Intentionality Spotlight: Naida of Meaningful Word

Readers. I am so excited today to introduce you to Naida, of Meaningful Word! I met her a few years ago at an expo and fell in love with her designs. We even have some of her work on a couple of tees we own! She has a true gift of making words come to life! I won’t say much more other than her story moved me, and I can’t wait to share it will all of you today!

First some easy stuff, tell us a bit about yourself. What is your
work, your passions and interest?

Hello, I’m Naida. I’m a Melbourne based Graphic Designer and Illustrator with a passion to create colourful pieces and experiences. When I’m not drawing or thinking about design concepts, you’ll find me taking photos, finding new brunch locations or exploring nature with like-minded individuals.



I absolutely love your work! How did you get started with art and ultimately Meaningful Word and your shop?

Thank you, I’ve always loved to draw ever since I was young. When I think about my art journey it took me a while to understand that 1 - this ability was a gift from God, and 2 - that it can be use for the church and ultimately for His glory.

The first time I ever thought of God having a part in that area of my life was when I was in high school. It was Friday night during lifegroup when the youth pastor said “Praise God” after I told the group about an award I received. I was brought up in the church, but I didn’t have a relationship with God so I was unsure why she said it. It actually rather annoyed since I did all the work – Silly me.

Fast forward to my final year of University where I focused all my attention on getting a job after I graduate because the design industry can be very competitive. It’s not just about having an amazing folio, but your industry experience and who you know that sets you apart. It’s funny how scripture says ‘Man may plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps’ (Proverbs 16:9) – because this was very much the case for me. I landed an internship with a design studio in the city where I got to work on some exciting projects for clients like Melbourne Fashion Week, Australia’s Next Top Model and for other up-coming fashion designers in Australia – It was a dream!

I had a lot of fun and learnt a whole lot, however, the more projects and more time I surrounded myself in that atmosphere, the more I found myself changing and what little connection I had with God was fading. I was in a dream role, but something wasn’t right and I was watching many things fall apart. But little did I know that God was working on me – out of the mess He was able to make something beautiful. I had to see all my plans crumble, to be at a point where I was left alone crying to God for Him to speak comfort into my life and redirect my path. He was asking me to surrender my career to Him.

Thus then Meaningful Word and a new career path were born as a result of my encounter with God. Meaningful Word started as a small challenge for myself to memorise verses – hoping that if I spent enough time and make it look visually appealing enough, I’d store it somewhere in my mind. It was also a means to create something for God rather than what I was doing in the past (helping the rich get richer, and creating things that looked beautiful, but had no substance to it). God was asking me to trust in Him and to use the gift He had given me back to Him to help others. Ever since then I’ve seen first-hand the fruits of surrendering to God. When you give it to Him, He blesses it, multiplies it and lets it be a blessing to others. I had planned my own way, but God’s plan exceeded it all – far more than I could have hoped for, and for the better.


I love how your art really brings Biblical truths and stories to life. Where do you get the inspiration for it? Is it hard, or does it come easily?

Well I guess it comes naturally. The verses, quotes or stories I post are actual reflections and thoughts from my devotionals that week – the things I’ve read, heard or experienced. I like to post scripture because I truly believe that the messages in it are just as relevant now as they were then. I just love how Hebrews 4:12 describes the word as ‘living, powerful, sharper than any two-edge sword’ and is a ‘discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’ – yep, still relevant!

My process starts with the message/text and then I consider what are the key parts of the text that I what to highlight. Vibrant colour palettes, patterns and nature drive my style and approach on each piece I create.

What is one other specific area in your life you find that intentionality is absolutely critical? How do you exercise mindfulness in it?

Investing my time wisely. This is in the form of time with God, time I spend with others and on my health and wellbeing.

Devotional time is super important for me because I just know I’m going to have a lousy day if my priorities aren’t right. Time with others is investing in solid relationships and to also empower the next generation. I’m a strong advocate that the Creative Arts has a place and can be used for the church – we need to encourage this more!  We all have a talent that can we used for God, we just have to give it back to Him.

