Of all women, I Am Most Blessed! & a podcast with Joy

Twenty-one years of Mom Heart Conferences was a highlight of our ministry through the years. 

Twenty-two years ago, Clay and I were together pondering our lives and the choices we had made along the way in our marriage. Having spent 3 years together in missions in Europe, and five years in church ministry, three in seminary, we were beginning to feel as though God wanted us to step out in faith to start our own ministry.

As we looked at the landscape of culture, we saw marriages falling apart, young adults leaving church and the faith they had been taught by the droves and the morality of adults becoming corrupted more each year. 

(If God puts us on your heart to support the work of Whole Heart, you can Donate HERE.)

Whole Heart Ministries Begins!

By faith, we left our church job, moved to a small country town in the middle of Texas and started "Whole Heart Ministries." As we look back on the story of our lives, we are deeply grateful and blessed to have been a part of what God wanted us to do in our lifetime in this world. 

And we are so very grateful for you! I am, like Mary, most blessed to have been able to walk this road and to have met and been encouraged by so many of you.

Thank You!

Every week, we receive letters, emails and messages from so many of you whose lives have been touched or changed in some way by our ministry. We are so very blessed by you and all the people who have engaged in this ministry with us and who have told us they have been changed and inspired through out messages. 

As we ponder the countless thousands who have engaged in our ministry through the years, through conferences, through the publishing and launching of 20 books and Bible study guides, the development of an online ministry, our blogs, podcasts, small group and international ministries, the Bible studies and conferences that are taking place all over the world, we are humbled by what God has done. 

But we could never have done it all without all of you who have responded, helped, worked side by side with us and supported our projects and ministry along the way. We thank you with all of our heart! Every year, about this time, we look back to remember just what God has done. 

As I mentioned above, 21 years of Mom Heart conferences all over the United States was one of the privileges of our lives. We loved meeting with so many sweet women who became dear friends and kindred spirits over the years.

Books and messages have been at the heart of our ministry. We desire to help parents understand the biblical design of family, parenting and building a godly legacy. So far we have written 21 books and have 6 more coming out in the next couple of years! Stay tuned. (INCLUDING A NEW BOOK THAT CLAY MAINLY WROTE THAT WILL BE ONE YOU CAN SHARE WITH YOUR HUSBANDS--THE BOOK MANY HAVE ASKED US TO WRITE FOR MANY YEARS.)

Releasing the First part of May!

Because of my own background in discipleship, I have always wanted to build women into leaders so that they could create small groups that would support other women in their walks with God. We now have 2587 women in our greater Mom Heart Groups leadership and 341 in The UK, Ireland and Europe, as well as other groups all over the world who are studying our books in small groups. Go here to learn about them! 

I started a blog 11 years ago and have literally thousands of articles to inspire women as I learned from my own walk with God. 

I have loved, loved hosting a podcast in the last 18 months and am so grateful to be able to use this medium to reach women all over the world with the messages God continues to put on our hearts. So far we have had about 1,700,000 downloads, now reaching between 130,000 and 145,000 downloads a month. You can go here to find my podcasts. Or on Itunes or spotify at At Home with Sally and friends.

Because we love the idea of providing support, instruction in leadership, inspiration for growing in Christ and a place where like-minded women can find fellowship and spiritual training, my wonderful friends and leaders have developed a monthly membership course that also has a Bible study on Hebrews, A story about a famous composer and the impact of his life and music, recipes, traditions, videos or podcasts and more. Hundreds of women have subscribed and we are hoping to build more community here with a forum and more live evening events just for our members to encourage them. The amazing women designing this course have all sorts of plans for inspiration on this site for 2018. Find more information about how to subscribe HERE

Our conferences have now expanded to international arenas, including our first one in London, with three more planned for this year (London, mid-England and Edinburgh. Our wonderful Australian friends have hosted conferences for the last 5 years.

Storyformed is a new initiative that two of my friends lead to help families know about the best books to inspire their children to develop a storyformed life.

Our own four children Joy, Joel, Sarah and Nathan have worked along side us through all these years to help us in all the tasks of our ministries and are all now involved in their own lives of spreading kingdom messages.

Clay and I have partnered together through 22 years of ministry, praying together about how we can reach more families with God's biblical message of building godly generations in our homes. 

