Are you raising warriors or refugees?

Nathan, a warrior for His kingdom, bringing light , beauty and innocence into the dark places  of Hollywood.

Read his post, to see his heart. (and all of you moms who worry that your children cannot punctuate or sit still for math--trust God! He has a dream and a future for your children to fulfill. Don't focus too much on the details, but be sure to build their heart. I am so encouraged to see  what he wrote--and by the way, it did make me cry!)

Now, be sure to read my post! Long, but I hope, encouraging!

"I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one." Jesus, about His disciples, in John 17: 15

Not too long ago, a friend whispered to me at a conference, "Sally, there are all sorts of women that I know who attend your conferences because they are encouraged, but they are criticizing you behind your back. They are asking the question, 'How did the Clarksons allow their son to move to Hollywood, such a wicked place,  if they have such high moral ideals?' They think you are living a compromise to your life as a Christian."

I am not surprised at statements like these. We get them all the time. I have always told my children that if you stand up to lead, you automatically become a target.

Yet, I also understand the concerns of these people who are criticizing us. I did not ask God to send my children into difficult, morally challenging arenas. But I did ask Him to help Clay and me build them into godly leaders who would take His light to a dark world. And, since they are adults and we released them into God's hands to follow what road He put on their heart, (with input from us all along the way), I spend a lot of time on my knees every day and ask for God to guide, intervene and protect my children.

Yet, I think at some point in the Christian life, regardless of  peers, our church's stand, our friend's opinions, blogs, loud voices giving pontificating statements, we must decide just who we think Jesus is and how His life and words should influence the way we live and the choices we make. I think there are few radical Christians and I think He calls us to live radically--even if that means staying at home with your children or serving Him in in the world in an unusual places--we must follow Him, not anyone else.

Jesus, the exact image of God, related to prostitutes and offered them a clean slate of forgiveness, and allowed them to touch Him and wash His feet.

Jesus, touched the infirm and contaminated--the lepers, the woman who was unclean, the blind, the sick.

Jesus looked out on the multitudes not with condemnation, but with compassion and told us to pray that God would send laborers into the harvest. He also sent His disciples into the world to redeem it.

Jesus did not exalt and affirm the Pharisees who had rules and laws for everything and stayed away from the "wicked" folk. Instead, he told the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the "unacceptable" from a religious point of view, but the only one who was able to please God. He honored because he got involved,  because he lived in a compassionate way and gave of his life to save the beaten man, a victim of thieves, unlovely and in the dirt.

I think serving Jesus will, at some point, make all of us uncomfortable.

And so, I had to confront my own belief in what I thought was most Biblical in philosophy for raising children.

I wanted an Anne of Green Gables life that was safe, protected and always g-rated. But, that is not the world God into which He placed me.

So I had to consider, "What is your will for my children." He answered, "To follow Jesus to the cross, to be willing to give up their lives to redeem the world for His glory--to become a warrior for Christ's kingdom.

A warrior is one who sees the battle in his land, and is willing to sacrifice his life to protect those he loves, to save them from harm and to engage the enemy in battle. Battle is rough, costly, difficult and requires sacrifice for the sake of the people who are being warred against.

Now a refugee, on the other hand, is one who runs away from the battle, in order to protect himself or his loved ones. When there is no defense against the enemy, often, people are forced to flee. But in fleeing away from the battle, they leave no impact, no defense, for those left in the wake of the raging enemy army.

Often I see parents who raise their children to run away from the cultural battles and to stay far off from those who are lost and broken and who have scars and difficulties. They find it easy to criticize those who are engaged in bringing the light of Christ into the arena of darkness--this is the place in which our family receives criticism.

I will admit that the world can be a very fearful place to be.

But, God has asked me, as a mom,  to live by faith, not to look to the limitations of my own life and this wicked world we live in, but to the God who tells us to overcome evil with good, to remain faithful, to endure.

So, as a mom, I had to ask, "Would He have me do anything less than send my own children, as God sent His own son, into the world to redeem dark places?"

And so when we read in the Psalms,

"Praise be to the LORD my Rock,who trains my hands for war,my fingers for battle.

