God Is Our Best Parenting Example

God is the greatest Giver of love. He is a provider—look at nature; the garden of Eden with all its animals and colors and food crafted for our pleasure. He gave us ideals, as we see through scripture. He saw that we were lost and falling and ultimately, He came amongst us, giving up all the comforts and honors He held in heaven to serve, wash feet, feed, laugh with, and encourage His own precious disciples.

Our life with God is not measured in the rules or goals or laws that He gives. But, as the Author of these ideals, and bound up in His love and care for us, God uses truth to work on our hearts. He demonstrates Himself through Christ in a relationship with us as a servant, a husband for the bride of Christ, a friend of the common people with whom He broke bread.

He comes as the servant king, the one who lays down His life, the one who is humble and meek.  As a good parent, God gives us wisdom and guidance so that our lives will be healthy, strong, protected.

So God becomes our pattern for parenting. He served and loved and sacrificed and gave of Himself, so that we would long to be holy out of our gratitude and reverence and love for He who provided us with everything. He called His disciples to serve, to love, to give, and to be holy. He did instruct them and train them, but it is no wonder they wanted to follow them to their deaths. He gave them true life, beauty, and love that filled their deepest needs and longings to live a purposeful life.

And so after three years of intense friendship, when he said, "Greater love has no one than this, that a man lays down his life for his friend," they had heard it, seen if modeled, felt the benefit of it, seen the integrity of it in their teacher, and so they willingly embraced this high ideal.

Consequently, it is not in getting the rules right or in defining all of the rules and theology that will make our children want to serve God. It is in laying down our life for them, serving them, listening to them, loving who God made them within the context of a call to holiness, that will secure in them a desire to love God with all of their hearts. By seeing our love, they will more easily understand and receive God's love, as it will already be familiar to their hearts and brains.

How might you show your children the love of Christ anew, this weekend?

Adventuring Together, Greta Eskridge: Pleasures, Worlds to Explore-

802AC19D-AA57-4BF8-A99D-F88C17A7A81A.jpeg

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

As I opened my eyes from sleep early one morning, immediately, a smile covered my heart. A dear friend and her daughter were training to visit me from London, while I lived in Oxford, to explore a food fair near my house. Happy to my toes to be with sweet friends and to make memories together was just the best anticipation to paint my day with delight.

Even taking this photo was a sweet memory—Ice cream—across from the French Cafe with wonderful cheeses and bites to savor. Creating fun and cultivating advanture has carried us through many a lonely season of life.

“Just think of all the people yet to be known, the places yet to explore, the delectable tastes waiting for us to enjoy!” So one of my sweet ones said one early one morning as we ventured out into the wide world.

Living in Oxford suited me because there was a new delight every day, a story to imagine, and I purposed to enjoy every minute, every day, every new friend—even the Ice cream truck! :) Part of the fun comes from a heart ready to enjoy life—a commitment that brings great pleasure.

What do you miss the most right now? What is the first thing you will do when we are back to normal schedules and are free to do what we want?

How delighted I was to have the opportunity to have a conversation with Gretta Eskridge about her new book, Adventuring Together. Her vibrant life is filled with ideas of how to explore the wide world with our family and friends.

Maybe it is personality. Maybe it is just boredom, But one of the things I miss most right now is travel, adventure! Since I moved overseas over 40 years ago, I have been traveling, advanturing, creating fun and enjoying life with my sweet ones. It has ended up being such a great legacy for all of us. Our worlds have been broadened, our values have been stretched, our tastes have been widened, and our understanding for all sorts of people has been enlarged.

We are always in the midst of planning the next trip or adventure. The world gives limitless possibilities for places to discover, people to meet, experiences to have. Moving 19 times, 7 times internationally shaped some of our values and loves. (Of course, I would give anything to go visit my sweet grandchildren and Sarah and Thomas.)

Recently, a friend and I had a long phone call remembering a legacy we left our children that came about almost by chance. We had piled our seven children into her suburban several years in a row when our husbands were working and traveled together over many parts of the United States. Most of our time, we stayed in the homes of generous families that we had met online and we  look back now and realize that it gave our children first hand experiences at seeing historical heroes from a more personal point of view. And we made great friends with those we met along the way.

