Choosing Joy, Choosing to Overcome

Carl Larsson

'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. Revelation 3:21

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

I am currently teaching three women's Bible studies in my home, that encompasses well over 100 women. Stories told by these precious ones reveals a multitude of challenges and difficulties--autistic children, single parenthood, cancer, financial problems, marriage problems, exhaustion, anger, depression--the list goes on.

Jesus said, "In this world, you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world."

With that in mind, we must understand that this is the fallen place, the place of spiritual battle as evidenced in the different stories of the women in my Bible studies. As I have said before, heroes are made in times of battle. Yet, each of our lives will tell a story. Each of us has been granted a portion from God--our own circumstances, obstacles, challenges, in which we are the only ones who can choose to be faithful and courageous.  No one else gets our story. We are not allowed to choose someone else's story.

However, I see that often the circumstances, the giants of our lives, can bring fear, weariness, defeat.

But godly character comes into play when we determine to make a choice to be an over-comer--one who will turn towards every obstacle of life with a heart of faith.  We have the choice and opportunity to accept our own "portion" with faith and fortitude that says, "By God's grace, I will live this life, this moment today, with courage, strength, grace and joy. God is my strength. God is with me. God will guide me and God will leave me through."

Or, we can choose to capitulate to fear, bitterness, an unforgiving attitude, lack of acceptance, or any other attitude that we allow to rule our heart that leads us to give up our ideals.

If we want to pass on faith to our children, a real, vibrant, strong faith, then in our trials, we must exhibit to them faith that practices walking with God, persevering, holding fast to convictions, even when they don't seem to matter.

Faith must believe that He is--that He is with us, that He is good, that He is in control, that He will reward us in His time and in His way.

The decisions we make when no one else is looking, will determine the ultimate outcome of our character and the ability to become leaders or women of influence. I have learned over the years that is ti not in some distant future time, when all of my trials are gone, that I will be able to be more spiritual. It is this day, this moment, where I must gird up strength and choose to obey.

There are brave, courageous women in my midst, who against formidable odds, have held fast to Jesus and their stories are breath-taking and encouraging and cause me to want to trust Jesus more for my own problems.

However, there are also in my midst, whiners--women who nurture the idea that they are being "picked on" by God, that somehow He has given them more than they can take, that they are a victim of life.This victim mentality will cause havoc for the rest of their lives, as women who do not trust God and choose to believe in His goodness will be left to battles of soul the rest of their lives. I see and hear from sweet women, who have become victims because they have not had the heart to accept life as God has given it--they have practiced complaining and shaking their fists at heaven so long that it has become a habit and robbed them of the ability to have joy or to see God at work. The eyes of our heart and the obedient choices we make when we are squeezed by life will determine the kind of women we become.

Many seasons of our lives will be quite difficult and filled with tears, deep darkness and sadness--this is a part of scripture, "In this world we have tribulation." Jesus was crucified and has not asked us to bear anything He has not already born. Yet, what we do with the giants in the land, how we choose to walk forward in the midst of these trials will determine our testimony.

Overcoming, by the blood of the lamb, is a theme in Revelation. Through reading and studying these passages, I have found courage and inspiration to practice being an over-comer. Over the past years, I have seen that I have to choose to worship Him right where I am by obeying Him in the moment of each challenge He brings my way. This obstacle or test along my journey will teach me something I need to learn about life. This moment I am writing my story of faith. This day, He will give me the strength to overcome.

It has been the very obstacles in my life that have deepened my compassion for others, that have made me more humble and shown me my limitations, that has expanded my reach in ministry, because of understanding other's struggles more personally from having gone through them myself.

But I strategically named this blog, "I take joy"--I choose joy today, because He is my song, He is my salvation, He is my redeemer and He has overcome before me. May He grant each of us the faith to be over-comers today, right where we are, with precious eyes of children and peers looking on, so that we may teach the patterns of walking with God, and waiting for His miracles to others who need hope. May God give you strength, in whatever you are facing. May we tell stories of His miracles and provisions in heaven as we celebrate what He was willing to accomplish through us in our life-time.

Off to face my own obstacles with His companionship every step of my day.

