Heroic Women: Fact or Fantasy?

{Today's article is from the heart of my daughter-in-law, Rachael Lee Clarkson.}

"Who can find a virtuous and capable woman?     She is more precious than rubies." -Proverbs 31:10

Praying for many years, that God would bless my children with equal soul-mates, those who would love God with all of their hearts, but also, those who would desire to live a purposeful life for His kingdom and His purposes. The last place on earth I ever thought my son would find such a woman--one whose passion for Christ matched his, was in Hollywood. But God is so much bigger than our own perspectives and ideas.

You can't imagine how deeply grateful I am and standing in awe, that He gave me such a daughter-in-law as lovely Rachael. Her passion to redeem the darkness of her world for Him inspires me to be faithful. The zest with which she reads the Word of God, books that inspire, and gives out of a rich soul is such an example to me. So, her life encourages me to keep praying, keep trusting, keep sowing seeds of faithfulness and faith, because she is a picture to me of his willingness to do above and beyond all I could ask! Here is an article that has been bubbling up in her heart. Rachael has an active ministry to young women to call them to their true roles as beloved women because they are His!

**********************************************

Rachael Clarkson

Just the other night, as my husband of one week and I were scrolling through Netflix, searching for the perfect show to watch, we entered into a long discussion that distracted us from our show-decision-making. As I looked at all of these fun, entertaining shows that entertain us, we began to realize that almost none of the shows revolved around a main character with heroic qualities--a noble character, a "good guy", someone who was capable of doing the right thing in the face of trials and difficulty.

Even more unsettling, I struggled to come up with any strong female lead actresses I had seen recently who were heroic, brave, and made the tough choices. Women who are excellent role models, courageous, and lovely all at the same time. Those are the kinds of women I want to see, I strive to be, and frankly don't see enough of on the big screen or small screen these days.

Many of the strong female leads I see nowadays gain much of their status and power through sexuality, lies, and manipulation. Young women need to understand that their meaning and worth is not found in sex. We are not more valued by sex,  (in fact, it creates the opposite effect). Culture tells us that sex makes women more free, but the more we focus on creating our identities in our sex lives, the more we become slaves to exactly what this culture is trying to do: put you in a box. 

As women, we should feel powerful, strong, and worth enough on our own so that we wouldn't need our leading ladies to take off their clothing in order to grab our attention. I live and work in Hollywood, and I fully understand how ratings work, but I'm speaking woman to woman here. How can we become heroic? How can we fulfill our God given purpose? What does it look like when women are brave?

This question made me wonder, and when I googled "heroic women", the only images I saw where super heroes and completely fictional characters. I came to realize that being a heroic woman in today's culture seemed like an absolute myth and fairytale to most.

You don't need super powers, super strength, or a cape to become a heroic woman. Being a woman of influence does not mean being perfect. It simply requires faith, courage, honesty, confidence, and a pure heart. Young women need to understand that there is value in what is lovely, classy, beautiful, and pure.

{Books} One of my favorite books of all time is "A Wrinkle In Time", where Meg is a relatable young girl who struggles with insecurities. When I was younger, I loved reading and connecting to her character as she was so authentic--Meg felt ugly sometimes, strange, and like she didn't quite fit in with her family. She goes on to do amazing things filled with bravery, courage, and even finds her own self respect.

{Film} Many of my readers know I adore Audrey Hepburn. She was a true leading lady who defined true beauty (through laughter, smiles, composure and class) and carried herself with strength and dignity. After her acting career ended in the mid 1960s, Audrey used her platform and influence by devoting the remaining period of her life to humanitarian work with UNICEF.

{Scripture} Esther is one of my very favorite women of influence. Her courage to fight for what she believed in preserved her nation and changed countless lives. She risked her life to listen to and serve God. This woman is such a beautiful picture of faithfulness.

As women of influence, we must never stop seeking to know heroic women who can inspire us. Who are you watching? Perhaps the even better question is: who is your daughter watching? Who is inspiring your daughter? And who are these people encouraging your little girl to grow up to become?

Every girl always has her eyes peeled and ears listening for the role models who may impact her life. Make sure that you are filling you and your children's minds, hearts, and souls with stories of heroic men and women. Whether it is through literature, film, television, scripture, or stories in history, start a discussion in your home today about how your children can have influence in their generation. Ask questions like:

What story will you tell? What nation will you preserve? What will you overcome? What quest will you conquer? What hero will you become?

Rachael's book Identity Girls is a resource for girls who are hoping to overcome obstacles and insecurities in order to become women of influence. Click here to snag your copy of this 30 day devotional (and consider going through it with your daughter with a cup of tea once a week!).

{You can find more from Rachael Lee Clarkson by clicking here to view her blog for young women.}

Until we acknowledge the raging battle, we are subject to become victims

Fra Angelico  a fresco from the 1400's

"I don't know why God allowed this to happen to me!" I hear this so often from so many.

I, too, have questioned God and life on many occasions. And yet, he has suffered my fist shaking at Him well, because I believe, that such a Holy God who is so far above me, understands that I am a mere toddler and have, at times, so little understanding of the reality of this world.

The voices of our world often promise an easy fix, a happy ending, that in this life a person can have it all.

