Anchored in the midst of Life's storms

Abraham Willaerts

"for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,  being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." James 1: 6b-9

Storms of culture and of life seem to play havoc with us as we are tossed about and blown asunder from without and within. As we look at the wild waves threatening to overcome us, panic is a natural response. Fear paralyzes.

It is so unpleasant and causes such anguish to be tossed about. The terror grips our heart and steals away all hope.

Two of my sweet friends were diagnosed with cancer this week. Another two friends have mysterious tumors-one in her lungs and the other in her liver. Two husbands lost their jobs. All have small children. Another friend far away is leaving her husband to pursue her own dreams.

I wish for and hope for my sweet friends to be comforted as the storms are raging, and I pray for them to know His presence in the midst of their storms. And so here are my prayers for these precious ones.

Jesus tried to help us understand and know that this place on earth, was a place where sadness would abound.

But He is with us and so compassionately cares. He cries with us, He sympathizes with us, It is why He came.

Jesus said, "In this world you will have tribulation." He never promised that this world is the place of fulfillment and bliss.

Yet, we can so easily imagine it--what would fulfill and make us happy. Why? Because we were originally designed for pleasure, love, goodness, joy. Satan would love us to think that our precious Lord has forgotten us.

But He came so that we would not feel alone.

One of the reasons he came as one who was humble, afflicted, persecuted, killed--was that He wanted us to know that in all of our afflictions, He was our brother. He understands. He has mercy.

In the midst of the raging storm that the disciples faced, even with Jesus in their midst, their hearts were overcome with panic and terror.

Jesus was there, waiting to bring calm. "Peace, be still." He called out over the waves and they obeyed him.

He is in our midst. Psalm 139 tells us, "Where can I go from thy spirit? Where can I leave from thy presence? Even the darkness is not dark to thee and the night is as bright as the day."

Three things I am learning to do in the midst of my own storms.

1.  Remember and list in your journal all of the ways, in your lifetime, you have seen God's faithfulness and answers to prayer. This is why our family celebrates family day. Even in the most difficult years, we could look back and see His handprints in our lives--He was always there, He was always providing. He looks upon us with compassion.

Once, as a little girl, I had double pneumonia, was gasping for breath in an oxygen tent, and feeling scared. But then, I heard a familiar sound. My father, a business man, wore wing-tip shoes, and above the noise and spew of the oxygen, I heard the stout sound of His shoes, chipping down the hall way toward my room, and my heart was immediately at ease. I thought, "Now Daddy is here. He will be sure they take good care of me. I will be ok."

And so, we need to listen for the wing-tip shoes of our heavenly Father who is coming to our rescue. He will take care of us and we will be ok.

2. Find a promise, hold fast to His word.

Have you ever been in the car with your children and all of them start speaking to you at once and continue speaking as though you can hear their voice above the roar? Too many voices keep us from hearing. And so the voices of the world, of fear, of what ifs, all speaking at once drown out His voice, the only one who is truth and who will bring wisdom. So, we must still our lives and sit quietly that He may speak to us.

"I will never leave you or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

"If God is with us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own son, but delivered him over for us all, how will He not freely give us all things?" Romans 8: 31-32

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you." Isaiah 43:2

Allow the Holy Spirit to comfort you and fill your heart with the peace and calm of His strength and presence. If we look to outer circumstances for our happiness and peace, we will always be defined by the limitations and battles raging in a fallen, sinful world.

But if we look within, still our hearts, wait to hear His voice, we will perceive that the Lord of Hosts is with us, that His Holy Spirit is there waiting to  speak peace, healing, strength, love and life into our hearts and into our circumstances, while we wait on Him and behold His salvation and comfort.We are not alone. He is faithful.

3. Determine to hold fast and to be a courageous warrior in your battles.

Memories of my family and friends have been flooding my mind this week as I move toward my mom's memorial service.

