We All Need A Place To Center Ourselves

Less than a block from my little fairy house cottage in Oxford was a winding canal with boats strewn up and down. I spent countless hours, walked hundreds of miles, up and down this canal in Oxford, much to my delight.

It became the place where I would breathe in peace and figure out what was going on inside my heart — so much that I wrote about these reflections in my new book, Well Lived.

One of the things I had longed for for many years was time and space and energy to cultivate a rich inner life. We must all take the time to find our center, to be able to ponder our ideals, goals, and the kind of legacy we hope to leave for generations to come.

What is your favorite way to center yourself and find out what is going on in your heart?

You can preorder your copy of Well Lived below. I hope it will inspire you.

How Hearts Are Formed

That’s how hearts are formed, minute-by-minute and word-by-word. You are the first example of friendship your children encounter. They need this friendship as a foundation and model for other friendships that will come in their lives.

Creating time of nurturing fellowship with my kids was just as important as training their manners or confronting their behavior. Before my children could be good friends, they needed me, their mom (and dad), to befriend them and be a friend to them.

Read more about this in 10 Gifts of Heart.

Tea Time Tuesday: Finding Peace in the Dark Places of Life

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“I want to be as a child, delighting in life, at peace with God, living in the grace of the moment, to live above the pull of depression, to cultivate a heart of joy from which others may draw.”

-Sally Clarkson

Midway through my mothering journey found me weary, discouraged, depleted. I wondered how I was going to make it the rest of my years with ideals and faithfulness. I pondered how to grow more mature in dark times. Dancing became a metaphor for me.

Even now, my heart is tempted to deep discouragement as I ponder unanswered prayer, world issues, life tragedies of friends and family. Yet, walking with God through these pathways for many years has taught me to hold fast to faith, to cultivate thankfulness, to believe in His presence and reality.

As a wee child, my father, who loved music, would tell me to stand on top of his shoes. He would dance me around the floor holding me firm, stepping to the dance of vibrant music. I realized that this was a metaphor I could see for my relationship with God — He, my dance partner, leading me in my life, showing me the dance steps to take. I follow His lead.

Mark Twain said, “Dance like no one is watching, love like you have never been hurt, sing like no one is listening, live like its heaven on earth.”

I wrote it in my journal. I wanted to choose to cultivate joy, to practice dancing, loving, singing, living into the reality of “kingdom come” through life in defiance to the darkness.

Friedrich Nietzsche said, “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music.”

I prayed, “Jesus, please let me hear your music, let me allow you to lead me in a dance of faith.”

I remind myself what it means to wait, walking through the difficult days. As I practice this walk of faith year after year, I perceive Him more loving, gracious, compassionate, kind. I still my heart to listen to His music that I may dance with all my heart through the days He has laid out for me.

Lord, give us grace, strength to follow your lead day after day. Great is Your Faithfulness.

More on today’s Tea Time Tuesday podcast: reviewing verses, ways to hold fast, telling stories and blessings just for you.

 

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Mothers Are Set Apart

Scripture says that we were created to the good works that He has already equipped us to do. We don’t need to try to push through in our strength; we can partner with the Holy Spirit in the work in which He has called us.

Women are uniquely fashioned in the likeness and image of God to curate goodness and dispel chaos; to kindle hope and foster faith. We are the beauty bringers and soul shapers of our homes and our communities, and for those God places in our domains. That is, if we accept the weight of the crown of responsibility.

Read more about this in my new book, Well Lived.

We Are Called To Be Ambassadors

Jesus said there is one simple way that people will know we are His disciples. It is not by the rules we keep, the church buildings where we worship, the clothes we wear, the movies we watch, or the formulas we keep. He said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35)

One little word profoundly influences the magnitude of Jesus’ statement: if. If we have love for one another, they will know our love. People will not truly know we are His disciples unless we have love for one another. People notice if we have love because the world does not naturally love well. Yet all of us long to be loved—especially when we do not deserve it.

Read more about this in Own Your Life.

Tea Time Tuesday: Building A Life Of Vision For Our Children

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Did you see the beautiful tea cup in the photo above? My tea tasted especially good in this cup today because Clay, my husband, gave it to me on my birthday. It is from Scotland — a piece of Dunoon fine china — and if you look closely, you might even see the bird he chose just for me. Tea tastes better in a cup with a story!