We have only been able to pursue this ministry through the years because of God's amazing faithfulness and because of so many friends, like you, who have supported Whole Heart Ministries financially, through working side by side with us and through your prayers. 

We hope many of you feel you have been helped and inspired by Whole Heart Ministries.

We would consider it such a blessing if you would consider supporting us financially as we dream in the years ahead of how we might reach more people with our messages. 

Thanks so much for all of your encouragement, your letters and love through all the years. We appreciate you!

DONATE HERE!

If God puts it on your heart to donate to our ministry, go here to do so. Thanks so much for your consideration. 

Clay and Sally and Sarah, Joel, Nathan and Joy

We would love to hear from some of you about ways God has used Whole Heart in your lives so that we can be even more effective as we plan the years ahead. 

We pray God's gracious blessings for you this season as we celebrate His advent.

(For more, read about where we have been in 2017 and where we are hoping to go in 2018.)

Enjoy Joy's and my podcast today.

The Gift My Children Want the Most & a new Podcast!

Guess who's home? One happy mama!

The past week, I have had my head down and working like a crazy girl to put cookies in the freezer, to go grocery shopping, to put the last touches on decorations with a deadline in mind! My Joy is the first to come home and I don't want to have anything to do that will compete with our time to just be together, fall apart, giggle, eat and enjoy the precious time that we will have together.

I am frantically preparing food for 7-10 of us for 10 days so I won't have to cook much while they are here. There are stockings and little stuff to buy--their favorite are the stockings! The Shepherd's meal for Christmas Eve, must be shopped for and cooked. The snowball cookies, oatmeal scotties, Hello Dollies and sugar cookies in all shapes with thick frosting--all will be expected. The hot drinks. The homemade meals.

So, in busyness I prepare.

But, really, there is one favorite gift that I can't buy, but will cost me a lot--that all of the kids want more than anything, but no one remembers to ask for.

 So, I concentrate at times, on the peripheral--those outward expressions of my life art, knowing that my best gift to them is mostly what is longed for and needed.

 What they really want.......the very favorite gift of all, is me--

ALL OF ME!

It is the one thing I forget to place into my schedule yet requires the most concentrated time.  I have undervalued this gift in terms of gift-giving.

It takes more time than all the shopping, baking, cooking, washing dishes, decorating, wrapping.

As my children all invade my life, and come home for family time, it is the same thing they want since they were littles--me!

It is mama they long for, and no one else will fit the bill, because we are the bestest and closest of friends--and no one else will fill the mama-shaped vacuum.

They want me to listen. They want me to be their friend. They want me to sit, talk, watch a movie with them, focus on their needs, laugh at their stories, cry or sympathize with their pain.

My children come home for me and all the love they cannot receive from someone else.

They want my counsel and prayer and all that they have learned to look for in my heart. It is the most important investment I ever made--to give them my heart.

They want my approval. They want me to laugh at their jokes, marvel at their stories, show sympathy to the injustices or failures in their lives. They want a real person who will invest and refuel their emotional tank.

No substitute gift can take the place of me. Personal friendship and close companionship is a far greater desire and heart need than anything else I could ever provide. And all it costs me is my time, my focussed attention, my heart, my love.

No bills will come forward because what they want, I must give now, at the moment. And, now, I am so very glad it is me they want!  But evaluating this into time in my schedule and even more important, into my heart's willingness to give, is a choice I make, a priority I plan for.

This giving of self means, though I will not get everything else done, but I have to stop the doing to give the caring. I will never finish my lists--but I must decide ahead of time. I must put aside my unfinished ideals of what I thought I would get accomplished and understand that a happy mama is what they long for.

And so when they want me, I have planned that they will find my giving of myself generous in all the ways they longed for and truly wanted. Time is short and now is the moment to give my focussed love.

All children who have ever been loved and cherished by their mothers long for time with their very own mama! To be home is to be with mama (and of course Dad, too.)

But it is true of all the seasons I have been a mom--my children have always wanted me--not just my service that cares for their needs, but my heart that gives them my unconditional love.

