Join me for the book club and giveaway!
Buy your own copy to read: wholeheart.org or amazon
To celebrate, I have a special drawing for you! If you would like a chance to win 45 minutes of mentoring time over the phone with me, I'd love to have you enter using this form. The winner will be announced at the party next week! a Rafflecopter giveaway
I do hope you will join us for the Book Club this season, as I believe this book will be a blessing and encouragement to so many who wonder how they can find joy in their lives in the midst of difficulty and trial. We are very excited about partnering with The Better Mom website for this study! There will be two posts every week at MomHeart Online and TheBetterMom, as well as occasional vlogs by yours truly. We will be having a Facebook party on Thursday, October 11th beginning at 9pm EST, and we invite you to join the Book Club by joining our Facebook page at MomHeart/TheBetterMom Book Club: Dancing. The Book Club will have its first official post on Tuesday, October 16th. You can read more about it here: Dancing With My Father Book Club
I receive many requests each day from people who would like me to help them with various issues in their families, offer advice about what to do with their children, or just need a kind word. How I wish I could find time to reach out in response to everyone who has a need! Added to that are the requests from various groups, publishers, and event planners who would like me to come speak in many corporate settings, write articles or attend conferences. It's always a joy for me to sit down with a mom over a cup of tea or coffee, sorting out tangled situations and offering a bit of encouragement. And I'm always honored by requests to speak to groups, and doing so has become fairly easy as well, with years of talks under my belt and plenty of hours of Bible study informing my own opinions on being a mom.
Travel, however, and limited time have become somewhat the bane of my existence! In these past few years I've had to come to the conclusion that my health and peace both suffer when I push myself too hard.
My priority must always be to walk in integrity with my own family. I truly believe that if I do not live my own message at home, I have no need to open my mouth at all. And so I can promise you that I imperfectly but quite wholeheartedly live by all the principles I've learned and taught over these many years, and will continue to do so.
This means I'm saying "no" far more often than in the past, to requests both public and private. It's been a difficult conclusion to come to, but I've been reminded again recently that while I feel guilty in disappointing people who ask for my help. But if you would bear with me for a minute, I realized that God has already worked through our ministry over the years as I was raising my own four children--- so many resources available right now-- that would be great mentoring tools for all the moms who have requested help.
The truth is, the Lord has already enabled me to pour my heart and life messages out where they can be accessed by anyone searching for help! And so I wanted to put a little description here of several resources you can find easily, with the hope that they might encourage you in your life as a mom.
First, I've written five books about motherhood which are currently available (the sixth, Desperate, written with SarahMae, will be released January 8th, 2013!) You may purchase any of these by clicking the title in red! I'm including the descriptions so you'll know what each is about.
Seasons of a Mother's Heart (1998--expanded, updated release 2008)
"A classic book of encouragement for your seasons as a homeschooling mother. Your heart will be encouraged as you read the touching stories, spiritual insights, and personal lessons that are the seasons in Sally Clarkson’s life. She opens her own seasoned heart on these pages, sharing what she has learned as a homeschooling wife and mother about herself, her children, and her Lord. First published in 1998, this revised and expanded Second Edition includes four new essays by Sally from “ten years later” to introduce each section."
The Mission of Motherhood (2003)
"In The Mission of Motherhood Sally explores the 'big picture' biblical design of God for motherhood. It is a vision that transcends cultures and trends.
Drawing on challenging insights from Scripture enlightened by her own experiences as a mother for 18 years, Sally paints a biblical and very personal portrait of motherhood that reveals the heart of God for all mothers of all times. This book, filled with personal anecdotes and stories, will refresh your vision for biblical motherhood, renew your commitment to your precious children, and prayerfully bring the reviving Spirit of God into your home and family."