The life of a distant relative has been on my mind. He was a man who lived a life of great faith, for many years, bringing light into darkness, redeeming, loving. But he became weary of the battle and instead of staying strong, he gave up. Consequently, his legacy, by which he will be remembered, is of quitting.

All of the soldiers who saw Goliath and ran away from him, will never be remembered. We do not know their names. But we do know the name of a valiant young warrior named David. He saw the same giant, but faced him.

"You come to me with speer and sword." (the weapons and strength of the world--even a giant is the power of the world's way)

"But I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts."

David did not picture his own strength, but instead pictured the Lord and thousands and thousands of angels behind him. And so he has a legacy of faith and saw God work.

Do not give up your legacy of a story of faith. Your children are looking to your story to give them courage in the story they yet will yet live. Hold fast, find a friend to pray with, stand strong. Today is the day you have to proclaim His faithfulness in your own life for all generations to see. What a shame if we all gave up--there would be no stories of His strength, grace and truth.

So, find a way to stay strong. Pray every day with a friend. Fill your mind with beauty, songs, stories of those who have gone before us. Rest deep inside your heart and see His love for you.

Right in the middle of the boat, deep in the midst of the storm, Jesus was resting, sleeping, in the arms of His Father, knowing He was not alone, and understanding that His Father's strength would calm the storms.

Today, I am giving attention to my soul, and to Him, who is so patient

By cultivating the beautiful we scatter the seeds of heavenly flowers, as by doing good we cultivate those that belong to humanity.Robert A. Heinlein

Today, I am stealing away to cultivate beauty in my soul, so that I might have future seeds to scatter. Pulling weeds, tilling the ground of my soul. Watering the eternal and that which is good.

Investing in my future by filling today.

For me, that means drawing away from all media and drawing in to all that is real and those who I love.

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Thanks to Apologia Live and Hiphomeschoolers for interviewing me today and giving away one of my books.

You may find me at: http://www.hiphomeschoolmoms.com/2011/08/meet-greet-sally-clarkson/ and enter a giveaway for one of my books!

Grace and peace to your day.

The Secret of French Women's Beauty

I read an article recently that said, "French women are beautiful because they think they are beautiful and act accordingly." There is something to this. Scripture tells us, "As a man thinks, so is He."

Sometimes when I have to go to reunions or family gatherings (like my mom's memorial), or to speak in a new place, I will think, "I wonder if I can lose 10 pounds in the next 3 days." Or" maybe I can get a new haircut or something else and look 30 years younger and 20 pounds lighter.

Just a girl-thing, I guess.

Sometimes I try to spiritualize it away.

But in the end, I have to just accept who I am.

So, I think I will try to adopt this philosophy,

My kids have said in the past year, "Mom, at your age, it is normal to be squishy. We don't want you to be a hard body like a 20 year old." And they mean it in the kindest way.

At any rate, I think today, I will put on my French self and act as though I am as beautiful as my sweet, children see me, and live in the grace of the moment with a smile on my heart.

My Sweet Mama is now gone from me forever

Sunset on the beach at Crystal Cove, Ca

Every year, around the time of our anniversary, Clay and I gather all our children to celebrate family day. We feast together, share in our love and then spend hours of serious commemoration of all the ways we have seen the fingerprints and faithfulness of God in our lives that year. And so, at the last moment, we were able to get all of us reasonable tickets to California where the boys are, to celebrate our history, one more year. It is a day of great import to each of us and our souls, sharing together in God's faithfulness each year in our lives--a day to leave memorial stones for others to see, and to worship Him.

A two bedroom apartment at the beach was our house of worship. Off to bed after our flights, before our day of celebration would dawn.

At 5 a.m, Friday morning, Sarah crept quietly into our darkened bedroom and said, "There was a call on your cell phone in the living room a few minutes ago."

My brother had called, "Mom just passed away and I wanted you to know."

Waiting each day, wondering when it would be, I was anticipating my mama passing from this life into the presence of Jesus.

