Resources for Your Life: Help, I'm Drowning & Giveaway!

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“I didn’t think life would be this hard, this often.”

Sally Clarkson, Help, I’m Drowning

In these storms of life, it's easy to feel helpless, exhausted, afraid… and alone. We can feel victims to circumstances out of our control, as though we don’t know how we can go forward one more step.

I understand and sympathize with you. As I look back on my journey, I didn’t know that my personal story would be so fraught with challenges, so much work, loneliness, difficulty and stress. Through almost seven decades of life, I found myself tossed about in overwhelming life storms through many different seasons.

In Help, I'm Drowning, I identified the challenges that took me by surprise. My hope and desire is that my words will lead you to the wisdom I gathered through my experiences. Finding grace to walk through the darkness and hope to make it through will give you the comfort and encouragement you need in knowing you are not alone. Though there are no easy, formulaic answers that apply to every situation, I would like to help lead you to the One who is with us and will see us through.

I found the anchors that held me steady in the midst of every storm, and I want to help you find your anchor, too. I invite you into my own personal story of anchoring well, and then—with honesty, grit, and wisdom I found as I learned, grew stronger, and got my sea legs—I hope will help you heal and move forward with courage and strength.

I am providing you with all sorts of resources for ordering the book, or books for you and your friends. All of these resources are available for download for you when you order Help, I’m Drowning:

*10 Foundational Truths to Anchor Your Soul in the Midst of the Storm Journal

*You Are Not Alone: A 5 Day Devotional of Faith Heroes Who Held Onto Hope in Seasons of Suffering Devotional

*Where Self-Care Meets Soul Care Illustration

*Enter to Win a Special Tea Time with Sally

For those who pre-order Help, I’m Drowning, I will randomly select two readers to have a special tea time with me via Zoom.

And, my personal favorite: a prepared retreat for you personally or with friends, 6 videos, and a 30+ page workbook and leader’s guide to print out when you purchase 3 or more books.

I hope you will join me in the next weeks as we encourage, strengthen, help one another find hope and grace through the storms of our lives.

To get instant access to these downloads, pre-order your copy of Help, I’m Drowning and then click the button below to redeem your freebies!

And lastly, as a fun way to start this journey of launching Help, I’m Drowning into the world, today I will be giving away a box my favorite tea, Yorkshire Gold, and some of my favorite chocolates in case someone needs a little TLC :)

Walking Through Soul Darkness with Hope: Help! I'm Drowning

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There are times for each of us when it appears that all light, all hope, all answers, all strength, all is quickly fading, all hope is eeking out of our lives and we can do nothing to stop the darkness from coming.  It is a wilderness of soul when we feel that we are at an impass and do not know what to do or where to go. We are tempted to think that we cannot go one step more. We are tempted to think that the Lord has abandoned us.

As I look back on the dark seasons of life, I felt so alone and wondered if I was failing at my ideals—So many of us in this present journey of life feel or have felt at a loss in:

a lonely, empty marriage

life with a difficult child

a prodigal who has shunned all of our values

the heaviness of isolation and loneliness and the feeling that we matter to no one

rejection and criticism from loved ones

exhaustion and the feeling that we just can’t keep going

fear of what the world holds ahead of us

doubts about God

A sense of failure

Shameful abuse that we avoid talking about

Anger that seems to take over our lives, guilt that ensues

Often in these places, we stuff our real feelings, afraid of what others might think of us if we shared them. Sometimes they cause us to feel so far from God, but we don’t want to admit that outloud either.

I have felt many of these things through the years. I was so depressed at points, I didn’t know how to go forward. I didn’t feel like I knew anyone who cared or could understand.

And yet, now, at 68, I can see that somehow, as I literally cried through these life storms, as I begged God for help and wisdom, He was there, even when I could not feel or see him. I had no other choice but to push forward one tiny step at a time, yet I can verify that as I held fast to God, He companioned me. And so, a few months after Covid started, though there were many difficulties in my life—and I didn’t know Covid would last so long, I decided I wanted to write a book about these passages to come along side women, to sympathize with their sadnesses, hurts, loneliness and to give comfort and wisdom that I longed for when I felt so alone.

This week, I am gently sending this book out into the world. I would so appreciate your help in getting it into the hands of any who might need encouragement right now. You will be hearing more about this and some amazing and wonderful resources we have put together for you so that it won’t just be a book, but a way heal, to write out your feelings, to find and cultivate community, to wash your weary heart in the truth and hope of the Word of God.

