So fun when they grow up and actually start acting like adults......They are listening--really!

So, I got this in my inbox a few minutes ago and had to smile--of course it is some of what I have already shared with you, but I didn't know Nathan was going to write his side of the story--hope you enjoy it. But, I just love this blog article because this is from my little boy who used to throw fits and fuss and who was so very wiggly--and here he is, a grown man and taking on the world.

--you know how you never think your kids are going to get it because they always want the biggest piece of cake or fight over each other's toys or whose body is more over the cushion of the couch......

.Well, I promise, they are listening--

and as I read Nathan's blog today, I had to say to myself---wow-------he was listening, he does have a heart and he does know what it means to be unselfish--just saying......... Take courage, my friends, your investment today is going deep into their hearts.

ineed by Nathan J Clarkson I woke up this morning and with no hesitation I went through the list of what I want, I wanted to eat, so I planned what food I should give to my self. Then, halfway through making my self breakfast I had an unhealthy desire for coffee, so I poured caffeine down my throat. Then I wanted to sit down in my the blue chair, but my roommate was sitting in the chair I wanted to sit in, so I decided to have a bad attitude and be grumpy. I pulled out my iphone, and wanted to send a text without moving my fingers and suddenly wondered why I had to be the only person in the world without Siri...Life is really hard on me. Then I walked back to my room and saw this picture of a young girl living in a third world country, celebrating because her village now has clean water. She is ecstatically happy because of water......just water..... I have water, in fact I have around 20 glasses of half filled drunken water on my counter. I sometimes take hour-long showers because I can. And every now and again I pay people to dump it on my car because there is a smudge on my car window. And I don't think I have ever once been as thankful as her for water. I have lots of water, food, friends, but somehow I still find something to complain about, daily. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having, wanting or needing things. But how often are the things we find ourselves buying spending time on or getting-revolving only around ourselves and what we think we should have. How often do we need a cup of coffee so we buy one for four bucks, how often are we hungry so we get a snack for our selves, how often do we want a new ipad so we get one for our selves? There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but lets turn it on the flip side. How often when we are eating, we think of the millions of people (thousands in our own country) who wont be eating today, How often do we play angry birds on our ipad do we think of the fact that for the same price of single ipad an entire village could have a well providing clean water, saving the lives of thousands. I every day, ignore, coddle, and intentionally live selfishly. I have decided to fight that. So I am not going to do that with you. If you have a sink, and have eaten today, you are blessed and richer than 99% of the world. You need to give. You will never actually be happy until you do. Neither will I. So, I don't care where it is. But we need to give, I need to give, You need to give. So I started a fundraiser for a group started by a young man in my church that is giving the most basic and necessary thing for life there could be. Giving water to those who need it. I would be absolutely honored if you would consider giving to my fund-raiser Nathan John Clarkson's Give a Cup of Cold Water Honestly, to reach my goal I need you, but for someone to live another day they need you. Please don't think about giving, just do. The new iphone can wait. A child's life cannot. Your awesome, no go be awesome. Click this link to give to my fundraiser.

Give a cup of Water and save a life

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones , I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward."Matthew 10:42

Nathan was sitting on the comfy, well-worn couch, squished as closely as possible next to me with a bright pink dinosaur shirt pulled over his knees. He was leaning in to look at the pictures as I was reading a children's devotional Bible to all of us, as we did every morning.

And so I read, "if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to someone, you will get a reward from Jesus. Do you remember the verse that talks about Jesus when he said, "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,"

"So, when you serve someone, it is as though you are serving Jesus Himself."

"Just think, there are going to be people in your world, Nathan and Joel, Sarah and Joy, that may  be so thirsty for water or for life that you may be the one to  save them. You know, Jesus will bring people into your lives that no one else may be able to help. But you have to have a soft and generous heart to see the needs of these people. I can't wait to see how God is going to use you boys and you girls to bring life to people wherever you go!

"Do you really think I can save someone's life, mama? I want to be like superman and save people everywhere I go!"

"Yes, Natie. God has a work for you to do in your lifetime, to bring his love, and truth and life wherever you go. I think you will be used in a most powerful way and I can't wait to see the story that you live as His superman."

That was when Nathan was 5 years old.

I always hoped my children were listening to these morning devotionals. Through the squirming and noise and fusses, the Holy Spirit was working to bring His messages to the hearts of all of my sweet children.

