Sally Clarkson's Blog, page 87
June 14, 2020
Nathan Clarkson: Best Books For Boys, #1 & podcast
Nathan is my out of the box, adventurer, story-formed son who fell in love with hero tales. We have long talks about how much he was inspired by the books that captured his imagination and gave him scope to imagine himself as a hero in his own story. We had so much fun today talking about some of his favorite books and why they still live in his mind today.
In addition, Nathan announces his new podcast about faith, film, philosophy, books, stories, art, and more… called “The Overthinkers”.
Below, find the links to the books we talk about, my podcast with Nathan, and Nathan’s new podcast, where on the most recent episode, he talks about how homeschooling shaped his creativity.
Best books for boys #1:
Shiloh - A wonderful story about a boy and his dog that captures the magic of boyhood, empathy, friendship, and adventure.
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Series - A whimsical adventure about a boy who gains immortality and is tasked by an angel to help the world, one small task at a time.
Eragon - A modern fantasy written with all the classic trappings of sword fights, dragons, and peasants becoming heroes.
listen to Sally's latest podcast
listen to Nathan's new podcast
Shiloh (The Shiloh Quartet)
By Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds
The Angel's Command (Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Series)
By Jacques, Brian
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman (Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Series)
By Jacques, Brian
Eragon: Inheritance, Book I (The Inheritance Cycle 1)
By Paolini, Christopher
June 11, 2020
Consider the Lilies ... The World's Way Vs. the Word's Way
Consider, consider, think about, stop and look, Consider......the lilies of the field.
Jesus told us this! Stop, ponder, think about these. They neither toil or spin.
The world is noisy, busy, active, loud, relentless
The Bible says, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life."
The world says, power, money, things.
The Bible says, lay up your treasures in heaven.
The World says, beauty is on the outside.
The Bible says, "Man looks at the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart.”
The World says to live for today, live for yourself, seek pleasure and fulfillment now.
The Word says, live for eternity, in this world you have tribulation, lay up treasures in heaven.
The world says leadership is an issue of position and power.
The Bible says, "He who gains his life will lose it. He who loses his life in this world, shall gain it." The Bible promotes servant leadership, as modeled by Jesus washing feet.
The world says, children are not of the most important. They take your time, and are expensive and bothersome.
Jesus says, "Woe to the one who causes the least of these to stumble." He says of children, "Unless you become like a child, you will not inherit the kingdom of God." He says, "Children are a blessing from God. The fruit of the womb is a reward."
The world says Accomplish things, do something great you can be proud of--awards, degrees, position.
Jesus says, "I am humble and meek, learn from me."
The world's way of ministry is to the masses in large churches where people don’t have a chance to know one another, on television, radio, blogs and websites, mostly dynamic and impersonal, focused on and measured in numbers reached.
Jesus built deep relationships for three years with a dozen men and a few others in a community of friends.His ministry was small and personal, meeting needs, eating meals, living life with a focussed few, serving and dying for them.
Jesus did not leave the vicinity of his ministry to go into the world. He never traveled more than 50 miles from Galilee. He never wrote a book, spoke on television, wrote a blog, or lived prominently.
Yet, God took His message into the world so that more words and books have been written about Him than any other, Countless ministries have reached millions and millions of people with His redemptive message. Lives have been changed, centuries of history have rendered totally different because of the power of truth lived out and spoken from the quiet, gentle, humble life of Christ lived with integrity during His time on the earth.
Is the way He lived still relevant to this "connected", web-based, busy, technological, virtual, impersonal culture? Could Jesus still live through me, faithfully, quietly, personally, powerfully right where I am and have the impact of my life of integrity reach the far corners of the earth if I lived according to His ways, and not the worlds?
How should this apply to me and help me to determine my priorities and values as I seek to live for His glory? How do I live a humble, personal, heart centered, servant-oriented, children valuing, eternally focussed life, focused on listening to Him and closing out the voices of the world?
These are some ideas I’m pondering, today. How about you?
June 10, 2020
Read, Read, Read & Then Talk Talk Talk & podcast (Books that Redeem Life)
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All four of our children are published authors. It was never our goal to create authors of books. Yet, it was our goal to give our children the resources for brain food, feeding their imagination with what was good, true, beautiful. We trusted that if we had invested excellent ideas and truth in their brains, they would, out of the treasure-chest in their hearts, pursue a life that would flourish.