He is my loving God and my fortress,my stronghold and my deliverer,my shield, in whom I take refuge,

who subdues peoples under me." Psalm 144: 1-2,

we would pray with our children.  "Lord, these are your children created by you with a personality and a purpose. Train our children for the spiritual warfare in which they will engage. Prepare them for the battles they will confront. Be their fortress, their stronghold, deliverer and shield. They are not ours to hold on to, but ours to prepare for your kingdom purposes."

Depending on what you decide, preparing one to run away from the battle or to engage in the battle, will require a very different parenting philosophy.

But as for the Clarksons, we will seek to engage in the battle, and rub shoulders with the lost, because we cannot do other than what our Lord and savior showed us to do--to go into the world to make disciples, to see the multitudes with compassion and to become workers in the Harvest field of the world.

I just love a good story

N.C. Wyeth (one of my favorite artists of children's literature)

Rousing tales of heroes saving damsels in distress, romantic tales of valor and sacrifice, or heart warming stories of family, home, children, history---I just love a good story. All of my life, I have been able to lose myself in captivating stories. And when I would read a heart moving tale, I would dream of living a story worth telling.

Scripture is full of dramatic stories of bravery (David and Goliath), romance, (Ruth and Boaz), courage (Moses stepping into the Red Sea with a couple of million children, animals, adults chasing screaming behind him being chased by the strongest army ever known), and more.

Each of us is living a story. Each of us can make decisions that will place us into the Lord's hands to accomplish His own stories through us in our lifetime. Maybe your story doesn't feel exciting at this moment or strategic in light of history. But most of the people who were recorded as heroes of the faith, were normal people amidst normal life circumstances, who trusted God even when the others surrounding them were naysayers and could not see Him.

The story that will be told about you in the future depends on the story you are living today.

In other words, the truth is, the story you are choosing to live today--whether it requires excellence morally, courage to endure, faith to believe, or love to overcome, will become your integrity or lack of integrity tomorrow. You cannot have a story of faithfulness in your future or with your children or grandchildren--tales of faithfulness and courage and moral character and discipline and sacrifice that made a difference in your own family history--unless you are living that story with faith, moral excellence, self-discipline, sacrificial love today.

To live a story worth telling, you must reject the voices of the world that shout so loudly in your head, and you must choose to live in holiness to please an audience of one.

All of  us love to hear great stories.

Your children long to see you as their heroes

. They will love to tell your story to their own children someday. So choose today to live the story that you want to be told about you in the future.

Meanwhile, I am off to live my story.

Crafting the Art of Home Life, Part 1

In the beginning, God created

As women, one of the defining qualities intrinsic in being made in God's image, is the divine ability to create, to cultivate, to subdue, and to take all of the raw materials of our lives and to craft them into something beautiful.

When God laid the foundations of the universe, the splendor and magnificence of vibrant color, eye captivating beauty, resilient, melodious sounds,  the  spontaneous response of the shimmering, sparkling morning stars was to celebrate with heavenly choruses, singing His praises and worth, while the sons of God shouted and celebrated wildly with joy. (Job 38:6-8) What on overwhelming display of vibrant, heart filling celebration of His glory it must have been.

So, when we want to display just a small bit of the divine through the beauty of our home, it must encompass all of the moments of life, because we have ruled over our domains in such a way to have order, rhythms, traditions, anchors in our schedule that provide for this divine reflection through the ways we have ruled over and subdued in our own domain.

I love fall the best, I think. Chill air begins to fill the nights so that we must close our windows and snuggle under covers. Warm, simmering, pungent soups bubble on the stove while scents of herb crusted bread waft from the oven. Fireplaces and candles dance with flames, music notes float into our subconscious to please and soothe the rough places of our souls.

The Spirit of home,  stands at the doorways to compel those outside to enter into a place of life, comfort, rest, beauty.

But, you say, "My life is already so busy, I don't have time to add one more ideal."

The dilemma, then, is how to weave beauty, color, celebration into an already busy life.