Throughout his life, Nathan would bring lost teens to our house, seek to rescue those who had run away, share Christ with friends who were on drugs. His heart just grew and grew.

So, I have come to expect that he will always be finding another way to invest or to help--it has been serving at youth camps, holding magic shows for kids, giving money to favorite causes, and more.

Fast forward.

Nathan, 23, in Hollywood, seeking to bring God's light to the dark shadows there.

"Mom, I have a new ministry I am helping. You should look at it and see if we can get a bunch of people to help us. Every year, lack of water or clean water is the most common reason people die. I am trying to fund 3 wells in either Liberia, Ghana, Peru, or India to help provide water for people in those countries who may die without a well."

Perhaps you would like to tell your children Nathan's story and show them the site of the ministry and be sure to read the verses from scripture and discuss them together. It is the pictures and stories of people our children gave to and became a part of that has given them an ownership of their desire as adults to be involved in ministry.

MYGENEROSITY

WAS BEGUN By A FAMILY IN NATHAN'S CHURCH. They have literally saved the lives of thousands of people by providing wells for whole villages.

Would you help Nathan reach his goal of raising $1000 to dig three wells?

Would you please pray about giving $1, or $5 or $20 and help Nathan raise enough money to build three wells?

He just needs 80 people to give $10 and three wells will serve 3 villages, and hundreds of people will be able to stay alive and healthy.

You will be inspired to hear some of the stories, HERE. 

AND YOU CAN DONATE

HERE.

Thanks so very much for considering being a partner with Nathan. I am so blessed to see where the passion of my children's hearts leads them.

May you be blessed today.

Thanks so very much! God bless you. (Nathan)

Love, love the rhythm of Saturday mornings

Wonderful Joel, agreeing to take a walk with me downtown where every thing is in blossom.

This morning, I awakened early and sat with Clay over a cup of tea and catching up in my new blue robe he got for me. (I love robes that don't have any stains or scars from cooking on them yet, don't you?"

Then off with Sarah to our downtown French cafe where we have met on Saturdays for about 8 years. Oh, how my soul is filled whenever we are together, as we have a similar personality and similar ideals and dreams and so we talk and talk and talk.

This morning we had quiche and wholewheat walnut rolls with strawberry jam. Yumm!

We love local joints and local people. So we loved seeing Jeremy, our friend who works at the cafe and had a "Welcome home! How was you trip?"

That's the thing about local places--you can get to know people.

Then off to our walk amongst the old houses, where the trees on the street meet in the middle to make a gallery of green to walk under.

Finally, a stop at a store and a spiced chai tea from Agia Sophia to take home as we sipped in the car.

Now, home to read in quiet, a luxury in my home.

A text message to Joy, who is in Dallas at a speech tournament with friends, to remind her to eat to keep her blood sugar up.

I got a text back from her friend that said, "Mrs. Clarkson, this is Tess. I am force feeding Joy. She will be rosy and round when she gets home."

Off to visit a friend for a cup of tea this afternoon, and then Sarah and I and 3 other very close friends are off for a rare, "Girl's night" in Denver, where one of my friends is hosting a candle-light tea and giving a lecture on art pieces in London and Europe.

How nice to be home and what fun to have a day just hanging around with my sweet family and friends.

Oh, my! I just noticed how often I mentioned tea and eating--a pleasure to make life more delightful, no?

Have a lovely weekend--and btw, what are you doing?

Calling our Children to Bring God's light and truth to the World

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," Matthew 28:19

Children are not to be the center of our lives, only Jesus is big enough to take that place. But passing on a vision for taking Jesus to their world in their generation is why we serve Him, by teaching, encouraging and instructing our children,

so that they will become those disciples of Christ's who bring His messages to bear in their own world. Motherhood is missional--a sending out into the world training venture.

And so, I delight to see the messages taking root in those very precious disciples that he entrusted into my hands into my home. I give you my precious Sarah.

Find Sarah on a full page in World Magazine this week. Pray for God to use her. Read her heart Here. at Thoroughlyalive.com

Sarah has loved working with Summit Ministries as a mentor. It is a requirement for all of my children to attend this wonderful world view training before they leave home. You will definitely want to check out there website and organization. Go here to see the student conferences.

*used blog 4/22/2021 Cherishing Motherhood: Love that lasts a whole lifetime

Cultivating a culture of Family Love

Sarah and Joy, a reunion at the airport--they belong to each other and give each other strength

Each of us has a deep longing to be loved, to have our lives validated, to know that we matter and have a purpose--a place to belong. It is a longing in our hearts because God put it there. Family is supposed to give roots, strength, security, stability and direction.