 

Salad Art and this and that and giveaways and winners

I love salads and we try to have one at each dinner meal. It is an easy way to get your 5 fruit and vegetables in as well as just to provide health with daily greens. I found over the years, from the time my children were quite small, that if I made things interesting or beautiful or fun, they were much more likely to develop an appetite for those things.

My friend, Shelley, is masterful at this. This beautiful centerpiece is just a simple salad made pretty. And of course our challenge is to have the kids have at least one veggie of each kind when they make a scoop. We all marveled and ooohhed and ahahahed at this before we dived in. You can use other veggies and fruit (like cranberries or blueberries) to add some extra tangy flavor--for me the more the merrier.

So, tonight, look at your recipes in a differently and see if the presentation can make the very same recipe a little bit more artistic. What are some of your family's favorite recipes? We might pursue some great fall recipes, soon!

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"So sorry about the broken links to Brooke's websites below. You can find all of the links you need, conveniently located in one place, by going to www.brookemcglothlin.com! Thanks!"
The winner of the book is Janine, whose comment says:
Janine says:

I have 3 boys – Malachi, 12 Josiah, 10 and Elijah 7 and boy(no pun intended) could I relate with everything written. So glad I have Someone to turn to for help!!

 

Thanks, Brooke, for making this book a gift to Janine. You can also purchase this book for a download at her sight and it will really encourage you!
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In the midst of life and nursing, I forgot to announce the winner of Nathan's ebook. It is:

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Kimberly Sanchez

Oh, Sally, I want a copy! How exciting is this for Nathan and for your family. I cannot imagine how proud you must be, as a writer, to have your son follow in your author footsteps. I can’t wait to read the book and share it with others. All the comments so far echo my own heart. Raising a child that has so many difficult needs wears the mama soul down. It’s so good to keep seeing you standing there on the other side seeing the victory playing out in your child’s life. I dream of those days, and pray my heart can last that long. Thank you, Sally, for everything you do.

Thanks for everyone who has left comments  and entered in. You can order Nathan's book as a pdf or kindle at: http://www.e-junkie.com/nathanjclarkson/product/468014.php#Wisdom+Chasers

Finally, my sweet friend, Brenda Nuland, has a wonderful blog and she has written a great review of Educating the Whole Hearted Child and is giving one away. Join her at: http://coffeeteabooksandme.blogspot.com/ and leave a comment to win the book. Or you can order it at www.wholeheart.org

Off to my afternoon. Cheers!

 

 

I need a friend

Mary Cassat a cup of tea

"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with breath of kindness, blow the rest away."

George Eliot

"A friend loves at all time." Proverbs

I have needed you and I am indebted to you and I love you.

My life has brought so many seasons of blessings and grace and also, endless trials that lend to an "out of control" seasons of life. When I look back on the Lord's many blessings over the years, I see friends as one of the main ways He has shown me His reality, His words of grace and love, His compassion, His wisdom, His gentleness and forgiveness and grace. I have needed friends that knew me and still loved me as I am a very imperfect person, who needed to know I could still be loved with all of my imperfections.

Without my friends, I would not be as mature in the Lord, or want to keep believing in His goodness. We could never, ever worked so broadly in ministry without so many to help, pray, work at registration, book tables, help set up, take care of us and our precious children.

Our ministry would have gone under financially without generous support through all of the hard seasons. Even in this season of financial challenge with medical bills, there have been those of you who have reached out beyond what we deserved and helped. I simply could not have made it without friends.

Have I experienced loneliness? Of course--regularly over the years. When moving 17 times and 6 times internationally, there are inevitable times of being alone--the new kid on the block. And as an idealist going against the grain of culture,  always there have been such times of loneliness and long bouts of isolation. Of course, there are so many times one feels alone. But even in these times, there have been those who have left a note, or comment, or sent a letter or email--when they could have had no idea, that it was their one word that lifted me up and kept me from despair.

Recently, with my mom's death and cleaning out her home and grieving in the midst of a very busy life, there were angels I did not even know well, who provided  grace, help and meals in Texas when I was not even in my hometown.

Next came Sarah's wrecks, illness. Nathan's campaign. My home Bible studies--and there were those who have held up my arms and prayed--even from their own beds of cancer and surgery.

And with Clay's serious surgery, and now the nursing at home, I could not have known what it would have cost me in time and energy and effort. Yet, behind the scenes, again, God smiled on me, by sending amazing meals, notes, emails, and even a friend who helped me clean house last night, because of a group of women coming to my house in the midst of the chaos.