Now, it was final, there would be no more opportunities for words of life between us, no sweet caresses against squishy warm cheeks, no putting to rest any untimely issues, no more moments to bless or take away curses. Her opportunity to live a story was now over. This thought entered my mind. Others began to push their way in---

A week before, my family and friends had cleaned my home, placed china on our tables, placed flowers into vases and cooked our homemade food--we had prepare for friends who were coming to our home to be blessed.

I was wondering, if God who helped me to be able to conceive of "preparation for loved ones", the one who said he "was going to prepare a place for me in heaven to receive me", had prepared a welcome committee that morning for my mom. Perhaps my dad would be there, my oldest brother, her mom and dad and maybe even her grandparents. I liked thinking of Jesus preparing for a welcome for my mama. It made me smile to think about her feeling well again, smiling, hugging, seeing those who had gone before her who had shared in her life and loved her.

Memories began to flood my heart, the birthdays were always documented--the trail of pennies from my bedroom to a pile of presents when I awakened, that stands out from all the rest. Lighting candles each evening and putting on music and painting on bright red lipstick to prepare for the welcome, as my dad came home from a hard day at work. Christmases, Thanksgiving feasts, delectable homemade food in general and the multitudes of times we had girl dates together, the ways she served me as an asthmatic child, singing songs to me in the dark nights of difficult breathing, comforting, the way she gently played finger games with me in church to pass away the long minutes of the sermons, Her willingness to listen to me many hours throughout the passages of childhood, the little welcome signs that greeted me every time I came home from college or for holidays.The moments she invested, the thoughtful ways she mothered, for these I will always be deeply grateful.

Nathan and me, cherishing moments together on the beach at sunset.

A new thought came to me, "How very wonderful for me to get the news here in California, at the beach, with my sweet family, my four kids and Clay, where those I loved the very most could be together. And a place where I was not accosted by the demands of normal life, phones, dishes, duties, but where I could be away to put to rest this history of me and my mama. How considerate my sweet Father was to my very demanding life.

What surprised me were the demons that crept into my brain and heart. They raised their ugly heads and voices to remind me of issues that could never be addressed again or put to rest. I felt some deeply painful fingerprints on my heart, whose imprints will be there forever. I am an adult on the outside, but inside, my heart is that of a child, the heart that bears all the goods and bads, the memories, the impressions, and it was there that daunting pain raised it's head and whispered of the wounds  inside where no one could see.

And so a part of the weekend, in the midst of family day with all 4 children and a precious new friendship for our family, and the sharing of life and meals and the ponderings of God's faithfulness to us,and planning the timing for the memorial services, I spent hours on the beach, pondering, reviewing what was there, observing what remained, in the hours between 6 a.m. and 8 each morning miles and miles on the almost abandoned beach, I walked through the hallway of the remains of my pain, and found His presence speaking to me there.

And the grace that we share in Jesus is that His redeeming love renders the the voices of darkness silent and brings the sure comfort of His healing touch.

These words He left me, "Honor your mother." "Love covers over a multitude of sin. Love is the perfect bond of unity." "Love one another." "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness.

But, sometimes we need  time to hear His voice, to gain His perspective and to see His way. Healing is not always instantaneous and so He had already planned that I would need this, and  prearranged for me to be on a beautiful beach, away, to put to rest the legacy of this heritage--while helping me to clearly understand, that now, I must be more intentional than ever about the legacy I will one day leave--for all women, will leave a legacy--one that is intentional or one that is passive, but nonetheless remains.

And in this moment, I realized how definitively God had created this story to give me a passion to help other mothers understand the eternal impact of their lives. This relationship of mother to child matters deeply, personally, and will potentially have an impact forever.

And so I pondered, how do I want to leave a legacy? What legacy do I want to leave? What legacy will I leave?