People have often asked me what I did to build Sarah into such an excellent writer. How did you give Nathan, your adhd child the ability to write a blog? To write a book? Why can Joel ghost write for you and no one knows the difference? How did Joy develop her skills as a speaker and writer, so that she is so articulate on her own blogs?
I was not a perfect mom and rarely in one year accomplished all my educational goals with my children. But almost every day, we had devotions and read-alouds--sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning, sometimes at tea times, but I kept baskets of books everywhere--in every room, in the bathrooms, in their bedrooms. And each year on birthdays and Christmas and other holidays, they all received books as gifts and I helped each of them build their own libraries.
"In the beginning was the Word (Jesus's name--the word) and the Word was with God and the Word was God." John 1
If God's name was "word" then words and foundations of words are so very important.
So, if you do one thing right, read, read, read to your children. It is what was the foundation of the minds of all of my children.
There is so much pressure today, (as always), to conform to cultural norms--and to try to keep up with the Joneses and all the blogs and articles that everyone else writes about what kind of curriculum to use, when to put pressure on your 5 year old to become academic.
But really, really, really--the key to giving your children mental muscle power and an advantage in any kind of education, is to read aloud to that child. All research complies with this, all teachers and writers say this, Clay and I say it emphatically in our own book. Read first--read daily---turn off media and put away work books and before you do anything else, read out loud to them--and read out loud to them until they are 30! Do not think that just because they can read at 6 that you should make them read to themselves and stop reading out loud. Read to them because you get to share in mentoring, discussing ideas, your vocabulary is bigger and you can explain things and they develop better skills in thinking and writing and communicating when you read out loud.
Sarah provides another peek into the benefits of reading:
“Consider that for every children’s classic written, there are countless versions of it to be found within the minds of the children who read it, and no two of them are the same. The imagination of each child is unique, creating a new image to fit the words he or she reads. Because of this, to read a story is to set in motion a swift growth of new images within the mind of a child. Every book read adds to that stock of inner imagery so that a child who is a great reader has a mind crammed with landscapes and people, trees and fairies, castles and mountains unique to his or her own thought.”
― Sarah Clarkson, Caught Up in a Story: Fostering a Storyformed Life of Great Books & Imagination with Your Children
Go read a great story today, and enjoy as your brain and your children’s brains grow stronger just by enjoying the tale.
Printable:Philippians 4:8 PDF
Books Referenced in this Podcast:
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June 9, 2020
Unprepared for Motherhood, Toddlers & Teens & Podcast Jane Biel
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God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son.
JERRY BRIDGES
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Motherhood came upon me by surprise when I was almost 32 years old. Then I had 3 children in less than 5 years and was hopelessly out of control of my time—and I didn’t know that was to be expected. I kept looking for books that would make it all easier, manageable, give me order and predictability in my life. But finally, God said, “What if the problem with your frustration is you? Children have had needs through all generations but when. mamas lived into the season of life with littles, they found more joy and peace.”
And so, I breathed. deep and began to learn how to find. peace amidst the messy parts and joy in the living of life together. Fast forward and I. had another little one when I was 42. But having lived through 3 children, I was prepared to live into this amazing gift God allowed. Today on my podcast, I explore the idea that most of us enter motherhood unprepared with my sweet friend, a mother of four, Jane Biel.
We named our younger daughter Joy, and she ended up living up to her name. To our family she is a total joy. Perhaps because I never thought I would have a child again, I did not mind the sleepless nights, her cries, or her baby needs quite as much as I did as a younger mom. I cherished and enjoyed her so much more because I knew what to expect and I had a sense that she might be my last baby and I wanted to enjoy her every day. Experience stretches us to give us joy in our limitations.
Joy moved from a crib to a real bed when she was about two and a half years old. Often, at the crack of dawn she would climb next to me in my bed, squeezing and snuggling tightly against my body. After settling in, she would fall back asleep for a while longer.
Her feather-soft hair would tickle my cheek, and her warm pudgy body, soft to my skin, was a delight to me as I wrapped my arms around this tiny gift and held her tight.
“Mama,” she said thoughtfully early one morning, “this is where I most belong, as close as I can get to you, because I can feel your love better when I am closer.”
