Vienna--the home of my heart

There is a physical place called home and it is the place family lives and traditions are celebrated and love and morality and righteousness taught. But then there is a home that feels like home. Vienna is that for me. It was here that I lived as a young single woman. I would board my underground or tram, walk the streets, see the flowers, buy veggies and fruit from my little market down the street and greet my little man who worked there every day. I would meet women to discuss Christ and purpose and the universe over coffee in the most delightful cafes, with little flowers on the table, usually sweet music playing in the background and always, always the coffee was served in a real porcelain or china cup. Everywhere I would walk and take in the beautiful crisp air, people would pass with a Grussgott--meant Greet God--but really meant good morning. I thought God lived in Vienna because that is where I learned to love, worship and trust Him all by myself when no one else was looking. So, going there with my sweet ones, yet one more time, and seeing old friends and old haunts was a much needed vacation for my soul. And yes, God still lives in Vienna, too. Coffee and hot fudge cake at Heiners--an old favorite.

 

Coffee tastes more elegant in this the melauge or cappicino to you. And note the little flowers!

 

The buildings are old, beautiful, full of artistic detail, archways everywhere.

 

I had to take everyone to the Sacher Hotel for real sacher torte--the real one always has dark chocolate topping and apricot jam in the middle. Again, it tastes better when served in a pretty way. :)

 

We trained everywhere and took the trams and underground all over. Joel spared my ankle and carried my load. Sweet, wonderful heart. I cherish him so much and now miss him again. He was born in Vienna. Maybe that is why he is musical.  

The beautiful Hoffburg Palace--the winter palace for the royalty--where Marie Antoinette and Maria Theresa her mother lived. The Hapsburgs ruled over the empire--the total rule in Europe for this great coalition between Hungary and Austria was over most of Europe and lasted for 600 years. Maria Theresa, a devout Catholic, felt it her spiritual duty to marry all of her children to leaders of other countries to promote faith.

 

Oh, how can one choose? I guess we will just have to come 3 times a day!  

Elegance and beauty cared for with every detail.

The Gorgeous Musikverein in Vienna--an evening with Mozart and the New World Symphony with my composer son who was in heaven, the two girls and a precious old friend, Monica, from Vienna. What an uplifting evening.

   

The inside of the music hall looking at the ceiling.

 

Joy, in Salzburg, in the tombs where the Sound of Music was filmed and in the movie where the family hid!

 

My last meal with Joy before we joined the others and came home. Thanks so much Lord for giving me such a gift into my past with my sweet daughter and into the recesses of my soul. You are so good!

Asking God to turn the world upside down.......

The Clarkson's Christmas picture 2009

 My Sweet Blog Friends,

 Clay and I and our precious children started a ministry by faith about 16 years ago. We saw the break-up of families and the scars on the hearts of so many young adults and the Lord put it on our heart to start a ministry to train families to disciple their children, to cultivate a healthy marriage, to engage their hearts in being responsible for the moral training, the emotional health and the educational excellence of their children. We went almost 5 years without a salary hoping to get this ministry up and on its feet. Our children have traveled the world with us, worked at conferences, hauled boxes of books, prayed for hours at a time, and worked in our little office--with a hope and prayer that the Lord would use our family to somehow impact the world for Christ and to bring spiritual reality and health to countless families all over the world.  

 God has amazingly answered our prayers and provided us abundantly with opportunities to impact the world with these messages. As Clay and I approach new phases in our ministry and publishing, we want to be first before the Lord--asking Him for His direction, guidance, blessing and provision. But it is not our ministry, it is the team effort of thousands of families all over the world. 

We need you to help us at the crucial time in history. Would you join with us in praying for Whole Heart for the month of June? We would so appreciate it. The following is the prayer letter that went out to our list. We believe that as parents embrace these messages, the world will indeed be changed for eternity. May God give all of us grace to endure and carry our ideals to the end, energy for the task, spiritual maturity to hear His voice and to have His perspective, and love to redeem many back from a broken world. May we finish faithfully. Thanks for being a part of our prayer call. Please help us pass the word to your friends.

Dear Friends, June 1, 2010

I am so blessed to have a group of Whole Heart Prayer Warriors join us in our ministry as we continue to seek God's favor and will in reaching families all over the world.

I have been convicted in my quiet time to persevere in prayer in a new way and to step out in faith in believing God for bigger answers to prayer. "You have not because you ask not," as well as, "When I come back to the earth, will I find faith."