But mostly today, I just wanted to start the journey with you on my podcast. I pray for you and hope you will be encouraged. Won’t you join me in reading my new book? You can download the first chapter for free by clicking the button below!

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!

Beauty is Necessary, Even on the Ordinary Days!

Do you ever need a reminder of a beautiful time, to help inspire you to seek out another? Me, too. I’m sharing a story of one such beautiful moment from many years ago, today!

Mondays in the Clarkson home usually found all of us trying to recover and adjust from the weekend—those glorious hours of sleeping late, enjoying endless cups of tea and hot chocolate, talking together over casual, long-drawn-out meals, reading magazines or books, watching favorite movies, playing rowdily in the yard with friends, and riding bikes or exploring. We return reluctantly to the realm of responsibility in which all the messes of Saturdays and Sundays must be dealt with and the duties of Monday through Friday attended to with full force.

This particular Monday was no exception. Orphaned cups and mugs, discarded baskets of popcorn, and untold numbers of socks had to be picked up from the various places they had been dropped. Individual breakfasts were hurriedly prepared and wolfed down. Laundry baskets were ransacked for presentable shirts. Backpacks were loaded with assignments and pencils, and each person hurried off to his or her own place of work. Sarah, the most experienced of our teen drivers, was recruited to take the two youngest to some Monday morning classes. When she came home, she hurried to her desk and tried to get started on her own work. But even with the younger children gone, the interruptions didn't stop. Sarah was really getting frustrated.

After graduating from high school, she had decided to delay college for a year or two. She had already published one book, and she wanted to see if she could get another one under her belt before plunging into the rigors of higher education. But this meant she was home, and being the eldest child in a large family almost inevitably means getting caught up in family responsibilities and duties. Our move added to the amount of work to be done, because our regular support systems were not yet in place. So Sarah had done more than her share of helping with laundry, dishes, cooking, reading to the younger kids, and answering the phone. Usually, she did it with good cheer, but I was aware of her frustration. And Mondays, especially, seemed to do her in.

"Mom, what I really need is a patron," Sarah sighed in frustration when she came to the kitchen for a drink of water. "I need someone who will pay me to live somewhere very private and beautiful so that I won't have to spend so much time on daily, routine tasks! Then I could just sit around thinking great thoughts that would turn into great books!"

"Oh, honey, if you just knew how many times I've had those thoughts!" was my sympathetic reply. "But what I really want is a full-time maid!"

And so went the day, with more chores, more interruptions, more responsibilities, more frustrations. Then about five o'clock on that crisp autumn afternoon, just as I was finishing an e-mail on my computer and getting ready to start dinner, I looked out my window and caught my breath.

Sarah, quick!" I called out as I ran to the front door to grab my jacket. "Come look!"

She dropped what she was doing and got her jacket too. Together we hurried down the street toward the cow field that backed up to our property. We quickly scaled the fence and ran out into the field.

Before us was one of the most beautiful sights I ever remember seeing. The entire skyline was lit as though on fire. Crimsons and corals and pinks painted the sky in brilliant, spectacular hues. The range of tall trees in the line of the setting sun seemed to flame and sparkle in the shifting light. A cold, soft breeze blew gently on our faces and in our hair to remind us it wasn't a real fire we were watching but the result of God's masterful artistry.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, taking in the splendid sight that surrounded us. Everything in sight seemed to dance with fiery colors—the skies and trees, the horizon and clouds above. Then slowly, slowly the colors began to fade. We stood there and marveled until we were standing together in darkness.

"Oh, Mama!" Sarah exclaimed, using her affectionate name for me. "That was spectacular! How could anyone see something like that and not believe in God?"

We walked home quietly, our souls filled with the warmth and grandeur one feels when she has seen the fingertips of God. More importantly, we were at peace—no longer caught up in the irritating, mundane world but soothed by that God-given reminder of the Lord's power and presence.

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun,Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat."  

~ Psalms 19:1-6

Have you taken time to enjoy the beauty God has painted all around you, lately? 

We Serve One Another: Our 24 Family Ways #6

Way # 6 of Our 24 Family Ways

"We serve one another, humbly thinking of the needs of others first."

Memory verse

"And whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all, 'For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many."

Mark 10:44o-45

It is a habit of life for me to bake loaves of whole-wheat bread. It was just one of the ways I served my children over the years, and one I continue as often as possible today. Now, the smell of baking bread reminds my children of home even when they are thousands of miles away.