My arena to bring life--Nathan, Clay, Sarah, me, Joy and Joel--Family Day 2011

And so, I find that because of my own life's history and the ways He has placed His call on my life, He has given me such a joyful heart-filled opportunity. I know more deeply than ever, that a mother only has one life to tell a story to her children of His grace. I understand more clearly, only these moments today, a gift,  to face life head on with faith, finding strength from Him to be a champion for His kingdom. Today, I have the seconds left to bless my children, believe in their dreams, give love to their hearts, speak words that will remain forever. I want to live fully engaged in all that He has planned for me--to give as generously with all of His treasures today, because one day I will have no more time to sing, to love, to worship and to bring life. And so in the living of this day, and seeing my moments as gifts of opportunity to bring life and light, I will choose to face this day with courage, strength, hope, grace, love and a deeply grateful heart.

This day with my baby girl attending her first college class, when Clay will meet with a surgeon to find out when he will need to have  his surgery and what it will mean, Nathan needs my help in his projects asap, all the bags need to be unpacked, travel to Texas arranged, but in this day, I will rejoice for the life that is left to me to invest today, for eternity and for His kingdom.

But always, I will carry my mama with me in my heart, and remember her last words, spoken a couple of months ago, "I love you. I am proud of you." A legacy of life inserted in the midst of her dying--that I can dwell on when I need a place of her touch to revisit.

Obedience is a pathway, not a procedure! A reminder

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn which shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18 (Sarah, Joy, Joel and I on a Austrian path in the alps on a lovely spring day.)

Every once in a while, I reprint an old article that many people have requested! Here you go!

Obedience--first time or eventual?

Now, the secret is out--I do believe in obedience for me, for children, for all who want to love and serve God. But, I see now that the goal for my obedience is not behavioralism--performance--doing a task that I want done this instant because of fear of punishment. I do not measure my success as a parent by whether or not my children instantly obey.

I think that the goal is to teach our children to obey quickly, but search as I may, I cannot find that as a standard in scripture. And so I may find relief in the grace I have found in scripture.

I have loved the book by Eugene Peterson, "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction." ( Not a book about parenting, but a book on discipleship for adults) Even the title itself is about the process of discipleship--creating lives dedicated to the service and love of God by a life time of learning to make mature choices. Wisdom is little by little.

Instead, I want my children to learn to love God, to desire to serve Him out of their hearts of respect, awe, reverence, love. I look for growth, not perfection. Maturity, not instant holiness.

Now, it is in the process of having them learn to do my will, that they learn obedience. I must go against their wills to teach them to obey. But it is little by little, season by season. Personality and gender and exhaustion and wellness and life all go into the process.

Sometimes it is first time and sometimes it isn't. But, I am trying to train their hearts to learn and to value and honor obedience.

For me, this was best done over years and years of training, correcting, modeling, loving and doing it all again the next day.

God's Ways

The older I get, the more I reflect on Christianity from a long term perspective. It seems that God is a long-term process Father. He doesn't do things all at once. He is rarely on my timetable. I almost always have to wait much longer than I want to to see my prayers answered. He does not make my life easy or take away the difficult things, but teaches me in the midst. I am very grateful, though, that he is not pernicious or unnecessarily harsh. He is patient, compassionate, understanding, loving through the whole process.

His focus for me as a child is that I move from immaturity towards maturity. From self-absorption to self-sacrifice. His discipline for me is daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, training my appetites of life to His ways. Teaching me to love righteousness and to be sensitive to His heart. Learning in my real paths of life how to life my life his way, with His wisdom. It has taken me a whole lifetime to learn the ways of righteousness. And so it is with our children.

God's Fathering of me

When I was a young, single missionary in Eastern Europe, I thought I was so spiritual--and I probably was for my age. I had given my life to Christ and wanted to be "His girl", following Him to the ends of the earth and bringing His love and grace to bear. But, because I was young and I had not failed enough or come to my own limits, I did not even know how much I needed to depend on God. I did not know how very capable I was of sin. I did not clearly see my own immaturity. I was not humble. All of these areas were not because I did not want to please God, but because I was young, inexperienced and didn't know better.