There have been friends I have never met, but who take time to write me and encourage me and share in our kindred heart dreams, disappointments and life issues.

Today, I want to say, I could not have made it without you. I would not be the person I am without you being willing to invest love, time, thoughtfulness in so many different ways. I love each of you who has taken the time to give or encourage. I am sitting here waiting to help Clay in his next task and thinking how very blessed I have been to feel the hands  of God through real, live people.

I have had no time to send thank you notes, (and yes, Mom, I do feel guilty), and I have not even been answering the phone this week, because the daily tasks have been quite daunting, but nonetheless, you have been in my heart and on my thoughts.

THANK YOU AND I LOVE YOU--even if I have been more absent than usual, you are still a very important part of my heart and thoughts. You mean more to me than you will ever know.

There is probably a friend in each of our lives today who need to hear our words or know our kindness or prayers and you have inspired me. May each of you who have blessed me so, feel the love of God through a friend, and know my love coming your way from my heart,  today.

Warrior Prayers and a book giveaway!

Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most

A wonderful new book I will give away!

When women hear the stories of my two boys, Joel and Nathan, they are amazed and so often think, "How did Sally raise boys who are having such wonderful opportunities? What method of child training did she use? What was her philosophy of education?"

Though all of these might have influenced much of my boy's souls, it is the Lord who has opened doors for them. God is the only one who we had to commend us. We had no wealth, no great education, no outstanding training--just an understanding that we were to be dependent on Him--the source of all wisdom, strength, help, love, grace. We lived the Lord, spoke of Him, sought Him and worshipped Him.

Joel, composer           Nathan, actor,  writer

Though the outcome of our boy's lives so far have had some external fruit--Joel getting into Berklee even though he could not really read music and had little back ground, and then graduating with summa cum laude and composer of the year, and finished in 2 1/2 years-- it was totally a miracle, a grace of God. We were on our knees praying every single day. We prayed him through overwhelming moments when his work load was too big, he didn't have enough money to pay for school, challenges on the learning curve because he did not know all the music that his peers who had studied for all their lives--so Joel worked diligently, by faith, and we prayed and prayed and prayed. And in God's hands, our little became enough. The process was all by faith and took years, and yet God moved and was faithful and opened doors and blessed. He is the source of blessing, not any works that we could garner without His help.

Same with Nathan--scholarship to New York Film Academy, moving to Hollywood, getting his sag card and having the opportunity to be behind the marketing of Dolphin Tale and writing a book. The boys worked hard, but mainly both boys prayed every day and knew that prayer--trusting in Him, asking Him to guide, looking to Him for wisdom--was the secret. We give our fish and loaves to God and depend on Him--He is enough and more.

Rarely have I met someone who really understood this principle so well at such a young age. Brooke McGlothin is a sweet friend of mine, a young mom of two boys, who has captured this truth so well. Her new ebook is profound and simple--if you want to see God work, you must depend on Him in prayer. He is the source of all blessing, He is the one who must receive the glory for working through normal people in extraordinary ways. I found myself nodding and underlining all the way through her book. I want you to know Brooke's heart and her blog and have the opportunity to be encouraged by her wonderful book. Brooke has generously offered to give a book away to one of my readers who leaves a comment on my blog. Here is her heart and an article by her:

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I watch their little faces as we prepare for bedtime prayers. I’m overwhelmed with love for them, overwhelmed with parenting them, these little boys who have stolen my heart and rocked my world. As I write this, my sons are six and four. Already I find myself wondering where the time has gone. I'm running as fast as I can to keep up with every step they take, tucking each moment away in my memory for safekeeping.

I asked God to give me boys. Even before I was married I knew I wanted boys--to raise men who would be different, respecters of women, lovers of God--to teach little men to work with their hands, take com- mitments seriously and protect the least of these. Warriors, protectors, worshippers, peacemakers and friends--these are the dreams I have for my little ones.

Fast forward twelve years or so, and the present-day circus that is my life often finds me asking this question:

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

I don’t have any clue how to be the mom of boys! They’re rough and tumble. I don’t have an athletic bone in my body. They’re loud and obnoxious. I enjoy peace and quiet. They love dirt and mud and bugs. I’d rather curl up with a good book in my nice cool family room.