In light of this, our team here in Colorado Springs is praying that we could find 100 people who would be willing to pray for us every day the month of June. I know it is a busy time for families as they go on vacations, but if you would be willing to pray for even a portion of that time, and join us as a team of people willing to go before the throne of God, we would be most grateful. I will be doing a short video message to encourage you along the way in another week or so, but just wanted to see if we could get started in lifting up our vision and prayers to God together for the next 30-40 days! Please email us if you are willing to be a part of this team!

First of all, praise God because He is worthy. Praise Him as the God who reigns, the loving Father who has compassion, the Savior, the One who leads us in all truth. Praise Him from your heart.

1. Praise God for what He has accomplished--thousands  upon thousands reached through our books, conferences, tapes and dvds. Books in 5 different languages, faithful financial support for 15 years! (8 books written, 2 more old classics in print, 12 years of conference cd's, blogs, websites, and more!)

2. Pray for Him to bless us more than ever before:  *to put our books and messages into the hands of literally hundreds of thousands in the next year  *to raise up leaders who are willing to train and disciple women in small groups in churches and homes (this is happening in so many areas.)

 *We need around $50,000 to bring in new staff to run the Mom Heart Ministry website, conferences, blogs and small groups

 *We need the right person who would fill these staff positions

 *We want to see a revival amongst families, as the Holy Spirit creates a hunger these messages and for committing to the Biblical  Design of the Home and family

 *We want to see a publisher and distributor raised up in the Spanish Speaking World, who could get some of our books in print for them

*Pray for Clay and me as we continue to write new books and discipleship products and Bible study guides--that we would have physical, emotional, and spiritual strength, as well as wisdom to do all that God has called us to do. 

    *And please pray for Him to continue to raise up more helpers and support systems for us as we work, to help us (Aarons and Hurs)

*Pray for all of our children in our families to respond to our training (I believe my children are always a point of attack when we are trying to teach about the area of a Biblical family)  and to become godly leaders in their generation 

 (this is for you to pray for your children and their friends!)

We are so blessed to have been a part of what He is doing in the world. We are amazed at our opportunities and how the Lord continues to bless, but we want to seek and please Him.

Thanks for joining us. We need to storm the gates of heaven and fight our spiritual opponents together. We look so forward to seeing the Lord glorified and to see Him working in new ways. We are asking Him to turn our world upside down as he did through the first century disciples--wouldn't it be exciting to be a part of a movement of God! 

We are so grateful to all of you who have given financially, prayed for us, attended a conference, given a book, helped by teaching groups, or served in any way. What a privilege to be a part of such an amazing team of families. May He bless you today. Much love and appreciation.

Many blessings to you all. Love, Clay and Sally

Please leave a comment if you are willing to be a part of our call to prayer! We so appreciate all of you.

The Secret of a blessed life..........

I am always the one who benefits the most when I have to teach or speak or have devotions with my children or be accountable to anyone in any way. It forces me to grow when I have to be responsible for truth and the word of God. Many people have asked me over the years, "How did you raise your children to love the Lord, to stay morally pure, to love you and to want to serve His kingdom? What exactly did you do--tell me exact principles; show me the books you read and followed; what curriculum did you use?"

I also have sought answers to my mysteries and responsibilities over the years. I think that wise women always seek wisdom from other wise women.

But I learned so much from writing my book, Dancing With My Father. I studied David's life and pondered it and learned so many spiritual secrets. Yes, David did a lot of foolish things and yet, God says, "He was a man after my heart," and this pleased God.

David, of course, first learned to love and write songs about God and trust Him when no one was looking, out in the fields. And by God's power, in this hidden place, he practiced faithfulness and stepped out in faith and strength and killed a lion and a bear.

Then, after having developed a faithful heart, came against Goliath, "in the name of the Lord of Hosts" and by faith, slung his stone and downed a super enemy.

But then, after being anointed as king, he was on the run and in battle for over 20 years. And yet still, in this, kept a humble heart and trusted God. But, finally when he was king over both kingdoms, we find His secret.

He did not want to rule unless the ark of the covenant was present in the land--because David did not want to be the authority over the kingdoms--He wanted God, His presence, His voice, His blessing, His companionship. He wanted the Lord God be be on His throne in their midst.

And herein lies the secret, God in the center, God as the source, God as the Truth and message of our lives, God as the guide, God as the provider, God as the one who will accomplish His will. Our heart engaging in loving Him, seeking Him, bowing our knee to His will, not matter what, honoring Him in front of our children, family, friends, every day, in spite of our blunders and vulnerability--a life of faith and love and obedience--centered on Him.