Serving doesn’t come naturally to anyone, and it was a surprise to me when I had children and realized how constant their needs to eat, sleep in clean sheets and wear clean clothes would be—and I was the one who had to make everything happen! So I decided to make sure my children were more prepared than I’d felt to serve their own families one day.

Mamas serve their children in a million big ways and tiny ways over and over again. The smell of coffee brewing and warm cinnamon bread coming out of the oven was one of the ways I would bribe my children to crawl out of bed on Sunday mornings. When they grew older and previously predictable schedules weren’t predictable anymore, Sunday morning feasts were my way of gathering us to catch up.

Some time ago, after a very tiring but fun week with Joy home from college, I planned to arise to make breakfast before we took her to the airport to fly back to school. Much to my surprise, when I came downstairs I found the table was set and a pot of fresh tea was steeping. She had planned to bring it up to me in bed, and French toast from my homemade bread was sizzling and browning on our skillet.

I was deeply grateful. Even more, though, it has been fun for me to see my children serve each other as a part of their own inner integrity -- a grid that they have owned that they are people who God has called to serve and meet the needs of others. What a treat to be served by my own sweet Joy!

If a child grows up serving, it will become natural to them. Making " I love you" cards, plates of cookies for neighbors, making a special sick tray when a child was in bed, and serving meals at the homeless shelter helped our children to learn to give time and effort to ease someone else's life.

Occasionally grumbling, or dragging their feet accompanied the training exercise of serving others. None of us are naturally unselfish.  But serving often created a positive sense of self-worth in our children, as adults would thank them or people would be pleased with their efforts.

Jesus called his disciples to serve along beside him and in this practice, they began to perceive themselves as leaders.

This week, engage your family and even young children in thinking how they might help or serve someone in need. You will probably be surprised at how much they will enjoy being a part of something that makes them feel rather important. The earlier you start, the better, as it will become a part of the fabric of their lives!

Our 24 Family Ways: A Family Devotional Guide

By Clarkson, Clay

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.

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• 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!

Clubhouse: Imagining Living An Inspiring Life with Nathan & Joy Clarkson

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Every morning at our home held began with pajama clad children gathering around me, a pile of books strewn around our living room, settling in for a long read. Our worlds of books took us on journeys all over the universe—a spaceship to the heavens, stars, galaxies; under the ocean in submarines in world wars; on the stage of William Shakespeare; Daniel facing lions; a young boy facing giants with a sling shot, Sitting in the Vienna concert hall with Beethoven; to castles, duels, knights fighting with valor with maidens close by, and so much more.

After about an hour or two, I would then send everyone outside to pretend and live out the stories they had just experienced. A box of odds and ends made up costumes, plastic and wood swords, cowboy boots, capes and an array of artifacts from the second hand store gave vent to great costumes put into imagination on the wild mountain side of Colorado.

At around 10 or 11, Nathan, our epic adventurer wrote about it in a poem, “What will our Clubhouse be today?”

Clay found the floppy disc on which the poem was stored. My two youngest and most extraverted kids, who played and pretended for hours and hours as children, got together to polish and finish the writing of their wonderful book, The Clubhouse: Open the Door to Limitless Adventure.

People are always asking us, “How did you do it? How did you inspire your children to be authors, movie makers, composers, college instructors, podcasters?” This was the way—imagination, nightly discussions over great meals, a close, delightful relationships every day. This is how their hearts, minds and lives were shaped into adults who could imagine influencing their worlds for good.

Nathan, Joy and I recorded a podcast today to celebrate these ideas and this wonderful new book. To celebrate, I am giving away 5 copies of Awaking Wonder! I hope this will invigorate creative juices for children all over the world. To enter, follow us on Instagram (@sally.clarkson, @nathanjclarkson, @joynessthebrave,) and share a picture of The Clubhouse (pictured below) on Instagram or Facebook!

Hope you win. :)

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!

God's Spirit is our Breath of Life!

Without the wind of God's Spirit blowing through our lives, we are like a boat that must use our own power to pull through life on our own power. But when submit our lives to God's spirit, he fills the sails of our lives with His strength and power and gives us grace to live the lives in front of us every day.

Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.

Corrie Ten Boom

Somehow I had managed to slip out of bed without waking Clay, slip on my shoes and a comfy sweater, and get out the door for a Saturday morning coffee.  As I sat in the cozy corner of the café, coffee in hand, I basked in the delight of a stolen moment alone. I read my morning verses, and jotted down some deep thoughts in my journal. I will be so kind, very loving, and patient today, I thought.