And lastly, rest. In the past I used to think that ‘resting’ is for the lazy, but God has shown me that rest is just as important. Our mind, body and soul need to recover, and the best way I like to rest is on the Sabbath in nature with others – far, far away from a computer screen.


If you would give one piece of advice about {this area of intentionality} so someone who struggles with it, what would you tell them?

Ensure that your relationship and time with God is your first priority, because the rest follows. Start small. It’s not always easy to know where to even begin and yea, you may find you don’t want to pray or read your bible, but the beautiful thing about God is He meets you where you are. Start small, and have a conversation. Open your heart and ‘taste and see’ His goodness - you will not be disappointed. Start small & be consistent – After all, habits are formed in 30 days.

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Find Naida at her Etsy shop or on Instagram

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Intentionality Spotlight: Blog Love: Embrace Purity

Today, I am excited to introduce you to one of my friends, Kayla of Embrace Purity. I met Kayla this summer and was blown away at how someone so young was so full of Jesus’ love! I hope you enjoy getting to know her in our Intentionality Spotlight segment as much as I have!

First some easy stuff: Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your work, your passions and interests?

My greatest passion is reaching out to the hurting and sharing the hope of Jesus. I’m a freelance writer who loves music, reading, and spending time with the people (and animals) I love. I’ve been homeschooled for the last 6 years and love it! My biggest goal in life is to use my gifts and talents to point others to Christ.

I love that your blog is about embracing purity in all areas of life! What is the story behind how your blog was started, and how has that changed over time? What is your goal and has that goal developed?

Writing has always been a part of me. When I was little, I often made up short stories and kept journals. Along with that, I had a real desire to make a difference in people’s lives. It wasn’t until 2016 that I realized writing could be more than simply a hobby. In fact, I could even combine writing and my desire to help others!

That year, a blogging class was being offered at my co-op. That’s when I started “Embrace Purity”. Though I didn’t know much, at the beginning, I knew I wanted to use my blog to point other young women toward Christ. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to write articles for multiple platforms including other websites and a magazine.

I now have the opportunity to expand my ministry to both young women and young men! Later this year, I will be launching “Rescued with Purpose”, a ministry all about trusting God and getting serious about living for Him.

I definitely want to keep “Embrace Purity” up and running, so I will be transferring it to “Rescued with Purpose”, where it will have its own section. I can’t wait to see what God will do!

As a young woman, who writes for other young women, where do you get the inspiration for the topics? Is it hard, or does it come easily?

If you take a look around, it doesn’t take long to realize that there are countless young women who are struggling. Most of my inspiration comes from observing and listening. I’ve had many conversations with girls who feel alone, worthless, and burnt-out on life. I truly believe that God’s word is equipped to help us in any situation. That’s why I put time and energy into my writing!

Whenever I hit writer's’ block, I often look back to books or articles I’ve read and get more ideas!

What is one other specific area in your life you find that intentionality is absolutely critical? How do you exercise mindfulness in it?

I find that intentionality is absolutely critical when it comes to saying “yes” to God. For the longest time, I claimed to have faith, but I was still letting fear run my life. Though I knew there were certain things that the Holy Spirit wanted me to do, I often ignored it if it was outside my comfort zone.

When I decided to start saying yes to God, I realized that true joy comes from fully trusting God to keep His promises! Now, I’m able to experience the life God wants for me: one of fullness, freedom, and joy.

If you could give one piece of advice about saying "yes" to God to someone who struggles with it, what would you tell them?

Take it day by day. Sometimes, God calls us to do things that seem scary or hard. It isn’t always easy to listen when He asks us to go outside our comfort zones.

The first step is when the Holy Spirit impresses you to do something (sharing your faith, confronting a friend, overcoming a specific sin, etc), decide beforehand that you will say yes and do it, even if it’s hard.

Remember that you’re not alone in this journey. We’ve all struggled with fear, at one time or another. When you choose to start saying yes to God, your faith can only become stronger!

