Sally Clarkson's Blog, page 47

Daily Acts of Crafting The Art of Life

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“By wisdom a house is built,

And by understanding it is established;

And by knowledge the rooms are filled

With all precious and pleasant riches.”

Proverbs 24:3-4

This week, as I celebrated one of my children, I realized again how much I feel deep pleasure when I craft design, color, and beauty and become an artist in my home. After so many years, almost 41, it has become second nature—and a deeply gratifying habit of life. I gather my worn dishes, mugs, set the table, play music, light candles, fix a beloved, old recipe and magically, everything comes to life. As women, one of the defining qualities intrinsic in being made in God's image, is the divine ability to create, to cultivate, to subdue, and to take all of the raw materials of our lives and to craft them into something beautiful.

When God laid the foundations of the universe, the splendor and magnificence of vibrant color, eye-captivating beauty, resilient, melodious sounds, the spontaneous response of the shimmering, sparkling morning stars was to celebrate with heavenly choruses singing His praises and worth, while the sons of God shouted and celebrated wildly with joy. (Job 38:6-8) What an overwhelming display of vibrant, heart-filling celebration of His glory it must have been.

So, when we want to display just a small bit of the divine through the beauty of our home, it must encompass all of the moments of life. We must rule over our domains in such a way to have order, rhythms, traditions, and anchors in our schedule that provide for this divine reflection of what God has done.

The Spirit of home, stands at the doorway to compel those outside to enter into a place of life, comfort, rest, beauty.

But, you say, "My life is already so busy, I don't have time to add one more ideal."

The challenge, then, is to find a way to weave beauty, color, and celebration into an already busy life.

Be sure to get a copy of The Lifegiving Home for more on this topic!

The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming By Clarkson, Sally, Clarkson, Sarah Buy on Amazon The Lifegiving Home Experience: A 12-Month Guided Journey By Clarkson, Sally, Clarkson, Joel Buy on Amazon

Mothering Without Fear with Jennifer PepitoFe

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Fear is a natural emotion that sometimes chokes us from enjoying daily life. All of us who have mothered for some years face some kind of fear at some point or another. We fear we aren’t doing enough. We fear we have made too many mistakes. Can we even reach this child? Are we cut out for this? Our flaws point accusing fingers at us at times.

Something I learned along the way was that I was more than my past, my failures, my insecurities. Many of my difficult times helped me to become humble and more compassionate for others who struggled with some of the same things I was. I also realized that I had truly done some good as well—and that no life was without a few stormy clouds of arbitrary feelings. It is a normal part of the journey.
I have loved Pilgrim’s Progress because it is such a process book. It takes us on a journey through many different challenges, confrontations, encounters with fools and so much more. In my years of mothering, my own gathering of experience and collecting of wisdom came from setons of fear, and seasons of deep joy.

Today, I am so happy to share my conversation with you that my friend Jennifer Pepito and I had earlier this week. As a seasoned mama of 7, she brings gentleness, peace, fun, insight, and wisdom to us mamas on our journey. She has a new book that will come alongside you and bring encouragement.

Jennifer Pepito (www.thepeacefulpress.com) is the founder of The Peaceful Press, a company committed to providing learning resources that promote connection between parents and children. Jennifer's wisdom has also been featured on Wild + Free, The MOB Society, the Washington Post, and Home Educating Family. She unlocked the power of a well-told story, and she wants you to do the same thing.

What are your biggest fears? Join me at At Home with Sally today.

Mothering by the Book By Pepito

Tea Time Tuesday: Put Away Anger, Put on Love

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Tea time (even if it is with coffee) is a celebrated time in the day just like breakfast, lunch and dinner. Imagine if you took 15 minutes every day to reset, restore, to find peace in your day, what a different sort of life you would live, a different sort of person you might be. -Sally Clarkson

Nathan & Keelia have indeed learned the value of stopping for tea times.

Put Away AngerPsalm 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, it leads only to evildoing.Psalm 37:8

Psalm 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Life is complex. Our lives are often different than we dreamed when we were teens.We are stretched in ways we never imagined. Yet, there are secrets to living a sustainable, flourishing life any way. Maturity and wisdom come over time. I wish someone had tutored me in this way of wisdom when I was younger.

I have been contemplating what a poison and waste anger is. Losing our temper makes us feel bad. Anger scares & pushes people away. Children raised with anger & harshness do not as easily learn to believe that God is loving. Anger releases stress hormones that harm our body. There is a way forward, join me today on my podcast as I speak of this.

Learning to be aware of justified feelings inside of me that make me think I have a right to be angry has been a process. When I see them arising, I choose to put them aside, to give the person in front of me grace, to remind myself that anger harms me & others. Growing older wisely means to have more ability to love generously, to forgive, to allow people time to grow as you need time to grow, and to watch over your heart that it might not be eaten up by self-righteousness of bitterness. Put anger and harsh criticism away and put on love.