And then my phone rang. “Mom! Where are you? What are we going to do today?” I responded patiently with this child (how could I not be patient in such a lovely moment?) and explained that I’d be home in just a little while to do something fun with the whole clan. Even just thirty minutes alone was rejuvenating for me, but I sighed nonetheless.

But then the phone rang again. “Hey, honey! Who’s going to take Joy downtown for her appointment?” This time it was my husband's voice. I pondered on this. There were no less than four adults in our home who could drive; perhaps one of them could manage? This was my one morning alone. Even so, I continued to talk with Clay as we puzzle-pieced schedules. As I ended the phone call, I breathed deeply. The coffee and quiet started to enchant my soul back into a pleasant attitude.

And then the phone rang. Again. Everyone was hungry and wanted breakfast. With another sigh, I gathered myself, thanked God for the few moments of peace, and resolved to enjoy the day and cherish my beloved ones. This thought was barely a notion in my mind when I walked through the door to discover the dog had thrown up on the new carpet.

I think I need another cup of coffee.

So many times in my life I have encountered the tension between wanting to be Spirit-filled and gracious, and then being overwhelmed by my own attitudes, the unexpected situations of my life, or the many clashing personalities of my family members. Life tends to have a sandpaper effect on my attempts to be holy. These times have led me to explore what it means to live in the power of the Spirit.

Throughout Scripture, the Holy Spirit is often described using the analogy of wind, or breath. When explaining the mysteries of the Spirit to Nicodemus, Jesus said:

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).

The Greek word Jesus uses is pnuema, which can be translated as wind, breath, or spirit. Later, when Jesus is commissioning his disciples, Scripture manifests the metaphor into an actual happenstance: “And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22).

Breath is a daily necessity. We cannot live without breathing, and it is a constant need. The same sort of dependence we have on breathing is how we ought to depend on the Holy Spirit. Living in the power of the Holy Spirit means letting the Spirit of God be the breath that allows me to make it through every day. Relying on the assistance of the Holy Spirit should become as natural to me as breathing in and out.

Christians cannot flourish apart from making God's Spirit the source of their spiritual lives. 

Even the phrase "spiritual life" refers to the Spirit-living-through-us life. I am not speaking of some kind of unique charismatic experience (though throughout history, people have experienced God's filling in different ways), but of a power that we can never muster up on our own. It might be described as:

*an inner strength"

"God is my strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

*a voice that calls us to become more excellent"

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." John 14:26

*energy that moves us to love and forgive supernaturally*

"The fruit of the Spirit is love," Galatians 5:22

*a fruitfulness that can only be explained by God*

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

When the Holy Spirit directs our course, the natural consequence is a life outside of normal striving or fleshly effort. We are able to live beyond our own capacity.

Little by little, we speak with God about our stresses, burdens, fears, and give them up to Him and ask, "Fill me with your spirit today, now. Teach me to walk with you, to see my life from your perspective, and give me the strength to grow. Help me to worship you as I live this day. Make me understand how to "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). 

Own Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous Love

By Clarkson, Sally

We Love One Another: Our 24 Family Ways #5

Way #5 

"We love one another, treating others with kindness, gentleness and respect." 

Memory Verse:

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

I John 4:11-12

It is sooo much fun for me to be with little Lillian. I am in love. Because she reaches her arms out for me when I walk in the room and smiles from ear to ear, I think I would give anything for this little girl who has wrapped herself around my heart. Love is irrational, isn’t it? She has done nothing to deserve my love except just being born. But because she is mine, I give my time, my sleep, my self to loving her and to loving Sarah by caring for Lily because they are mine. Its how God feels about you, beloved friends. And now Samuel shares in that special place in my heart, and soon Lucie will join them!

Loving is not always so very easy, though, is it? Aren't there people in our lives that just rub us the wrong way, every time we are with them or in conversation? From the beginning, I could see that the personalities of my children clashed. Yet, one of the most foundational principles we practiced was that we belonged to one another as a family. We would choose to practice unconditional love for each other no matter what. Joy and Joel for some reason were often like oil and water. Sarah and Nathan would have power run-ins. And then, too, Nathan and Joel were so different, and on and on.

Harmony in the home is not natural with immature, self-centered people. Yet, harmony doesn’t mean you have to sing on the same note, you just have to practice learning to “blend your notes” together so that their can be unity and beauty of expression.

Over and over after an argument or conflict, I would bring them together to say, “Were you gentle? Kind? Do you think your words were respectful? How could you have asked for help from your sibling in a different way? Let’s practice this now.”