Our trip was so deeply rewarding, a sweet time of friendships for all of us, and mind and soul expanding, that we did it several more times through the years. We so enjoyed reading about historical heroes and then seeing their homes, walking through the rooms where they had lived courageous stories and expanding all of our souls with inspirational knowledge. I realize that not all people are able to arrange this sort of trip, but there are so many creative ways we can experience and see the lives of others in an authentic way. 

Is traveling with your children part of your family culture? Seeing, handling, touching, acting out, experiencing, reading outloud---these are the live experiences that made history feel real for our family. Since my children were very little, I purposed to plan ways they could really experience what we studied.

Because we still worked with many overseas, missions was not just be a story that someone else lived and we only read about.  I wanted my children to experience being in a foreign country and eating foreign food and hearing a foreign language, while seeing the great needs of others. Seeing the needs of others created thankfulness for what we had in our own home.

Of course, we can be on mission in our own countries, too. Serving in a soup kitchen or babysitting at a center for battered women makes needs more real, because children get to put a name to a face that they can pray for. Seeing how blessed we are as Americans is important, but when a child sees homeless or hungry children, they have a whole new understanding of poverty.

For this reason, since my oldest children were very small, I intentionally planned and purposed to give them real life experiences so they could have a more realistic understanding of those we studied. It is why we have been such travelers. Reading about historical figures is inspiring, but seeing places they lived or cities they built or where their battles were fought gives everyone a more realistic, concrete understanding of the ways of life, physical limitations, difficulties and also blessings of the people they have been reading about.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

More Resources:

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

I'm Drowning: Feeling Small, Insignificant & Invisible

3E840314-6DA8-40C6-8AD0-12E8DB4B1CFA.jpeg

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

Tonight I feel small in the scheme of things. The world seems so caught up in the news of Corona Virus, factions, disturbances, impressive people--who has the most numbers, who is the smartest, the most beautiful, the most successful., and what are the most dramatic stories.

What is the loudest voice? The most commanding person. As to grand people…Who is organized and on top of things and has it together? There are some who pretend to have all the answers and who are confident that their way is right.

I cannot compete with those people or with other's standards. Comparing myself to anyone else always brings me up short. I must live happily in my own skin and live faithfully in the story I have been given—my portion, David calls it.

A wise friend said, "Never compare yourself to others because you will either come up short and feel inadequate or you will think yourself greater and be filled with false pride."

So very true.

Be still and know that I am God, He says.

Peace be with you, not as the world gives, He says.

Nothing can ever separate me from your love, He says.

But when I look to His ways, and observe what He has made, and listen to the voice of creation, I see that He has made even the insignificant, a small vibrant red leaf, a thing of glory, beauty to behold, heavenly art in which my heart and soul is amazed. In His hands, the small becomes significant. And so I take hope.

Those who humble themselves will be exalted. The little boy with only 5 fish and loaves fed 5000. The idealistic youth defeated the giant. The poor widow with meager drops of oil,  fed the famous prophet Elijah.

And so, my comfort is not in who I am, or how well I am doing, or in what I accomplish. My strength is in the one who is strong. My miracles are dependent on the God who threw the stars and galaxies into place.

Whatever task is ahead of me, if He is the wisdom for that task, or the strength to complete it or the understanding to show the way, then I know I will find the miracle I need.

Always, this has been my success--He is adequate, I am dependent on Him. I am weak but He is strong.

He, the heavenly Father who created, provided, instructed, saved, redeemed and forgave, and is preparing a place in heaven for me--He is the one who is committed to my well being, He who began a good work will complete it.

And so in my smallness, I find rest, quiet, comfort. It is not my striving that will accomplish His will, but it is in trusting in His provision.

Again, He whispers to me, "Be still and know that I am God."

I am quiet. I listen. I look at what He has made  in all the small corners of my world, and through these glorious works, I am aware of His glory and comforted by His adequacy and strength and I know that all will be well, because He is with me, and He is big enough.