As wives and mothers, we give gifts of our true selves to our families each day--or at least we should. When the milk is spilled, do we give the gift of acceptance and patience? When our husband comes home tired after an extremely long day, do we give the gift of listening and looking into his eyes,  so he knows we truly care? Do we give our children the gift of a quick hug as they walk by? Or a butterfly kiss? Or a back-rub? Sometimes these are the same gifts we would like to receive! Just to know somehow our lives matter. And then there are the hours and hours of sitting on a wee one's bed to listen, to enjoy--not to wish away. Or the long talks at midnight with the older ones (why does this not happen at 7:00 in the evening?) or the little pitter-patter of feet when the sun is hardly up, of a child looking for his favorite--the mama! 

Even as the gift Jesus gave us was Himself, His time, attention, love, teaching, encouragement, and it cost Him Himself, so it is the best gift we have to offer.

So, when they look for me, they must need to find the Christ in me. The one who loved, washed feet, fed thousands, gave his time and love and words of affirmation and then gave the ultimate--his life for ours. This is what they want and need this Christmas. It is something we can all afford to give and the gift without which none of the others will have meaning.

Looking for a great gift to give to your friend, your family, a loved one? Don't forget how wonderful it is to inspire and transform lives through words that inspire. Get your copy of the Lifegiving books here!

The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming

By Sally Clarkson, Sarah Clarkson

The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith through Feasting, One Meal at a Time

By Sally Clarkson

Mamas, Carrying the Weight of Christmas

Oh how I wish you could know Misty. She lives in Nashville, after about the ten thousandth move she has made and has decided by an act of her will, to create life and beauty for all who Christ brings into her life. She is my personal assistant, my friend, my encourager. With 8 children and two grandchildren, Misty is one of the most giving, loving, committed and excellent people I know. Not because it is easy for her or because she has had an easy life. But because she has committed deep inside her soul where no one sees, to be excellent, to walk by faith, until she sees her Jesus face to face. Her life inspires me to keep going, to keep giving, to keep loving, because she does all of these things. I love her so much and I know you will love this article, that comes to you after many years of her carrying Christmas for all who know her. ~Sally

 I’ve always loved Christmas.  Loved the lights on the tree, the beautiful songs, the candlelight, gifts, snow and cookies and surprises and glitter and just … everything.  Nearly every year we made the trek over the river and through the woods (well, I think there might have been a river, anyway) to my grandmothers’ houses, heading first to Christmas Eve service where I always cried my way through Silent Night, waxy white candle clutched tightly in my hand as I anxiously watched the flame being passed slowly from candle to candle. I wondered every year at both the glory of holding my own burning flame and the sheer beauty of the story of Jesus’ coming, each telling sinking deep into my childish heart.  We’d trek the few blocks home then, boots nearly always crunching through midwest snow, me walking slowly so the flame lasted as long as it possibly could.

The next day at my other grandparents’ house, snowy footprints across the carpet announced Santa’s surreptitious visit, and presents piled under the tree were gleefully unwrapped much too quickly, I’m sure.  It did take the whole day to work our way through playtime with each gift, and then we’d sit down to a table glittering with china and snowy napkins and piles of food.All in all, it was a wonder; just how Christmas should be.

Christmas used to be something that happened to me.

Then came my own children, stockings lining up every year like we lived in Who-ville or something.  And Christmas?  Well, it was different: something I needed to make happen … or happen, it would not.

The beautiful lady on the donkey, heavy with Child? Probably should have been a tip-off.

The pretty tree?  Yummy food?  Candles burning bright?  Hand-crafted decorations?  They didn’t just appear out of nowhere, some Christmas miracle.  No, if Christmas was to come, it would come because I worked to make it come.

The truth is, if the wonder and beauty are to come to our homes, we mamas must carry the weight of Christmas.

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”

Luke 1:26-38

My husband doesn’t spend November-December in a dither over how to get gifts to the cousins in Texas.  He doesn’t labor over whether we should decorate in red or gold, or if the tree ornaments have to match or can be hodge-podge, or try to figure out which stationery to use for the Christmas cards.  Most likely, your husband doesn’t, either.  No, these are things we, the mamas, will ponder this season, an unseen army bringing Christmas again, these multiplied centuries after Mary first carried her precious Burden over the rough roads to Bethlehem.