Yet, some of my best memories the past few years have been seeing Joy and Joel come to the piano again and again--playing, singing, harmonizing for literally hours--as they are both singer-songwriter types; seeing Joel coach her years ago as she practiced speeches and then spending hours judging at her speech and debate tournaments; coaching and encouraging each other through life, loves, thoughts, and becoming real, down deep friends; now even sharing a flat as they study in Scotland. I never thought it would happen.

Moms often say to me, "When are they ever going to stop fussing? Will they ever be friends?"

One day.

Slowly, but surely.

Love must become a trained habit. Living by feelings is not a choice. We must help our children to "become strong inside" by choosing what is right, beyond negative feelings. Living in submission to the power of the Holy Spirit and choosing to practice love is what is at necessary here. Obedience to practicing love and learning to forgive is a pathway to maturity.

What we model as adults determines whether we have integrity as we teach our family  to follow "our 24 ways".

Choosing to love one another and practicing this love over and over again, shapes our expectations that we are each personally responsible for seeking peace, being loving, giving generously in relationships. When loving becomes a habit of thinking and acting, maturity follows and will be extended in all relationships.

Even in irrational relationships with family, believers, and others who perhaps will not speak to you anymore, or have decided otherwise to be at odds with you, you must model restraint and show respect because you are a child of Jesus. Show your children what it looks like to respect even those who have offended and sinned against you. When you model unconditional love in front of your children, they know deep in their hearts that you are choosing to control your feelings in order to sow love--and guess what? That is exactly how they will behave when they are tested as adults, because they learned integrity from you!

In short, training a child to choose to love by showing kindness, gentleness and respect will prepare them to go before kings or paupers and to become leaders in their generation. This is one of the most important areas of training, so our children can learn how to influence people with the messages of Christ--it starts with an attitude that says, "God has designed me to love people, to be humble like He was, to show respect and kindness."

Did fussing irritate me? Of course--it drove me crazy!

Did I ever wonder if my children would get along? Thousands of times.

Did I wonder what I was doing wrong? Of course I did.

But training is a matter of process and maturity. And it really is going deep into their hearts.

Our 24 Family Ways: A Family Devotional Guide

By Clarkson, Clay

Joy: Actively Engaging in God's Goodness

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Joy is the name my friend gave to my fourth child. When I was 42 and pregnant, she would pat my tummy and say, “When I pray for this baby, I call her baby Joy.” And so we had prayed for baby “Joy” so often throughout my pregnancy that that became her real name.

With such a name, of course, we searched out the original meaning and celebrated her all of her life. The etymology of the word joy really means “rejoice” in other words, take the opportunity to choose joy, to see God’s goodness through the grid of your life, to grow in relationship to bringing joy to others. Joy is a fruit of the spirit.

Many of you have said you love hearing Joy on my podcast, so today we speak together about the realties of choosing joy amidst the dark and demanding days of our own lives through the years.

Wendall Barry said,
”Rejoice, though you have considered all the facts.”

Maybe it’s having a daughter named Joy, or maybe I just wanted to learn how to face life every day, a determination to see God’s light every day, in every person, and to learn in every circumstance how I could pursue His goodness.

It wasn’t because I was good at it, but I desperately did not want to live depressed, overcome by the many difficult challenges that came my way. It was a choice to water the ways of joy so that my life would grow in that direction. What are you watering in your life?

Consider all the facts, be sad when life is sad, but then determine what kind of legacy of faith you want to have? Rejoice.

Interestingly, when the angel came to marry and said, “Hail, Mary!” The word hail actually meant, Rejoice, Mary. Be filled with Joy.

To choose to cultivate joy is throughout the whole Bible as a goal of our faith.

To dwell in God’s lovingkindness by faith and to become a person who always brings light into the darkness because of your hope of who He is and what is ahead. Or remaining in the darkness of despair. God’s Spirit fills us with Joy when we allow the Spirit to carry us.

Cultivating habits that sustain our lives and fill us with joy is one way we have learned to move forward every day, to find how to make life sustainable. Join Joy and me as we share some of our thoughts.

What are habits and rhythms that help you daily to cultivate joy in the moments of your life? I would love to know.

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!

Which Will You Choose: Mediocrity or Excellence?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Our culture is in great need of heroes, stories with sacrificial endings, inspiring lives of those who strain after all that is good, beautiful, and true. I consider my work of faithfulness a success when, in the hidden moments of life, I hear and see my children making hard choices--the choice to work hard to pay their bills, the choice to be moral and cultivate integrity in a world that gives permission to compromise, the decision to stay faithful in places the world or others would say "give up."