The Ministry of Motherhood (2004)
"In a personal and devotional style, Sally addresses how a mother can spiritually shape and influence the precious hearts and lives entrusted to her care by looking to the life and ministry of Jesus. She examines the relationship between Jesus and his disciples, and suggests a plan for influencing children for Christ using the acrostic GIFTS: Grace,Inspiration, Faith, Training and Service. It is an uncomplicated yet strategic plan for passing on crucial gifts to your children. In the dailyness of providing for your children’s physical, emotional, and social needs, Sally helps you ensure that vital opportunities for spiritual nurture and training are not lost in the shuffle. Using biblical wisdom and practical teachings, Sally shows how you can make a lasting difference in your child’s life by following the pattern Christ set with his own disciples. The LifeGIFTS model will inspire and equip you to embrace the rewarding, desperately needed, and immeasurably valuable ministry of motherhood."
The Mom Walk (2007)
"The Mom Walk is about the journey of motherhood.
You love being a mom. You are wholeheartedly committed to your children. You long for them to grow up to be mature, loving, fruitful, and faithful followers of God. But you know that means you are called to be that kind of mom. It means you must be faithful on God’s path of motherhood for you.
That is your mom walk. It is how you walk with God as mother. It is how you seek Him, trust Him, live in His grace, and draw on His strength one step of faith at a time. The mom walk is your path:
P: How you walk with Purpose as a mother A: How you walk with Assurance as a mother T: How you walk with Trust as a mother H: How you walk with Heart as a mother
In The Mom Walk you journey alongside Sally Clarkson in her own walk as a mother after God’s heart. Through her personal stories from twenty-seven years of motherhood, inspiring and challenging truths from Scripture, and spiritual insights from both the dark and light sides of the journey, you will find renewed encouragement for your own mom walk with God."
And here's a little announcement: the MomHeart Online blog will be having its fall Book Club starting soon, and we'll be studying my most recently published book, Dancing With My Father!
Dancing with My Father (2010)
"Dancing with My Father is Sally Clarkson’s personal journey to discover how to live a life of grace and joy in the Lord. As a busy Christian woman in a world often filled with disappointments, difficulties, and even desparing moments, Sally wanted to know how to experience the presence of God and the spiritual joy promised so often in the Scriptures. She shares how she learned to “Rejoice in the Lord always!” and in all seasons of life. If you feel a need to be refreshed and restored in the joy of the Lord, join Sally as she shares the secrets of Dancing with My Father."
In addition to book writing, of course, I've had the privilege of speaking to thousands of moms over the years in large groups. The MomHeart Conference is the main venue in which I've poured out my heart over the years, and all the sessions are available to you now as instantly downloadable audios! That's 13 sets of 3-4 audios, and they're priced at only $2.99 each. You can find all of them here: MomHeart Audio.
Please know how deeply I care about each one of you who writes, calls, or emails me, though it's impossible for me to answer each one. And please know that most of what I would tell you has already been put into one of our books, one of our tapes or a blog post, orsomewhere you can reach it! Through reading my books or listening to my talks, I pray you will find a philosophy of waiting on God, of obeying Him, of walking in grace with your children, of following His example, and of faithfulness.
I don't believe there are formulas to give, and I do not understand your particular family puzzle well enough to tell you just exactly what to do, anyway! That is your glory --to live your own story in faith and obedience to His heart for you and your family. But I do believe that by applying biblical principles, you too can build a strong family that honors the Lord, and I pray you'll find help in some of these resources!
So, I hope you will join us in this book study, or make use of one of our resources, as my desire is to be of encouragement, even though I cannot answer as many personal messages or speak as often as it is requested--but you can find so much of all that we would say on our resource pages.
And remember, if you would like to enter for an 45 minute mentoring session, sign up on our rss, or post an announcement on twitter or face book and leave a comment about what you have done. Thanks so much for helping us get the word out!
Also, don't miss this 31 Days series by our MomHeart Contributor and also my friend, Elizabeth Foss! She's studying The Mission of Motherhood this month. You can read the posts by clicking her button, here!