David led the Levites to sing and share in this message as he called the ark of the Lord, forward before all the Israelites. 

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;

 Make known His deeds among the peoples, Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; 

Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; 

Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek HIs Face continually." I Chronicles 16: 8-11 

In the midst of our intensive, purposeful time together the past few weeks, Joy asked me, "Mom, what do you really want from us as children when you say you want us to be godly? What, in your heart, is what you really mean when you think about your goal for us as your children?"

I thought a few seconds and then said, "Joy, I want you to know God in all of His love, beauty and glory and truth. To know His love for you, to know His direction for you, and in truly knowing Him, to learn to love Him with all of your heart, to walk with Him, to seek Him. If you find God and love Him and engage your heart you will find all that you need for every other area of your life--strength, wisdom, love, comfort, guidance, peace--He is the source of all that you will ever need."

Our goal for our children is not for them to be good--they and we will never be good enough--only He is good. But if we know and understand Him and serve Him, "all these things will be added to us," and we will have all that we need. God desires above all, that we have a cherished relationship with Him and that we love and serve Him from our heart.

And so we seek to know, love and serve God with our whole hearts in front of everyone in our lives, depending on His strength, His grace, His love. Anything less than this is not worthy of our life's work.

What do your children think is your goal for them? By what goals are you living? What is the world's measure of success in life? What is God's measure of success--"Do do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with our God." 

May He give us the grace to remain faithful to the important priorities of His heart.

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

In light of our understanding that God is the source of our strength, wisdom, messages and blessing, we at Whole Heart and Mom Heart, are spending the month of June to praise God, seek His face and His blessing and guidance for us as a ministry. Our goal is to help women all over the world know and understand God, and then in understanding the Biblical design of family, to understand how to pass on this knowledge and love of God to their children in building a godly heritage. We are partners with families all over the world who are seeking to make this message known. 

We are asking God to raise up 100 people who are willing to pray with us for His favor and guidance during the month of June. If you are willing to be a part of our prayer 100, please write to admin@wholeheart.org to let us know you are joining with us. The next post I send on this blog will be our prayer letter. 

We are so grateful to all of you who have given financially, prayed for us, attended a conference, given a book, helped by teaching groups, or served in any way. What a privilege to be a part of such an amazing team of families. May He bless you today. Much love and appreciation.

And they're off---London to Paris--picture this #2 and my silly and dangerous mama moment!

  We started off with such high hopes--my sweet baby, now 15 year old and I. She who has been dragged around the globe to conferences for families, moms, parents. She has worked and carried book boxes and run cash registers and organized registration for conferences and slept on a variety of beds and put up with all of her old siblings and their issues. Now was my time with her--all by herself--no one else to have to share me--a very rare occasion in our family. 

What a precious time it was for me. Joy is so hysterical and had me in stitches a lot of the time. She was  charming and grateful and such a trooper as we figured out the foreign money, transportation and walked a thousand miles. She was the keeper of tickets--subway, train, airplane, and all else. I so enjoyed her friendship, the sweet talks, the camaraderie and will cherish sweet memories forever. She is indeed my treasured friend and daughter. Thanks, Lord, for helping us make the memories!

  Joy exploring the treasures that were garnered from Egypt and sharing a few opinions with this fellow! (The British Museum) 

Street Mimes everywhere all over Europe--a bobbie giving her advice.

Our favorite day in London--a boat ride on the Thames, the tower of London, and the crown jewels, Phantom of the Opera, and tea to cap off the day.

 

tea time 

 

After seeing all the castles, grave stones and even song at Wesminster Abbey, shops, museums, ships, places where people of renown are remembered for the profound things they did in this world, we were privileged to see Susanna Wesley's grave, along with John Bunyon, writer of Pilgrim's Progress--in a little unpretentious garden in a park--these who were world changers, though no one stood in line or paid money to see them. 

Our kids laugh sometimes because we often have people say, "It seems like it is always easy for your family and for you as a mom." We live in the same fallen world as everyone else and fight the same battles--but God has been so gracious. Did I forget to mention I fell the first day I was there and sprained my ankle and had multiple contusions and deep tissue damage with my ankle twice its size? My foot barely fit into my shoe it was so swollen and I had a knot on my shin bone! Yes it was sore, But, this was my only trip with Joy and I was not about to let it change any plans! 