Oh, my Sarah girl, where have you gone? (also a giveaway)

My legs felt heavy as I wearily climbed the steps to my bedroom. From three trips in three weeks, with one memorial service of my sweet mom, sending Joel back to California, getting Sarah ready to leave for 3 months to be a counselor at Summit Semester, and Joy starting college, I had hardly had time to breathe.

The schrapnel of life battle was littered around my messy home: piles of correspondence unread, clothes strewn all about my bedroom with two worn pieces of luggage spilling over, I knew life would soon have to be tamed in order for me to move forward with grace in the months ahead.

But there was this gnawing hole, almost a hunger that I had yet not had time to think about or identify--and then I realized, "Oh, a part of my heart has been cut out. Sarah isn't here anymore.And where has my Joel gone?"

Sarah, my first born, my always sweet, responsive, encouraging, loving, inspiring best friend---gone. Not here to bubble over with new thoughts and ideas, or to grace my day with a surprise card or cup of tea. Gone would be my welcome when coming in from a chore-filled busy day with the house sparkling as a surprise to keep me cheered. No more Saturday morning walks in the chill air of downtown amongst the Victorian homes, followed by steaming mugs of espresso and a croissant.

Gone. Away. Gifted to the others who would now benefit from the light of her presence.

And Joel, my gentle, helpful, knight in shining armor, bearing my burdens as I sifted through the relics of my mother's life, would not leave me alone for the sentimental journey, as Clay prayed from home, an injured back limiting his presence with me. Joel who with always a smile, prayed for me, shared the ideals of his heart as we bounced about for 15 hours in a rental truck on the deserted dry plains of Texas moving through the hours of the sifting of memories on my way home. Now, feeling the longing for your long arms around me to assure me of God's presence, now you also are away to your new world. But you and our Nathan, now together in California to help, protect and pray for one another as you foray into your own life of valiance in Hollywood.

After all the years of loving, serving, teaching, praying for, training, inspiring and correcting, I only hoped that the fruit would taste so sweet in my home-grown leaders who were being prepared to go into a world that would need them. And so it is with discipleship--the sweet, satisfying fruit, gifted  back to the mother who embraced her call. My heart is the one blessed because of the eternal spilling out of these who are my own precious children, but oh how I miss them, and what a hole they have left. But God showed me many years ago, they are not mine, they are his, simply shared with me for a time to invest. The world needs their light. And so I comfort myself, that though far away, they still live in my heart and we will always be forever friends. But, if I had known what a hole they would leave, I might have celebrated and enjoyed the moments of their growing a little more when they were yet young. But oh how I celebrate the memories of my four precious ones now.

The gift of discipleship from home is the deepest, best companionship I have ever known. Hearts alive to beauty, comfort at sharing the depths of our souls, commitment and hungering for kingdom living and closeness to God, laughter and delight in each other from countless days shared over life. And now the hole in my heart, a consequence of having loved and lived fully together.

I think I will probably kiss Joy too often this fall, hold on to her a little too much, because I now know the way of life so well, too soon she will be following His call for her, out into the world of her own story, and the hole in my heart will deepen, but I will be the more blessed for having shared in her journey fully, deeply and with all of my heart.

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I'd rather be a risk taker.......

I'd rather be a risk taker and live by faith and believe that He is here and listening, Than to let fear of what might happen,

or fear of failure,

or fear of what people might think,

squeeze the life and childlikeness of my believing and hoping out of me, and cause me to do nothing at all.

I do not want to be the one who hid what I had in the ground and find a frown on His face because I was afraid to do anything.

I can always ask for forgiveness if I am wrong

or admit that I am falible,

but how few years I have on this earth to say,

"I believe in you even though I cannot see. I trust you even though I don't understand. I am your girl. I will bring your light into dark places. I know you are here with me and I know that even though I am weak, you are always with me and you will always redeem."

I would rather be a risk taker........

I came up with a new title for myself.......

I think I am going to call myself "Marathon Mama"--

Seems the race just keeps going on and on and on and on..........

packing one child up to go for 3 1/2 months of Summit Semester

Hosting out of town company

Washing clothes

Cooking one more "goodbye--let's have a family feast meal"

going out shopping for clothes with one

Helping another with taxes

Talking with Clay about his surgery

And the race keeps going on and on and on

And you can only win if you keep running

Off to run a little further............