The cinnamon rolls, the delightful tree, the Advent stories read and loved, the very memories your children carry into their own adulthood? You.

You are the bearer of your family’s Christmas, sweet mama. And you’re in good company.

So rejoice!  You’re not alone, you’re not the first, and you won’t be the last.  Embrace the gift of being the bringer of Christmas in your own precious home. Perhaps a change in perspective would help? When we embrace this season as a glorious weight, rejecting it as an oppressive burden, we can lay down the heaviness of it and pick up the glory. 

Your children won’t remember how perfectly decorated your tree was, and they won’t recall which stationery you finally picked out.  They will remember the wonder, the joy, the beauty of it all.  And when the weight falls heavy, remember the point–Jesus has come!  This is a celebration for you to share and enjoy, a season of remembering all He has done.  If you’ve picked up the burden of comparing your Christmas to someone else’s, if you’re worrying over your child’s long list of wants and your short list of wrapped gifts, if the cinnamon rolls came from the bakery instead of the oven … let it go!

Glory in the beauty and enjoy every moment as the gift it is.  And if I see you in the store, balancing cranky babies and a twenty-pound turkey, I’ll smile and you’ll see it in my eyes:  Carry on, fellow Christmas-bearer!

In what ways do you find the weight of Christmas heavy?  How can you lay the burden of it all down this year?

Misty and her clan! Still busy carrying Christmas and Christ to her sweet ones.

Christmas Mirth & a Giveaway & New Podcast

A joyful heart is good medicine,

but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:22

Sometimes I think I still have a little girl heart. I was carrying a burden and a question in my heart and really longed for God's wisdom on how to proceed. I stepped into my car, put on my Christmas music as I traveled the freeway and prayed honestly to God. As I was engaged in the reverie of my own atmosphere, I began to feel as though I was His beloved little girl, that He wanted to Father me and that I could trust Him to work out my issues. By the time I ended my 25 minute drive, my mind was flowing with all sorts of creative ideas, I was singing in my heart, not just in my car and I felt so delighted of heart, I was a little bit giddy. 

I do not want to trivialize spiritual maturity or the deep issues of our lives as we look at the landscape of our world. Yet, I have learned that I am not to carry the fears and issues of the world, I am to leave them in His hands and seek to be as faithful as I can in the story He has allotted me. 

I have been slowly learning over the years that worry and living by fear is a constant drain and brings a cloud over my head and fog in my heart.

As we observe our little children, we see that they do not question our ability to take care of them. They play and pretend and observe life honestly and have a deep sense of security in our love because they learn to expect that we will care for them and meet their needs. It is right and good for our children to come to us expecting comfort, love, affection, wisdom, affirmation and joy. And so it is right for us to come to our perfect heavenly Father expecting the same. 

Often like the psalmists, we question:

Does God see me? Does He know of my circumstances? Does He care? Am I alone? Maybe I need to do something about this circumstance or issue--it's probably all up to me to figure it out. (More on that later this week on a podcast and blog post.)

But, I believe that when I am able, God wants me to strain to see the beauty, to store up joy, to enjoy the innocence that comes from knowing I am not responsible for things too difficult for me to figure out. 

Psalm 131 is one of my favorite psalms. It is David, a grown man, who found himself in constant conflict, battles, irrational people and a challenge to his life. Ponder this:

                                                          My heart is not proud, Lord,

my eyes are not haughty;

I do not concern myself with great matters

or things too wonderful for me.

 But I have calmed and quieted myself,

I am like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child I am content.

Do you involve yourself in matters too difficult for you? Are you learning to calm yourself? I wonder what our Christian world would be like if believers really trusted God to work in the details of life, if they really trusted that He was good, If they lived by faith instead of by works?

God still wants to show His response to prayer, His care for the details of our life and Christmas is a perfect time to please His heart by choosing to trust into His hands the issues of our lives. 

On Thursday night of my Lifegiving Christmas Tea, the audio and video started having issues. Some sweet person commented, "Even when things go awry, Sally just seems the same--unaffected." How very generous of her to say that. 

Yet, I have learned that if I have been faithful, diligent and life still explodes or acts up in ways unexpected, it is not something I can change by being anxious. I don't worry as much, I just let life happen because I have learned that there will always be potholes. 