Yet, as we observe the landscape of many who have "had it all" in this world, fame, money, power, prestige, and yet in the pursuit of glory in this world, they became so full of despair in finding that this world does not satisfy, they have taken their lives.

I recently read an article somewhere on the web, where a man who was a drug addict said, "Drugs are not my problem. I go to drugs because I feel such despair in this world."

Imagine with me, if you will, a family in Europe in the beginning of World War II. What if they had read newspaper accounts of Hitler invading Poland or another country, heard that he was coming into their land next, had been warned by the local police, and yet denied that there was a war beginning to rage. What if they went on as normal, did not prepare their children, did not seek to find a place of refuge. Then imagine if their town was bombed, their house destroyed, and some of their loved ones in their community were killed. Because of their refusal to see the reality of the battle raging, their horror and disappointment would be more pronounced.

Similarly, we must recognize that we are in a battle in our generation--a battle between 2 kingdoms--the world where Satan is called the ruler and our Lord who is redeeming this world and taking us to His kingdom forever.

Recognizing that this is the "fallen place," is one of the most important pieces of wisdom to arm us to handle what the world will bring to our lives. And, we must also arm our children as warriors--to learn their foundations, to understand their defense, to know they will never be alone--but God will always be with them every minute to answer, to give wisdom.

Yet, we must also recognize that we have greater potential to become stronger, more able to cope with the difficulties, more organized for life, more able to endure--because God is us has created us with a great capacity to overcome, to succeed.

Perhaps the battles that are most difficult are against our own weak character--but practice and perseverance helps with this. Practicing strength training one day at a time.

Or the illness, death or catastrophe that life can bring our ways. Or the unloving rejection of others. God is with you--He will help you through. Cultivate love with one or two that can understand. Talking with someone who truly relates to your pain but will help you walk through it, is a pursuit for finding in a friend.

Or maybe just the mundane, relentlessness of chores, duties, work and loneliness--learn to light a candle in the darkness. Create beauty, pleasure, joy in your realm.

Regardless the battle, we must arm ourselves to be strong in the battle so that we do not become victims in defeat.

Our children must learn to own their lives--to take responsibility for their faith--to have as a goal to be faithful to God no matter what happens--to live valiantly through many temptations and end courageously strong in the end.

And, they must learn this from our own courage. Our own choice to believe God through the storms life brings and through the love we choose to give in spite of injustice and pain from the hands of others.

But, our courage will come from the hope that is real in our hearts.

No matter what our status in this world, we are royalty in the next.

No matter what grief or injustice comes our way now, God has taken account of every tear and has promised that in the Kingdom of God we shall be comforted.

Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world."

It was in this world that He was crucified, rejected, spit upon, beaten, and had countless profanities hurled at Him.

He who created the light of the dawn, the smell of roses, the swirl of dark clouds, suffered the worst at the hands of the very men He created.

My talented husband, Clay, is a songwriter. One of his songs is called "Rusted Nails." A verse from it says,

"They drove the nails through to the wood,

How could they understand, that He who made the universe, had made the nails that pierced His hands."

And yet, He is coming again--to bring us to His banquet, to have us in His kingdom forever more.

It is as we accept these realities, these battle lines, the future that is sure, that we will be able to live more courageously, more valiantly today. We are in a battlefield for allegiance to our God, a fight for righteousness, and we are the ones God has chosen to be His warriors. But we know who will win in the end. And this is our confidence.

Preparing your children to be warriors in their world, for the glory of God:

Your child will eventually grow up, I promise!

Joy feeding a duck she named Hildegard!

Today, I was out on a walk, (a regular habit of mine for many, many years.), and Joy called. I have a habit of always taking the phone calls of my children, no matter when they call, even though I almost don't answer for anyone else! "Mama, I just took my car out for a drive so I could get away from other friends so we could just talk and talk."

Over the next half hour, she bubbled up and spilled out the amazing things she has been thinking, what she has been thinking about her life, about God, about our pending summer together, classes and all that is in her heart. At this point, I stand amazed.

I learn from her every time she calls me. I want to love God more each time I talk to her, because she has such a vibrant walk with Him. I want to read the books that are inspiring her, and stay sharpened so that when she comes home, I will have something to enrich her life.

It is pretty much the same way with all of my children. I am inspired to keep growing and becoming more excellent because they follow hard on the heels of God.

Yet, it was not always that way.

"He touched my toe! Make him stop!" as we are reading a great story on the couch together, and the pettiness interrupted the magnanimous moment.

"Why do I always get in trouble and have to have higher standards than anyone else." (Teen years.)

Pouty eyes as I ask that someone set the table. "I always have to do all the work."

Screaming and throwing a fit before falling asleep because I let them get too exhausted while we were out.

So many times wondering, "Did it all matter? Were they listening? Was I accomplishing anything? Does all this work matter, Lord?

Yet, as I have lived through 4 children and seen them into adulthood, I see that God has made them to mature, to grow and to become stronger, almost in spite of you. Our part is to trust Him, love them, be faithful and patient and kind. And then He has access to their hearts and minds and somehow makes my work of love and faithfulness bear fruit, eventually, because He has set maturity in their hearts and given me the desire to be their guide, for His sake.

It is all a miracle. I sow, daily in faith, and it does grow and bear fruit--miraculously.

