The Moments That Echo Into Eternity

All of us long for a companion to share in our hopes, burdens, and dreams. We were made for friendship. But I believe God especially crafted women with a deep desire to be known and deeply beloved in friendship as well as with a capacity to civilize life, to create beauty, and to give words of hope and faith. Doing this with our own families is one of the great treasures and joys we are given.

Teatime discipleship is a legacy I have left in the hearts, minds, and souls of my own daughters and sons, celebrating life together hundreds of times in this way. When asked why all four of my children believe deeply in God, all of them almost always say, “It was the great food, the feasting together through life, the encouragement given, the emphasis on beauty and conversation, the faith that was passed on through so many intentional times together.”

Take a break from the temporary troubles of today and invest in the moments that echo into eternity, my friends.

Piles of things that need to be packed and sorted surround me. Deadlines of all sorts are demanding my attention. People need my help. But daily, I take my walks with the littles or one of my own to see the beauty, to make one more memory, to forge a deeper friendship.

Yes, seasons of my life are changing, but holding on to the beauty of different moments every day, valuing relationships for a bit of time daily, is filling a catalogue of memories and grace and delight.

Tea Time Tuesday: Hospitality Through the Colors and Tastes of Fall

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Tea Time Tuesday

​On a chill, damp afternoon years ago, I walked into my den, after folding baskets of clothes, and found my littles decorating a table with leaves, candles, and tea cups.

“Mama, we did this to surprise you!”

The legacy of serving, making beautiful, giving love and comfort was already alive in the hearts of my wee children. My legacy of building a life-giving home was not just for now, but to pass on a legacy to their children. Now, I have seen my 4 adult children "create home" as artists in their domains for their loved ones.

It is in giving rhythms of home that provide the right atmosphere for passing on essential heart attitudes​ and inspiration and warm relationships in life. I reach hearts by cooking meals, fluffing pillows, and reading a favorite book one more time even though I have it memorized. I do it when I clean ​and decorate a space to make it beautiful​, comfortable, and inviting. I do it when I choose to respond graciously to a question or write a note of encouragement. Both literally and metaphorically, in my home, I have the privilege of washing feet every day.

The practice of hospitality is not just for strangers. Serving and welcoming spouses and children, family and friends, is an art that will truly reach their souls and give them a reason to believe in the God of love and holiness, even as it created a perfect environment for Jesus' own disciples. When body and emotional needs are met, minds are filled with nobility and inspiration, then souls are predisposed to want to follow the God who is revered in all these rituals. It is not the indoctrination of theology that is forced down daily that crafts a soul who believes; it is the serving, loving and giving that surrounds the messages where souls are reached.

A truth told without love and grace is a truth that is rejected. Would Jesus' message have had the same impact without His feeding thousands, taking children into HIs arms, and washing the feet of His friends? It is in service that God incarnate is recognized. And service begins with serving those who are closest to us, making home the very best place to be.

Listen: At Home With Sally podcast, mercy in our failures.

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The Eternal Significance Of Building Your Home

Building our homes with intentionality and an eye for beauty is an act of eternal significance in the hearts, minds, and souls of our children. Home is the place that holds us with invisible strings of love within its walls.

It is the place where the delectable smells and tastes of “my favorite food” linger; where the comfort and beauty of “my room” and “my bed” can be enjoyed, where “my dreams” are inspired and begin to grow, where bedtime routines, prayers, and blessings give comfort, where the intimacy of deep relationships–unconditional love, grace, forgiveness, encouragement, unselfishness, laughter, and memories–is shared with people who have made us a priority in their lives. It's where appetites for favorite music, movies, books, games, art, and traditions are shaped from infancy on up.

From Mission of Motherhood.

Joy, Satisfaction, and Fulfillment Are What God Desires For Us

When I first fell in love with the Lord, I was so much happier. I was willing to read my Bible for hours, hungering for understanding and truth, discussing into the wee hours of night with my college friends the wonderful truths I had never heard before.

Praying fervently and eagerly awaiting miracles was the call of my heart. Enthusiastically I would foray into the lives of strangers, eager to tell them about His redemption and grace. Fellowship with other believers was sweet and intimate. My whole life was genuinely wrapped up in God, not in a religious ritual but in an excited, passionate, graceful, purposeful way.