God also gave mothers the ability to build a strong  home culture,, so that these deep needs would be met.

Building an environment of love, grace, belonging, so that each child who is welcomed into her home, will provide a well spring in their hearts that says, "I have a history. I am a Clarkson (or Smith, or Martinez, or Krasaski), and we love each other, we belong to each other, we will always have stability because we are a part of this family and circle of love, spiritual strength and grace."

Shaping a Family culture like this takes time and intention and does not just happen by chance.

A child who is given a place to build roots, foundations of moral strength, affection and unconditional love and forgiveness, a safe haven in which to grow, will carry stability in their souls their whole lives and will find strength to face the trials of life and the challenges.

However, a child can be given all the experiences or things the world has to offer, but if his soul is starving or empty or filled with the anger of rejection or even passivity, which communicates worthlessness to him, will have difficulty filling this cavernous hole the rest of his life, and will look for love and validation in all the wrong places. 

A mother's love and legacy is one of the most powerful influences in the world and will indeed determine the strength and history of a culture. But to provide such a work in the lives of children, requires a choice. The choice is to serve, give, train, instruct, provide, encourage and this choice will have eternal consequences because the souls of the children raised in such a home will be strong, beautiful, spiritual, healthy and formed. Choices have consequences.

God’s Word, you see, gives us a map or plan for the family so that we might better understand what He had in mind for us. Few things will last after we die, but our children and their children will live throughout eternity. What we do as mothers, therefore, has eternal significance, so it’s especially important to understand God’s original intentions in this regard. Exploring His design for families and for motherhood can not only help us understand what has gone wrong, but also how, with God’s help, we can move closer to the joyful, fulfilling, and vitally important role He intended for us from the very beginning. Mission of Motherhood (Order Here or  Here )

Read Chapter 2 for more encoruagement and join our study online of this great calling and of the Book, The Mission of Motherhood

Join me today for our continued book study of the Mission of Motherhood, at momheart.org

Today, I am praying that the Holy Spirit will indeed use this book and this study to help each of you precious moms understand the far-reaching implications of your life, that God would entrust the soul and well being of a child into your hands, so that you might be a part of His kingdom work to shape the next generation, through your own family, to have a legacy of faith, holiness and life in Him. Remember, I am praying for you today! You are not alone. And you are dearly beloved by God.

Go HERE for more.

A Retreat From Life

Durnstein, Austria

After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; Matthew 14:23

My life is so very blessed and I am indeed grateful for the ways God has worked over the years. And yet, my messages of life and my books and my strength has not come out of a vacuum, but out of a rich and cultivated home life; a rhythmic spiritual life through a day by day discipline; centering myself over and over again so that I may hold fast to ideals and put away those things that distract from the center.

My message of influencing my children is born out of in intimate acquaintance with the discipleship relationship with Jesus, which requires focus, immeasurable time and a rich spiritual life. Such a life must continually be cultivated and treasured, it does not come by happenstance. It is the integrity of the life lived behind closed doors, the days that no one else sees, where integrity is crafted and grows strong. 

Yet, my life has been surrounded in the last few years by crowds and multitudes. Our ministry is such a blessing. How privileged I am to be able to be used, even in a small way, by Jesus, to encourage moms to embrace their divine role as mothers. Having met thousands of precious women, in person and through writing, I have continued to develop a heart to support and encourage them, to help them uphold their ideals, to point them to God. It is a passion from Him.

And yet, if I do not continue to protect the very place from which my messages come, my secret place, my home, my family, my abiding time investing in His wisdom and perspective, then I will spend myself in vanity and will empty myself from Him and just give of my own flesh--but not please Him, who truly is my treasure.

And so, the past two weeks, I have been sequestered away, in Austria, with my own wise counselor, Sarah--my first child.

Sarah, having just finished a semester at Oxford, (with the highest of honors, my mama heart soars with her great news), said, "Mom, let's meet in Austria, and we will rest and pray and talk and drink coffee and seek the Lord together."

I am indeed blessed to have children who now inform my life and who help me reason Biblically and make intentional plans for my life, as it has been the warp and woof of their own upbringing.

And so, wonderful Clay, sent me away, knowing how I long for peace, quiet and time for reflection, and generously held the fort down with delightful adventures with Joel and Joy. I am very blessed to have a husband who is so very generous to me. I adore spending time with my sweet children, we had free airline and hotel points, and I was one tired and spend mama.