Obviously, God has a sense of humor.

If you are the mother of at least one boy you are shaking your head in agreement with me right now. I used to think there was something wrong with my boys, that they were the only ones in the world who ac- ted the way they do. Then the Lord hooked me up with an awesome community of boy moms and I learned that this simply isn't true! There is something different about boys!

·    They’re loud.

·    They like to leap from tall buildings with no safety net (a.k.a. jump off the top bunk).

·    They like to build forts and hide candy.

·    They break toilets and “go” in (and all over) anything BUT the toilet.

·    They’re adventurous.

·    They’re natural born protectors.

·    They like to shoot things (even when there’s nothing actually resembling a gun).

·    They shower you with spit when showcasing their sound effects skills.

·    They love their mommies and need their daddies.

·    They’re made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails (OK, not really. But when I told my oldest that girls were made of sugar and spice and everything nice, he asked if he could lick me!)

I’m afraid that we’re losing the beauty of training up godly men.

The bottom line is this: our boys need strong parents now more than ever. We’re losing them; raising a generation of weak men. Young men who have no idea what it means to be a man are everywhere.

We’ve failed them.

So what, you’re asking, do we do about it? My answer is short and sweetly simple. There are so many books out there today on the topic of parenting that I can’t count them. Nor do I have time to read them all. But even if I did, reading these books, and putting the solid tools in them to work, still doesn’t come with guarantees. Knowing this, it becomes quite clear that there is only one thing we can do.

Plead with God. Pray.

“The fervent prayers of a righteous man avails much” James 5:17.

It's our hope.

So many of you moms, right this very moment, are kneeling down or lying flat on your face before God, asking Him to help you.

You’re lost, overwhelmed, exhausted, stressed, heartbroken, and seconds away from waving the white flag in defeat. I know where you are. I’ve been there. I’m still there. I have no idea how to make this dream of mine come true. I have no idea how to raise men who will be different: respecters of women, lovers of God. I have no idea how to teach little men to work with their hands, take commitments seriously, and protect the least of these. And I certainly have no idea how to raise warriors, protectors, worshippers, peacemakers, and friends by myself.

But I do know how to get down on my knees and cry out to God on their behalf. I do know that God’s Word is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart“ (Hebrews 4:12).

So I pray the Word over my boys daily. Asking the One who has the power to change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh to find my boys and make them His.

In spite of me.

Brooke is a mom of two young boys who leave her desperate for God’s grace. Her pursuit of being a better mom has left her at the foot of the cross, knowing that if God doesn’t show up … nothing happens. This dependence upon God to turn hearts of stone to hearts of flesh leads her to her knees in prayer. She’s the author of the best-selling eBook Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most (on sale now for just $2.99 as a PDF download!), creator of the 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge and co-founder of the well-loved online community for mothers of boys, the M.O.B. Society. She offers hope for change to the hearts of women at her main blog, A Life in Need of Change.

 

The Childhood of a mysterious hero--the rest of the story!

The rest of the story of my out of the box Nathan John--meaning--a gift from God! And so he is and was! The story of Nathan was created especially by God for me so that I could learn more about the meaning of grace, love, patience and abounding, generous love--and how to live beyond expectations.

Nathan was the only child I had who was born without any incidence--easy delivery, less than an hour from first real labor pain until he came out. The first 3 days, he ate, didn't  have much crying and seemed the easiest going little one. By the 4th day, Nathan, cried and cried much of the day. When I would nurse him, he would writhe and arch his back and was very difficult to comfort. I still nursed him for a long time. Though he was always loving and wonderful and fun, he had lots of moments when I had absolutely no idea what to do.

He finally slept through the night when he was 4 years old. We finally found out then that he had difficulty with his digestion. I am so very glad that the Lord helped me to know that he didn't need spanking or harshness, but patience, because he could not help the pain in his stomach. On occasion, he would lay on the floor and throw a screaming fit. (My mother would say, "That's what you would do, exactly what you would do, Sally!)

At times, looking back, I can see that he was expressing frustration and couldn't always express what he was feeling or what was wrong. OCD started when he was 17 months old when he would become quite agitated because his shoe strings were not tied the exact same length--seemed not to be able to get over this, and had to repeat it again and again. At bedtimes, he needed to remember that we had kissed and prayed and finished the ritual just right. Now I wish I had more times to kiss him goodnight.