Today, I continue my focus on the golden era of Children’s Literature Authors & illustrators. Beatrix Potter is a favorite.

Movie: Miss Potter

Music: Miss Potter album by Nigel Westlake

Food: Quick & Easy Cherry Crisp

Happy Tuesday!

Get Your Discipleship Planner

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Dear Precious One,

While homeschooling my four children, I held a mental model of how to view discipleship moments in the life of our family every day. We pictured each child’s heart as a sort of treasure chest, filling it with truth, memories, serving, loving, and receiving love, stories of Christ, and all that we found to be good, acceptable, and true about Him.

We wanted them to be filled with knowledge and reality about God, but we also had a desire for them to live out of full hearts to bring His love and reality to their own worlds. Faith is never to be held in a receptacle, closed and kept inside, but as a living treasure chest, from which to draw in order to send treasures of His love and reality into the world.

I needed a practical plan for each day to know and understand what I wanted to impart in these discipleship moments. We came up with a model that worked for our family called LifeGIFTS. Each letter in the word gifts stood for one of the five areas I held as a grid in my mind to focus on each day: grace, inspiration, faith, training, and service.

Over the next few pages, I’m going to break down what each of those areas meant to us as we sought to train, instruct, and model those gifts for our children.

Praying for you,

Sally Clarkson

To receive your planner, sign up with your email here at SallyClarkson.com, or you can fill out the form to get the planner by clicking here. You will receive a pdf of the planner in your email and then you can print it out. Happy Planning!

Tea Time Tuesday (with Nathan & Keelia)

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“Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh.” — W. H. Auden

Giggling, belly laughing and guffawing they say are good for your soul--even scripture teaches that a joyful heart is good medicine. Today on my podcast, Keelia, Nathan and I could not stop laughing. We hope you enjoy the merriment.

Don't miss this podcast if you or your friends are in need of a good laugh.

* You will love the music recommendation: Dear Evan Hansen song from Broadway, “You Will Be Found”

* Recipes of the Week: McClarkson Breakfast Sandwiches & Shredded Rotisserie Chicken wraps

* Adventure Day

* Why a Hot Drink is profoundly important

* Favorite verses and more!

I would love to know what music inspires you lately. Happy Tea Time Tuesday, friends.

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

Do You Ever Wonder if Your Life Matters?

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When life has drained you to your toes, you don’t need another lecture or admonition. You need a warm bath, a good night of sleep and maybe a homemade, large, warm chocolate chip cookie with pecans—or a turkey burger.

******

Last night, as the sun slowly ebbed over the mountains and the breeze danced through the pine trees surrounding us, we sat in silence for just a few minutes totally enjoying mutual companionship on our deck. We typically gather here each summer evening. For some years, Nathan makes us turkey burgers once a week and last night they were particularly good.

Then I said, “Do you ever feel like life is meaningless?”

Immediately, they both laughed! “Why are you laughing?” I asked.

“Because it is a topic that comes up somewhat often. Then we brush it aside, go about our days. But it is the very reason we cultivate community, friends, rhythms of pleasure, and time at home. “

Evidently, they, like me, sometimes look at personal issues, be they financial, conflict in relationships, jobs or lack there of, just so much work in life. Then there are the political storms, the moral and concerns of our day, (gender issues, abortion, war, corruption and violence) issues and it seems overwhelming. It’s understandable that in these seasons, we are all drained to our toes and tempted to feel a bit of despair.

I was studying this week and found that there were at least 5 godly leaders who “wish they had never been born.” (Moses, Jeremiah, Job, Jonah and Elijah!) the Bible is so fresh and realistic about human life in a fallen world. It is ok to feel the despair that a world separated from God feels like in our hearts. But learning to take responsibility for our own souls to try to keep moving away from despair is a part of our faith-filled world.

Psalm 9:9 has been a stalwart word to me in these times:

“The Lord is a refuge for all who are oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” and

Psalm 34: 17-18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

If you have been tempted to despair or felt depression, you are in good company with many generations of godly people. Negative feelings or thoughts do not reflect maturity or righteousness, but they often express a proper reaction to a very broken world. And yet, God is with us, He will answer and He cares for you. Today, in my podcast, I speak of ways and rhythms I practice in my life to bring my being back to health and strengthen and ways to keep myself going forward.

When Elijah was fully wanting to give up, an angel touched him, fed him and gave him sleep—3 of many ways that His weary body was ministered to.

Join me on my podcast today to hear of my practices and I would love to know what you do when you need some light, a boost in your spiritual and emotional life. Be blessed my friends, He cares for you.