How Can 3% Change the world? Why does a movie matter?

Dear Wonderful Friends, PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ THE MESSAGE BELOW! THIS INFORMATION IS STRATEGIC TO OUR INFLUENCE AS CHRISTIANS IN THE PUBLIC ARENAS OF HOLLYWOOD!

We are so very grateful for the overwhelming response we have had to this movie in the post below, Dolphin Tale. It is just a movie, but it represents more than that for all of us who have been fighting to bring the Kingdom of God to bear its light in all areas of influence in our world. Clay and I have trained our children and discipled them for their whole lives with the understanding that God had a work for them to do in the world.

We would say, "I wonder what plans God has for your life? I wonder how you will bring His truth, beauty and goodness to bear in your world to bring light to dark places?"

And so we prepared our children at home to have rich spiritual souls, so that they would have faith, goodness, morality and vision of spreading these messages to their world.

We always told our children that we needed to go back into culture to fight the battles, to bring light, and to not passively accept what was going on. God has called us to be world changers and all of us have a call to bring His light!

Consequently, when we, as a group of people who care greatly that our children and the children of our nation have great and inspiring messages going into their hearts, it is not just about a movie, but about us showing those who market that they need to pay attention to us and that we will support, with our dollars, messages that inspire, that bring innocence, character to the role models children will watch.

Who should watch this movie?

This movie would be wonderful for any age and for all people who love a good, redeeming story. However, when I was first learning about the movie, I told Nathan and his staff, "You need to promote this movie to all families, churches, moms, and children, as they long for good movies like this. You need to go way beyond the homeschooling arena. I have thousands of mom friends who care deeply about family movies and about great stories like this."

And they agree that they want many people from all sorts of faith backgrounds to attend, all sorts of educational backgrounds, as this story will inspire all people who long to know that their lives can make a difference in their worlds. Many churches have been invited to screenings, as well as mom's group leaders, and other strategic conservative groups. A story of redemption will touch the hearts of all who attend.

Why are they marketing to Homeschoolers? Why are they marketing for HOMESCHOOL MOVIE DAY?

VERY, VERY INTERESTING!

When those who planned to produce this movie were evaluating how a market could be reached to spread the word about a great family movie, they considered all sorts of ways to reach the general population. Something very interesting arose in their research.  Only About 3 percent of the population in the United States are homosexuals. Yet, this movement was so great at banding together, at focussing their market, at gathering their forces around targeting execs in Hollywood (a focussed market it easy to reach), that they were able to demand that there be roles that represented their small group, that had tv shows reflecting their values and moral choices. They became a formidable force because they were organized as a market group!

Consequently,  those who are working on making family friendly movies asked the question, "Is there another market of people that is in the conservative family arena, that is easy to reach as a focus group and who is about 3 % that we can test as our market?"

IT JUST TAKES 3 %!

Guess what?! The home schoolers in America are the same size--3%! And the homeschooling market is an easily reachable market because of blogs, support groups, and networks, at least this is the grand experiment within the marketing of this movie! So, this is a sort of test to see if, as a group of people, home schoolers can rally, come together as a force to see if, even though we are just 3 %, we can influence what roles are valued in Hollywood and what future movies will be produced.

Homeschoolers were also targeted because it is the daytime release numbers that companies consider strategic for whether or not they will produce the next movie and spend money on that market. This marketing group also realized that home schoolers are home during the time when the movie numbers will be considered, and so they are free to go to the movie to make a 3 % showing and therefore to reach the numbers of people it will take to convince the powers that be, that there is a formidable market out there!

That is why I am asking for your help. All moms, all families, all children are important to this marketing strategy. But the home schoolers are the market that is a target goal of getting to the 3 % that can be the foundation for making the difference.

So, you can be a part of all of us who care about these messages in attending this opening. It is all determined by the opening hours of the movie the first day!

Wow! That was so interesting to me.

So, we can be a part of a group that turns around some of what is presented to our children through movies and media if we will band together!