That was the place I had left, the place from where I had fallen. Since then, mundane duty had propelled me forward through the many corridors of my life. Yes, I'd enjoyed occasional waves of excitement and a heart choosing to love him. It is the commitment of my heart.

But more often I'd been just putting one foot in front of the other. I wished for the reality of God to be true, but sometimes I had difficulty believing it or grasping Him. I was living in obedience and cultivating faithful character, but often I would feel no emotion. I would drag through some of the days and give the party lines that people had come to expect from me, but I definitely was not dancing and celebrating.

Now I realized I wanted so much more than a spiritual theology or a philosophy; I wanted a real, living, intimate relationship with the One I originally had learned to cherish the most.

God disdains dry, mundane obedience as much as I do! He wants true, pure-of-heart, devoted love — to be shared in a personal, vibrant relationship.

The very One who created the wild, lively winds, the intense beauty of storms, waterfalls, sunsets, and music of nature is the One who wants us to love and enjoy Him amidst the dance of our lives.

Read more about this in Dancing with my Heavenly Father.

Tea Time Tuesday: Building on Foundations of Wisdom

Autumn, Glorious fall!

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The palette of God's painting is the splendid world of color, where He crafts His beauty for our pleasure. Daily walks fill my soul with worship, as I look for the amazing detail He has added to the world goes to bring our souls joy! The colors of fall and the billowing leaves blowing to His symphony give me great pleasure. I was sitting quietly the other morning watching the leaves literally dancing as they fluttered in breezes onto a lake that shined with waves whipping about in the wind. It was a symphony and ballet of natural beauty and delight.

Creating and noticing beauty, the loveliness of life, and the gift of sweet relationships with my littles is an emotional and spiritual defense against being overcome by evil and darkness. I am not a Pollyanna, I am an intentional warrior for light, redemption, and hope. I search for this beauty as a way of life. I seek to extend this kindness and life-giving love to others as a way of life.

Yet, one must take the time to notice, or the loveliness of the moment will be lost. Throughout our lives, I have done my best to take my sweet ones with me to observe God's artistry.

I would ask them to: "Name all the colors you can see in the sunset sky." or say ..."How many different shapes of leaves have fallen to the ground? Look at each design—they are as beautiful and as different as snowflakes."

To not take notice is to ignore God.

So when we create beauty and order, we are co-artists with God. Our artistry shows up in the color of our homes, the interesting ways we place books, pictures, paintings, and objects of interest, all reflecting His imprint on our lives.

How will you show His reality, beauty, love, companionship through your life today? I would love more ideas from you, my friends.

Wisdom That Guides Me:

1. Choose to believe In God's goodness.

2. Remember, this is the broken place.

3. Understand, God has overcome the world.

4. Know you are loved and never alone.

5. Life is about more than you can see at this moment.

Today on my Tea Time Tuesday podcast, I speak of moths, a surprise box of tea, foundations of hope, a crunchy salad, an inspiring set of books, a song, and more. Join me, won’t you?

There is Character Built Through the Stormy Parts of Life

There is no formula in this world to make suffering, injustice, evil, difficulty, and the consequences of living with immature and unloving people disappear. We all have unanswered questions like “Why did this terrible thing happen?”

So how do we move through the unanswerable, overwhelming darkness and pain common to all in life? How do we accept our own failures and learn to heal and move on?

We usually look for quick fixes, and often, instead of waiting for God’s answer or God’s source of relief, we try in our own efforts to shorten the process by taking matters into our own hands.

Sometimes we mess things up even further. We certainly do not want to stay in the middle of the storms of life and wait for them to be over. And yet, often, that is just what we have to do—wait them out.

There is character built, humility learned, compassion developed, and sympathy kindled through the stormy parts of life. In order to bring light and truth into a dark world as a follower of Christ, we must face the harsh realities of disappointment, despair, and difficulties in the real world with courage, faith, wisdom, and light given by Him and learned through the circumstances of our own lives.

Read more about this in Help I’m Drowning.