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Find Kayla at her blog, on Facebook, or on Instagram.

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Intentionality Spotlight: Blog Love: Azure Farm

This month we are talking with Annette from Azure Farm! I've been following her on her amazing Instagram for a while now, and it is so much fun to see what goes on at the farm! Keep reading - I'll let her tell you more about herself and how she practices intentionality in her life. 

First some easy stuff: Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your work, your passions and interests?

Hi friends! I am Annette and I live on a tiny homestead in Georgia. I am an ICU nurse a few days a week and the rest of the time you can find me on the farm caring for our animals and pulling weeds in the garden. Being a homesteader and taking care of animals is quickly becoming my favorite thing. I am so passionate about gardening, learning to live off the land, and caring for animals. Being in nature and surrounding myself with it has been such an amazing learning experience.

Apart from farming and animals I love photography, traveling, spending time with my family, and eating yummy plant-based food!

I love that your blog is about your exciting farm life! How did starting a blog come about and what were your goals for it? Has that focus shifted at all and where do you see it going?

When we moved to the farm I wanted a way to document what we were doing. I felt like others would benefit from seeing our journey and hopefully learn something along the way. Capturing life and God’s creations has always been my goal. I have been great about documenting our farm journey on Instagram, but when It comes to the blog I have been a tad slow on posting! There is so much more I want to post and do! Coming soon I will have tutorials on how to garden, tips on homesteading and resources for those wanting to learn. I hope for the blog to one day be a true wealth of knowledge for those wanting to live in the country.

As someone who has so much going on, what does your typical day look like? How do you make time for all of your responsibilities?

I definitely have busy days! A typical day involves me spending about an hour or more doing some sort of chore on the farm. Whether its filling water troughs, pulling weeds in the garden or cleaning the chicken coop. I usually plan out my day the night before so I know what to expect. I also have specific chores assigned to different days. That way I’m not scrambling to accomplish certain tasks. For example, On Fridays, it’s clean the chicken coop day! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I fill the hay bins. And so forth. I have to be intentional and make time for what’s important and matters most.

What is one other specific area in your life you find that intentionality is absolutely critical? How do you exercise mindfulness in it?

Being intentional is so important. The older I get the quicker time passes and I want to hold on to every moment. I have learned to be very intentional with family time and taking one day a week to rest. This day is Saturday for me. It's my family and church day. On Sabbath, I don't do work. On that day I just feed the animals, but I leave all other chores aside. It’s a day to breathe deep and reflect on the week, spend time with God, and family. I have to be mindful and specific on Sabbath and truly live in the moment and not let other things in the world and life take over my thoughts and plans. Being present at the moment so your family has your undivided attention is so crucial. I have come to truly love this day so much and it re-charges me and gets me ready to start another busy week.

If you could give one piece of advice about giving undivided attention to someone who struggles with it, what would you tell them?

Stay off your phone when you’re trying to be intentional and are with others. Don’t let it distract you and interfere with being present and available to others. This is a hard one and I struggle with this myself. Trust me though, you’ll be happy you did. 

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Find Annette on her website and Instagram

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Intentionality Spotlight: Blog Love: Life Lived Intentionally

This week we meet Dani of Life Lived Intentionally! As a fellow Canadian with ties to Europe through marriage, we connected instantly! It has been so fun meeting new people through this series and I'm excited to share Dani's story with all of you and to hear her share how she brings intentionality into her life. 

First some basics: Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your work, your passions and interests?
 

I’m Dani, I’m originally from Canada, but have lived in my husband’s home country of Germany for almost a decade. We have had our four children here, and are in our fifth year of working with a Christian university group ministry called Studenten Für Christus (Students for Christ).

I am passionate about many things: my family, loving Jesus, discipleship, beauty, starting new things, learning, reading, my garden, eating, dreaming and thinking about how to do things better, and great conversations with beautiful people. I am interested in business, missions, people, art, farming, history, and good music, and generally all learning.
 