Then a smile crept across her little face as she breathed out a sigh and settled into a few more minutes of “love.”
Because Joy was my beloved, prayed-for little girl, I loved having her next to me. I cherished the times I still had a little girl who wanted to be so near me, one who would trust me utterly. As her parent, I was so thankful she wanted to be near her mama. When she crawled into my bed and cuddled next to me, I was filled with happiness and appreciation of the gift she was to me. I loved it that she loved me! It didn’t matter what she had done the day before—
if she had cried a lot
or broken a mug full of juice
or fought with her brother
or disobeyed me
She did not have to promise to be more mature, or confess her faults, or stay away because of having a bad day the day before.
At any time, she could just snuggle up next to me, because as my daughter, she belonged there! I delighted having her near me. She was my own little girl. I loved her with my whole heart, and I loved knowing that she wanted to be close to me and that she depended on me for her security, protection, comfort, and love.
My love for her had nothing to do with her performance. My love was committed, solid, and constant because she was my beloved one.
This is a human picture of God’s parent love for us. The very nature of God is to love. He can do nothing else. His love defines Him, so His love for us is settled forever and cannot be changed.
Of course, we will never come close to the perfection or holiness of God. We are selfish most every day! We often say things that are harsh, do petty things, and act in a stingy or angry way. Yet still He loves us and wants us to be close to Him! It is almost impossible to believe that He could love us even when we are not loving to Him.
In the same way that I did not expect Joy to behave like an adult but accepted her limitations as a normal little toddler, so God is mindful of our own limitations and yet still loves us.
God sees us as toddlers, so to speak. Understanding our fragility, our humanness, He responds to us as I responded to Joy. He is mature even when we are not. He is constant in His love toward us, His commitment, His care for our needs, and His compassion for our heart’s cry. As our heavenly Father, no matter what we do or how we fail Him, He is the constant one, the responsible one. He knows our frame—that we are weak, immature, and imperfect, but He doesn’t require us to perform before we come close. He just wants our heart to trust Him, and He wants us to depend on Him as our loving Father.
When we come to Him as a child—innocent, dependent, trusting, and humble—He welcomes us into the place right next to His heart.
Do you know that God loves you as you are—doesn’t expect you to be perfect, has patience, understands your struggles and still trusted you with the miracle of your precious ones. I pray today this truth washes over your heart.Books Referenced in this Podcast:Play episode
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June 8, 2020
Home: The Place of Grace & Welcome Podcast
Home: The Place of Grace and Welcome Episode #425
Hi my friends! I’m so thankful to have you with me for the podcast today. We have had some problems with our server tonight, and so I will add a blog post to accompany this podcast as soon as that is resolved, but I didn’t want you to have to wait to hear a message in this episode that is dear to my heart. I pray it is an encouragement to you today.
Love, Sally
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June 7, 2020
Who Is My Neighbor? & Podcast
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“Mama, you know that all four of us kids can look back and see the imperfections of our family, the ups and downs, but there were anchors that kept us from being caught up in the storms of life. What has carried us through all these years is that we saw you and Daddy seeking God, praying every morning. Then out of that we saw you earnestly seeking to live out through your actions what you learned every day and talked about in our devotions together.”
“We never thought our faith was based on mere rules but on the stories and the impressions that Christ left when he walked on this earth. He. was really alive in our home and He has followed. us everywhere. We still hear those messages woven in and through our thoughts and remember the ways we lived them out together in our family culture.”
Our children are always watching, learning, hearing and following. We feed their imaginations with the beautiful stories of Christ so that they will always have His love and wisdom to guide them. I was remembering how much like a treasure scripture was to me when I was newly a believer and lived on every word I read. Today, I will share my story.
Feeling desperately alone amidst a sea of people, and typical myriad constant activities of a collegiate life, I knew that there had to be. something more. From the. outside, I appeared as a. typical college sophomore, holding my life together with smiles, quips and staying as cool as I knew how. But through tears and the darkness of my lost soul, I knelt down on my. knees. in my tenth. floor dormitory room on hard linoleum gray floors, and prayed:
“God, if you are out there somewhere, please find me. I feel so alone and desperate and lost. Please do something to let me know you hear me, please.”