Some time ago, I was asked,

"Sally, I want your advice.

I have a great son, who is responsive to me and loving—but he is spending 6 hours a day playing computer games! My friends told me that is normal and just to leave him alone and know it is just boy stuff. What do you think?”

This from a sweet and intentional mom that I met last summer.

We live in a pretty mediocre culture. The voices of our culture in this contemporary world will most always give you permission to compromise your ideals, give up on commitments, escape the hard work, go the easy route. “Oh, they will be just fine—don’t interfere too much.”

But, there are not many examples of people to whom you can point your children and say …

“Look at that person—they have worked hard, sacrificed their lives, and accomplished something great in this world!”

If there were, we would be able to say to our children, "I believe God has designed you to give something great to your generation in your lifetime, too.”

I am convinced that if we, as mothers, understood that we have a capacity to work a little harder, give a little more and cultivate more intentionally, we would indeed be able to see greatness of soul and depth of faith arise out of our children’s lives. Nothing truly great is ever accomplished without great effort. We are, after all, charged with subduing a world that is in rebellion against God. By investing more time in our children, we are helping them mount up over inertia, laziness, bad habits, and self-centeredness, and giving them practice at developing good habits, skills, and abilities— all of which need to be intentionally nurtured, taught, modeled, and trained into them by their parents!

It takes more work than I had ever imagined. If a mom doesn’t want her thirteen-year-old son to be addicted to the computer, she will have to help him cultivate more captivating interests, and she will have to invest her personal time, money, sweat equity, and energy to do it. Excellence always requires us to go the extra mile.

Whether a sport, a musical skill, art, ministry, or some kind of academic or creative work, our children will be blessed if we invest the time it takes to give them more of a foundation of confidence in their souls, as we help them find a way to practice productivity, excellence of character, and the determination to take every moment captive for Him.

What we sow we will reap, what we don't sow, we won't reap. You and your children have the capacity to live into amazing abilities that God has created you to have. But you must exercise perseverance in your lives to become excellent and strong. The choice to work diligently is key--is your heart willing to do what it takes to become excellent in character or skills in life?

To find that “fit” for our children’s creativity, that activity that engages their heart, passions, and personality, will probably require us to give up some rights to our own time and invest in the future of our child’s productivity by taking the time now to help them cultivate their skills and interests and good habits.

It will require that we go that extra mile-but that extra mile will take them much further in their lives than can ever be measured.

This summer, take time to access your goals, your life, your story.

We Listen to Correction: Our 24 Family Ways #4

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Family Way # 4

"We listen to correction and accept discipline with a submissive spirit."

Memory verse: "All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

Nathan loved the story of the Black Stallion--a stunning, wild, untamed, powerful, jet-black horse that eventually became one of the fastest horses alive, or so the story goes!

When Nathan was a little boy and I needed to discipline him, I would explain, "Nathan, a great race horse like the Black Stallion had such potential to win a blue ribbon in races against all of the horses in the world. But until this strong, wild horse learned to submit to the reins of the jockey, it was just a wild horse with potential. To be able to run the race, he had to submit himself to the direction of the master, and accept the reins. Natie, you are like that great wild stallion--so much potential to be a champion--but you have got to learn to accept the reins of our discipline so that you can run your race in life well!"

It’s not easy, yet teaching our children to accept discipline is imperative.

Even adults need this lesson! We have an incredible capacity to be strong, grow in intellectual excellence as we exercise the muscles of our minds, to be influential in ministry in our lifetimes, to leave a legacy of faith and integrity--but it requires that we also exercise our will, submit to God's discipline, and strain after His ways by following His heart.

Taking responsibility for my children's hearts and minds crafted me into a stronger, more mature adult. As I told them stories, my heart was engaging in great hero tales. What I was sowing, I was reaping in my own life. Cuddled up on the couch, squished together in rapt attention, there were teachable moments as my children would look with wide eyes and open hearts when I would read them tales of conquerors and heroes--those who gave the strength of their lives to bettering or redeeming the world. Oh, how they loved great stories! And when their little imaginations were captured with those stories, I would seize the moment and say,

"To become a world class champion requires struggle, discipline, commitment and the will to submit to the process of developing greatness, and I believe that God has created each one of you to be a champion for His kingdom in your lifetime. I wonder how you are going to be used by God to change your world for the better?"

Training our children to listen to correction is so important. I hope this podcast will encourage you.

Our 24 Family Ways: A Family Devotional Guide

By Clarkson, Clay