Sooooo, when you are a bit drained or weary, sometimes the best thing is a fresh, homemade chocolate chip cookie, a good night of sleep, and a hot bath with epson salts or bubbles. I thought I would share with you a few things I do and keep going that keep me above water in the storms of life. I would love to know what you do.

My own tools of taming life, bringing back some pleasure and joy

Clay and I bought the biggest bed we could find about 20 years ago, To cuddle up amidst several pillows and snuggle under my duvet, is pure luxury. When I can, I sleep! Sleep keeps a body from getting ill and keeps it healthy.

I actually love to travel, especially on trains. Adventures and new places provide my wandering soul scope for imagination and interesting stories. (and I escape into my own thoughts and dream world.)

My daily walks on the canal near my Oxford home, or walks in the parks or meadows with amazing trees and flowering bushes delight me. Taking a romp through the mountain trails near our Colorado home with Darcy dog trotting along beside me brings sheer pleasure.

Having sweet friends who love me and care about me- sometimes means so much. My daughter-in-law has been making me cups of tea and coffee these days. I feel like a queen.

Great books and stories,  especially historical fiction or just good fiction, Victoria magazine are so fun.;

Salad with lots of veggies and avocado and walnuts or pecans and always onions;

Grilled turkey burgers with cheese, onions, tomatoes, mayo and very salty ripple potato chips (crisps)

chocolate--especially any chocolate with nuts; (dark chocolate salted almond) and especially Lindt--the dark one with the blue foil wrapper; if it isn't going to be with nuts.

Did I say, a hot bath that covers my whole body--I love baths;

Any focussed time sharing our deep friendship together, with my children.

sitting around my dinner table or in the den talking and laughing every night when the whole family is together.

Getting to play with and be with my sweet grandchildren.

reading encouraging letters or emails from friends; Calling my loved ones for long talks,  to keep up, when I have planned it;

Studying the Word and being with my precious Jesus and pondering Him! Reading soul stirring books and captivating novels.

I know I need to surround myself with these things so I can be restored.

Music wafting in the background, candles lit, flowers in vases.

Comfort for me will be something of a rhythm. Scrambled Eggs with cheese, home made, whole grain bread, potato soup, with cheese, sautéed onion, bacon.

French Food  and Mexican food

Old fashioned chocolate chip cookies with pecans that Sarah makes ... (The secret to good cookies is to always whip the butter, vanilla, sugar and eggs by themselves for 5-10 minutes on high and then don't bake the cookies too long--they will cook a little more after they are out and on  a stone and they will dry out a little, and you don't want them tough!)

Of course there must be pots of strong tea. And good strong coffee. And some great English drama series or mysteries or dramas that we can be romantic or adventuresome with and enjoy the countryside and dream.

Tea Time Tuesday: Dogs, Honey Cakes, and Strength

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“Dogs are my favorite people.”

I read this quote once and it stuck with me. (Not sure who said it.) But one of the huge delights when I come back home to Colorado is that when Darcy Dog sees me, she wiggles her whole body in delight as though I am the most wonderful person in the world. Last night, when we arrived home, Keelia and Nathan provided dinner, a fire-lit deck, and frozen custard. Darcy Dog wanted a little treat, too, so I had to give her something. Keelia snapped this photo and I couldn’t resist. We will get back to the Tea Theme next week.

I love my home. When I enter its doors, it seems to say, “Welcome, you are. home. You belong here." As I walk around, it is familiar and dear, yet it took me a lifetime to get to this place. Piece by piece, framed art, framed calligraphy, photos, tables stacked with books and magazines and vases of flowers., Even my very huge bed, which feels as big as a boat, seems too endearing and gives forth such comfort. All say, “Now you can breathe peace.” It took a lifetime to build our home and environment and books and rhythms that echo through all of the days--tea mornings, breakfast every day, evening meals afternoon tea times and talks, bedtime blessings, movie and pizza nights, Sunday afternoon tea times, etc.

But it gives stability and security to us now. And it is fun to see how much my children have adopted and applied these things in their own way. it takes a lifetime to build a lifetime story and sense of place, but it is a work of life worth pursuing. Then seeing my own who have taken such into their souls and are recreating it in their lives is satisfying. It is a thread that ties us together.

This week was a fun gathering week for Tea Time Tuesday. For more great inspiration, sign up at Sallyclarkson.com

*The history and deliciousness of honey cakes.

*More about Classical Children’s literature

*A focus on Kate Greenaway

*Tales of a visa and home to live in

*The place of Strength in our daily steps

I love hearing about your week. I love your notes and ideas. You are a blessing to me. Happy Wednesday!

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

Tea Time Tuesday Is Postponed!

Tea Time Tuesday will have to be on Wednesday this week! Look who met me at the airport in Denver and immediately brought me a heart full of joy with his big smile and silly shirt! There’s nothing I love more than being with my kids. I can’t wait to spend the next month with Nathan and my daughter-in-law Keelia — many deep talks, big laughs, and good meals are on the way.

