From the Archives: Owning Your Life Right Where You Are

Episode 511 (originally aired January 24, 2021; any giveaways, launches, groups, or meetups mentioned are no longer active)

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Today, I awakened to gorgeous, dancing snow out my bedroom window. I lit my candles and stared at my flopping tulips in juxtaposition to the snow. A promise of spring against a backdrop of snow—isn’t that how some of our days, years are—a choice to celebrate in the midst of a winter season. I remembered a story when I was feeling very “wintry” in my soul and how the time was transformed and changed the trajectory of my life. It was indeed a day when I learned to “Own My Life” right where I was.

This day, I didn't feel like I could face the demands of my toddling crew one more minute. Hearing them screaming, running, "I'll get to mama first," was sweet enough but at this moment, I didn't think I had one more ounce of strength to meet them as they pounced on me. And so I stayed sitting on the floor behind my couch in my bedroom where they were not tall enough to peer over to see my head. I had been sitting, pondering life with a big cloud hovering at the moment they ran into my room. Oddly, amazingly, they did not find me or even look beyond the couch that hid me. At first it was a fun achievement to me, then it became a refuge for me, away from the demands for just a few quiet minutes.

 "God," I asked, "I am stuck in this impossible situation, living with my mother-in-law, in the middle of flatland Texas, amidst critters and bugs, no salary, no friends, no support systems and this is not what I dreamed our life would become. Please show me that you are still there, that somehow I am not invisible."

It was in this very place that Whole Heart Ministries was born. Our future would allow us to write 20+ books, host conferences for tens of thousands of women, work internationally, raise 4 godly kids, but at this particular moment, I could not see into the future. I could not see anything of significance happening at all.

God seemed to whisper to my heart, "This is the place I want you to worship Me. Being faithful in these circumstances is where you will find the glory of My favor. This is exactly where I want you. This time of testing will be the making of your faith, the humbling of your heart, the shaping of your character, the writing of your story. 

You can choose to waste this time with a bad attitude, to leave this situation, or to waste your days in ungratefulness and complaints. And then your life will continue moving through darkness and dim hallways."

And this day, so many years ago, was when I planted a flag of faith and decided I wanted to take courage, to step forward, to believe God had a roadway ahead that would be filled with flourishing in His grace. I pray that for you, my friends, that you may find your way forward wherever you are—and live to see His light on your path.
You have a choice to make: if you trust Me and live faithfully in this juncture, I will make this a place of favor and honor for you. But if you look for a way out and disqualify yourself from the blessings and favor I had planned to give you, you will find yourself in the midst of a prolonged wilderness." 

And one day at a time, God helped me to take one step forward, to put my issues into His hands, to live forward by faith into what He was doing, what I was becoming. And now, as I look back, I am beyond amazed at what He has accomplished on our behalf through His generous faithfulness. How important it was, I can see now, that I learned to own my life right where I was, to dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

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• Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

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• Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

• Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

Taste And See That The Lord Is Good

"Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!" (Psalm 34:8)

This command is not only metaphorical.I believe that God intended us to experience the full range of beauty in the world as a testament to His generous love for us.

Even when faced with crucifixion, Jesus gave His disciples reason to celebrate: “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John 14:3).

In celebration, we declare that God is not done with us yet. Ultimately, evil does not have the final word. We celebrate in thanksgiving for what God has done, and we celebrate in expectation of His final victory.

How can ­ you — and your ­children — taste and see that the Lord is good?

Read more about this in Mom Heart Moments.

The Call Of Motherhood

All babies come into the world fragile, in need of comfort, love, food, protection. If we are mothers yet we resist the call of motherhood, the call to spiritually shape the foundations, heart and faith of our children, then we resist God, as He designed it to be eternally significant and meaningful. We cannot say we will love and serve God and then refuse to see our children as a  ministry from Him.

Every act of generosity and kindness is laying one more brick to build a house of faith for each child, each person living in the context of your lifegiving acts of kindness. It is not the big or monetarily expensive  investments of our lives that build godly children, but the daily, small acts of giving and serving that sinks into their hearts.

From the Archives: Creating A Lifegiving Home, Preparing a Lifegiving Table

Episode #407 (originally aired May 6, 2020; any giveaways, launches, groups, or meetups mentioned are no longer active)

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On my membership, Life with Sally, there are four talks from our conference about The Lifegiving Home. The titles of the talks are Giving life through Hospitality, Ordering, Mentoring, and Engaging (HOME). Each session includes a printable notebook with the outlines and questions from the conference, along with a beautiful scripture printable.

Creating a lifegiving table of course involves food and feasting. My dear friend Brandee joins me at Life with Sally with recipes that include videos of her preparing the recipe and printable PDFs of each recipe. I look forward to you joining my friends and me there and hope this archive episode encourages you in your home today.