Eventually, I would learn about OCD and that it is hereditary, a much higher percentage of Scotch-Irish, English Heritage, (all of which we are) and ends up I had 3 out of 4 children who had these issues in a very focussed way.

I see so much more clearly now, that OCD is not an issue of discipline but of how the brain is speaking to the child (or adult.) Ends up I am also OCD but just didn't know it. I have also learned that many OCD people are out of the box, artists, think of life differently. There is some mystery in what is personality and what is physiological. But if you don't have an OCD child, you can think it is just a behavioral issue and if you have one who truly has one of these mysterious issues, you have a deeper compassion and understanding with other moms who have such children, as our lives are different in scope.

Nathan was always very creative and pretended to be heros, dressed up with Capes, swords, and wrote long stories about all sorts of people. He would arrange tents, furniture, porch pieces, places in our garage as elaborate little towns or offices, cafes or stores. Math was never his favorite and I told him if/when he is famous to hire an accountant or marry one!

Before Christmas day one year, Nathan asked to see me in my bedroom privately and gave me a long stem red rose. "Mama, I want you to know I love you and appreciate you before I get all the Christmas presents, so here is my present for you---my I love you present ahead of time!"

We shared so many wonderful memories. He liked to talk and communicate and have me listen and that is how we became such friends--I learned that as an extravert, he had a lot to say and wanted to talk about what he was thinking.

When Nathan was 15, I really began to see who he was. I went into his bedroom and saw photographs he had taken from all over the world up as a border around his walls. He had painted a full size mural on one side of the wall (with our permission.) There were posters of musicians, multiple sketches his own posted on the walls. A sword we had given him across the wall with a sign saying, "I will be God's." All of a sudden, I "got" him--God had made him an artist.

I have a feeling that many great women and men have had grand personalities because they are called to change the world. I know that most of my life, I felt like I was "too much" for people. But now, I see that my passion and drive is the heart God used to push me to ideals. Consequently, I see that other children and adults are pre-wired by God to be out of the box, bigger than life people--a gift to be cherished.

It is so easy for our culture to want all of us to fit in, to conform, to behave--but at what price? To have control but to risk the life and beauty and passion that might be diminished? To see children and adults who behave but are not moved to great feats for the kingdom of God?

Peer pressure can make us all want to fit in, but Nathan called to me to live beyond. New York Film Academy in Harlem was not a safe place for me to send him, but he was a faithful young man, who believed in a dream--and as a result of 2 years of prayer, he won singer-song writer at a conference and a scholarship to New York Film academy--much to my dismay. But how could we hold him back--if God was calling him by faith to hold fast to Him. And as it turns out, God lived in New York City and He lives in Hollywood and used him with Dolphin Tale and who knows what will be next.

But, God has helped him to live by faith, to hold fast to what is real, and to chase wisdom and to be a superman to those who need help.

So Nathan taught me new truths about dreaming, believing, pursuing ideals and waiting patiently to hear from God.

So, I wish I had relaxed more with all of my children, trusted God knew exactly what He was up to and why He picked me as the mom. And I wish I had just taken time to enjoy all of my sweet ones more, and laugh more and relax more.

I would encourage you to pursue your own story with faith, vision, and the eyes of God to see just what he created your wonderful, unique out of the box child, children and family to be for you as a message of His own values and love.

So now, it is with great pleasure I see God's light shining through Nathan J Clarkson, beloved gift from God.

Nathan

Nathan was indeed God's gift to me, to bring joy, celebration and delight. 

of Winners of Seasons: Theresa Miller, Casie. Congratulations!

Cherishing "The Life"

And in Him was life and that life was the light of man. John 1:4 Wherever the Spirit of God is hovering, moving, working, we will see "life". His spirit will bring a deep, indescribable heart response to a musical composition whose beauty touches our soul. Love poured out through touch heals wounds. Generosity given to one who is poor brings hope. This "life" that brings more life and light is expressed through the ways we live. He sweeps through real human beings to bring restoration, beauty and we are the vessels through which His beauty and His life comes to others who do not know or understand Him. When we yield to His Spirit, life will come and create a reflection of His being in our own lives.