And so it was a few weeks later, a very shy woman knocked on my door, started a conversation with me and told me that God loved me. It transformed my life. I could not get enough. the Bible was my treasure chest. I had never known how I had longed for life to make sense and that when I read scripture, I found my heart filled, comforted, and for the first time in my life I felt known and still loved.
Fast forward, my Bible became worn, underlined, memorized and it was the light I lived by. Over many years, it gave me all that I needed: wisdom, comfort, love, understanding, direction and purpose.
And so in every point of life, every drama, every issue, the Word of God informed my decisions, my trajectory, my steps, my way forward. And. so it was. my “bread of life”, my manna, last week, the the week before that and the weeks yet to come. But for 48 years, my times in the Word have guided the decisions, actions, moments of my life, one day at a time.
When I had my children, I wanted them to know the word as something that lived in their hearts, every day, all the time. I wanted them to imagine Jesus right there with them, preparing them for all that they would face in life by giving them His stories, HIs model, His love and wisdom. This life of Christ came through every day, little by little, as we cherished the stories together in our family culture.
I knew they would face challenges, stress, pressures in their life time as I had, but I wanted them to have the voice of God whispering to them to show them how to make the kinds of decisions that would honor Christ, that would follow the integrity of God’s word.
As I was praying about what to share with you today, God brought to mind this story of how we are to respond to and love and serve our neighbors. And this story was one that captured the wonder and imagination of all of my children, a story they each remember and. use to guide the relationships of their own lives. We give our children the best gift when we provide them with the voice of God in their own hearts because of growing up in HIs life over all the years in our homes.
Today, as I was reading and praying for our world, my friends and all that is going on, I was reminded of a profound question that an educated, earnest student of the law of God asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor.” The following is the passage. I hope that this story encourages you as it has me. More in the podcast.
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Go, do likewise, have compassion, show mercy, help the one who needs help, give generously as Jesus has given to us. It was His story. It is what He requires and desires for us to do because of our love for Him. I take it to heart. May it bless you today.
Printable:
Luke 10:27 PDF
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June 4, 2020
The Lord is. Enthroned As King Forever & Podcast
On my walk yesterday! :)
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How are you today?
I have to say that I am so blessed and have the best community in the world. So many of you have encouraged me, sent notes, are. praying for me, have joined the membership, have donated to our ministry, (Wholeheart.org) and I just don’t deserve the love but am quite humbled by. your encouragement. I just thank God for you and pray for you so very often.
Rest assured. I am praying for all of you with my family.
Forty-six years ago, I went into full time Christian ministry--can. you believe it? And. through these years, I have experienced so many times of trials in history and personally, as well as deep joys. But as I learned to walk one step at a time, learn to trust God one day at a time, learned to put aside bitterness and cynicism, I could eventually always see the grace, love and goodness of God, and learned to stretch towards HIs light and love. You might enjoy my podcast as I share more about this.
I wanted to add a little levity to your life as we are finding escapes for ourselves just to not live in the tension of the sadness and issues every moment of the day. Two books I found for Sarah’s and Joy’s birthday have been fun:
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The Jane Austen Society: A Novel
By Jenner, Natalie
Cooking With the Saints
By Alexandra Greeley, Fernando Flores
Little levity for the road--Jane Austen Society
Cooking with the Saints---so beautiful and so many gorgeous recipes
From traditional Cottage Pie on St. Patrick's Day to Basque Lamb Stew on the feast of St. Ignatius Loyola, the delicious recipes in this unique cookbook will excite your senses, awaken in you greater love for the saints, and bring Catholic festivity into your home.
Here you'll find brief saints biographies and ideal accompanying dishes tied to the liturgical feasts of the Church. From this exceptional cookbook, your family will receive triple nourishment: for body, mind, and spirit.
In it, you'll encounter:
Scores of exciting dishes from dozens of countries, including Ethiopia, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Korea, Scotland, France, Greece, and Sweden.
Sixty fascinating saints biographies.
A comprehensive list of celebratory cookies for feast days throughout the year.
Many traditional recipes, including Roman Honey Cake, Hungarian Goulash Soup, and even Papal Cream Cake (a favorite of St. John Paul II).
A handy index to help you find just the kind of dinner you need tonight.
A carefully categorized shopping list for each recipe, to save you time in the store.