Now, during this season,  I am looking at each day as one to savor and remember and choosing to love a little more generously, be more patient, and end my days with grace, and choosing joy.

I ran into this picture and this post from 5 years ago, and remember how young she was and how delightful. Wish I could curl her up on my lap, but she is gone and grown up--and though I love her sooo much and enjoy her so much now, I do still wish I could turn back the clock on occasion. But now this season has come to an end. So I also share with you these thoughts from that time with you and hope that the sentiment which I wrote years ago, and still even encouraged me today as I was looking back and reflecting, will encourage you.

My advice, yet again, friends, is to  live life joyfully today, and take notice of the beauty along the way. It is a great way to invest in a Saturday.

Off to make make dinner--but this time without my sweet Joy.

********************************

I am sitting in my little quiet time chair with a cup of strong Austrian coffee in hand, (there are advantages to travel—I brought home 4 packages of the great tasting stuff along with a small box of chocolates!). From my second story window, I look out on the tops of countless pine trees with the Rocky Mountains peeking through the tree tops in the distance, and a sky full of wispy clouds slowing moving by. A reflection of God’s creative artistry is something I seek in every house we live in. I choose windows that look out on the most beautiful natural scene, so that I can have some of His life-stuff to bring peace and quiet to my soul each morning as I meet with him.

In front of me is a pile of books scattered over a coffee table, a couch pillow thrown onto the floor, a couple of pairs of shoes where they were shaken off and a potted plant that holds 3 wilting flowers in desperate need of water, some child’s abandoned sweat shirt, and a half-eaten candy bar. And this is only the picture of the eight feet in front of my chair. The rest of the house is much the same—meticulously decorated for this season—potted ivy with candles on my dining table, containers of flowers at the front door—blooming, but waiting to be potted, yet other life messes in the midst of the order and beauty. As the proverb says, “Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean.” I comfort myself daily with the fact that I have 6 oxen living in my home, and thus my stalls are not always clean. My world is always a mixture of beauty and mess, order and piles of things not yet subdued. (Did I mention that Joy has interrupted me three times since I started writing this article? “Have you seen my brush? Will you practice my play lines with me for the play this afternoon? Do you think this shirt is too short to wear?)

Yet there is a significant little wooden plaque within my eye range. It reminds me daily, “Live Life Joyfully!” Choosing to live life joyfully is a choice that I have learned over a period of many years. Choosing to enjoy the moment is an inner discipline I have had to learn. It is not necessarily natural, but has become more so with the choosing of it as my practiced heart attitude.

I often love to watch toddlers. They move through their worlds with delight. We were waiting in a park on our mission trip for a friend to meet us. A toe-headed little boy was squealing with delight as he chased an illusive butterfly around a planting of bright red tulips and yellow daffodils. He was caught up in the joy of the moment, delighting in the toy figures that God had placed in his world for his pleasure. The little one was unaware that he had a milk-mustache, a shoe untied and a soiled stain on the knee of his jeans.

I hope that I am like this little boy to God—choosing to enjoy the beauty of the treasures he has place in my path. Noticing the toys he has given me for delight—Joy dancing through my room—beginning to look more like a young woman than a little girl—truly a beautiful sight to behold. One that will pass quickly. I am enjoying the tulips on my next door neighbors driveway—closest to ours, the green grass that has been so long hidden under piles of snow.

Many years ago in the midst of another possible miscarriage, I was sitting by a window near some mountains in Austria. I had begun to bleed and was asking God from the bottom of my heart to please let me carry this child to completion. Just then, a little sparrow hopped up on my window sill and began to chirp. It stayed there for several minutes and hopped closer and closer to the edge where I was looking out. What a sweet, amazing creature—singing its heart out with no one to applause. It was as though God was saying to me, “I am listening. I see the birds on a thousand hills. I see you. I love you and am with you!” I didn’t know what would happen, but I knew that God, who is love, was with me and would be with me in whatever happened. The pregnancy turned out to be Sarah.

From then on, I decided to take notice of birds who sing—to believe that they are especially praising God. I see them also as a personal reminder from God that He is present. Often on my walks when I am pouring out my dark heart to God, a bird hops or sings along my trail and I am reminded that God is there—present with me!

May He bring the reality of His joy to you today in the midst of your order and mess.

Turning Your Home Into an Italian Restaurant: Spaghetti Pie!

“This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook- try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!”  -Julia Child, My Life In France

It smells like a fine Italian restaurant in our home tonight, and it is all due to a beautiful recipe Sally introduced me to - Spaghetti Pie! (And she says it is Nathan's favorite, so she makes it every time he comes home! A definite comfort food for everyone! And it is easier than Lasagna--but just as pleasing!)

My family is up in the kitchen, watching the clock run out of time so that they can dig in to this foreign creation they have never before had! In our home, lasagna & manicotti are our go-to heavy Italian meals, which are labor intensive and time consuming when you cook from scratch.

This recipe begs to be doubled or even tripled! It is a quick and easy way to make a dinner that tastes like mom’s homemade lasagna, although it only takes a fraction of the time to assemble and cook! I love to make lunch - size spaghetti pies by using a muffin tin. This gives you 12 go-to after school snacks or a great addition to your salad at lunch! Cook, cool, wrap up in plastic and place them all in a gallon size ziplock bag and place in the refrigerator.