Covering Imperfections With Grace

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For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Ephesians 2:10

Buying flowers or cutting them in the wild has become a habit I keep to surround myself with the beauty that gives grace. This week, flowers came from friends, a shop, and I took time to breathe in their presence in my harried life every day. You see Sometimes, I find myself in a place where I want to run away—away from the challenges in relationships with my loved ones hurts me to the core and I want to give up or give in! Or run away from the constant needs and demands of life (cooking, cleaning, work of every kind and then all over again.) I would love to flee the dramatic (all children, it seems, must go through stages—starts out with toddlerhood, escalates in late elementary years, explodes with teens, grows more serious with young adults, and then there is the period of self-realization that takes place with all maturing young adults, without which, there will never be humility, an acceptance of the fallen world, a humility that learns to give other imperfect beings grace because they have realized they will never be perfect.) It’s ok to feel like sometimes life is just plain hard.

But in those moments, we must learn to give ourselves grace for ourselves or we will explode from unrealistic expectations. We are putting so much pressure on ourselves as mothers. Each time we find ourselves too busy to cook (so we opt for fast food), too exhausted to clean, or so hectic in our lives that we didn't do a devotional with our children one week, we feel absolutely defeated and believe that we somehow failed our children.

While it is incredibly wonderful to set our standards high and live within these great ideals, as I have said many times before,

We must hold ourselves to a standard of grace, not perfection.

Each of us is a miracle, a work of art, an expression of the artist God. If I really look at the beauty of my sweet ones, my family, my friends, beyond the irritating moments, I will be in awe of what sweetness God has shared with me. It is simple to see all the flaws in my children, my husband, and myself. And it would be easy for me to take the blame for their failures, since I am their mother, and responsible for training them! But that is not healthy or biblical.

Yet, I am practicing several commitments to help me see each person for who they are inside. And to bring a fresh wind of grace to each moment. 

* Assume the best about people in your life and choose to love them according to their needs. Recognize that they are growing, struggling, and living with their imperfect selves.

My little one is not plotting to make my life miserable by being needy. My children express needs through crying and whining to let me know something doesn’t feel right in their world.

It is a grace for me to be patient and seek to bring comfort and, again, grace! Same with my teen, my adult child. Their motivation in life is not to frustrate me. They are frustrated with the imperfections of life, (of which I am one), but God encourages me to be long-suffering, patient, and humble if I am to identify with and understand Jesus. I am their coach who gets to encourage them through the frustration. My husband is not necessarily mad at me but he is frustrated with the bills, the long hours of work, the things that keep falling apart, my friends also have a context that may cause them, for the moment, to be frustrated or angry. 

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

Loving and Working with Our "Different" Children (with Amy Brown)

Click here to play Take Heart Special Mom’s podcast episode.

The house was pitch black. I had to hold fast to the stair rail to be sure I didn't fall, in case I stumbled amidst the thick darkness. Three a.m. found me wide awake. I had gone to sleep exhausted at 10:00 p.m., but my heart was so burdened with worries, I had awakened. I needed time to pray. I did not turn on any lights because I needed privacy. I had so much to figure out.

On my knees, I sought to reach God, to find him amidst my questions. Through tears, I asked "God, why did you give me a little boy that is so hard to understand? I do not know what to do, how to reach him, how to have peace in my day. Please, God, help me."

 Always when I tell stories about my sweet Nathan, moms say to me, "I have a Nathan!" What they always mean is, "I have a child who  is challenging for me almost every day." Nathan is such an amazing blessing to me now, a best friend I talk to every day. Many of you know him through his books, as a writer/actor/producer of movies. But others of you who have followed us for years, know that he is my adhd, ocd, odd, dyslexic, other mysterious issues and my out of the box, bigger than life son.  

As a little boy, Nate was always out of the box. When others walked on the sidewalk, he was on the grass, running around the bush, playing air fights with imaginary dragons, and living in a super man world in his mind. He wiggled, questioned, was loud and vibrant, fun, but loved great stories, literature, heroes and talking about them.

Many people labeled Nathan with consonants, vowels. Some said to spank him more. After years of studying him, trying to reach him, train him, understand him, I knew in my heart he had the making of a fine man. He needed love, patience, faith, time.

I learned over years how to love, encourage, train, confront, to slowly believe in his dreams. I prayed that God would help me support the person that God had designed him to be. I believed maybe God did make Nathan to go into the world to be a "superman"--his favorite childhood character--one who would come to our world, to save, help & redeem those who needed it.

Listen to my podcast today @takeheartspecialmoms

Different: The Story of an Outside-the-Box Kid and the Mom Who Loved Him By Clarkson, Sally, Clarkson, Nathan Buy on Amazon