But then when I got married and had children, I began to realize just how selfish I was and how little I had learned to work. For a while, I thought my problem was my children and marriage,  and then I realized that my children were God's gift to me, but also His way of bringing training of righteousness into my own life, by teaching me what it really meant to serve Him, to give up my rights, to be humble.

The real giving of my life to Him was every day, every minute to the constant demands of my family and Clay. Parenting was for me His pathway of teaching me to obey, to love, to serve. Family life was His training grounds to build holiness into my life.

I am so very grateful that He did not show me all of my sinful, selfish ways at once. He gently took my hand and through the process of caring for my family, little by little I became aware of my need to mature, to love more, to give grace, to be loyal, to work harder,  to serve, as He had done with His disciples.

He disciplines us that we may share in his holiness. Holiness is a long term process of development in our hearts, training our wills to want to obey out of a developed love and awe of God.

Path of Life Parenting

There are so many verses that speak of this. Clay calls it, "The Path of Life" parenting model.

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn--it shines brighter and brighter, a little at a time.

Proverbs also tells us, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. It is a process--a little here, a little there, a little again. Giving our children the appetite for obedience, wisdom, love, and holiness.

I am so grateful in my own life, that God did not overwhelm me with all of my sin and selfishness at once. I would have quit if He had treated me harshly. I wanted to please God and I wanted to be righteous, but didn't even know that I was so very immature. My heart was right in my own eyes and was seeking to please Him, but my character and behavior lacked so much. it has taken me a life-time to understand just what it really means to be sacrificially loving, loyal in my faith, righteous and generous in my behavior. If God has treated me in such a way, shouldn't that be the way I treat my children.

Babies

Babies are made to be totally dependent so that they can live in their mother's arms, and be held and taken everywhere she goes to breathe in the reality of the life she herself lives in Christ.

First, they learn that they can depend on their mother to be comforted, touched, protected. They learn that when they are hungry, their mothers provide their needs, feed them, clothe them, sing to them. This loving connection is the first place babies must learn to look to their parent for their very life, but also for the cues of life.

The baby grows into a toddler, and then into a fully walking person, all gradually. And so the baby learns obedience this way as well.

Even nature itself teaches us so much about process and I find that God has hidden so many mysterious and wonderful answers within the art of His playground--creation. All seeds start small and take time to develop into a full plant. Same with trees. A small sapling in time can become a great, towering tree, but it takes years and years.

Same with baby animals. From puppy to dog. Calf to cow or bull. Chick to fully grown hen.

Sometimes I think it is because we have such small families that we micro-manage obedience and training of little children. When a mom has numerous children who are constantly in need of life, food, clothing and managing chores, and responsibilities, she is much more gradual about the training of her little babies--as she goes, as she can, as the baby lives and learns in the warp and woof of the family life.

Throughout centuries, families were large, and the "gang" all tended to lend themselves to a positive-peer pressure sort of influence on the development of the baby. I know that all of my children tended to learn things together, what the Clarkson values were, what the Clarkson manners were, what the Clarkson expectations were.

With asthmatics and ear-infected children, I had to teach my children to wait their turn. Life itself gave them ways to learn to be unselfish and to learn to serve-because I needed their help!

I have seen that my children went through normal growth patterns. None of them now suck a binky (pacifier), wear a diaper, want to sleep with me every night, etc. God has put maturity into their very dna and brain cells. It is ours to be patient with the process, to enjoy it and to learn from it.

If we just learn to patiently live with our children long enough and learn to look to God for guidance, and train them little by little, the mysterious life of God begins to work in and through their hearts and lives. Yet, we must remember that this is a natural and normal path from the beginning of time--to live into it, and not fight it, and to cultivate joy along the way.