When we allow Him to work through us--we live into the prompting of the Holy Spirit, the small flame in another's soul will be fanned to brightness.

And so we live to bring life and we will begin to see this life lit in those who come in our wake, because life grows and multiplies and spreads--and so it will spread into the lives of our children, our friends, our husbands.........

Words are another way that life is ignited and felt. I felt such life yesterday, my soul was deeply touched,  when I read these words:

GOD WEEPS

There it is, the shortest verse in the Bible.

We can discard it so easily, pass over it so quickly, but really, it is incredible.

Think of it. Let is sink in as I write it again: Jesus Wept.

The all-knowing ruler and God of the universe cried.

For what? The loss of a friend that he already knew he was going to raise to life in a matter of minutes? Why would He cry for that?

Because God loves us. He loves us with a depth we cannot understand because the very God who made the stars feels our pain in the depths of His heart. He shares our hurt, and communes with our struggles.

Jesus stood at the tomb of his friend, and though he knew that he could bring Lazurus to life in a matter of seconds, he knew that death still grieved the people around him to the depths of their souls. Jesus wept for the pain, the fear his friend felt as death took him. Jesus wept for Mary and Martha, the sisters who watched their brother die and thought that God had forgotten them. Jesus wept for all the watchers in the crowd, living in the world where death and pain still have the upper hand.

Jesus wept to show us that never again could we doubt that God knows our pain. God knows every tear that we cry.

Nathan J Clarkson  Wisdom Chasers

And then, I knew, that my son, had caught "the life" in our home--He had met Him face to face and taken Him deep into his soul. May we be vessels every day of His life that others will carry that life to their world that they may carry the light.

Darling, out of the box, ADHD Nathan has written a book and giveaway!

Wonderful Nathan in Hollywood

Always when I tell stories about my sweet Nathan, moms say to me, "I have a Nathan!" Nathan is such an amazing blessing to me now, and many of you know him through his work to promote Dolphin Tale. But, as a little boy, Nate was always out of the box. When others walked on the sidewalk, he was on the grass, running around the bush, playing air fights with imaginary dragons, and living in a super man world in his mind. He wiggled, questioned, was loud and vibrant and fun and never liked academics but loved great stories and literature and heroes and discussion.

Many people wanted to label Nathan with consonants and vowels and or tell me to spank him more, but I knew in my heart he had the making of a great man and he needed love, patience and faith. I also knew that he was a lot like me--just made to be active and questioning and out of the box of norm. I can now see in my own life, that what has always felt like too much for me--my personality--was just what God needed me to be so that I would love speaking and writing and traveling all over the world.

And so with Nathan, I loved, encouraged, trained, confronted, believed in his dreams and prayed that God would help me support the person that God had designed him to be. I believed that maybe God did make Nathan to go into the world to be a "superman"--his favorite childhood character--one who would come to our world and save and help and redeem those who needed someone to save them.

All you sweet ones who are worried about your adhd, odd, ocd kids, just trust God, love a lot, give grace, and watch what God does--they are probably just artists or heroes in your midst and they must be a little bigger than life because of what God is going to call them to do--just like my wonderful Nathan--a true and faithful hero in my midst.

I will write more of his story tomorrow, but am off with Clay to Denver for surgery. (So please pray for us!)

But wanted you to see Nathan's new book and have the opportunity to buy it. (You will be helping this starving artist who wants to be a light in Hollywood stay afloat a little longer! Please share it with your friends and let Nathan hear from you! Nathan said that he would send a free pdf to anyone who would blog about his book to help promote it. And I will give away 3 copies. To enter the giveaway, please go to Nathan's blog and leave a comment and read all about him and pray for him! :)

When he moved to New York City a few years ago, he was confronted with what it would take to be a light in a very dark place. This is a perfect book of encouragement for anyone who wants to be encouraged to make the choice to follow God, to hold fast, to cultivate faith and to live to make a difference in the world. Also a great book for young men and appropriate for anyone. Devotionally written with short chapters and application. I am loving reading it, but of course he is after all my own personal hero!

The article below is about his new book. Here is his blog http://nathanjclarkson.wordpress.com/ where you can leave a comment and get a free download for blogging about it! Also, for the free entry to win a copy--leave a comment on my blog and promote it on fb and just let me know what you did. Thanks a gazillion--I try not to impose on my friends for me--but for my kids, I will impose on anyone! :) Have a blessed day!