I love how your blog focuses on living intentionally and choosing life. How did the idea for Life - Lived Intentionally come about and what are your goals for it?

For years I had always thought about starting a blog, but I never really had the energy to. Every time I’ve been pregnant or was nursing, my capacity for anything in life is dramatically limited. Perhaps it’s the hormones?

The beginning of this year I was neither pregnant and no longer nursing and it was like a bunch of energy sprung forth. Then came this lingering question, “Do I really think I can do all things with God?”

I feel like much of my life I’ve always put a limit on what I could do. Something like, “I don’t have enough time.”, or even, “I’m just a woman… or I’m just a mom.”  or, “there are so many others who are much _______( smarter, more together, cleverer etc.) than I. I’m nothing.”

Somehow, I just made a conscious decision not to think like that anymore. I wanted to think how God thinks, and with him nothing is too great.  Often lies or fears inhibit us. It seemed at the moment as if the doors blew opened, and the possibilities presented themselves as endless.
An important thing to me was to be home with my family, as much as possible. On the other hand, I felt like I had so much to give. I started to realize blogging was kind of an ideal platform for me.

I briefly chanced on watching a free online summit of the Work at Home School, and watched an interview with the blogger Rosemary Groener, who really inspired me. I didn’t realize that blogging could be so lucrative. This totally appealed to me, because I already wanted to invest my time helping people, and had already been thinking about blogging. Then I realized it was a win/win, I could help and inspire people from my own home, and (hopefully) support my family from it.
 

What is one other specific area in your life you find that intentionality is absolutely critical? How do you exercise mindfulness in it?

Stopping.

For the last six years or so our family has observed the Shabbat (or the Sabbath). For us this has meant following the traditional Jewish beginning of Friday evening until Saturday evening. Though, how we have observed it has changed and grown with us.

Six years ago, I kept encountering the Sabbath all over my Bible, and I couldn’t figure out what that meant for us today. I was only generally aware that we should stop and rest at some point. But, and perhaps this is because of the Christian tradition I’ve grown up in, I labelled serious Sabbath observation as legalistic. That is, until it was explained to me by a very kind family who visited us.

After that visit, and some self study, I realized the Sabbath or “Shabbat” was so much more than just a rule to force us to stop.

The Shabbat is a physical proclamation that God is God. He is the Alpha and Omega, the Author and Creator, the beginning and end of all things. In the stopping of my work, my endeavors and my plans, I rightly recognize that I can never complete and finish any work without Him. I’ve found even if I have a task left undone and I’m not quite prepared for the Shabbat, I stop, and by His grace it gets done at a different time.

Without our work and busyness we are left with an awkward silence. We are left just being plain and simple us (as He created us), before the gracious, and marvellous Him. No accomplishments or deeds to define us. Naked and unashamed, like in the garden.

That’s really how I see the Shabbat now. A time that both reflects the perfection of the garden, and our glory-filled future with the King who will come again. For me, this is totally exciting to remember and celebrate  every week. It’s also a fantastic teaching opportunity for our kids, and any guests we have over. We use flavours, colours, candles, beauty, and wine to experience God’s goodness with all the senses.

I think in our work and deed addicted society, this is a massively important statement. Often, I get the impression that we have a tendency to worship ourselves. Too easily we throw God off his throne, and replace him with an “I do, therefore I am” identity.

This year, we’ve included shutting off all of our media and electronics over the Shabbat. We found that the constant beeps, buzzes, and music was crowding away the peace. I don’t think we will ever go back.

I long for the Shabbat now. Our week has a momentum, like a continual upward direction and anticipation that is satisfied from Friday to Saturday evening. It reminds me of the great yearning all of creation has for the King to return, for Heaven to come down, and for everything to be at peace and put right again.

We LOVE our Shabbats.
 

If you could give one piece of advice about stopping to someone who struggles with it, what would you tell them?

