Recognizing The Fingerprints Of The Artist

Wonder is the vehicle that nurtures spiritual formation by engaging in the miraculous, the sacred, the intricacy of our world around us. We ponder the personality, inspiration, breadth of the One who crafted all of the sublime natural art we behold. We respond in awe and worship.

A child fashioned by a wonder-filled life will cultivate inner strength, an inner confidence in his own ability to think, evaluate, know. But those who influence children must fight to make time for the imagination to have space to work, to have time to engage. Recognizing the elegant and complex design of human beings, we understand that each has capacity to think, to create, to acquire mental muscle, to love, to have agency to act in life.

Read more about this in Awaking Wonder.

Tea Time Tuesday: A Day in London, Just Being A Girl

Tea Time Tuesday

Click here to play today’s new podcast episode.

My friends,

Though I an on a little vacation in London with some of my family, I thought I would share a couple of stories of my week here so you can join In my fun. I will not be sharing my normal podcast this week but will tell you a little bit about our adventures. Here I am in London with Joy where we spent a whole day “just being girls.” You will have to listen to find out some of what we did.

Wishing you a wonderful week and maybe a time to take a little vacation right where you are. Praying blessing and blessing for you.

A Heart Of Joy From Which Others Can Draw

Many years ago, I stood at a crossroad that would determine what kind of a Christian I would be from that point forward: victorious, lighthearted, and free—or downcast, weighed down, and wounded.

I realized that I didn't want to cross the finish line of life gasping for spiritual breath, clenching my teeth as I wearily crossed into the presence of God.

Although I didn't want to be a Pollyanna, pretending away sadness, pain, and difficulty and denying the real grieving that comes with loss and disappointment, I did want to find the good in all things, to experience the reality of God's joy anew right in the middle of my trials and stresses.

Read more about this in Dancing With My Heavenly Father.

Bringing Beauty & Flowers

I didn't want my Colorado porch and deck to be without color, beauty, and life while I was visiting Oxford this month, but I knew real flowers wouldn't make it without constant care. So I found these bright red silk flowers to dress up the space with. Aren't they gorgeous?

What's your go-to kind of flower for bringing beauty to your home?

What Defines You As A Family?

Because we shared so many endless hours swimming in the same ideas, reading the same books, discussing the same messages where every opinion and engagement was valued, in the process of eating together day after day and making it a time of shared heart and soul community, the strength of our mutual values and commitments became a part of what defined us as a family.

Read more about this in Awaking Wonder.

God Loves To Provide For You

Even as I take joy in planning for my children to feel loved on special occasions with treats and celebrations, I receive great pleasure when the child is blessed and responds to my preparations. God, too, delights in us coming to Him for provision and then responding joyfully when He gives it.

He has even provided things we don’t “need,” just to delight us—the reds, golds, browns, and oranges of fall leaves; the dark, steel blue of an ocean; the amber of loved ones’ eyes.

Jesus provided the crowds with fish and loaves because they were hungry, and of course He has provided a way for us to be made right with God by offering His own body as the ultimate sacrifice. He has gone and is even now preparing to provide a place for us—a home in heaven—so we might be with Him in eternity.

God loves providing for you. How can you provide beauty or love or comfort to your family in the next twenty‐four hours?

Read more about this in Mom Heart Moments.

Setting Your Child's Feet On God's Path

"Your children, though, are not just a task of parenting that can be completed and checked off your ‘big biblical things to do’ list. They are God’s gift and reward to you in this life, and they are in turn your gift to the world. But there is an even greater eternal reward to parenting.

Through your children, God has given you the privilege of passing on your faith and the truths of Scripture 'so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.'"

Read more about this in Educating the Wholehearted Child.

Educating the Wholehearted Child
By Clarkson, Clay, Clarkson, Sally
Buy on Amazon

Tea Time Tuesday: Above All, Put on Love

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“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”

-I Peter 4:8

All of us as families create a family culture of some kind. The traditions we keep, the meals we make, the routines we practice, the values we espouse and hold, our favorite movies, the church we attend, the generosity we practice, the way we invest time, the company we keep—all of these come together to craft our particular family culture. We can also inadvertently create a family culture that is negative—a culture of anger, neglect, guilt, discord, disharmony, worldly values.

I have realized that crafting a culture of love requires that I, as a mom, become the conductor of a loving and generous heart that leads all of my children to understand gracious, generous, sacrificial, validating, forgiving love. To create such a culture requires planning, intention, mature responses, words of life and affirmation, patience, and lots of unconditional love.

So often, we are caught up in the immediate things—getting the tasks done, housework, homework, bills paid, child discipline. Yet, it is the air our children breathe, the foundations we live by that will attach their hearts to ours and ultimately, potentially, to God.

True influence and discipleship is formed intentionally by modeling ourselves after the ultimate lover—Jesus. He who bowed his knees to wash 120 toes, to embrace sweet, wiggly children who were clamoring for attention, who touched the prostitute and gave her grace, who gave Peter, his own failing disciple, hope and affirmation in the midst of his failures on the night He was crucified. Ultimately He gave everything, out of love, for our redemption—He becomes our own source and inspiration of what it is like to form a culture of love. To be loved is a longing, a desire and need to our hearts as much as oxygen is to our lungs. To thrive and live productively, we all need love.

“Faith, hope and love remain, but the greatest of these is love.” -I Cor. 13:13

I wish you God's gracious, unconditional love and peace to have a lovely day with those you love!

Join me today on my podcast.

Today Is A Day For Grace

Do you ever feel as if everyone wants something of you and more is demanded of you than you can possibly give? Motherhood has a gazillion days like that.

Take a deep breath so you can last. Plan strategically about what you can reasonably hope to accomplish in the next few months and still be alive!

To add a few little pleasures into your day:

• have a white chocolate cappuccino

• take a walk to expel some adrenaline

• sneak into your bedroom, close the doors, light candles, put on some music, and just gaze out the window and sort out what is in your heart

Read more about this in Mom Heart Moments.

Nurturing A Life Of Wonder

Different seasons of life found different activities and toys, according to the children’s needs at various ages. And, yes, a full life meant there were more messes to steward, more work to be done. But a life-giving home did indeed nurture a life of wonder, exploration, and discovery.

In the long run, I found it to be a worthy commitment. David danced before the Lord with all of his might, and I have often had that thought in my mind of wanting to dance before God with all of my might as I filled my home with His reality through many dimensions (see 2 Samuel 6:14).

Were there conflict, challenge, weariness, discouragement at times? Yes, of course. I was a warrior fighting to bring light into a dark world. I had few support systems and fewer encouragers who believed in what I was doing.

Yet one more quiet time, one more reflection on our ideals, and it would take me through another day, another year. And truly, the seed was growing deep roots that eventually manifested fruit.

Read more about this in Awaking Wonder.