You Are Chosen to Reflect Faith in Difficult Times

This very season we live in could, from God’s perspective on history, be one of the finest hours for Christians to stay true, to be faithful, to endure hardship, to rejoice in His reality, and to live by faith, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)
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From #HelpImDrowning

Hope That Keeps Us Moving Forward

(Eggs with Soldiers, pumpkin spice tea)

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We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” — Martin Luther King Jr

This weekend, I scanned my phone. I saw that there is a full-fledged war in the Middle East, 50 people were killed in an attack on Ukraine while at a funeral; another terrible earthquake; the government is in danger of shutting down... It is a lot to take in and figure out how to deal with the fearful news headlines every day.

As adults, we find the constant barrage of “bad news” difficult to bear. Yet, as believers, we must learn to focus on the goodness of God, His infinite ability to engage and bring His light into the darkness of this world. We focus our hope that lies in eternity where all wrongs will be righted, where there will be no sin and darkness. This is a constant battle for us as we seek to exercise faith in this fallen world. We lean on hope that keeps us moving forward.

But young children are not able to bear such burdens. More children are suffering from anxiety. They are being medicated at an earlier age. To grow strong and healthy, they need to be protected from a life of constant fear, turmoil, grief, and destruction. They need to feel safe, protected, and hopeful so that they can grow up to exercise that faith as an adult.

Once when a terrible catastrophe hit the news, people in our coop were reacting and wanted to turn on a live news program. One of my littles got close to my face, looked up at me in terror and said, “Mama, how do we feel about this? I look to you to know if we should worry or not. If you don’t worry, we won’t worry.” The way I responded determined their level of anxiety.

Adults were made to carry the burdens of life, not little children. They long for peace, happiness, love, protection, and safety. Our walk with God, our hope in His reality, His companionship, His presence every day gives our children a way forward to know how to engage with the realities of a dark, broken world. The way we narrate life to them becomes their instructor for how to narrate life for themselves.

God says, “Fear not, for I am with you.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Lots more on Tea Time Tuesday: My favorite new tea, stories to share, music, a book review, and more.

Cultivating Joy Through Challenging Circumstances

Choosing to cultivate joy through challenging circumstances requires us to look for God’s fingerprints along the way. 

Experiencing joy, though, is a long-term process and it takes a lifetime to slowly move from stress mode to living into the peace God wants us to know through all the moments of life—a journey toward maturity as we begin to be aware of those thoughts and worries that would steal our joy.

The more we practice taking all of our troubled thoughts captive, the more easily we will recognize them before they take hold in our heart. Practice and discipline provide strength training for our mental muscles and heart responses. So walking in the reality of joy is a road we truly find only as we mature and become stronger. The more consistently we follow that path—believing in God's goodness and turning away from Satan's taunts—the more the habit to submit to the Lord and trust him becomes second nature.

We can make a commitment to take every situation, every feeling, every fear to God as it happens. We don't have to remain in a state of emotional separation from the Lord every time we get out of step. We simply have to practice walking each step with him and allow his presence to bring us the joy that comes from resting in the arms of our capable dance partner through each measure of life's song.

Read more about this in my book, Dancing With My Heavenly Father.

Persevering & Thriving Through Motherhood

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The king road of motherhood is a sort of marathon. It is long, requires endurance and resilience. 

We all go through struggles and dark seasons as women and mothers. Whether it is an out-of-the-box child, the exhaustion from sleepless nights, difficulties in marriage, aging parents, health challenges, teen hormones, or exhaustion.

The battles are real and can seem overwhelming. Along the way, I have had a few people who have met me at my point of need, my point of depression, my hunger, for wisdom and instruction.

Some of the best counselors and support systems I had came from the women who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with me and ministry. We grew together, we helped one another, we loved one another.

Today you will hear my friends, and I talking about how we were able to keep going, what took us through dark times, what helped us to refine our ideals for each different season. 

I have found that having a foundation in God's Word has also helped me to stand firm in the many battles of my life. This month in my membership, Life with Sally, I share about building foundations of faith and how to develop convictions that hold you in my monthly Bible Study. I hope you will join me there and be encouraged.

What are the most challenging issues for you in this important race? How can we address some of these issues in the days ahead so that we might come alongside you and support you in your need.

Enjoy our 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