So, two very precious weeks were invested in walking the familiar streets of Vienna, where I cut my spiritual teeth so many years ago as a young missionary. Even just the moving amongst familiar places, as we walked miles and miles, (also my therapy!), I caught again, the spirit of my mission heart that had beat so strongly over 30 years ago, when I entered this missional life. God began to meet me there and He began to unfold to me some of the ways He wants me to seek in the days and years ahead.

He is pretty true and simple in His direction of life,

Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness,

And so, I am rearranging some of my priorities and commitments so that I may continue to invest in what He has for me to do.

Sometimes the pulling away from multitudes is what is necessary in order to hear His voice, But then, I want to end well, having sought the praise of Him, my cherished and beloved Friend, who has led me so faithfully over the years, and not be swayed by culture, as I have less time left on this earth to please Him than I used to have.

So, please pray with me, that my commitments will be the right ones, that my home will continue to be a place of grace, truth, wisdom, life and peace, and that I will have the faith to follow hard after Him.

Be blessed in His will today, as that is where His peace will follow your soul.

And my prayer for all of you, is that you, too, will seek to hear His voice and follow hard after His pathway for you.

Waiting through the seasons with Grace, Faith and a Thankful Heart

James Tissot Quiet

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7

Patience is not a natural virtue of mine, and yet, it seems the one God most ardently wants to build into my life, because He provides me so much practice.

When I was single, I could hardly wait to get married. Then I waited to get pregnant. Then I couldn’t wait until my children slept through the night. Then, I couldn’t wait until they were all out of diapers. Waiting for them all to be beyond naps. Waiting for them all to read. Waiting for them to learn how to do chores, to pick up clothes, to develop manners, to quit fighting.

Waiting for the teens to calm down emotionally, and waiting for decisions about life, college, marriage, money, and it goes on and on. Just fill in the blank of what you have waited for in your own life.

Somewhere amidst all of this impatient waiting, I realized that I could miss life if I just waited for a season to pass, waited for something to change,

waited for my children  to be different, or to have more time for our marriage,  or  for a financial situation to change. Letting my happiness, my contentment rest on some future moment.....

God, however,  seems to be more concerned with the process,...,

Read the rest of this article today on thebettermom.com, a wonderful site for all moms.

What is the hardest area for you to wait in?

Seeds of Righteousness

 

I have had a history of people very close to me who live in anger and criticism. This sowing of strife has left a string of broken relationships, deep hurt, and alienation. I used to think that if I just tried hard enough or did enough, eventually I would receive the acceptance I was looking for.

It took many years to realize that their anger and criticism had nothing to do with me and no matter how hard I tried, I would never be acceptable to them, because the problem was in their own dark and hurting hearts. But in order to have in my heart a harvest of peace, and not bitterness or anger; a harvest of love and not hate and retaliation, I had to seek to plant seeds of God’s righteousness, in order that my heart would truly bear a harvest of His making. This required that I pondered what it meant to be like God, to understand through His word that love covers a multitude of sin; to learn that Jesus Himself, when He was being crucified, “while being reviled, did not revile in return, but kept trusting Himself to God who judges righteously.” (I Peter 2:23) He became my model–that I would choose not to revile those who were angry or negative, but that I, like Jesus, would keep trusting myself to God—to place my issues in His file cabinets and to let Him deal with my difficulties, and then to close the drawer once these issues were safe in His hands.

After literally thousands of hours in his presence over the years, I have been influenced by being in the company of Someone so compassionate, loving and strong. I have made peace with Him and appreciate Him. In doing so, I learned that I could give that peace more easily to others, because I didn’t have as many expectations of them and I wasn’t as dependent on how they responded to me, in order to feel good about myself.

James also spoke to this matter of getting along with others.

 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, (getting our own way), there is disorder and every evil thing! But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13-18)

It starts with a choice–to allow the Holy Spirit to be Lord of our lives, even in the midst of strife; to decide ahead of time to imagine what it looks like to bring peace and redemption to each moment of life; to choose to sow righteousness into our relationships, because He chose to sow righteousness and peace into our lives, even at great cost to Himself. I believe that if thousands of His followers chose to sow this way each day, on all of the fields of life, there would be such a great crop of righteousness and the visible beauty of His life, that many hearts would be open to Him and to His ways, because of the overwhelming crop of righteousness present before their eyes. But it all begins with a choice in my heart and a plan to sow today, this day, in these fields where I find myself.