If I told you how I did it, you would laugh--it was a "mama moment"--I heard Joy yell at me from behind a subway gate because her ticket was not working--somehow I had gotten through on hers and was a few feet ahead, heading down a deep subway into never land. When I heard her voice, I didn't give it a second thought and began bounding up a down escalator--at about the 8 step--the last one, I tripped and fell full force into the sliding stair and cut my leg and bent back my shin and ankle as I fell--it was a real picture of grace in action--you should have seen the woman behind me just trying to get on the subway! We have giggled and giggled about it, but now I am home and wearing a wrap and am on anti-swelling pain meds. 

Kinda like raising children for the Lord--we do make it--but it isn't always a pretty picture! :) 

London at night--Thames River, Big Ben and Parliament--a lot to do in 2 1/2 days--now off to Paris. 

More tomorrow.

Picture this--some memories captured from Europe

Clay and I decided many years ago that a part of the heritage we would give to our children would be a visit to the places where I ministered as a single women as well as the place we were in ministry together in Vienna, where Clay was on the pastoral staff of the International Chapel of Vienna. We decided that 15 was a good time to take a child, alone. For one thing, we could never afford to take our whole family. But at 15, our children have become young adults and are on the cusp of moving into their own adult lives. Having 2-3 weeks to build on the relationship we have, without distractions, to talk about goals and purpose in life and to share in memories, gives our children a foundation of our love in a new way and gives us a chance to undergird those ideals we have built over the years. Of course it takes lots and lots of planning and saving to make it happen.I thought I would share a few memories from our trip. I am starting in the middle because these are the only pictures I have access to today.  

Coming to Austria calls to a part of me that is a part of my deepest soul. I cut my teeth on spirituality in this country for 6 years. I learned to trust God, walk with Him, celebrate life, appreciate culture and beauty, share in the pristine life of flowers, white-washed walls, the splendor of the Austrian alps. I wanted Joy, (and all the other children before her) to understand this part of my life.

Hiking in Sound of Music Country near Salzburg

 

"picnic"-ing along the way every day with semmels, whole grain rolls, ham, cheese, applesaftgespritz and of course Manner schnitte--cookies!

Joy was fascinated with the big snails.

 

Meeting up with Joel and Sarah half-way through the trip in Austria.

 

The beauty was breath-taking and oh so familiar.

Evidently there were Whole Heart Friends hundreds of years ago in the old castles at the top of a mountain where we hiked!

The Charming cafe we ate in at our hotel every day--typical Austrian decor.

(We had banked a time-share we had bought when the kids were very young at a very low price and got a week for free in the Austrian Alps.)

 

Of course, we had an afternoon Melange each afternoon with the traditional glass of water to rinse down such pungent coffee. Oh how I miss Austrian coffee.

Ooh-La-La Farfalle Caesar Salad!

Happy Birthday, Dear Joyness! You are the delight of my life.    In our day in and day out routines of life, sometimes we can get in a rut with our menu... How about trying something different with your Caesar Salad this week? This side dish has become a staple in our home, whether paired with a nice bowl of soup on a cold day or with a warm piece of garlic bread or fresh french baguette with butter on a warm summer day! In addition, it is just as much a feast for the eyes as it is for the appetite! A beautiful presentation when placed on a platter! Add grilled strips of chicken breast to serve as a great meal to take to a friend or to a potluck! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Farfalle Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

5 qt water

2 tsp salt

12 oz dried farfalle pasta

1 T plus 1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

Creamy Caesar Dressing (recipe below - or you may have your own favorite)

1/4 lb country-style bread, crust removed, cut into 3/4 in cubes

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

*Optional grilled chicken breast to make a complete meal

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot over high heat, bring water to boil. Add 2 tsp salt and the farfalle and cook until al dente, 10-12 min. Drain farfalle and toss it immediately with 1 T olive oil. Cover and cool completely in refrigerator, 1 hour minimum. Prepare the Caesar dressing. To make croutons, toss the bread with 1/4 C olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Place on baking sheet and bake, tossing with a spatula occasionally, until golden and crisp, 10-15 min. Place the farfalle in a large bowl and add Caesar dressing and coat evenly by tossing. Add salt and pepper to taste. to serve on platter, layer ingredients for a beautiful display or toss completely and serve in individual bowls or plates. Layer Romaine or mixed salad, then dressed farfalle, then croutons and parmesan cheese. *If you are adding grilled chicken, mix in bowl with farfalle.