In today's podcast, you will hear about:

*My time with a dear friend, Terri Moon, and reminiscing about our lives with our children who have grown up together. 

*Favorite music and why we study composers and their character qualities in our membership, "Cultivating Life with Sally. And how music is healing

*Favorite recipes and traditions we both celebrate (She is an amazing cook!)

*How worry has never ever changed any of our circumstances

*How both of us restore and refresh and celebrate Christmas to bring Joy

*Why joy is a healer and why a joyful heart is good medicine.

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We think that Christmas is a great time to share books as gifts because they also bring healing and inspiration to those we love. So, we are giving away 3 books to our readers for Christmas.

Women who are just married, or having their first little one or in need of vision would be inspired to read The Lifegiving Home or The Lifegiving Table. 

The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming

By Sally Clarkson, Sarah Clarkson

Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him

By Sally Clarkson, Nathan Clarkson

The Lifegiving Table: Nurturing Faith through Feasting, One Meal at a Time

By Sally Clarkson

Do you know of a sweet friend who is struggling with a Different, out of the box child? Maybe they would be encouraged to know they are not alone. So we are giving away a Different book, too.

If you have been encouraged by our ministry, our books, our conferences, my podcasts over the years, would you please share about them with your friends so that we can continue to help families build a godly legacy? Tell us how you have shared our blog or books or podcasts somewhere and leave it in the comments below and you will be entered into our giveaway. 

We appreciate our community of like-minded friends so very much. May God bless you with His grace today.

A Wonderful Gift This Christmas: A Joyful Heart

Every year we come to the busy season of Christmas. We all feel the pressure to give the "perfect" gifts to our beloved ones, friends and family, becoming stressed and pushed and feeling a need to live up to expectations surrounding me in this materialistic culture. But long after each year's gifts have been forgotten, if we give to our loved ones a joyful heart, we will have given them a gift that will be with them their whole lives. They will come to us again and again for the "Life" they need to feel, hear and be comforted by during every season.

First, we must have a heart that says, "I receive you into my life as a gift from God."

Then, a joyful heart seeks to encourage every day--to intentionally give words of life and encouragement to those who so need to hear love.

Words like:

“I appreciate you. You are a gift of God's love to me; you are faithful, funny, fun, creative” (or whatever is the key need of the person God has strategically placed in your life!)

"I believe in you and know God is going to use you in a special way."

"I have made so many mistakes in my life, but God has forgiven me and given me grace. He has already forgiven you and wants you to know His love."

A joyful heart is one that plans surprises--lighting candles, putting on beautiful Christmas music, serving a cup of tea, hot chocolate or coffee even in the midst of a busy day, maybe even with a little treat--and says, "Let's make a memory together right now--you are special to me."

It might lead you to bring a single rose to a friend or leave a love note on a pillow or in an email to a weary husband; a struggling friend; someone you appreciate; or a far off child.

Perhaps your joyful heart might cause you to take time to play a game, giggle at stories, lie in bed with a toddler or teen late at night even when we are tempted to be weary and just want to go to sleep. We must still make a habit of stretching ourselves, to extend ourselves as purveyors of His joy and grace as He shows up and gives us strength.

A joyful heart says, “Where can I leave a spirit of Christ's fragrance today? Where can I dance the dance of life in the midst of darkness?”

May we cultivate joyful hearts this Christmas!

Speaking of Imagination

BY CLAY CLARKSON

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. Henry David Thoreau

There is a language of imagination. Let’s call it imaginationish.

It’s not actually a language, but more of a universal dialect. It is using words to describe things that the eye does not see, the ear does not hear, the senses do not sense.

We always knew when our children were speaking imaginationish. They would hear a symphony and begin to describe a forest teeming with life and mystery. They would look at a painting and walk into its colors and lines as they narrated a story of their journey. They would watch a movie and begin to think out loud about the deeper spiritual meanings of scenes and symbols.

We never sat down and created a plan to make our children imaginative and creative. We did, though, deliberately create an atmosphere in our home that was rich in spoken and printed words—reading lots of books, discussing lots of topics, experiencing many forms of art and creativity. It was the air they breathed in our home—they inhaled it to fill their curious lungs, it oxygenated the verbal blood that fed their creative brains, and they exhaled it as the language of imagination. Call it immersion learning, I guess.

