Intentional Today

Leadership & Submission: When One Spouse Won’t do their Part

Ngina Otiende / May 19, 2013 / Marriage, Personal Development, Relationships, Success, Values / Permalink

Two weeks ago I wrote about submission in marriage, specifically what it’s not.

Last week we looked at a husband’s role in marriage which is to provide loving leadership.

God intended for submission and leadership to work together.

However some spouses have neglected their God-assigned responsibilities and many marriages are flying on one wing.

For the spouse that has embraced their role (and are desperate for their spouse to embrace theirs), the following thoughts are important to consider;

1. You cannot change your spouse.

I used to think that if I tried hard enough, I could change my husband. (And he’s an awesome man, just so you know).

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Feeling Stretched? 4 Ways to Stay Motivated

Ngina Otiende / May 15, 2013 / Life, Personal Development, Success, Values / Permalink

I wrote this post a few weeks ago. Life has calmed down somewhat since then. But I thought I’d share the article anyway.

I’ve been struggling with motivation lately.

Whenever I have a lot on my plate, my passion and drive takes a hit. I struggle with focus. I slip into randomness and mindlessness. I bug my sweet husband. I eat.

My littered life

Right now my desk is littered with little sticky reminders, my calender beeps every now and then (other reminders which get snoozed very quickly).

My wall is plastered with goals and dreams and projects.

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Submitting to Loving Leadership in Marriage

Ngina Otiende / May 12, 2013 / Life, Marriage, Personal Development, Relationships, Success, Values / Permalink

Last week I looked at submission in marriage, specifically what it’s not. Incase you missed the post, please read it here.

Submission in marriage is a popular topic across the pulpits of church (and life).

But the mandate of the husband is not always spelled out as often, or as loudly.

Sometimes, the question that circles many a woman’s mind whenever submission is mentioned is “Will somebody also teach my husband to lead?”

One Without the Other

The thing about love and submission as written in Ephesians is that it’s hard to give one without the other.

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Submission in Marriage: What it’s Not

Ngina Otiende / May 5, 2013 / Life, Marriage, Personal Development, Relationships, Success, Values / Permalink

Around five years ago, a guest stood up at a wedding to share words of wisdom and present some gifts to the newlyweds.

A few minutes into his speech, the bride appeared to take a step forward.

“Where are you going?” my husband asked with a smile.

“To receive the gifts” I answered mid-stride.

“Lets wait.” He tagged gently on my hand. “He has has not called us forward yet”

The guests did not see the twitch on my face. Or the heart dropping to my chest. But my husband may have noticed the flick of chin and the stiffened back.

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Are You Living or Existing? Book Review

Ngina Otiende / May 1, 2013 / Life, Personal Development, Success, Writting / Permalink

Kimanzi Constable’s new book Are you living or Existing? 9 Steps to change your life released yesterday.

If there’s one person who exemplifies intentional growth and living, it’s Kimanzi Constable.

He’s gone from from delivering bread at 2 am, to creating a business and a living around what he loves to do; writing and speaking.

Background

For 12 years Kimanzi lived a life of non stop excuses and regret.

Life looked okay on the outside, but things were falling apart on the inside.

Three years ago, Kimanzi’s finances were out of control, his business was falling apart and his marriage was in crisis.

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Love and The Law

Ngina Otiende / April 28, 2013 / Life, Marriage, Personal Development, Relationships, Success, Values / Permalink

(My husband wrote this post 3 years ago (yes he had a blog!). It’s a a great piece, you’ll be blessed)

This past week my wife and I have had one of those “differences in opinion”.

We went into that parallel universe in married life that is filled with logic and emotion, skewed to justify ourselves and protect our vulnerabilities, effectively barring us out of the each other’s heart.

Now, it is important that I mention that it was my actions that caused the shift into this “twilight zone”.

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Our Big Scary Dream – Interview with David Sparks

Ngina Otiende / April 24, 2013 / Guest Posts, Life, Personal Development, Success, Values / Permalink

Today am honored to share at David Sparks’s blog about our (my husband and I) big audacious dream. Intentional Today, this website, is a part of that dream.

This is David’s first edition of the Project Prayer Post, where he plans to feature people’s audacious dream of impacting other people’s lives and ways that others can get involved.

In the interview I share

why “personal responsibility” and “last born” don’t always go together.

why we dream of cities.

why you need a strong people to build a strong city/village

where our dream comes from

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Going the Extra Mile in Marriage

Ngina Otiende / April 21, 2013 / Life, Marriage, Personal Development, Relationships, Success, Values / Permalink

A few years ago, I heard Joyce Meyer say that sometimes in marriage the more grounded spouse would need to put in extra effort to keep a marriage growing.

She was speaking from personal experience where for many years, her husband Dave, who was the more grounded of the two, carried the weight of their marriage.

Caring more

In marriage, we don’t always care about the same thing with the same amount of passion.

For example the wife who wants more conversation will find herself initiating conversation more often…at least as a start or for a season.

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Why Do Christians Curse?

Ngina Otiende / April 17, 2013 / Life, Personal Development, Relationships, Success, Values / Permalink

I get disturbed when born-again, Jesus-loving, faith-living people curse.

I don’t mean baby Christians who are still toddling in the “milk years”. I mean those that are grown up and mature.

So grown up in fact that they can look up Scripture and find something to “explain” the talk and dismiss gentle correction as “legalism and judgment”.

Let me be upfront with you though – this post clips wider than Christians talking wrong. (I do have a link at the bottom where Charles Specht does a great job of explaining what the bible says about cursing.)

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