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“Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.” -Dinah Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859

Building virtue, character, and righteousness into the life of a child is a lifelong commitment. But influence always starts out with a relationship with someone who is trustworthy, one who has integrity, who is gracious and kind. Once the trust is built, the measure of the relationship goes deep and grows with each year of friendship and companionship. Without a foundation of love, as scripture says, we become a noisy gong, a clanging bell.

Join me on today’s podcast as I share 3 foundations for building and cultivating virtue in relationship to children or adults you mentor.

Also on today’s Tea Time Tuesday podcast:

  • Fish tacos, anyone? Today’s recipe

  • A movie about the Olympics a hundred years ago in Paris that you must not miss

  • My birthday story

  • Living Well, and so much more!

Be sure to listen in. Have a lovely week!

Mothers Are The Conductors Of Their Homes

From the beginning, the vision Clay and I had for our home was to reflect the reality of the living God — to embody His sparkle, pleasure, artistry, fun, and intimacy. God’s truth was to be taught, cherished, obeyed daily within the boundaries of our home. His love was to be the oxygen that each one of us breathed.

I began to understand that a servant’s heart would be required to adequately meet the needs of those who stepped through our doors — whether those needs involved friendship, a place to rest, forgiveness and grace, guidance and instruction, a safe haven from the stresses of the world, or just a place to retreat from the mundane or the burdens of life.

My home has been decades in the making. It did not come together all at once. It all began with the decision to begin — to envision, plan, and build. But it didn’t end there. Having a home that tells a great story happens over time as we mature, refine, create, and love.

Read more about this in The Lifegiving Home.

Depending On God's Love Every Day

How is your soul today? Be reminded that He is walking alongside you, ready to pour life and love through you everywhere you go. Love is there, waiting to strengthen the soul of a great woman who depends on His love flowing in and through every day.

Today, choose to become a co-creator with Him who is the source of all that is beautiful and good, celebrating His reality in the midst of this puzzle that is called your life.

Read more about this in Mom Heart Moments.

Tea Time Tuesday: All About Legacy

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My life is all about legacy.

“Every day of your life, you have the potential of leaving a godly model to follow, a kingdom message to believe, an integrity that is holy and a purpose that is eternal. God has allowed you the opportunity to touch eternity with your life by giving these gifts to those children he has entrusted into your hands. Live into your legacy and you will change your world forever.” (from Well Lived)

When I became a believer, I was challenged to ponder how I might bring the light of Christ to my world in my lifetime. I was taught to invest in people by serving them, showing them the love of God by my words and actions, inspiring them with messages of Jesus. Discipleship at its core, I reached out to others to do what I had been taught — to pass on a vision and passion to fulfill the eternal purposes for which I had been created.

And then I had children...

Light dawned in my heart that my children would be the most important disciples I would have. I would answer to God for building a legacy of faith into their lives. I would be responsible for reaching their hearts with the love of God; teaching His truths and moral excellence, giving them the ability to think profoundly, encouraging them to become educated in order to use their skills and calling for God, and to pass on the purposes of God which alone would fulfill their longings and desires to live meaningful lives.

Mentoring my children into godly adults met deep needs in my heart to connect to what really mattered and shaped my own virtue and faith.

Leaving a godly legacy takes a lifetime, creates varied emotions — sometimes joy, or feelings of failure, exhaustion. Taking responsibility to mentor my children called me to my best self — to grow intellectually, in character, in virtue, to grow deeper in faith. God designed parenting so we would grow up, become more like Jesus, more mature.

Perfection is not the goal, but a willing heart to partner with Jesus, to live in His grace, to dwell in His unconditional love, to pass that intimate knowledge of Him on, that hearts may be lit to live a legacy in their own stories, through their own lives.

More on today’s new Tea Time Tuesday podcast.

Becoming A Lifegiving Parent

As I’ve partnered with Clay in that bigger picture, it has been my privilege to do my best to be a godly mother to our children—to nurture their faith through my love, grace, discipleship, encouragement, instruction, and inspiration.

I have found purpose and meaning in trying to be the kind of mother I believe was in God’s heart at creation—a lifegiving mother, one who brings the life of God to my children.

I won’t pretend it was always a wonderful journey with no difficulties, but the blessings far outweigh the burdens as I see now the influences of my life on each of my children. They are, as God promised, the blessings.

Read more about this in The Lifegiving Parent.