In what relationships do you need to sow seeds of righteousness today?

Sowing Seeds of Peace

Slouched down in my leather seat in a crowded railway car, I was being gently rocked to sleep by the rhythmic swaying back and forth of the old train clattering across the Polish countryside. Returning from a student conference in the mountains where I had been teaching and counseling with college students all weekend had left me a bit weary, lonely and depleted. Suddenly, the train took a small bend and the view changed drastically.

Thousands upon thousands of bright red poppies, gently swaying in the wind, spread over miles of the countryside. I was mesmerized by the beauty and began to imagine the invisible hand of God intentionally spreading seed generously over the many fields, so that in a country where there had been so much division, war and darkness for so many generations, there would still be a picture of His beauty, creation and life to comfort those who would see it...

Please join me at MomHeart Online today to read the rest of this article, Sowing Good Seed.

Dancing With My Father

 

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; Thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness That my soul may sing praise to Thee and not be silent. Oh Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee forever. Psalm 30:10-11

My sweet father passed away 14 years ago. He was a figure bigger than life to me when I was a little girl. I didn’t get a lot of personal, one-on-one time with him. But there are a few, sweet memories that live in my soul as exaggerated in size because of the rarity that made them so precious.

One sparkling summer evening, I was allowed to attend an adult party with my parents. I remember dressing up in a sky-blue dress adorned with delicate eyelet lace and belted with a satin sash. My black patent-leather shoes were just made for tapping my toes or dancing on the floor.

Suddenly, my handsome, smiling father swept over to the place where I was standing and easily picked me up in his arms. “May I have a dance with the princess of the ball?” He held me tight in His strong arms and easily swung my 4’8” frame round and round the dance floor. The bubbling excitement and pride that I felt at that giddy moment, being in the arms of my hero, who always appeared bigger than life, left me almost breathless. Finally, the music came to an abrupt stop. Gently, my father glided back to our dinner table in his long strides and set me lightly upon my chair.

“Thank you for the pleasure of your company, sweet princess,” he affectionately said, as he turned to find my mother.

This lovely memory is a picture to me of one of the ways I have come to view my own relationship with God—dancing through life, with deep joy and gratefulness filling the core of my being, as I am held and cherished in the arms of such a great, admired and worthy partner. The older I get, the more I have come to cherish with great delight the joy and beauty my Creator has generously bestowed on me—not because of anything I have done to deserve it—but because His very character is life and love and giving and celebrating and redeeming and creating.

I believe Satan would love for me—for all of us-- to focus on that which has been tainted with the stain of selfishness and destruction of sin. He would love for me to be ravaged in my soul with the fears that a post-modern world, filled with violence and a loathing for all that is pure and lovely, brings. Yet, he seeks to deceive me in more subtle ways, too. I am surrounded by those who live in the chains of legalism: a rule for every move in life, an air of condemnation, suspicion for those who celebrate the authentic joy of life. They, instead, live lives of worry, fear and condemnation. These have lost the vision of their Warrior King who has lain down His own life that they may have unending joy. Satan has deceived them into doubting and ignoring the light that is surrounding them. These, Satan would use to drag me down with them to the place of bitterness and harshness and oppression of soul, oppressed by my own inadequacies.

In order to continue to live beyond the oppressive blackness of the night, I must live with the ears of my soul straining to hear the music of the One who is creating, restoring and bringing life to a glorious crescendo that will envelop and swallow up all darkness. I must look with the eyes of my heart for the beauty and color and design that every day shouts to me; of the Creator behind the luminous colors, powerful sounds, lovely words and thoughts that speak to me of His reality. I want to go down dancing— to finish my life, choosing every minute until its close, to celebrate the reality of His life, living in the freedom of His gracious love, looking for the time when we will celebrate, in the final banquet, the victory He has so long ago preordained.

Praise the Lord! Sing a new song, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. Let Israel be glad in His Maker; Let the sons of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing; Let them sing praises to Him with timbrel and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. Let the godly ones exult in glory; Let them sing with joy on their bed. This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the Lord. Hallelujah! Psalm149 

What does it mean to you, to go down dancing?

Today at MomHeart Online, it's Book Club day! We're having a video I made for Chapter One of The Mission of Motherhood. Please join us and leave your thoughts in the comments!