Wisdom Chasers

October 8th, 2011

I was faced with a decision when I was 19. Let me explain. I had moved out and was living in the Big City (New York). I remember it was a cold and rainy night my family had left and there I was, little old (well actually very, very young) me. I had no idea what I was doing and I was all alone. But there on my first night alone on my own, as I was sitting on my Ikea bed in my small apartment bedroom in Harlem (Yes… I know the fam wasn’t thrilled, but I was poor) I heard a voice. It was God, He said “Chase me” and he suddenly ran out the door and into the pouring rain. I yelled after him that I was cold and alone and was kinda tired, but He just kept running.

So there I was, faced with a bigger decision than I could ever imagine. Chase after God or do what I feel like. Well I chased God, I chased him right into the pouring rain where I danced and sang with the Creator of the universe. I chased him through the next year of ups and downs friends and heart-break, hurts and joys. I chased him right out to Hollywood California, where today I finally am able to look back at all the chasing of God and say with complete honesty… It has made all the difference.

These are a collection of thoughts and the glimpses of Gods wisdom I had to chase down. All compiled into my very first book I would love for you to become a Wisdom Chaser too. Click to get your very own copy. Thank you so much.

Off to chase!

-Nathan

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Discipleship is a choice that will cost you your time and your life

Go into the world and make disciples.....My disciple, Joy!

A disciple of Christ, one wholeheartedly devoted to Him and His kingdom work

The next few weeks promise to be pretty overwhelmingly busy. Clay goes in for pre-ops on Monday and will have surgery on Tuesday, and I will have the care of him next week and beyond until all is well. I have book proposals, am teaching 2 discipleship groups in my home for young moms and have a Bible study of 60 women every month. Attending 2 conferences at the end of the month--Relevant (can't wait) and an officer's wives air force conference in Hawaii and then the holiday season hits as well as work on our 4 national women's conferences, and blogs and you all know the story of a busy life. meals, cleaning the house, washing clothes, email, family responsibilities. But, I seek to keep my goals of discipling my children at the center, along with having a quiet time and prayer with God and loving and walking with Clay in our lives together.

So, I charted out my day: Call each of the kids, encourage them, pray with them, share verses, write emails to the boys who especially need encouragement right now, to keep hope and to keep faithful. I needed to fill their cups so I could have integrity when I pursued my other responsibilities. They are the book most people will read in my life, so they come first.

It  is also why I knew I wanted to spend all day yesterday with Joy, because she is my priority and it was her day off from college classes. The piles of work and housecleaning will still be there, but this could very well be my last year with Joy. She is such a driven, idealistic, motivated young woman, and unless the Lord changes plans, she will be off to college next year. I do not want to miss one minute of being with her--speaking into her life, continuing to help shape her ideals, filling her cup with love and affirmation. So, she came before the piles.

But even as Jesus took three years off from the work of the universe in order to pass his ministry on to his disciples, to live with them, eat with them, love them, instruct them, so as mothers, if we want the same kind of life-changing impact on our children, it will require the sacrifice of our time, our commitments, and it will be inconvenient and life-consuming. But leaving godly disciples is the greatest work we will ever achieve. As I have said many times before, when I meet Jesus face to face, He will say, "What did you do to invest, love, teach your children the secrets of the kingdom of God so that they will love me and serve me with wholehearted devotion?"

Yesterday, I took Joy away to the mountains because I wanted to have extended time with her on her day off to focus on messages of the heart and to just tie the strings of our hearts a little faster. It took over 6 hours and I left my computer, and my cell phone in the car as we hiked. We decided that if we were eaten by a bear, everyone would think we were like Enoch who walked with God and then he was not.

How could I have known what was going into her heart? She told me through her own blog! But here is the rest of the story, written by Joy, which was a gift to my own heart.  She started it herself, she wrote the article from her heart, unprompted, but fully an encouragement to me. Your heart will be deeply encouraged by Joy's article, to know that God has created you, too, to have heart impact on your own precious ones. What a blessing to be a part of God's work and to have a best friend in the end, as well. Below is her link:

http://joynessthebrave.wordpress.com/

Lovely, fun, interesting, spiritual, intelligent, charming, 16 year old, Joy. We drank coffee, played music too loud and sang lots of songs, amongst others, Chris Rice--Here in My Cathedral, Rich Mullins and others. She is my cherished, heart friend.