Ingredients: 2 tsp olive oil 1/2 cup onion - diced 8 oz baby portabella mushrooms - diced 1 pound ground beef (or 1/2 pound Italian sausage 1/2 pound ground beef) 1/2 tsp garlic salt (or 1 clove fresh minced garlic) 1 tsp dried oregano (or Italian seasoning) 1 tsp dried basil Salt and pepper to taste 6 - 8 oz. spaghetti noodles (depending on your pie dish) 2 Tbsp butter (optional) 3/4 cup parmesan cheese 2 eggs - well beaten 1 cup cottage cheese - blended 1 8 oz can of diced tomatoes 1 6 oz can of tomato paste OR 1 small can of tomato sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 - 2 cups fresh mozzarella cheese - grated *Optional: pinch of Italian seasoning to finish on top of mozzarella

 Directions: In your skillet, over medium high heat, saute onions in olive oil until translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute until cooked through. If using fresh garlic, add garlic and stir into the onion and mushroom mixture for 1 minute. Add ground beef to the skillet and stir until completely cooked. Add dried herbs, salt & pepper to taste. In a colander, carefully drain off any excess oil. Return the meat mixture to the skillet and return to a medium heat. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar and garlic salt if not using fresh garlic. Turn off heat and set aside. You can also use immersion blender for sauce if your kids are not fond of a more rustic style sauce with diced tomatoes. This will make your sauce a smoother spaghetti meat sauce.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spaghetti per instructions on package. Drain. Then stir in butter, parmesan, and eggs into the warm spaghetti. Pour spaghetti mixture into a 10 inch pie dish and press in to form a spaghetti crust. Spread the cottage cheese on top of the crust. Add meat sauce mixture. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes then remove from oven and top with shredded mozzarella cheese and return to oven to bake for 5 minutes longer to melt cheese.

Cultivating a delicious meal that "wows" your family doesn't have to be time consuming and filled with extreme difficulty. Turn your home into your favorite Italian restaurant tonight. Light candles, put down your favorite red tablecloth, and you can even grab the "Little Italy 1930 Radio" station from Pandora for free (it is so much fun and really creates the Italian ambiance)!

Enjoy Little Italy tonight!

Planting Your Flag of Faith

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

 Many years ago, I had two miscarriages in one year, and all three of my children had pneumonia, chicken pox, ruptured ears and encephalitis–all within two months! We had made a move to a very tiny town in Texas and I had no friends, Clay had no job, and we were almost out of money. I was quite tired and struggled with depression but was really seeking answers from the Lord. We lived with my mother-in-law at the time, and going for long walks by myself was the only way I could get away to think and pray.

 One day, as I was walking the long, barren country road near our home, and pondering, it was as if the Lord said to me, “Sally, if I took everything away from you that you hold dear, would you still believe in me?” It was suddenly as though God was shining a spotlight onto the deepest part of my soul. And I found at the very bottom of it, that with all the difficulties that a fallen world could throw at me, I would still rather hold on to my faith in God and believe in His love and goodness for the rest of my life, than to choose a life of existentialism and despair. And a realization came to me that this choice would require constant vigilance–that I would have to guard my heart and feed it with the truth of God’s word and His constancy in my life if it were to continue to stand.

 A part of me realized that day that faith was planting a flag, so to speak, in my heart, and deciding to settle it once and for all–that for the rest of my life, no matter what, I would choose to believe in the Bible, to know that Jesus was real, and to trust that God was loving, no matter what! Faith was the assurance of things hoped for but not seen. Faith was choosing to hope in Him every day, acting on that faith and hope, and understanding that without this commitment of my will to choosing to believe and hope, I couldn’t be pleasing to God or sense His wisdom and hand upon my life.

I would look back on that day as a day which would determine my present and future walk with God.

Making a decision to stand for faith meant many things. It meant I would choose to believe the best, and act in light of what scripture said He was–loving, righteous, good, kind, wise, and so on. I would believe in light when I found myself in darkness. I would believe that love redeemed and was a perfect bond of unity, even when I was confronted with unloving, immature people.

 It meant choosing to believe that God did listen to my prayers and that the prayer of a righteous person avails much–and that in His time, I would see eternal results–even if it wasn’t on my time schedule.

I knew that if every time something difficult happened to me, I put God on trial again, that I would only be unstable and insecure in life–wondering and fearing when the next trial or danger would come my way. But I also had the sense that if I built my life on the foundation of believing in Him, sowing faithfulness and goodness, that I would reap the blessing of freedom and peace from sowing on true and eternal principles.

 “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, this will he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)

I decided never again to go to the active place of doubt–I would disregard it because of my once and for all commitment to believe in God, period. I pictured that in the same way that I made a promise that I would stay married to Clay and choose to love him unconditionally for all of our years–that divorce would never be an option–that I needed to picture my commitment to God like that–forever and final.

As I look back over the years, my commitment determined my behavior and always gave me direct instructions in which way to go–always to God, always to faith and always to obedience always to the word.

To take your study deeper today, take a few moments to complete the reflection and application below.

• “He who would please God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 Have you made a decision to plant a flag of faith in your own life? What challenges that commitment?

• “As far as it is possible with you, be at peace with all men.” Romans 12:18 Everyone has times of relational difficulty, unless they live as a hermit! Is there someone you should make peace with today?