I will be writing more about these areas soon as I have time. But just wanted to share a few thoughts that have been perking in my heart about obedience.

Hearts Reflecting the Feast

http://youtu.be/JSkVAi-TuBE?hd=1 All of us who have loved and known Jesus have some truth to share with those around us who are hungry and yet, have no guidance and truth. Ministry is reaching out to those in our wake to share His words, His love, His ways, knowing that when we see Him face to face, we will have to give an account for all that we knew and how we invested those truths for the benefit of those around us.

Studying the life of Jesus has set me on a different course in my ministry. God could have become a king with miraculous powers, performed stunning spectacles for the whole world to see.

Instead, he came as a commoner. Down in the dirt with other sinners, he washed their feet, put mud on their blind eyes, drew in the sand. Rejoicing in the joy of mothers, he caressed children, tossled hair, smiled into their shy little eyes. Sympathizing with the broken-hearted, he told stories of prodigals, accepted the touch of a forgiven prostitute, as she poured out her gratitude upon his feet. He served meals, washed toes, gave words of life, cast out His anger upon the self-righteous. His words, "I am humble and meek, learn from me," continue to capture my imagination.

So, my life needs to characterize Him in me--the same serving, loving, giving, casting words of life and investing not just in the thousands or hundreds, but personal, face to face, life story to life story.

Last weekend was such a time, the sharing of lives, meals, thoughts, prayers, conversations, knitting our hearts together over His purposes, feasting on all that was good. Here, I leave you with some of their stories and the lives that were changed forever, because we were in His midst together. Their stories brought tears to my eyes. May they bring you grace today.

Mommy's Book Club is a multi- author blog where Gretchen Roberts and her companions read and post about books they are reading together. Gretchen shares about her time at the Leader Intensive, how she was transformed by seeing the beauty of who she is before God and why this will forever change the way she mothers her children.

Beside Still Waters Australian mom, Tara Marsh writes about faith, books, music and life down- under. She is talking today about journeying half way around the world for the opportunity to have grace and truth spoken into her heart at the Leader Intensive and the gift of seeing a living testimony in the grown children of faithful mothers.

Hope With Feathers is the journey of urban mom, Kristen Kill, as she discovers how to squish a life of mission, homeschooling, love and intention into a New York City Apartment. Today she is sharing about how when we are squeezed and stressed we see a clear reflection of what is in our heart, and how the Leader Intensive gave sweet rest to her soul.

Encouraging Hearts At Home Misty Krasawski is the homeschooling mom of eight children who writes to encourage the hearts of women in their high calling as daughters of God, wives and mothers. Misty describes the beauty of arriving at the Leader Intensive, the significance of a place intentionally prepared for her and how her time there made her long for Jesus and the promise of a heavenly home.

River of Life Lessons Pam Graves is shares about the joys of feasting and the blessings that are poured out of daily tasks like preparing a table. She is encouraging moms today to cultivate feasts in their own homes to reach the hearts of their children.

Encouragement for Moms is encouragement and real life stories of homeschooling from Mommy Jennie. Today she is sharing her new intentions and a renewed sense of calling from studying God's word.

The Need For Hope is where California mom of five, Lisa Hester, shares her heart for her family and what God is teaching her each day. Read her amazing story of God's provision and protection in getting to the Leader Intensive and what she learned about the gift of living out what we are called to be as women and mothers.

Calling all leaders! Go see Dolphin Tale screenings!

My sweet friends,

I can't wait to tell you the whole story about this movie! I will be writing more about it soon. The short part of the story is that I have been praying for 2 years that God would lead Nathan, who is in Hollywood, to a place where he could work with Christians in the media and entertainment industry.

Well, I am here to tell you that He answers prayers! By an amazing story of God's direction, Nathan is now working with a wonderful group of people, (including a great new friend of mine, Syd Forest Taylor, a mom of young children, like you), whose  main intent is to get great films out that promote our family values and give us inspiring stories to show to our children.