If there is such a thing as imaginationish, it isn’t learned from a workbook. It is grown and cultivated at home in a print-rich environment and verbally-enriched atmosphere, and it is fed with abundant and nutritious words. God—who is the Word, and created us to be people of his Word and of words—has given parents the privilege to create that creative ecosystem. It all starts with words.

Click HERE to read more on storyformed.com.

Planning for Endurance & Enjoyment this December! & A Giveaway!

I love Christmas and I have been thinking of you precious ones, serving so many, giving yourself away, in the midst of so much. I want you to take care of yourself and breathe in some fun--but you have to plan it, for sure.

Every year, as the busy month of December is upon us, I like to share some encouragement specific to this season and the craziness it sometimes brings! So sit down with a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate, and read this letter to you, from me-that I actually wrote to a sweet friend. Pretend it is from me to you! 

Dear Mom,

You wrote asking for a bit of help.  I, too, have felt a need for help so very often, and so I offer you my best advice on how to make it through December with some enjoyment!

First of all, chill out. Take a little time for yourself and endeavor to gain some perspective. I hope something I say here may help. I have had to learn that no one else in the world will be responsible for my over-all well being. I have a husband and children who need me, and they are going to want to continue eating every day and want to wear relatively clean clothes, with the expectation that I will be the one to keep this going.

As we all know, if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. So, I have to tend to my own happiness and well being, and you need to tend to yours, even in the midst of our practical busy-ness for others.

I am responsible for my rest, my quiet time, my eating and exercise, filling my cup, so that it will not be empty when others want and need to keep taking and taking from me.  I am also the manager of my "chill time." Laughing and lightening up really brings health to the bones. ("A joyful heart is good medicine" has been proved by medical research1) It is God's will for me to survive with grace.

There are tasks calling my name around the house, but I have become the queen of turning my head away, doing my best to stick to my most important priorities. I have found that there will be just as many things screaming for my attention tomorrow ... and tomorrow ... and tomorrow.

But today, I know that my body and mind need a little rest and my emotions are a bit frayed, and I will become grumpy if I don't create a little break. No one else is going to tell me when I have reached my limit. But if I do not monitor myself, my children and husband and I will come to regret it when I blow!  I am steward of my limitations and body. If I don't protect my  walk with the Lord, that too will get eaten up in everyone else's agenda.

Though still learning, I am always simplifying and evaluating if something is worth the effort.  Making things beautiful and special during the holidays IS worth the effort as it builds the taste and values and work ethic and ministry skills of my children, but I have to make adjustments in different life seasons, and not go overboard.

Not everything "we have always done," actually has to be done this year. Fast food with candles lit is just fine. Then again, it may not be worth it to answer one more phone call or one more email--as this will certainly steal from my children and husband who need me today. Perhaps making dinner at home tonight will be the priority I will choose.

Each of us has a different puzzle and different personality, and we must accept our limitations within our own story and be comfortable being ourselves. There is great freedom in deciding to enjoy who I am, as I am not going to essentially change any time soon! I see so many moms seeking to live up to other's expectations and ideals and then burning out in the process. I have high work times, followed by times when I just can't get anything done--and somehow the world does not crash even when I take time to just live and enjoy, and avoid the "I have to do everything or I will be a failure" syndrome.

This is why I take time to have my cup of tea every day--a way of saying, "I will take time for a moment of pleasure and peace, because it centers me, and I have decided I will last a lot longer in this very long distant race, if I build anchors of serendipity into my schedule."

If you and I don't make peace with our own life circumstances, then we are in danger of cultivating a heart of bitterness, inadequacy, guilt, or whining, or possibly blowing apart into oblivion. But if we become the conductors of our own life symphonies and live within our own melody of life, we will last longer more gracefully with the God of grace who leads us.

Spend time in God's word and let Him love you-- and you love Him back. He came for you. He came to comfort. Let His comfort be yours. You cannot find peace without the Prince of peace.

Take time to regroup today--Go eat some chocolate, and don't feel guilty as you are eating it (that would certainly be a waste of good chocolate!) Listen to some beautiful music, watch a heart-warming movie, take a nap, eat off of paper plates to save cleanup! The rest of December is still coming and you will be the better for it. I'll be praying for you!