It is in wondering about His gentleness, entering into the imagination of what His heart would speak to me, I find the love and assurance that I need.

Awaking Wonder is an opening our hearts and the hearts of our children to His presence, His gentle love, His patience, His reality amidst the storms of life. Awaken wonder, live into His light and love today.

Printable:

sc psalm 46

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

 

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

Awaking Wonder: Where Do I Start? Building a Philosophy & Podcast

My wonderful, kindred spirits share how to lay foundations for using home as a place for education.Jennie, Gretchen, me and Misty

My wonderful, kindred spirits share how to lay foundations for using home as a place for education.

Jennie, Gretchen, me and Misty

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

"Greater love has no mom than this, that she lay down her life for her child."

All mamas have moments of insecurity:

Can I really do this? Am I adequate? Will I cover all the bases and fill in all the holes? Will I pick the right curriculum? Am I doing enough? These are normal questions as educating our children at home are important issues.

All parents are teachers, whether they recognize it or not. We open (or close) worlds to our children—nature and creation, words and stories, manners and values, faith and the reality of God, virtues and character. Education is about much more than public, private or homeschooling. It is about recognizing the personhood of our children—their hearts, minds, souls and bodies and then making plans and purposes to help them grow healthy and strong in their capacity in these areas. We awaken wonder by opening these worlds with great resources, a loving foundation in relationships, authentic faith as a model and as a message and so much more.

A truly educated person, one who can think and reason, who loves to learn, who is engaged in ideas, books and has a love for learning is not that way because of a perfect educational experience. Motivation and a love from learning all start in the heart-the place where dreams are made, inspiration is given, an affection grows between the child and teacher. Understanding how to motivate the heart must be the goal for the mom who wants to truly influence her child.

Join me today as I speak with my inner circle friends who hold a philosophy defined in my new book, Awaking Wonder, as they share their beginnings—how to develop a philosophy of Education and where to start.

I hope our conversation will encourage you.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

More Resources:

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

image-asset.jpg

Queen Elizabeth & I Wish You A Wonder-filled Week & Podcast

F4E9C242-2428-4E5C-B811-F5CB3165FFF5_1_201_a.jpeg

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

As long as I can remember, I have been celebrating Sunday afternoon tea time. Often, when I lived in Oxford, (oh how I miss it), I would go with a friend or child to a favorite place where burials and royalty had walked in the vaults of the ancient church. Warm scones, fresh out of the oven, were as big as a fist, and always accompanied by clotted cream and raspberry or blackberry jam. The tea was so strong it could shake up the drowsiness of an exhausted soldier—but just to my taste.

Why have I kept rigorously faithful to such rhythms in my personal life? Because I know that the more I take care to keep rhythms, to celebrate beauty, to keep meeting with loved ones, I will probably be more likely to hold fast to my faith during hard times. Intensionally filling my cup, regularly at the same rate at which my energy and emotions are depleted helps me to be able to keep giving to others.

Tea time this afternoon brought to mind one of my favorite live heroes—Queen Elizabeth.

  1. I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

2. Let us not take ourselves too seriously. None of us has a monopoly on wisdom.

3. When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat, instead they are all the more determined to struggle for a better future.

4. It has been women who have breathed gentleness and care into the hard progress of humankind.

 5. To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?

6.The upward course of a nation’s history is due in the long run to the sounds of the heart of its average men and women.

Take a little tea today, reflect on these wonderful words of wisdom and commit to living a life of wonder and wisdom.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

 

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

image-asset.jpg

There's Not Just One Right Way, or One Right Decision & Podcast

IMG_4020.JPG

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

Stripes or spots? quiet or loud? Intellectual or artistic? orderly or inspirational? driven or gentle? Humorous or serious?

The more we can accept ourselves, our personality, our story, our strengths and weakness, our flaws and our passions, the more contentment we will nurture in our lives. And when we are content, we are able to accept and affirm others for their uniqueness and for their individual responses to life. The more we like who God made us, the more secure our children will be.

"Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed." Romans 12: 1

Today was filled with minor errors and even moments where I was beyond my capabilities in what some might require of me. Expectations from my publicists, my publishers, my social media assistants, my administrator, my life—on my computer, on social media, on my launch, on some issues at home, on my car that had a tire issue. But, today is still a day when I can breathe in peace, accept my limitations and trust God.

Not all people will home educate, not all people work, not all children are easy, not all marriages are the same. But all have value and can be redeemed and have value in God’s capable hands. To live within our limitations with contentment is to find peace.

Early one morning, my chatterbox little boy ran into the room, jumped on the couch next to me, snuggled and said with a sparkle, "Come on, admit it, mama! You must love me the best because I am the most fun of all your kids."

Followed by, "Nuh huh! She loves me best because I help her the most and you just get into trouble!"

And so the conversation escalated. My answer, "I love you the Nathanest! I love you the Joy-est!" You each have a place in my heart that only you can fit.

Personality--what a strange animal!

Perhaps you prefer one type of personality, and some personalities are surely easier to deal with. But the reality is, all personalities are holy to the Lord.

God gave me two introverts and two extroverts and a variety of different issues in between to shepherd. He expanded my soul and stretched me by challenging me to look at them from His eyes.

We live in a world that values conformity. We want to use our force, our power, our authority to make people, and our children, fit into the box. Be good. Be tame. Be moral. Don't bring attention to yourself. Don't contend or question the norm.

I remember a time when Nathan had brought some boys home from a class he was taking. A mile high pile of chocolate chip cookies, just out of the oven, was the enticement for them to stay around in my kitchen and jabber. One of the boys always called me, "Dude, mama." From him, it was a compliment. I had attained approval.

As they were talking, they said, "We thought Nathan was so weird when he first came into our class. He walked up to the teacher and introduced himself and said he was looking forward to being in the class. We all thought, 'Everyone knows you don't speak to a teacher in front of everyone else."

He then went on to say, "All of us learned by third grade to fit in, don't do anything that would call attention to yourself or you would be bullied by the whole group, all of your peers gang up against anyone who is different---everyone is supposed to fit in. So when Nathan comes and doesn't care what people think and makes friends with everyone, even the teachers, it blew our grid of norm.Truly, for a while, everyone thought he was a weirdo."

Quietness but fire underneath fits the description of one child, while steady Freddy, slow but dependable; funny, in your face charming, another. All have pushed my buttons through the years, but they have humbled me, too, in a good way. I now know for sure that I cannot control my children--they are free agents with a will and desires and dreams, all unique to the call on their lives and the personalities God gave them.

But, no matter the personality, I am called to shepherd them to love God, to teach and train them to have the character underneath that they will need to complete the tasks God gives them to do in their life time.

Most important, though, as a mom, I am called to control but to release them into His hands, as they are, to live out their uniqueness in a world that needs them to sparkle as God made them.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

More Resources:

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

We Must Live By Faith

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

~Hebrews 11:1

The measure of a great woman is not her strength, but her reliance on God. We know this now, in a time when so little can be known or predicted or counted upon in the natural scheme of things, more than ever.

Today I read this in my quiet time:

Lord, you have always given bread for the coming day; And though I am poor, today I believe.

Lord you have always given strength for the coming day; and though I am weak, today I believe.

Lord you have always given peace for the coming day, and though of anxious heart, today I believe.

Lord you have always kept me safe in trials, and now, tried as I am, today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked the road for the coming day; and though it may be hidden, today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened this darkness of mine; and though night is here, today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken when time was ripe; and though you be silent now, today I believe.

To remind ourselves of what God has done in the past is one of the greatest ways to build our faith and demonstrate to those around us a way to live in peace. As God commanded the Israelites to celebrate festivals and erect monuments to remind themselves of what He had done for them in the past, so we can keep our own lists and celebrations so that we always remember He has been faithful, and He will always be faithful.

How can you remind yourself of the faithfulness of God, today?

Let Me Help You Homeschool! & Join My Launchteam For Awaking Wonder Today!

35C971C9-EF94-4B46-8AED-337908DD78B3.jpeg

Darcy and I are so very excited to release Awaking Wonder to the world.