Dolphin Tale is such a story! This movie even has 2 homeschool kids who play the main role! (The casting agents went to a local support group in California and found them!)

It is a family movie that will inspire, instruct, and bring you to tears because of the great story line.

This weekend, you will have the opportunity to go to a movie screening, so that you can see it for yourself, in order to promote it to your friends, your group, and your blogs.

The bottom line is that the marketing group behind this movie wants to show Warner Brothers and other companies that the those of us with Christian and strong family values are a big enough market to support other great movies with traditional, conservative family values. I am hoping you will be a part of this great opportunity with me!

I will be writing more next week, but right now, you must take advantage of a timely offer. If you are a coordinator of a mom's group, a blogger, a leader of a support group or a homeschooling leader, you can attend a special screening in your city to see this great movie for free, with the understanding that if you like it, you can encourage those in your arena to attend on opening day, September 23.

Here are two fantastic opportunities to share with you! This weekend, Warner Bros. is sponsoring free advanced screenings of Dolphin Tale for Mom's Groups, Bloggers, Support Group leaders and Homeschool leaders across the nation. Nathan has already seen it and loved it! You can check out the trailer for yourself on my side bar or at http://dolphintalemovie.warnerbros.com/ The screenings will take place this Sunday in the following markets:

Atlanta	Cleveland	Detroit	Los Angeles	Philadelphia	Sacramento	Washington DC
Baltimore	Colorado Springs	Grand Rapids, MI	Los Angeles/OC	Phoenix	San Diego	Salt Lake City
Boston	Dallas	Houston	Miami	Pittsburgh	San Francisco
Chicago	Denver	Kansas City	Minneapolis	Portland	St. Louis

If you’re interested, don't hesitate to take advantage of this, and please RSVP to hmcrsvp@gmail.com for the time and theater details.

They need all RSVPs by this Thursday, August 18. So hurry--first come first serve!

I am also super excited about the second opportunity! Warner Bros. is giving a separate set of screenings just for homeschoolers. Warner Brothers is curious to see if homeschooling really is a big enough market to target, and that is why they also included some homeschooling kids in this movie. Consequently,  they are offering special screenings for homeschoolers and their groups. Homeschoolers will have the opportunity to see the film before anyone else! This is fantastic news to share with your readers and other homeschooling families you may know.  Make sure they register at http://www.homeschoolmovieclub.com/join_us for a chance to attend the screening.

Help me to help my wonderful son Nathan, by helping us get the word out. Please put it on your facebook, twitter and any place else you can imagine. I will write more soon about this wonderful movie and what it represents for us to have an impact on Hollywood as those who have the value of affirming and validating our family values. Thanks so much for your help--and enjoy the movie!

***Update***  Thank you so much for the overwhelming response to this film and for your support! Dolphin Tales Media has now filled their capacity for all screenings and  the link listed will no longer be effective.

Your failures do not define you

William Holman Hunt

We are all broken and this world we live in is the broken place, where death of heart, death of relationships, and love is prevalent. Often we mask our deep, dark regrets of failure. Moral failure before marriage, failure to create an intimate marriage or fostering anger and resentment in marriage and feeling like a failure for never being able to become close or get rid of the pettiness.

Failure with our children, having shown anger or neglect to them, not really liking them; or doing everything we could to reach their hearts--doing our best and ending up with a prodigal who breaks our heart.

Failure with friends, petty quarrels, difficulty forgiving and forgetting.

Living with habits of eating disorders, cherishing idols that we know consume our soul or reading dark novels or more darkness than we can admit with sexual habits.

We are all broken people. Yet, if we indeed understand that He does not define us by our failures. He is "mindful that we are but dust." Psalm 103. "He was wounded for our transgressions." Isaiah

It is an illusion that anyone you know is perfect or can live by their works. No one can. All we like sheep have gone astray. We simply cannot hold to our ideals by effort, we are in total need of His mercy and grace, every day, all the time.