• “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be open for you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks, finds and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 Do you believe that God hears you? That He will answer in time? How can you strengthen your soul in order to continue choosing rightly in the midst of daily challenges?

***You can still view Sally's E-conference from last Monday night online. Click the link below for all the information!

Happy St. P's Day! Just One Lovely Loaf of Bread brings a houseful of cheer! An Irish tradition!

Mountains in Ireland

Simon Kozhin

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day is a newer tradition for our family in the past 18 years. Having read his biography, of how he had such a heart to share Christ with Ireland, St. Patrick risked great danger to go back to the country to share Christ. We have celebrated the day ever since we read about him. We love the Celtic music and traditions and so we made it our family fun time. Many of you remember and love the story Sarah told about me calling her and telling her to join us all for the day and so I thought you would enjoy her story. And I love, love hot Irish Soda bread this particular day and thought I would share this recipe with you!

And  a Happy Day to you all!

 I love all things Irish and think St. Patrick himself the hero indeed, but the great day  found me mired in about a thousand unanswered emails. I got home from church to face the prospect of a Monday morning to-do list that stopped me cold in my tracks. The fact that it was Sunday and I was supposed to be sane and calm and thinking holy thoughts added guilt to my fretting. I despaired of fun and set to work. But a phone call late in the windy afternoon changed the fate of my day: “Sarah,” said my mom, “we’re downtown; do you want to just go for a quick bite of fish ‘n chips at Jack Quinn’s? Leave the emails. There will be music!”

I couldn’t say no. Jack Quinn’s is a dim old downtown Irish pub, floored in dented, honeyed wood, with tiny booth rooms windowed in stained glass just like the pubs I visited in England. It has the dusky depths, old-photos, and jumbled shelves of mugs and jugs to give it the feel of a real pub. But steeped in age and shadow as it is, the ceilings are high and sheathed in forest green tin. Voices and folk music bounce in a rollick of notes from the floor to the heights in a brightness and dance as good as light. For such a place, I always want to spare an hour. I paused at my desk and almost stayed. I stared at my list, I despaired of my life. But as the sun set, I flung down my pen and out the door I went.

And oh what a party awaited me. The moment we stepped in the door we joined one great, grand swirl of Irish celebration. The long room was crammed to its every edge.  A bag piper rose to play as we entered, kilted and bold in the middle of the room, all purple-cheeked and bulging-eyed as he filled the pipes with song. Hundreds of feet kept a good tapping time, laughter boiled up like a drumroll from every corner, and voices rang like trumpets as people talked over the scream of the pipes. The faces in that dim room glowed like fireflies in a hot summer garden.

Everyone wore green. Eight or eighty, no respectable soul would come to an Irish pub on St. Paddy’s day without a token of emerald to honor the feast. Some wore glittering bits of jade or jewel, some were decked in the gaudy gleam of green plastic beads, some were clothed head to toe in forest, moss, sage, or emerald, every hue of the color of Eire. And then there were the men who swept by in kilts. They had that delighted pride of eye belonging to those who are dressed just right for a grand occasion. At least I had on my lucky green shirt, thank goodness.

For the rest of this story, go HERE!

As St. Patrick's day comes around again , I always think of great soda bread. Many years ago, on a cold March afternoon, I made my first loaf of soda bread. Yummm! It was St. Pat's day and all of us were lonely for old friends, as we had just moved to a new area. So Irish soda break it was--hot, out of the oven, melted butter, raspberry jam and sliced aged cheddar cheese. We had a little feast and wonderful memories made amidst the oohs and ahhs. You might want to try this recipe this year and you have a few days to practice--from my sweet friend, Brandee. Enjoy!

Nothing says HOME like the sweet aroma of bread baking in the oven. Quite often, my kids run up the stairs and ask, as if they don't know, "What is that amazing smell! Mom, what are you baking?" All eyes on the timer, they just cannot wait the length of time it takes to cool. Excitedly, one daughter fires up the kettle for tea as the other starts to plate the warm slices of bread - careful not to burn her fingers in the process.

Suddenly, all is well with the world and our home is the best! Why is this? Because family is communing and relationships are building and laughter is spilling into this space we call home.

Breaking bread with one another is truly spiritual. Stopping the anxious stirring of a busy day to examine each other's feelings and thoughts is a precious and priceless gift.  Jesus did this. The hurt, the broken, the teachable, the doubtful, the faithful; Jesus broke bread with all mankind. Relationship and food go hand in hand and Jesus is all about relationships. He knows how to get our attention and we should model the Master of relationships by breaking bread with those who will gather.

No matter what time of year it is, I invite you to try this amazing bread recipe that our family loves. Even if all the world is awry, if I make some bread, I feel somehow, I have  been competent in at least one area. Bread baking is a legacy for our whole family and brings comfort and peace when we most need it. Traditionally I will always bake a couple loaves for St. Patrick's Day dinner, but it is often made as a dessert in our home or to go along side pot roast or homemade potato soup!

Brandee’s Twist on Not So Irish Soda Bread

Yields: 16

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups flour + 1 T for dusting

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tablespoons coriander - ground

1/2 tsp cardamom - ground

1 pint sour cream = 2 cups

2 eggs

3/4 cup craisins

* 1/2 cup  half n half if dough is too dry - in Colorado usually necessary.