Love, Sally

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Hello Mornings: How to Build a Grace-Filled, Life-Giving Morning Routine

By Kat Lee

Buy on Amazon

My sweet friend, Kat Lee, who is on my podcast today, is giving away one of her books to my friends. Share this post or podcast with your friends and leave a comment below and you will be entered to win. If you need encouragement about how to be more consistent in having a quiet time and how to connect with the Lord as a daily routine, you will love this book. 

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I hope you can join me Thursday night for my Christmas Tea!

Register HERE

I am getting so excited about my party Thursday night. Hope you can join me. Giving away a set of books, those who are a part of this will receive pdf downloads with sweet surprising Christmas printables. Also, those in my membership, At Home with Sally and friends get to come for free-the first of 4 webcasts this year.

If you aren't a member, it is only $10 for registration. Having fun preparing--3 recipes to share, a couple of fun Christmas stories, a favorite reading from a favorite book, decor that brings beauty and nature into the home, a devotion to fill your heart and more. Hope you can join me.

You can watch the webcast any time after Thursday evening if you are busy that evening. :) Merry CHRISTMAS WEEK! 

Becoming a "yes" person

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah 6: 8

Throughout scripture, God seems to be looking for those who will listen to Him and obey Him, those who will go out in His name, who will let their lights shine, who will go to the lion's den and say, "Though he slay me, yet will I love  him."

Scripture is made up of stories of unlikely heroes who were willing to say "yes" to God's will and ways, whatever He asked them. Mary was one of those who said, "Be it done to me according to your will," when the angel told her she would bear the son of God. Her heart response to God, even though it would change the expectations and ways of her whole life, her immediate response was "yes." 

What does it mean to be a "yes" person to God?

Advent is a time when we stop for moments every day to prepare our own hearts for the coming of Christ that we celebrate at Christmas. We ready ourselves to ponder what His coming means to us and to our world and then we prepare our own hearts to say yes. 

If we do not take time every day to prepare our hearts to go the ways of God, we will find that we will find ourselves victims in our own circumstances. We will fear the ways ahead, or doubt that we will be able to complete the way we are being asked to walk. We will judge results by our own human calculation and often times miss the profoundly better and hidden ways of God.

We read in Isaiah that His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than ours. So if we truly believe that He is holy, better than us, omniscient, that "he knows best" then we will learn to become a "yes" person.

Often people will say to me, "You have had a privileged life but my life is very limited. How do you tell people in difficult circumstances to embrace their lives right where they are since they probably won't have the opportunities, blessings or privileges you have had?"

In this podcast, you will hear:

*A little bit about my own story that was lined with hardships and challenges each step of the way. 

*God prompted me in every place to learn to say, "What lesson do you have for me at this juncture? How can I glorify you in this place? I believe that all things will work together for the good because I have committed myself to you and you are a good Father."

 *Examples of people who said "Yes" to God: Peter, the widow of Zarephath, Rahab, David and so many more., Even Jesus gave so many examples of how He wanted us to trust Him--feeding of the 5000--did this miraculous feeding several times.

*Jesus asks us to, "Consider the lilies of the field" and to remember that God is concerned about the details of our lives. God is honored when we work hard, to practice obedience and to live by faith.

Clay and I have had to "work our tails off" to see the fruit God had prepared for us in life and through our ministry. But we realized that we were going to walk this road by faith and keep cultivating our work, live through money issues, medical issues, friend issues, church issues, marriage issues, through our trials, we learned to be "yes" people.

*Put away whining, complaining as it becomes a way of seeing life--"you have not given to me what I thought I deserved." Be careful what are you modeling to your children. 

As we ponder advent, let us determine that we will be those who wait for God in our circumstances, to tell His story through us and  to see what He is doing. Let us become a people waiting on God, who are willing to say "yes" to His will. 

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Come to my Christmas Party!

When I welcome a guest into my home, I prepare my home, my food and the way we will spend our time. This week, I am preparing a fun party for all of us to share an evening together and I am  getting excited to have you in my home.

If you can 't be present with me on Thursday night, you can register anyway and you can listen to the webcast later even if you can't be with us live.

