself. Love you!