Directions

1. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl.
2. In small bowl, beat eggs and stir in sour cream.
3. Add egg & sour cream mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with WOODEN SPOON only.  The batter will be VERY thick and sticky. If too dry, add a splash of half n half.
4. Add the craisins and stir well with wooden spoon or knead with your hands.
5. Place this batter into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Dust the top of batter with enough flour so you can pat dough evenly into pan without it sticking to your hands.
6. With a knife, score top of dough with criss cross on top.
7. Bake for 50 minutes in preheated 350 degree oven.

***This bread can double as a dessert if topped with a dollop of Lemon Curd***

Yummers--nothing like bread, soup and candle light to draw peeps close to one another!

All Mamas: Give Your Home and Homeschooling A Heartbeat! & The seminar video is up!

"If I could only encourage mothers to follow one principle of wisdom in their relationship with their children, it would be that of cultivating fervent, intimate love with each of their children. When children feel loved and cherished by the parents who brought them into the world, they have enduring stability and security that provides them with groundwork for understanding the God of the universe who so loves us. Love is the most important foundation for learning to believe in God." -Sally Clarkson, The Mom Walk

I am convinced that a child who feels his mother does not love him or have his heart in mind, cannot learn well and will not be as easy to motivate. The Bible uses the word heart 725 times. The heart is the place a person is inspired, catches vision, and it is the seat of belief and faith. A wise mom will realize that education, motivation, inspiration to excellence and greatness lies in reaching the heart.

But if the mama does not cultivate her own heart of gentleness, love, patience, words of affirmation, trusting the Holy Spirit to work in her children's lives, bringing the heart of God into the picture---then she will be left with gutting it out in her home and in homeschool. If we lead with a heart sensitive to the values of God, then we have a great capacity to influence almost anyone.

Often, moms tell me that their children are impossible to teach. I always have to say, "Have you filled the emotional cup of your child? Does your child believe that you like who he is? Does your child think that you are more concerned about her ideas, thoughts and over all well-being or does she think you just want her performance? Works and laws just drive children further away from being teachable. God has entrusted mothers to subdue a very important task--to be life givers, to bring beauty, to maintain the home domain, and to ultimately be the heart of the home. This may sound like an ideal with impossible expectations, but it is not only necessary, but practical as well.

The connection of a mother and child is deeply physical, emotional, and even spiritual. By God's design, children will always sense at some level a special connection to their mother that gives her a unique voice and influence in their lives and hearts. If properly cultivated, developed, and understood within the context of God-given personality drives, it is a powerful source of influence. Homeschooling mothers, you have the unique opportunity to be the relational heartbeat of your family as you interact with your children. Being home throughout the day with your children, you have nearly constant access to their hearts.

Having a heart for your children means accepting their God-given personality.

Laughing at their jokes (especially if they are boys!), having compassion for their tears. It means not belittling them, or shaming them, but believing in their hopes and dreams, even if there is a pile of dishes in the sink. And also believing that they will eventually be able to learn their multiplication tables! Believe in them, believe in their potential--do not give them a voice in their head that you doubt them or believe them to be bad.

If you love and accept them unconditionally as Jesus accepts you, you will prepare their hearts to believe in God's love because they have experienced it from you.

However, your influence as a mom, or homeschooling mama, won't come from obsessing over reading all of the right books on motherhood, listening to the latest parenting experts, using the "best" homeschooling materials, or being the best homemaker--in short, checking off all the right boxes. It will come from your faithfulness and because your "mom heart" is open to God and seeking His will. It is in the moments of godly influence in your children's hearts that will make you the heart of the home.

Being this faithful mother may seem like an idealistic goal, but it is a very realistic challenge. Homeschooling is demanding and constant with little time off. The reality of homeschooling is that God is asking you to become a servant to your children-to be willing to sacrifice your time, body, energy, and expectations for them. It takes your willingness and intention to become the heart of the home and to give your homeschooling a heartbeat.

Your faithfulness and willingness simply means you saying:

"I can do all things through him who gives me strength!" -Philippians 4:13

Being the heart of your home is having God's heart for your family and serving their hearts for God. How can you create a heartbeat in your home today?

*********************************************************************************************************************

For more encouragement and inspiration, you will enjoy this course on Weaving the Love of Learning in your Home.

Register HERE

Register HERE

Joel is a miracle maker and retrieved all the information and our own video  and added his music! I hope you will enjoy it and be encouraged. Let me know if you think this is a good way to gather for encouragement--especially for sweet mamas who cannot attend the conferences.

(For those of you who have wondered, the conference company we hired lost their recording connection Monday afternoon and forgot to inform us of the inability to record our conference as promised. We had to add our own small camera on the spot, tape it, download it for 24 hours and then edit it. God was so gracious to allow this to all come together! Kinda like life--We live somewhere between ideals and real life! Onward in His grace!)

It is uploaded for those of you who registered! You will get an email in your inbox that will give you the link to the video where you can watch it!

For those of you who have asked if you can still watch it, we will offer it for the next few weeks.

For those of you who originally attended the course, you have received information in your inbox of how you may watch it again.

If you wish to do so, you can download the video as well as just watch it, though keep in mind that at an hour-and-a-half, it is a very large file, and download times may be quite lengthy. (it took us 24 hours.) So you may just want to watch it.