When you make something a habit, it becomes second nature. Habits take time. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with structure, and my nature rebels against “rules”. The good thing is, is that “stopping” can be developed over time. Take it slow, but try and try again.

My suggestion is pick a day that works best for you. Perhaps it’s a Sunday rather than a Friday to Saturday night - but I have to admit we love celebrating the end of the week, so beginning Friday evening rocks. Once you have a day, try it out. Invite friends over, or don’t, shut off all of your electronics. Shutting down and stopping is amazing, you’ll be addicted. If you decided to turn something on and check, don’t feel condemned or bad about it. Make it a you and God day - a weekly vacation.

Remember, it’s not a rule to bring death, but a guideline to show you how to truly live. I think that’s why the Shabbat is so important to God, because it’s so good for us.

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Find Dani on Instagram, Facebook, and on Pinterest

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Intentionality Spotlight: Blog Love: Kaetlyn Anne

Today we continue with Intentionality Spotlight! Similar to Women of Intention, different bloggers are featured in an interview style. Unlike Women of Intention, the focus is more on their blogs themselves, as well as an area of intentionality in their life.

I am so excited to invite Kaetlyn Anne to talk with us today. I won't say too much about her beautiful and inspiring simple living blog since she'll be sharing it, but know that it's great.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What is your work, passions and interests?

I am a creator, blogger, and Etsy shop owner! I feel most like myself when I am creating—whether that be painting signs, fixing up old furniture, taking pictures, making videos, or even simply decorating a space in my home. A few of my favorite things in the world include sunshine, fresh flowers, a good cup of coffee, and Jesus.  I’m passionate about simplicity and intentional living and I strive to incorporate that into every aspect of my life!

I love how your blog focuses on bringing simple back in everything from wellness and what we eat to how we approach our everyday items. What made you begin your simple way of living and what made you want to share it with others?

Thank you! I began my journey to simple and natural living at the beginning of 2016. At that point, I had been struggling with depression and anxiety for over 6 years and I was ready to do something about it. I had been on antidepressants for a few months at that time, and while they helped me mentally, my physical body was failing. I knew there had to be some other way to find true health.

My mom raised me in a very health conscious home, so I began to actually apply what she taught me and look more closely to what I put into and onto my body. Slowly I began eating better, throwing out toxic bath and beauty products, incorporating essential oils into my daily life, etc. I began to simplify everything and slowly I began to feel better, and better, and better. Eventually I realized I was no longer struggling with darkness like I used to and it was all because I chose to be intentional about what I bought, what I used, and what I consumed.

I wanted to share this journey and way of life with others because I have seen and felt firsthand how much freedom it can truly bring, in our physical and mental health. Our culture is always going to “have the next big thing” that will make you “happier” or “healthier” or “wealthier” but I believe that those things can only be found by going back. To simple and to natural. I want others to discover the healing and nourishment found in God’s creations, not the world’s.

What is one other specific area in your life you find that intentionality is absolutely critical? How do you exercise mindfulness in it?

I think that being intentional in prayer time and Jesus time is beyond important. I hate to admit that there are many days where I would like to speed through and get on with my day without taking the time to sit in His presence, but whenever I skip that critical time, my soul just feels off!  

If I’m not intentional about this, I can easily find myself opening the Instagram app more than I open my Bible, and that is not how I want to live my life. I have gotten into the habit of not even turning my phone on in the morning until I have had time with Jesus, as well as setting a “curfew” for myself to turn my phone off at night so I can be intentional and let God guide my evenings as well. 

If you could give one piece of advice about prayer to someone who struggles with it, what would you tell them?

Find a time of the day that you can fully dedicate to Jesus and stick to it. It may take a long time to develop the habit, but it is well worth it. Find a place in your house where you feel cozy and peaceful, and meet Him there daily. Leave all distractions behind! (That means your phone J) I’m definitely not always perfect with this, but I know God sees and is pleased with our every attempt to get to Him and sit with Him. He’s standing there with open arms every time!

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Find Kaetlyn on her website or on Instagram

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