My thought was all of you who are doing so much work right now, this season to serve others, might need a break and some soul filling so this is what my LIfegiving Christmas Tea is all about. So brew something warm and a little nibble and join me. Those who register will receive a recipe and a lovely pdf to use this Christmas. 

Register HERE

If you are a member of Cultivating Life with Sally, you will receive this webcast as our guest and all of the other ones we do this year. (look in the email you received for December and you will find out how to access the Lifegiving Tea evening.)

This is a great time to join as we will be raising the price later this year. For registering for Cultivating Life, go HERE.

Please keep the honor code and do not share the webcast code with those who have not registered. Thanks for your support of our ministry projects by participating. 

Each Mama-Task Is An Act of Worship!

We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.

Brother Lawrence

Christmas is the tale of a father and his children. The Father saw his precious children lost in darkness and He made a plan that considered how to save His children and to bring them light. His service of love, His life laid out, His whole self given generously to serve was personified through the life of Christ, God become man.

The heart of Christmas is a loving father serving those He cherished. And when we give our lives to Him, we follow His model in serving our own beloved children, family, friends the way He served us.

The World is brimming over with philosophies and values that proclaim the importance of  self-fulfillment, self-promotion, accomplishment, status. Yet, our Jesus came as a man who had no stately form or majesty, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He purposely chose to humble Himself, to become the ultimate servant king. "I am humble and meek," He said. He came not proclaiming His rights, but bowing his knee. He washed feet, touched lepers, embraced and caressed the least of these, precious children, who He deemed worthy of honor.

When we accept with open arms and heart a precious little baby and wash their little hands and feet with love in our hearts, we are worshiping. When we hold and rock and sing comfort into the heart of a screaming babe in the middle of the night during an ear infection, we become the voice of Jesus.

When we stay up late to listen to the forlorn heart of a teen who is growing and stretching toward adulthood and the injustices of the world, and the imperfection of our own families, and extending grace, patience and soothing, hopeful words, we become the patience, hope, compassion of Jesus.

Our multitudinous little tasks, washing one more dish, correcting one more attitude, kissing one more forehead, when given from a heart full of love for Him,  please Him far more than if we made millions and had a title of strategic importance.

He sees in secret, He cherishes our hidden worship more than anything else we could give Him-the worship of serving His own children out of a servant heart, filled with love and gratitude for Him. In this is our treasure we lay up in heaven for His glory.

Nathan gave me the sweetest little figurine on a Mother's day many years ago, of a little boy holding out his heart. He said, "Mom, you held my heart in your hands and shaped it with your love every day, every task, every minute of serving us kids. And Mom, for that reason, you will always be there in my heart, speaking to me of all the treasures you poured in one day at a time."

Love Him today by loving those He has given you to serve today.

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A Christmas Party! A LIfegiving Christmas Tea!

I know this is a busy season for all of us. Yet, I am hoping many of you will be able to spend an evening wth me in my home to celebrate this wonderful season together. I will share some of our own family traditions, decorations, recipes, and ponderings about Him. Grab a cup of something warm and satisfying and join me. 

It is our Christmas gift to those who are in our membership, Life with Sally. But for just $10, anyone can join us. (The cost helps our ministry pay for the expense of putting on this webcast.)

We hope to be able to do more events like this for our membership group through out the year but wanted to include all of our friends with the opportunity to attend this time. It is my desire that your own heart will be filled with the fun and cheer of the evening we have planned. (If you register, you can watch it any time after the event. We ask you to honor the integrity of this conference and not share the registration code with your friends if they are not registered. One conference per ticket.) Feel welcome to invite your friends to join you as you watch, just keep the code for your own computer for your personal pleasure.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE LIFEGIVING CHRISTMAS TEA!

HOPE YOU CAN COME! 

Storyformed Podcast Episode #20 - Christmas Books & the Art of Cultivating Generosity

In this episode, Holly Packiam and Jaime Showmaker share some special family memories and traditions. They also talk about cultivating generosity in their homes as well as give Christmas book recommendations!

Topics include:

• A brief history on Saint Nicholaus Day
• How family traditions bring meaning during the Christmas season
• Christmas book recommendations 

Click HERE to listen to this new Storyformed podcast.