We appreciate all of you honoring the copyright laws. Please do not give your friends the pass code to the video, or put it anywhere online publicly as this is copyrighted material.   It is only for those who registered. Thanks for supporting our ministry projects with your participation and protection of this video privacy.

VERY IMPORTANT: If you originally registered and paid to attend the seminar, you DO NOT need to buy this video again. An email was sent out to all registrants detailing how to download the video. If you did not receive that message, please email us at mail.homeforgood@gmail.com, and we will verify your registration and send you the link. (If you opted out of receiving any more emails, you will have to write homeforgood@gmail.com and let them know you would still like to receive the code, as they honored your request.)

Blessings, blessings and blessings come to you from all of us at our family entity, Home for Good and from Whole Heart Ministries. We hope to bring you more opportunities for conferences and resources to strengthen your families soon.

ACTS of Prayer (Encompassing the whole world!)

"Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen." Matthew 6:9-13

Traveling and living in many parts of the world has been a great blessing to me. It has helped me to understand that God is not American. Through interacting with so many wonderful people from nations all over the world, my values have been broadened, my convictions expanded and my soul enriched. God's eye is on the whole world today and He watches over all the issues in every nation. (Travel was one of my purposed goals for our children as we wanted them to taste the world and have compassion on the needs of other cultures--so we saved and scrimped to be able to fill this goal!)

Therefore, our prayers before His throne must be in light of His transcending purposes in history beyond our own borders.

Still, He listens to us with all of us in our concerns right where we live! This is just part of why I love coming to Him in the spirit of His prayer shared here in Matthew 6. His will encompasses all of history and everything that must happen to accomplish His purposes. So in the spirit of humility, we come to Him with our prayers to seek His will and His grace, knowing that somehow, mysteriously, He allows those prayers to influence issues that take place. He does listen; He does respond; and He is our High Priest who prays alongside us, helping us to do His will.

For many years, Clay has used this acronym to guide our family in prayer. We call it the ACTS of Prayer.

A--Adore Him. Coming before Him puts us in the right frame of mind–acknowledging his greatness and power as we come into His presence with our requests. A good place to start is Psalm 145, especially verses 8-21. We take time to praise Him for some of the attributes mentioned there.

 C--Confess our sin. We come to Him to humble ourselves, asking His forgiveness for our own sins as well as for those of the church of Christ and our nation. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Daniel confessing the sins of his whole nation is our model.

 T—Thanksgiving. This is where we remember what He has done personally to lead us, provide for us, and answer our prayers. We humbly recognize His great care. Psalm 95:1-3 gives us the pattern.

 S–Supplication. We ask God to hear our requests and to answer what is on our hearts, according to His will. “Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.”

Our world offers us plenty of opportunity to worry, to become anxious, to despair over where our nation is headed or whether the next generation will serve God. Economic concerns trouble many and relationships always present their own difficulties. When we come to Him asking for Him to work in our nations, let us ask for Him to bring righteousness, knowing that righteousness exalts a nation. We need to be careful to live our own lives righteously! When crisis brings us to fear or catastrophes happen or national needs arise, these issues always put us in the place we should have been all along—on our knees before Him.

Times of crisis help us to understand that we are not in control of our lives and force us to cry out to Him. He always wants us to seek Him and to ask for His will to be done--but times like these require it and help us put the concerns of life in proper perspective. May all of us who believe around the world humbly seek His power and grace for our nations and for His strength and glory to be more clearly seen.

When we spend time in prayer, He fills us with His own love and peace.

 If you would like to take your study deeper today, complete the reflection and application below:

• “ … and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5 Are you carrying many burdens? Write down the things that concern you, using the written page as an offering to the Lord. Ask Him to show you where you can offer thanks for good things you might not see on the surface. Dedicate the things that concern you to Him and ask for His love to be poured out within your heart!

• “Lord, teach us to pray ...” Luke 11:1 Have you taken time to teach your children how to pray? Share this acronym with them and use it to pray together!

Weaving a love for learning into the fabric of your home ! A Home Education Conference for you!

God designed mothers to be those who would inspire, shape and civilize the next generation of adults into healthy, vibrant, righteously strong individuals. The Home was to be a laboratory of life that would provide the atmosphere where genius could be cultivated, creativity and confidence imagined and excellence of character to be taught and practiced.

Yet, this role has lost the imagination of our culture and often women get lost in the many confusing voices of culture. A clear vision as to how to regain the inspiration for what a home can be is needed.   How God will use the home to transform the world as moms intentionally do the eternal work of building families is essential.

In homes, children can learn at their own pace, live within the design of their personality and have time to grow strong in the atmosphere of love as moms recapture a vision for what a home was meant to be.

Join me tonight as we discuss how to use your home as a platform for building the hearts, minds and souls for your children with the grace and blessing that God intended.

I am so excited to have each of you who have signed up for the e-conference to be with me tonight. We shall have a grand evening together!

There will be a live chat box from women all over the world during the conference, so you will be able to see the issue on other women's hearts!

There are a couple quick notes for those of you who have had questions about viewing the conference.

First, we want to encourage those of you who have been waiting to register to go ahead and sign up for the conference. The registration is filling up quickly, and we will have to close it when we reach capacity. 