 

 

The Many different seasons of a mother's life

Albert Bierstadt

I think that fall may be my favorite season (or spring!). I love the colors, the sunny, crisp days, the opportunity to begin drawing in and making homemade soups and breads and reading a great book and creating more beauty and life-giving friendship and fun with more people inside the walls of our home. (I also love autumn art!)

Even as there are seasons with variety and scope in our lives, so there are so many seasons to a mother's life. One day she loves her children and thinks they are the greatest gift God has given. Another day, she isn't sure she even likes them, but she is obedient and has to put one foot in front of the other just to keep going.

Recently, a young mom I know confessed that she sometimes has a hard time "feeling close" to her young children and being available to them emotionally because she is tired. Most women feel this fairly often. I know that as the tasks of motherhood need to be pursued every day with intention, or they will overcome the home, so life can feel tedious. There were many times throughout the years that I did not feel like giving or even feel close to my children. But, I would just put one foot in front of the other and seek to be loving and gracious and patient, even though I did not feel like it, and eventually, my joyful feelings would return.

It seemed to me, that I would read stories of families that seemed to be all together--studying Greek and Hebrew by age 5, perfectly neat house, home-cooked meals and all in order, with children who had perfect attitudes.

That was not my reality. Mine was a whirlwind of seasons--some were fresh seasons where I loved my children and they seemed to be growing and I enjoyed them and others were winter seasons of darkness and struggle and seemingly no real life or  growth in our home. But I learned that all homes have seasons and it is the faithfulness through all of the seasons that determines the outcomes.

Seasons of a Mother's Heart is the first book on Motherhood I ever wrote. I would learn different truths about God, about how to cope with the different demands and challenges of each season and write down what I learn and how God showed me to walk through the seasons by faith and with His wisdom. Topics addressed in the different seasons of my own life were coping with messes and learning to focus on relationships in the midst, dark seasons of depression, learning to live free of other people's rules and expectations, growing with my children through the seasons of babyhood, childhood, teenage years and beyond!

I wanted to write about this book today because it answers many of the questions I get in my emails from sweet moms and just can't seem to find time to answer.

A sweet friend, Erin,is hosting a book discussion of Seasons of a mother's heart.You will also love her blog and her encouraging writing at Homewiththeboys.net.  Find all the info about how you can join her book club discussions at: (http://homewiththeboys.net/seasons-of-a-mothers-heart-getting-started-connected/)

I know I love seeing what other moms are learning and thinking when reading a book. You will enjoy her blog and her musings about the book. In light of her book club, wholeheart will give away one book by Monday morning if you leave a comment telling me a little about season of life you are in right now. Or tell me your favorite chapter or topic that you have read in this book.

I have just gone through a season of winter with deaths and children leaving and medical and financial issues and weariness, but every time I go through difficult seasons, I know that spring is coming and I will see all sorts of growth and blessing springing up everywhere. I am so very encouraged already to see God's grace and blessings in my life. He is so good and He always leads me in His blessing, when I endure the seasons with His grace and waiting for Him to bring the life. He shows me the reasons for the seasons and has given me such deep fulfillment in my life as I have learned to trust His timing and live by HIs strength and grace.

May our precious Heavenly Father strengthen you today in whatever season you find yourself and may you hear the voice of His love and encouragement in the midst of it. I hope you will find His encouragement as you read Seasons of a Mother's Heart.

: You may order it here: http://www.wholeheart.org/store-2/#ecwid:category=1117022&mode=product&product=4605088

I am woman, hear me roar, kinda

So, Joy goes out to start the car in order to drive to her college class. The battery is dead.

"Mom, what do I do? Do you know how to charge a dead battery?"

"Let's not call Daddy and see if we can do it. He's at the office and I hate to  bother him."

Out comes my computer and we look up "charging a dead battery" on youtube.

Brought it out to the garage, and we both gingerly took different sides of the cables, as we have no idea what we are doing.

Turned on the video and followed directions and voila-the battery started and we felt empowered by our genius.

So, what have you conquered lately?