We want to serve Him. We want to be holy. We intend on being gracious, loving and patient.

But we fail and fall short, again and again and again--everyone you know, in some way.

But, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death. romans 8:1

It was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore keep standing firm, that you do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."Gal 5:1

You cannot control the actions of behavior of others who are in your life. You cannot make others respond to God, to follow Him, to love and serve Him.

But you are responsible for your own actions. If you love Him and worship Him for His amazing grace, you do not have to be subject to the burden you carry deep in your heart.

You, as you are, are beloved by Him, forgiven, cherished. He understands what you carry. Go to Him, receive His love.

And then in humility, (because those who have seen the darkness of their hearts, and have yet received His amazing love, are humble), generously offer grace and forgiveness to those who are wounded deep within, by the feeling that their own failures or background define them. And tell them they are now defined by His love, His adoption, His family history.

Do not judge, but love hilariously, deeply, compassionately, like He, gentle in spirit, has loved you.

And in consequence, we will see love: deep, grateful, healing love, abound, flowing out all over, because of Him.

"For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little." Luke 7:47

May we always, always love much, because He daily, and always, forgives and restores.

The Urgency of Rest

Henry Maynell Rheam

Sometimes, when we have piles of responsibility on our plate, we start to place a lot of energy, worry and fear into the issues of our lives and fret. The last thing that seems productive when life is busy is to rest. Yet, rest may very well be the most strategic thing to do if we have a busy, full and demanding life.

If we do not practice a habit of a restful life, we will end up with serious illness, exhaustion, bad attitudes and fist shaking faith aimed heavenly.

As I have said before, "Fretting leads only to evil doing."

God put Sabbath Rest into the weeks of our lives with a purpose. I have found that when I believe and engage my heart in the goodness of God's character, and put out of my mind, after praying, all that I am carrying and just seek to be still and find joy, I see the miracles bubbling up slowly, surely, as He, my Father, delights to provide.

However, a Martha heart is want to see the miracles, as she is so busy living in the whirlwind of her own meek provisions, she loses all hope and becomes a wretched nag.

The more exhausted I am with life, the more tense, grumpy and tight I become and it spills all over everyone else.

Finding myself at a juncture of exhaustion from giving all that I had last weekend (Thursday-Sunday) to the sweet, wonderful  women in my home, I find that somehow when I try to figure out all of the responsibilities of the next few months, which are huge, I am tempted to be overwhelmed.

Yet, from so many times like this in the past, I have learned a secret. My Prince Jesus comes to me at just the right time, but like the story of Sleeping Beauty, the prince comes, not when she is searching the horizon, pounding her fists, running the floor, but when she is doing nothing but resting.

Resting in Him, choosing peace and putting off responsibilities and recreating is sometimes such grand medicine for my soul, that after choosing to rest and to invest in fun and love and ease of life, my strength is renewed and all issues are able to be faced with grace. I know September is coming, but I will face it with courage if I rest today.

And so today, my plan is to go back to bed, to pace leisurely through the pathway of Monday, to sip and really taste my coffee, to just sit and listen to my sweet girls, and focus on the beauty of their light filled eyes, to stay in comfy clothes all day, to read and pray, and then maybe to rest again, because I know that while I am resting, my Prince is already coming to my rescue.

Peace, be still, the Lord is near.

Where two or more are gathered..........

When like-minded women make the time to gather together, to seek God, to discuss His word, to love and encourage each other, there will always be hope for the future ideals of their lives.

Jesus said, "Where two or more are gathered, there I will be in their midst."

We invite, prepare beauty to enjoy, extend the opportunity and He shows up.

Two are better than one, woe to the one who has no one to lift him up but a chord of three strands is not easily broken.

We are honored to be in His presence, to watch hearts being strengthened, to see ties being formed that will keep women faithful to ideals, hopefully forever.

Who is in your life that you can gather, and watch His life grow in your midst?