We have been researching webinars, e-conferences and many sites in the past couple of months to find what we hope will be a better venue for online speaking events in the future. We hope to be reaching and having more opportunities to encourage moms all over the world and to fund projects that will help women in other countries, as well as here at home! Thanks for registering and helping us do this.

The cost of registration for the e-conference is discounted but will go up in price $3 after tonight, so make sure to head over to the e-conference registration page to purchase it now, to get in on the discount price.

On that note, for those of you who will not be able to join us during the conference itself, we will be offering a video of the conference for purchase and download following the event in the next couple of days. An announcement will be made about that video in the days after the event, so make sure to watch for this option on Itakejoy.

For those of you who have purchased the conference already, there will be an option for you to also download the video after the conference is over. A message will be sent to the email address you used to sign up for the registration, with instructions about how to access the video.

Those who have registered will receive an email about what to expect tonight, when to show up so that hundreds of women don't all get on at the same moment. Be sure to print out the outline of notes to read during the seminar so you can follow along! You will receive instructions about how to join the conference online so you won't miss any of it.

We look so forward to a wonderful time of growing and learning with all of you  tonight! Remember: 6:00 Pacific; 7:00 Mountain; 8:00 Central; 9:00 Eastern.

Register HERE.                                                                                          So excited to see you tonight!

Sally

We only have this day to celebrate well! Today is the day to build memories

The dance of life goes on--one more generation anew will have their turn to make it beautiful.

“Teach us to number our days that we might present to you a heart of wisdom.”Psalm 90:12

No longer the door slamming as he runs into the house yelling, "Mama, you'll never guess what we did!" or "You'll never guess what I found! Mama, where are you?"

or

"Mama, will you sit here with me just for a minute to talk before I go to sleep. I want to tell you what I was thinking today."

or

Dinner table filled with teenagers, awash with hormones and ideals, discussing loudly their opinions about life with a, "Mama, you are the best cook! Can I have some more?"

Through all seasons, we whisk here and there in a hurry to "get it all done." But, I am in the, "before you know it, the early years of motherhood comes to an end, and you have no more days to enjoy your son as a child."

God speaks to us through nature and His own visual art. There is the promise of spring with flowers, blooms, that life is all aswirl with promise--a season of youthful idealism. The summer comes with the promise of fruit and the planting life all seeds that will bring life--the planting of all that is good in the hearts, souls and minds of our children quickly before the season changes again.

And so the seasons go with our children--baby, pre-school elementary, growing into young adult and then off to start his own life. I am so thankful I have so many, many great memories and times of friendship with Nathan--but I wish I had relaxed more and enjoyed looking into his little boy eyes and seeing the life that was sparkling there!

In splendid glory and bursting color, diversity in every form, autumn teaches us that life is always changing--and that, whether we want it to happen or not, life will be changing soon.  Spring that God is the one who renews. Summer and winter, their own expressions of God. Life and this season right now, is about to change. Life passes quickly and each season  reminds us that one more year, journey, season is about to pass. Let us not waste the time in regret or in hurry.

This year, I intentionally made time, even when I did not feel like I had it, to make more memories--to live in the moments when I could share real life--look into their eyes, share in the deepest expression of their hearts  because I know the season was about to pass.

Driving on Sunday summer evenings, every week,  with the kids who were home, on our nearby country roads with music lists playing and shared creating toe-tapping hearts--became a favorite pass time this summer--every week a rhythm to stop life for a few minutes to say, "you are important--let's take this time together, away from the bother where life steals our moments. (--this one before a storm, where we saw a mama bear and cub!"

We sat in our white porch rockers and sipped tea every night and stayed until the sun set.

Morning breakfast on the roofed in back porch was where breakfast and the caffeine of choice was offered the moment a pajama'd child emerged from their bedroom.

We will never have this year, this day, this moment in which to invest again—it will be fleeting and over, as one spring marks another, one autumn tells of us another season or  year soon to be past.

Today is the day in which I may pour out love, Inspiration, Serving and touching hearts, Pointing in this moment of glory, the divine creator. Teaching what is true and right and good, Modeling faith.

The ministry of motherhood must be personal—back rubs, giggles, eyes really seeing into the face and soul of the one being listened to…

Our own traditions celebrated again and again--at no cost!

Sleeping out under the stars on our deck in sleeping bags

Hikes and picnics in the national forest

Eating each evening on our front porch to watch the aspen trees dance in the wind.

Evening walks each night and taking photographs of the sunset.

Every day, candle and music to celebrate eating together.

I knew that these were the memories, the life-pictures that were in the heart and mind of my Nathan when he would go to his life to begin the celebration of each season and he beginning of life as a husband, to carry on these traditions in his own home.

I understood, from his first days, that

A real, little human being, requires personal attention as a flower needs real water. 

We are those who are to water the garden of our children's souls that life may spring up every day anew and refreshed.

When this day is past, I must hope that I have used it well and invested wisely because I will never have it to live over again, and soon, very soon, the autumn of motherhood will remind us, that this season is almost over.

Remember: Only the wise can dance to the rhythm of life!

May you listen to the music of each season, and dance elegantly the dance God has granted you within your home.

(in my living room to remind me to dance to His rhythms every day!)

Blessings,today!