I had so much fun doing a podcast today about how vital your role as a conductor of beauty and life in your home and table will make to the long term legacy of love that you leave. One of the wonderful things about being a parent of adult children is that they remember home with fondness and warmness, and they remember the ways you created life, while wondering if they were paying attention or listening.

Sarah wrote this in our book, The Lifegiving Home, and it warmed my heart:

“But my parents understood that the world that they made within the walls of our house was what constituted home. So I grew up in spaces framed by art and color, filled with candlelight, marked by beauty. I grew up within a rhythm of time made sacred by family devotions in the morning and long conversations in the evening. I grew up with the sense of our daily life as a feast and delight; a soup-and-bread dinner by the fire, Celtic music lilting in the shadows, and the laughter of my siblings gave me a sense of the blessedness of love, of God's life made tangible in the food and touch and air of our home.”

“It was a fight for my parents, I know. Every day was a battle to bring order to mess, peace to stressful situations, beauty to the chaos wrought by four young children. But that's the reality of incarnation as it invades a fallen world....What my parents-bless them-knew...is that to make a home right in the midst of the fallen world is to craft out a space of human flesh and existence in which eternity rises up in time, in which the kingdom comes, in which we may taste and see the goodness of God.” 

Sometimes celebrating, enjoying, and laughing seem almost inappropriate in a world as broken as ours. We look around and see panic on the faces of everyone we see. Tragedies become ordinary. How, in good conscience, can we laugh and celebrate and eat pizza? I believe we must celebrate - because celebration is one of the most effective weapons we have against the darkness of our day. The real grief of the state of our world is the pervasive fear that settles in our hearts.

(From The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith Through Feasting, One Meal at a Time)

I hope you will enjoy the podcast today. Greatness is shaped in the hidden moments of life, the repeated rhythms over and over again that shape a life of memories and values in the hearts and minds of our children.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

FOR MORE

• Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

• Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

• Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

• Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

• Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

Taking Time To Admire Beauty

To drink some tea is one thing; to savor a tea time with a creatively set table, candles, music, and a beautiful book is quite another.  A cup of tea may temporarily satisfy the palate, but a tea time can satisfy the soul if you take the time to unlock the beauty that is possible there, and to truly enjoy the person with whom you are sharing the moment. And to offer a friend or a child or husband, not only a cup of tea, but a tea time of close friendship will build deep threads of love between hearts.

Beauty keeps my spirit refreshed. Without it, my spirit becomes dull and lifeless; with it, I am invigorated and encouraged. God has certainly made beauty a priority in his universe, so I can imitate him by making room for beauty in my home.

What can you do today, this week, to make a memorable time with your child, your friend, your husband—all who may need refreshment to their souls, including yourself?

From the Archives: Help! I'm Drowning: Weathering the Storms of Life with Grace & Hope

Episode #557 (originally aired June 27, 2021; any giveaways, launches, groups, or meetups mentioned are no longer active)

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Over the years I have heard from so many women who are going through seasons of exhaustion, fear, and very difficult storms. That is why I wrote Help, I’m Drowning. I wanted to share some of the storms I faced and how walking with God, holding His hand, led me to a life of flourishing and one in which He was building my life on the rock of eternal values.

My membership site, Life with Sally, has resources specific to encouraging you in steadfastness when you are weathering the storms of life. From monthly Bible studies to the many, many talks I’ve given over the years at our conferences, you will be able to receive Biblical encouragement as you walk through these difficult seasons.

I love to meet with members in live online meet-ups and also host “mini conferences” at Life with Sally. There is one in particular on Avoiding Burnout, which explores more deeply the ideas in Help, I’m Drowning. You can download a printable notebook that includes reflection questions as you virtually “attend” the mini-conference.

I am very grateful for the life God has led me to live. But, most of my legacy has come through very difficult passages where I was tempted to give up on ideals, wondering if I could make it through, pondering if the work of my life as a mom, wife, actually mattered or if I was just blowing it. There were years of loneliness and isolation and disappointment.

Yet, most of these passages required that I make hard decisions of faith, perseverance, forgiveness, hard work, steadfastness through life storms that threatened to overwhelm me.

The truth is, we are living in a fallen world, filled with storm after storm—culturally, emotionally, spiritually, physically, philosophically.

Yet, choices made in the midst of life storms determined the trajectory of my whole life—my fruitfulness came from doing the hard things that scripture and God required of me, time after time.

The decisions you make during hard times will determine the trajectory and direction your life will take and what story you will tell when you are 70. Often it meant that my friends were not making the same decisions, many times I watched as others compromise and justify their decisions during hard times. Of course I am not perfect, but I did learn personally that,

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matt. 7:13-14

God desires that we flourish, but we must obey His word and walk His ways.

FOR MORE

• Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

• Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

• Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

• Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

• Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

Being An Authentic Believer

As we walk honestly before God, with our children watching, they learn how to have a real relationship with him as well. As they see us apologize to them and pray in front of them to ask for God's forgiveness in our own lives, our children learn that God is a God of grace.

