Parenting

Special Invitation: Come have a (virtual) cup of tea with me!

CLS Blog Podcast footer logo only.jpg

I wish you could sit beside me on the wooden porch rockers for a lingering chat with a cup of something delicious.  I would love to know what is swimming in your own heart and to hear your thoughts about life. Meeting with women, hearing your stories and encouraging you through my own stories has brought me great joy over my life.

Even more, though, when I look at the landscape of our culture and the values that are being supported in public arenas, I see that the foundation of family is being destroyed every day. And yet, I believe that a strong family bond, mothers dedicated to building emotional, spiritual and moral strength in the lives of their children and marriages that hold fast through storms of life are more important than ever.

A strong family life is still the best indicator that a person will thrive and be able to live a sustainable life. But the carrying out of these traditional biblical ideals is challenging and lonely at this time of history. These are the messages I would share with you—your life as a mom, wife, and Christian matters more now than ever. And in a world where relationships have been broken, and families have been fractured, all the more, we each need support and encouragement of one another of how to keep building strong foundations for life.

This is why I am excited to announce a new project that has been bubbling up in my heart.  Cultivating Life with Sally is my new membership site designed to encourage you in the areas of motherhood, home, discipleship, leadership, and education.   

Cultivating Life with Sally will be a place to find lifegiving messages from me and my friends along with supplemental materials to help you dive deeper and bring God’s grace into your life and home in new ways.   There will be audios and videos, printable PDFs, reflection questions and more.  The lovely ladies at Storyformed will also be providing bonus content that will not be available anywhere else.

Cultivating Life with Sally will provide a place for me to mentor you toward a deeper relationship with Jesus.  I can’t wait to share with you what I am learning as I study my Bible each day.  My goal is that women will grow in their walk with God and then in turn grow in their capacity to love and serve their husband, children, friends and neighbors. 

Join us in Cultivating Life with Sally- with new content each month, it will be as if we are attending a mini-conference together several times a year.  Doing the leadership intensives in my home has been rewarding but this gives me the chance to share the same encouragement and Bible studies with anyone who is interested. 

During the first few months, we will also have a special study of composers and maybe along the way, artists. This is something that you can listen to with your children, then run to the library for a few of the suggested books and enjoy learning about the lives of some amazing musicians together as a family. 

I will be discussing the book of Hebrews and principles of how to have faith and stay faithful, even when you don’t feel like it. Recipes, traditions, and ideas from our lives will fill your library of resources as we slowly build a treasury of training and ideas over the months.

Here is a little video to introduce you to Cultivating Life with Sally.

 

I hope that you’ll consider joining me at Cultivating Life with Sally.  Registration opens September 5, 2017.

Inviting Your Children To A Home Alive

"The task of building our homes into places of beauty and life that will feed the hearts, souls, and minds of our children is the most comprehensive task to which God has called us as mothers. We are called quite literally to be "home makers" - to plan and shape a home environment that provides our families with both a safe resting place and a launching pad for everything they do in the world."The Life Giving Home 

Relishing the warm summer days, chattering about all sorts of life issues, sharing meals by candlelight makes this time a treasure of memories that I will store up when all are gone next fall. I thought it might be a good time to share a tiny glimpse into our own home life. Home becomes dearer each day, each year as I store up the life we have share here.

The definition of "home" is:

"The place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household."

While I suppose this very vague definition is true, home is so much more than a shelter where we simply eat, sleep, and gather. It is a place of refuge, a safe haven for our children that is welcoming and beautiful. When I think of home, I think of...

Candles flickering...Familiar Music playing from the other room...

My four children discussing world events, stories, music...Plenty of giggling...

The aroma of freshly baked cookies... Various books in baskets on shelves in every room,

Calligraphy of verses, quotes sprinkled on tables around the house

magazines, Bibles, art prints, family photos...

Strong cups of tea, cinnamon toast, lemon bread, scrambled cheese eggs, ...........

Fresh flowers as often as I find a deal, on display...

Musical instruments-guitar, piano, dulcimer,

A Basketball backboard

Rocking Chairs, art pencils scattered amongst drawings and sketch books

A computer always click clicking with stories and books being conceived, music being scored, blogs being written Darcy, our darling  golden retriever stealing goodies off of someone's plate, tail wagging as she runs off...

IMG_1252
IMG_1252
w4
w4

Marie Antoinette was a lamp my mama had in her home for 55 years, and now she stares at us nightly.

w3
w3

A new favorite book Sarah gave me for Mother's day.

photo 5
photo 5

lOur Den Hearth, always full of books, our musical men from Poland and a wooden cabin a grandfather made for the grandkids to play.

w
w

Cups stacked for whoever might visit any time of day, and the ability to choose one's own favorite. All of these qualities about home are a beautiful part of God's design, but the true transforming power of home goes even deeper. Each family will learn to develop its own distinct way of living out the principles of wisdom God has provided in his Word. Each home unique, a living place of the artist behind the life celebrated there. In the same way, each home should be different and uniquely suited to meet the needs of the children and parents who live there.

I truly believe that the home we cultivate as mothers is the restorative training grounds for our children...a place where they can be discipled and filled with love and care prior to growing up and heading to battle. Let's take a look at what God designed home to be filled with...

Wisdom..."The wisest of women builds her home, but folly with her own hands tears it down." -Proverbs 14:1

Knowledge..."By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches." -Proverbs 24:3-4

Peace... "Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ "-Luke 10:5

Rest..."My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places." -Isaiah 32:18

God has entrusted you with an incredible responsibility as the "home maker." What will you fill your home with today? Take a moment to complete the reflection and application below.

-Out of the verses above, which qualities of the God-designed home do you feel are lacking, and which are flourishing this season?-What are some practical ways that you could cultivate more beauty and peace in your home this weekend?-What worries/anxieties are keeping you from the God-designed home today?

619WEsrMnRL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_-2
619WEsrMnRL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_-2

Save

Save

Save

Save