Dressing:

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 T fresh lemon juice

2-4 anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained *mash if doing in a bowl.

1/2 C mayonnaise

1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 C heavy cream

Directions:

In a cuisinart, pulse together the garlic, mustard, lemon juice, anchovies and mayo. Th en, in a slow, steady stream add the oil with the cuisinart running and then gradually add the cream in a slow, steady stream to finish. If making in a large bowl, add ingredients the same, but using a whisk to incorporate ingredients. Salt & pepper to taste if needed.

Perspective...practicing believing and loving God

Life in a family with  children can be, at times, most times, messy. It is one drama after another if you have teens. One mess after another with all ages of families as they always seem to keep eating and creating dirty dishes and making messes. Children fuss no matter what method you use and no matter what book you have bought--especially with personality differences rubbing against the grain. All in my family are sinful, including me! which means there are moods and attitudes and ups and downs. There are illnesses--mental, emotional, physical and spiritual--that make relationships a challenge--many of us carry baggage from our past lives that creep into our marriage, the way we view life and treat our husbands, and the ways we view and treat our children. Oh, if we could only take some of the things we said back or start over again, we could do a better job!

I remember often thinking as I learned new things about myself and repented from some bad habits and ways of dealing with my family, that I needed to have more children so that at least on one child I could get it right. 

Yet, now, as I get older, I have collected some perspective. God has used the humbling circumstances of having a family and being married to bring me to my knees. He has used these very circumstances to humble me--and to thus develop more compassion for others who also struggle. What good would I have been to myself, my children or my husband to have remained a self-confident, pompous Pharisee--who was assured of right philosophy?

God's ultimate desire was to do heart surgery that I didn't realize I needed--in order to little by little make my heart and character more like Christ's--and so He sovereignly used my family and children to chisel the blemishes and deficiencies away. 

I have realized that part of my problem is that I am a faint-hearted and conflict-resistant at heart--I do not like difficulty or challenges and tire of the process. Yet, God somehow knew that deep in my heart, I wanted to hold fast to faith and trust Him and persevere than to get my own way--which would lead to my destruction.

Yet, the advantage I have is that I have perspective, from having lived through so many seasons and seeing that in spite of my fretting, stresses and fears, God was there all the time, working, showing faithfulness and being patient with me in the process.

It takes practice--to do and pursue what is true and right. I have seen the Lord bring me through so many such courses. A key, however was learning to choose to believe and listen to His voice and word. When I come into His presence and spend time in his word, He has been there for me--I didn't always feel His presence, but I took His word and promises at face value and rested in them and then practiced taking steps of faith, one day, one issue at a time. And now I can look back and see that He has used each part of the journey to shape me--my character, my love, my humility and compassion and learning to rest in Him. But the more I have learned to put all of my issues into his hands (along with my feelings of loneliness, fear, weariness and deep emotion), I have learned to leave them there--with Him who is able and will accomplish His will in His time in my life. These verses have been some of my anchors: 1. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (I need heart  and mind guarding so that I don't spend unnecessary energy and time on worrying--so I give it into His hands and picture him taking everything and working on my behalf as his daughter.) 2. "In this world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world." John 16:33b    The definition of courage is: the ability of facing difficulty, danger, fear or pain without being overcome by present circumstances and instead acting with resolve and strength of mind and behavior.   I have made a decision of my will to take courage--practicing being strong, practicing habits of putting one foot in front ot the other to believe in a good outcome from a Father who is good. Courage is believing and behaving as though God will indeed be faithful. These habits create a life of faithfulness which lays a foundation of a life well-lived and well-built. 3. "For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances and I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and having need. I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." I have had to grow in character as I walk in God's ways--to stretch my capacity to work, to stretch my capacity to love--to resist the down feelings and to learn to cultivate a content attitude and to practice being joyful in front of my children and family. It has been through these things that I have had to grow up--but obeying the Lord in these places has made me more the person I wanted to be. Obedience usually leads me to peace and ultimate joy. I can indeed only do all that I have to do in the power of His Holy Spirit--not by might or by power--but by His spirit. I can, by faith, and by putting one foot in front of the other, do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I have told my children that it is best to decide to like and embrace God's will--because having a bad attitude about it will not make it go away and indeed will make the pressures and circumstances worse. I have also noticed that bad attitudes or depressed feelings or content feelings behave much like plants in garden. If I water and nurture the depressed or negative attitudes they are what grow even stronger. If I water and fertilize faith and obedience, they are what grows. I am a wimp at heart and was never prepared to have such responsibilities. I do think it helps all of us to know that we all feel overwhelmed and most moms never get the break they deserve. (That is why you brave and generous women are my heroines!) But I see that those sweet moms who find themselves able to persevere, to not remain in a complaining spirit, to trust God, are building in their homes wonderful souls who reflect the gold of their mother's multiple decisions of faith in God's word. These children are developing into great people and God knows it is because of the faithful labor of His precious mothers who knew that their labor would result in godly generations. I must off to start on my list of to dos and to pray fors -but this is my prayer for all of you precious ones in the midst of your labors today: "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. II Thessalonians 2:16-17 Blessings, Sally