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

Now is a perfect time to Homeschool and I want to help you! I haven’t been this excited or passionate in many years, and I am a passionate person. As we look at the times we are living in, the future of children’s lives is more important than ever. Now is a time to shape their world view, to give them strong and healthy emotional support, to inspire them to hold fast to hope, to think of themselves as light bearers in a dark world. And when parents are passionate about the overall shaping of their children, the world will always have hope. Our God has chosen us to be world shapers, right in our home.

Over 36 years ago, when I was living in Vienna, Austria, God placed a vision of what was possible in the mentoring, discipleship and instruction of precious children, the ones who would carry messages into their generation. And as I had fallen in love with discipleship and mentoring and saw first hand how God used normal people like me to shape a whole country of faith through our mission work in Communist Easter Europe, I saw how He had designed parenting to be a strategic place for the shaping of children, in home disciples.

I dreamed of educating my children in a different way—by bringing them home, away from traditional classrooms to my home. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I wanted my children to have something different—freedom to explore their world, stories to fill their imagination, dress up clothes to pretend and act out any hero tale or winsome narrative, time to be innocent, to become more of who they were made to be without arbitrary comparison to others.

Now, as all of my adult children have forayed out into their worlds and are brimming over with life, purposeful vocations, full and healthy hearts, robust intellects, I am more excited to share our journey than ever.

As we look to the times, and feel the fear and anxiety, we can almost see the darkness, it is a perfect time to be able to give our children lives filled with light, beauty, hope, virtue, love in the multifaceted atmosphere of our homes. We can protect their innocence while capturing their imagination to become strong and good, to serve others.

This is truly a time to awaken our children’s wonder to the love of learning and the fulfillment of living into a meaningful, beautiful life. All parents are teachers, but we are at our best when we take up the mantle of mentorship and become a guide for our children, to lead them into what is good, beautiful and true.

I am happy to help in any way, to provide ideas, to share resources, to encourage you to take the risk of living in a different way in order to bring our children’s imaginations to life.

Never has there been a time when there are more resources available, books, movies, experts, classes that we can bring into our homes to provide excellent, true, wonder-filled sources of every kind to stretch the minds and understanding of our children.

I pray that Awaking Wonder will encourage you and help direct you to understand what really matters in the overall shaping and development of children. I pray our story will lead you to the deeply fulfilling life I have had as a mother, teacher, writer, leader. What a gift I have received that I didn’t know would be so deeply satisfying—and to feel a part of kingdom work in a world that needs hope.

Today, my launch team opens. Will you consider being a part of it and helping me to reach people all over the world with this message? I would be so honored.

And I hope the articles, podcasts, stories I provide in the days ahead will communion in this journey.

Here is the link where you might join. Awaking Wonder Launch Team

Printable:

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

Staying Alive with Hope Over the Long Haul

42B36725-3304-4AA1-905C-C912B26DCE2F.jpeg

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

Every year, as long as I can remember, our family puts aside a day to eat a feast of a breakfast, to drive up the hour long mountain road, singing as we go, and to celebrate us, “The Clarksons.” Many of you have read about this in my book, the Lifegiving Home.

Last week, amidst multiple deadlines, demands and responsibilities for all of us, we scheduled a day to remember who we are, what God had done to show His faithfulness and to re-cement the bonds of faith and love we cherish together.

Always, always, always, taking the time to do this fills my heart with renewed gratefulness. We always see more of the fingerprints of God than we have taken time to notice. In the sharing of our gratefulness together, I am reminded that God will be faithful in the future, because he is my loving, Heavenly Father who cares deeply for us, his own children. But if we do not take time to remember, to notice, we can become dark of soul and discouraged of heart.

Hiking our trails and taking countless pictures, we giggle, tell stories, act out ridiculous antics as we hike. Then I am reminded again that family is sacred. It is the microcosm of place and love where the reality of God’s love and truth is celebrated.

And, especially this year, I am reminded of the heritage our family mutually values and cherishes of the impact of our having decided to home educate our children. I have copied a couple of ideas down for you that will provide the smaller peek at some of the ideas behind my new book, Awaking Wonder.