I am excited to think that it would just take 3% of us in this conservative, Christian, family arena to begin to make a difference in the messages that are presented to our culture.

That is why I so appreciate your help! Please send your friends to the blog below so that they can know about the movie, those working hard to reach families, and to rally the forces behind a movie that could be history making as we send a message of our power as a group--that there are thousands and thousands of families who want to have a voice in the future messages presented to our culture.

And, the exec team in charge of the movie is looking to the numbers on the Dolphin Tale's Homeschool Movie Day (http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=212656562124437) to see if we are really reaching numbers through this campaign! So, besides sending the link to Itakejoy.com to your friends, please be sure you rsvp to Dolphin Tale's Homeschool Movie Day above as an expression to them that we are a group to be reckoned with!

Read this important article---Can Christians really have an impact in Hollywood? by my friend Syd Forest

Thanks for being a part of this! You are all so very wonderful to me and I appreciate the help. Just keep leaving your comments on the blog below and give your support to Dolphin Tale's Homeschool Movie Day to show a count of force--all families--not just homeschool families, as that is the place the numbers are being watched!

PS BE SURE TO KEEP PROMOTING THE BLOG POST BELOW AS THAT IS WHERE YOU WILL RECEIVE ENTRIES INTO THE GIVEAWAY, BUT IF YOU PROMOTE THIS BLOG ARTICLE, TOO, YOU CAN ADD AN ENTRY TO YOUR FORM ON THE POST BELOW. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! AND THE LORD BLESS EACH OF YOU!

Giveaway! Calling All Moms, Families, and Homeschooling Leaders to Help with Dolphin Tale!

[The Giveaway for this post is no longer active.]

My Nathan, 22,  and me in blue!

Many of you have followed stories of my son, Nathan, through all of the conferences and books and blog articles for many years. When you hold a young child in your arms and pray for him, you seek to find God's miracle of direction and blessing and leading for that child, hoping that perhaps, by God's grace, this child will be used to advance His kingdom.  As I was raising Nathan, he was such an out of the box, bigger than life, sparkling child and I did not always know how best to train or shape his life, but I prayed in faith for miracles.

From the beginning, Nathan dreamed of being "Superman" to his world--coming to the world to somehow help save, redeem, bring back light. And so through the years, we would pray together that somehow God would someday use Nathan to help bring light, hope and goodness to the world. He has even recently written a Bible study ebook to encourage others to hold fast in their faith.

One day Nathan said, "Mom, movies are one of the ways that kids of my generation are most influenced in their moral choices, their role models, and through these messages and stories. Someone needs to have an influence on Hollywood for all the values and ideals that we as families hold. I want to enter that arena to see if God would use me to have an impact."

So, fast forward many years, Nathan dreamed of making an impact in the entertainment and movie industry as a Christian who held high moral standards, faith and an idea of bringing light to a dark place. He received a scholarship to the New York Film Academy, then moved to Hollywood, and for 2 years has worked hard, held fast to his faith and to His ideals, and I have prayed hours and hours for God to open doors.

Imagine how amazed and  excited I was to see how God opened doors for Nathan to be a consultant for the Movie Dolphin Tale. His goal and dream is  to try to arouse and inspire 150,000 or more people to attend the opening day, to show Hollywood and the powers that be, that we, as a conservative group of families, moms, parents, homeschoolers, represent a formidable and strong market of people who want to bring light, goodness and ideals back into the influential messages portrayed in movies.

And so today, I am asking for you to help me support my son's dreams. Would you please consider helping me get this message and promotion out to every mom, family, parent that you know who cares about supporting Biblical ideals, goodness, innocence and light in and through the media culture of Hollywood, so that we can help to see that inspiring stories are actually an option of movies that Hollywood produces?

Our ultimate goal is to get at least 150,000 individuals out to the movie on opening day at the midday showing, as that number indicates the interest level of people to the executives at Warner Brothers for their projects. This week, our goal is to spread the buzz about this venture and to get thousands and thousands of people to rsvp at the Facebook page that is named: Homeschool movie day, as they are seeking the support of support groups, mom's groups and families.