Happy Sunday!

Going Home......New World Symphony, Vienna--theme for us now

Well, so much to tell. Bitter sweet to go home--last of my 15 year olds to get to take to Europe to tell the stories of mission days and adventures and to speak the truth of God into their hearts. Such a legacy of memories with each child and such a bonding time. Monday night, we went to the grand music hall in downtown Vienna and listened to two Mozart pieces, and a couple of others as well as The New World Symphony. Going  Home--the haunting melody that we lived in, is on my heart right now and going through my mind as Joy and I spend our last night, here in a London hotel near the airport, readying myself to go home (thourgh Van Couver because it is a free ticket!) So very blessed and will share more soon. Love to all and thanks for all the well wishes and for my wonderful friends who filled in with some of my old articles and great book  reviews and recipes while I was gone. Grace and love to all of you. Can't wait to be home and catch up.

Time For a Garden

So, I have been itching to get my fingers into the soil to plant something!  I don't want to be too hasty, for fear I will lose precious seedlings in this unpredictable Colorado climate! It has been since September when I last was able to garden. Last fall I added about 50-60 tulip bulbs to my front yard, covered them with mulch and a prayer and decided I would see them in the spring. My tulips are being shy this spring and are just barely poking their heads out of their protective leaves, but within the next week, I am sure I will see a colorful display!  I can hardly wait for the reward of a beautiful bouquet!

            As a gardener, you become a big part of giving life to a garden and there is a lot to do when you are gardening...preparing the soil, watering plants so they grow, harvesting and pruning for the next crop, being patient, being committed, upkeep and pulling the weeds that want to destroy the garden, nurturing, protecting, and the list goes on! All of this and more is needed to maintain life. What a huge amount of energy and responsibility it takes to maintain a living garden!

Gardening is a lot like our relationship with the Lord. When I think of the words that Jesus spoke in John 15:1-8, I understand that we need a Master Gardener in our lives. Jesus says, "I am the true Vine and my Father is the gardener. He lops off every branch that doesn't produce. And he prunes those branches that bear fruit for even larger crops...Take care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit when severed from the vine, nor can you be fruitful apart from me..."(Living Bible). We cannot produce fruit on our own merits, just as my tomatoes cannot thrive without the help of my gardening skills. 

This spring, while out in my garden I will continue to be in awe of the correlation between garden and gardener, God and mankind. I am so thankful that I have a Master Gardener in my life! I need him every day to help me to grow, learn, and produce the fruit that glorifies him!

Turning Pages

Hello Everyone, it's me, Marissa. I have been very good about sticking to my 50 book challenge for this spring and summer. Where did I get all the book ideas? I looked them up in Sarah Clarkson's book Read for the Heart. This book was a great reference when I needed book ideas that would be fun to read during my challenge. 

The book I just finished was titled 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson. This particular book I did not find in Sarah Clarkson's book, this book my mom found for me in World News Magazine. This Christian author made an adventure that was hard to put down. From sunrise to sunset I was looking forward to reading where I had left off. Henry York gets sent to his aunt and uncles house in Henry, Kansas when his parents are sent to a foreign country and don't return. Henry gets the guest bedroom located in the attic and soon discovers a wall full of magic cupboards. Henry and his cousin Henrietta take many wonderful, and scary, adventures through this wall of magic cupboards. I recommend this book for older children since this book can be scary in some sections. 

So, how many books have you completed so far? Have you taken on a 50 book challenge as well? If you have any good reads that you recommend I would love to know! One of your books may end up on my list. The next book I will be working on will be Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson. It is the second book in the 100 Cupboards trilogy. Keep on turning those pages!

To order Sarah Clarkson's Read for the Heart click HERE.