Living a Slow, Intentional Life with Brandi McIntosh [Episode 68]

Brandi is a mother of four (ages 4 - 17) who has worked with her husband to build a slow, intentional life with her family. She lives in the hills of central Texas. She shares how God's love for her and her family has guided her in her life and her parenting.

Key Points from this episode:

• It takes different intentional actions to stay connected with our children and hold their hearts who are different ages.
• Changing our emphasis from behavior to relationships with our children will allow us to maintain that relationship through the teen years and beyond.
• Try to have eyes to see. Notice when our children are withdrawn and remember that sometimes that is when they need us to press in the most. (Adding food makes the heart-sharing easier for the kids, too!)
• Schedule in one-on-one time with your kids. Put some to bed early if you need to in order to make it happen.
• Find time to have time with God. If you can't wake up before the kids, try having 15-20 minutes for all your family to go their separate ways to have their connecting time with God. Have older kids take turns watching younger ones to help make it happen.
• Pause and think about what you say "yes" to and what you say "no" to in order to grow your intentionality. Then take it to the Lord and follow the direction from Him.
• Journaling the things you learn from books or hear that inspire you help you absorb the information and also give you something to refer back to when you need a boost.
• We can make the choice whether we miss the things that happen on social media, or we can miss things that are happening under our own roofs.
• Saying out loud what we are thankful for can help us find joy in our current moment.