Click on the poster to connect to the Facebook RSVP page where lots of prizes will be given away!

You may want to use the text below on your own blog or Facebool page!

Calling all Families! Calling all Moms! Calling all Homeschoolers!

Join thousands of families nationwide to see the movie Dolphin Tale on September 23 together. It makes a statement to Hollywood to rally behind movies that "get it right" and tell great stories without all the junk, twaddle, and moral compromise! This movie has all the good stuff we want more of and is truly entertaining and inspiring from ages 5-95!!!

It's time the conservative Christian Family and Homeschool community shows Hollywood we have a voice. But how? We need a story we can support and get behind, a story that affirms who we are and what we stand for.

Dear Friends, Dolphin Tale is such a story!

This is a family movie that will inspire, instruct, and bring you to tears because of the great story line. This movie even has two homeschool kids who play the main roles! (The casting agents went to a local support group in California and found them!)

The bottom line is that the Homeschool Movie Club wants to show Hollywood 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!

Watch the Movie trailer as seen on my side bar.

Watch a short clip from movie about Cozi being homeschooled.

Visit the Homeschool Movie Club website.

Visit the Homeschool Movie Club blog.

GIVEAWAY!

Clay and I will give away four (4) Dolphin Tale Fun Packs that will  include items such as t-shirts, posters, stickers, beach balls, and other fun items. Help us spread the word to be entered in this giveaway:

1. Place the banner or poster for Dolphin Tale movie day on your Facebook or blog or in an email letter to your support group

2. Write a blog post or connect our blog post to your Facebook, Twitter, blog or website and leave a comment here on my blog.

3. Write an email to your homeschool support group and friends telling them about this movie and opportunity.

You may enter to win these fun packs for your children by filling out the form below and letting us know how you have helped us spread the word!

Thanks from the bottom of my heart for helping me spread the word! I so appreciate your help!

Sally

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NO LONGER ACTIVE.

Going home never looked so good

My sweet wonderful friends, The past few days haVe been quite a whirlwind and quite taxing. We have now closed the final chapter on my precious mom's life. I am learning so much and it has helped me make some new commitments on how I want to live and finish my own life, by God's grace. More on that soon, if life would ever settle down for just a day!

I flew to Oklahoma with Joel for my mom' s memorial and was so very happy to reconnect with some precious relatives whose lives were immensely encouraging to me--godly, wonderful hearts for God, and we never had the opportunity to really connect on that level until the funeral. Hopefully we can know each other better apart from this in the future.

Sarah and Joy drove 11 hours to be there and then drove back the 11 hours because they both had to be home for commitments. They were such a comfort to me.

Then 3 days in Texas clearing out my mom's home--oh, my-- so very interesting. Sweet angel friends brought food and treats and helped us make it through. So thankful for them. Off to finish. Thanks for all your prayers. Running to finish it all. So very thankful for all of you who have written sweet notes and helped. You are God's love to me!

A Pity Party just for me

Some days are just this way--all askew--not quite normal. No matter what foot you start out on, it is the wrong foot. After meeting with one of my children and taking them out to breakfast, I felt like I was "too much." I have often felt too much for people throughout my life--my passion, exuberance, ideals, opinions--they just bubble up and I don't even have to try.

Sometimes no matter what I say, it isn't right. I try hard to be mature, but sometimes I am not.

Then I commented on something to another child, and the child huffed at me and made me feel that I was being critical and small.

So I went to my room and fell on top of the bed and rested there thinking all about myself. Seems no matter what I do, I just can't get it right. And the pity party grew in dimension. "I think I am just too much for everybody. No one understands me. I try so hard and it just doesn't seem to matter. I put so much effort into this family and I don't really know if they appreciate me."

And so I had a few Eeyore moments.

Then, I went over to my friends house for a little visit.

She said, "You know, sometimes no matter how hard I try, it just doesn't seem to matter. My daughter was so upset last night and she took it out on me and made me feel like I do everything wrong........."

I smiled. Somehow, I already felt better............:) something about sympathy and feeling understood or something.............

Has it happened to you?