For years, we lived free, read the best books, discussed life, had adventures, did our chores together, celebrated prayer and devotions hundreds and hundreds of times and lived an organic life subject to the beauty of endless days together. Here are some of my thoughts.

What is Wonder?

Wonder is the engine that drives curiosity and shapes a robust intellect. Wonder is the vehicle that nurtures spiritual formation by engaging in the miraculous, the sacred, the intricacy of our world around us. We ponder the personality, inspiration, breadth of the One who crafted all of the sublime natural art we behold. We respond in awe and worship. 

A child fashioned by a wonder-filled life will cultivate inner strength, an inner confidence in his own ability to think, evaluate, know. But those who influence children must fight to make time for the imagination to have space to work, to have time to engage. 

How does wonder impact learning?

To give a child the gift of time to imagine, to dream, to create, to engage, and to wonder is to allow time and space for his heart to be touched by the surrounding beauty, for his mind to have room to grow strong with a feast for imagination, and for his emotions to bathe in the tranquility of a peaceful life in an unhurried rhythm. Then we offer a feast of theology, math, story, literature, virtue, faith, science, nature, art, music, and culture, upon which to apply their wondering and wonderful minds. It is to give them beauty and strength of imagination and the strong pleasure of learning and acquiring knowledge over a lifetime. Wonder is the catalyst in shaping a powerful, engaged intellect. 

You will be hearing a lot about my new book, Awaking Wonder, in the weeks ahead. Not just because it is launching soon. But mainly because I believe this is a very ripe time for parents to understand hat they are the primary teachers of their children; that their children’s foundation of faith must be laid intentionally, that in order for their children to face this world with faith and confidence, their children’s hearts and souls must be filled with stories, images, words about the love, beauty, goodness, faithfulness and holiness of our God. Souls must be intentionally shaped.

It would mean the world to me if those of you who listen to my podcasts would purchase your copy of Awaking Wonder now. I would be so honored if you would do that. And my hope is that we will renew the vision and excitement of parents all over the world for building a robust, godly generation of strong believers right in the walls of their own home.

Books Referenced in this Podcast:

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!

image-asset.jpg

Best books for boys with Nathan Clarkson, #2

F45CAF07-0DAA-440D-9A70-ED65D1D74F6E.jpeg

Play Episode on iTunes & Stitcher

Tonight I am sitting inside my home, watching the storms of summer blow and throw clouds of water over my flowers. The trees are bending from the gale force wind, but inside we are safe, dry and warm. It is a sort of paradigm of what is going on in my own life and probably yours.

We live in a stormy time, gale force winds of disharmony and heartbreak, clouds of a broken world pouring out its fury. Yet, inside, especially for those of us who are dwelling in God’s arms, we find safety and peace. We do not underestimate the storms, but we have a sure foundation in Him who carries us.

Before Nathan left, I snuck him away for an early breakfast and heart to heart all by ourselves. It is always a gift to have alone time with my boys. We spoke of the unshakeable foundations that keep us all fast when we are away from one another. Besides morning times and family prayer, stories were those powers of force that shaped my children’s faith, hope and love.

Today, Nathan and I share a few of those stories and books with you that laid the roadways upon which he traveled in his mind his whole life. They are worthy stories and have stayed with him his whole life. I hope you love what we share with you today. Happy Monday, my friends.

And look for the winners to be announced today. Sending love, Sally

P.S. - In addition, for all the moms of girls out there, Nathan and Joy recorded an episode on Nathan’s podcast today, The Overthinkers, on the best fictional female characters. Link is below!

Books Referenced in this Podcast:


IMG_7202.jpeg
IMG_6433.JPG

FOR MORE

  • Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

  • Leave an iTunes Review These are so important as they help our podcast reach more women with messages of encouragement.

  • Follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates.

  • Share with others. My prayer is that this podcast brings encouragement to women and families, and I would be honored for you to tell others about it.

  • Join my friends and me in membership at Life with Sally, a place for me to share more teaching from the Bible and messages on education, motherhood, discipleship, and more!