As they see us in the deep waters of life, being tested to the core and still holding onto the Lord and choosing to believe the best, this observation will prepare them for their own trials, which will surely come. They will know that he will guide and forgive them as they lead an imperfect but devoted life before a loving Father who has always met their mother's needs.

Read more about this in The Mission of Motherhood.

From the Archives: Awaking Wonder: Igniting A Passion and Love For Life

Episode #512 (originally aired January 26, 2021; any giveaways, launches, groups, or meetups mentioned are no longer active)

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Igniting a passion for learning is at the heart of Awaking Wonder. At Life with Sally, my team and I have created many practical resources for you to do just that. The fall season with a new school year is a great time to refresh your ideals. The back to school mini retreat will walk you through the process of establishing your ideals and creating goals for the upcoming year.

The Clarksons love books, and we have curated many great book lists for all ages and for many seasons of the year and life. Here is a sampling of some of the booklist categories at Life with Sally.

One of the delights of my life right now is that I am “stuck” inside with 2 of my children. Many days, I take walks with one or the other, long walks, that almost always end up in coffee. But since Joy is in the midst of finishing her PHD, Joel is compiling research for a professor at his school and just launched a book, our conversations are soul-shaping, mind-stretching, conviction cultivating. I am walking with adults who have been shaped by the principle of wonder, imagination, virtue and purpose. All of what was invested inside of them day after day lives inside of them now.

Some years ago, I began to realize that what had been planted was bearing fruit. I remember this phone call.

"Mom, I am just so excited, I can't wait to tell you. I decided to go meet with an academic counselor today to check about all of the classes I had signed up for, and the debate coach happened to be my academic counselor. He helped me arrange all of my classes, he counseled me so that I can finish in three years. I will be able to be on the speech and debate team and learn new skills for communication, and now I have a purpose ahead and a life to conquer. My goal is  to become the best possible speaker and debater and teacher.  I am starting a Bible study for the girls on my floor. I am so excited about my life and what God is going to teach me!" A Clarkson child

A drive for purpose and a desire to live a worthy story, to impact others, to discover light in this dark world did not come out of a vacuum. For parents, this comes from learning to see deep inside of your children's hearts and drawing out the greatness that God has built there and giving them a dream for how God will use them in the world. Children, in spite of their bundle of immaturity, strengths, weaknesses, and varying personalities are exactly what God crafted them to be to fulfill their purpose in His world.

From the time our children were wee ones, we gave each of them time to speak as a part at our conferences. We said, "God has made all of us stewards of His messages of love, redemption, and His hope and life because He has entrusted us with this light that the dark world needs. What would you like to share with all the moms to encourage them this year?"

Our two introverted children had to share just as our two extroverted ones would. Because we believe all of us are to be stewards of His words of life, we raised them to be comfortable with knowing they had a message that would turn the world upside down, too! We started with sharing our ideas and encouragement right in our living room with ten people in attendance. By faith, we kept writing and speaking and our children grew with ministry as we did. Their self-image was, "I have something to give. My personality is a gift from God to use for His glory. I have an arena in which to bring His light that no one else on earth will ever have."

Serving meals, visiting the sick, giving money to those in need, exercising hospitality, and making thousands of meals for people in our home, praying, hosting Bible studies over and over and over again for many years was also the oxygen of the life my children breathed. Their dreams flowed out of being part of the life of giving, loving, exploring, exploring that God had called Clay and me to follow.

We need to understand that vision of the heart, the cultivation of wonder, is what empowers all of us, as God's children, to follow Him in faith and purpose. Now is a time to awaken to the wonders around you and to celebrate them with all in. your wake. And that what you are planting now will produce fruit for a lifetime.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

FOR MORE

• Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

• Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

• Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

• Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

• Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

Beauty Anchors My Soul

In times of exhaustion, grief, or trial, holding on to a sense of order and loveliness is essential. Though many trials of life cannot be easily fixed with a pat answer, the difficulty of walking through them is often eased if it can be experienced in a lovely environment.

We all feel the weight of the world and its ability to dissolve into chaos. A simple way to combat chaos is to focus on creating small spaces of beauty.

It is not about perfection; it is about creating a vestige of peace when our lives are fraught. Beauty reminds me that there is a pattern and shape to events of my life. So when life is too much for you, light a candle, put on music, pour yourself a cup of tea, and take a deep breath.

Read more about this in The Lifegiving Table.

Her impact is irreplaceable and necessary to the spiritual formation of children who will be the adults of history to come. There are so many things that make up the world of a well-nurtured child. Fun, comfort, humor, graciousness, spiritual passion, compassion for the lost, hospitality, chores, meals, training, life-giving words, hours and hours of listening and playing, praying and reading and instructing in truth—all are parts of the mosaic that go into the process of soul development.