And then, we have been watching hero movies—Marvel style—and it has encouraged us to have hope, oddly.
Much more in the podcast, but here is a verse I wanted to end with that a friend shared today:
Psalm 29:9-10
The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
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Love: The Perfect Bond of Unity
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
Col. 3:14
Recently I was at the home of a precious friend and her sweet little ones were delighting me with their antics, love, fun, playing—and I received the sweet gift of a hug that went to my heart.
At this time when nerves are raw, we have been depleted by so much stress and so many sad events. we are all in need of a good dose of love.
An aching, longing pulses beneath, where no one can see. As the body requires food to stay alive, so the depths of all of us, especially our children, hungers for love in order to stay alive. Love that embraces, validates, affirms, whispers, "Just as you are, I adore you. You delight me. I think about you, I cherish the day your were born. You are my beloved and always will be, no matter what."
Each of us was crafted with soul container that would be filled with love. Though no one can see from the outside whether ours is empty, desolate or full to overflowing, each of us has the capacity to fill up another's cavern with words, touch, sacrifice, generous gifts. When full, we are most likely to understand and worship God.
Without that filling, we will search for it all of our lives, even in the wrong places--places that promise to give love and fill hearts, but steal and destroy instead.
A mother's love is a most constant resource of God's love that can sustain, strengthen, heal and restore a child. This is a time for us to exhibit the reality of love towards those who are hurting, to be an example to our children of loving unconditionally. It is also a time to extend the love that creates a perfect bond of unity. It is a time to love our neighbors as ourselves.
When I dress in the mornings, I choose what I will “put on.” It is an act of choice, it. is deliberate, not based on feelings. Because we are beloved by God, we can choose every day to “Put on love.” Paul tells us to “put on love.” We practice it, we clothe ourselves in it and it determines our actions, reactions, words. Because of our heart to be humble. before he one who is love, who sacrificed everything for love, we humbly follow His example. Colossians 3 teaches us to choose love, to clothe ourselves in love.
Over 500 times, He speaks to us of love.....
God is love.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
If you have not love, you have become a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.
They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Let us remember,
Love moves, inspires, shapes the dreams, gives hope, holds us for eternity--for heaven.
Every child, every grown child—adults, needs, exists well when love is given.
It is our heritage, our duty, our service of gratitude. Love keeps us alive.
When we by faith invest love in others, our own souls become full of His love--we pour out, He pours in.
Why do I focus on God's love and grace so much? Because Love is the source of all life, it is Him reincarnated through us. Love fuels faith and hope and inspires to overcome..
I have read the introductions to two books this week. Two grown men, famous in their own arenas. Both wrote of the anger of their father, that still stings, still holds them in bondage, still darkens the memory of childhood soul. It ought not to be the legacy we leave.
Love covers a multitude of sin. it is to a man's honor to overlook a sin. Love is the perfect bond of unity.
And so I speak of love--the acting out of love which brings light to darkness, satisfaction to a starving heart, comfort to a lonely soul, sympathy to hurt feelings, Love never fails. May our love muscles grow stronger and stronger until we see Him, Love incarnate, face to face.
June 2, 2020
Peace of God Be Yours & Podcast
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Many have expressed to me how sad they are about all the circumstances of the last week. I certainly understand. I have been praying often. But today, I was focussing my heart on the presence of. Christ, with us, present in all the places, having compassion for all, seeking to draw many to Himself.
He is our hope, He is our peace, He is our wisdom. The. verse in I. Peter 4: 7-8 has been in my heart and on my mind today. I thought I would share it with you:
The end of all things is. near—in light of that, remembering that soon, in God’s. timing, we will see Him
Therefore, be. of sound judgment and a sober spirit for the purpose of prayer—stand back, see God, ask Him for His presence, His ways to prevail—be found praying to Him out of a trusting heart, focussed on Him.
Above all, keep fervent in your love,—this means it is a choice—and be fervent for absolutely everyone.
Love covers a multitude of sins. Love covers, places grace over it as a blanket, seeks to bring unity through Christ.
May God give each of you peace in whatever circumstances you find yourselves. May the Love of God be real to. you today.
Printable:
1 Peter 4:7-8 PDF
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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!
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June 1, 2020
Hope That Restores, Comforts & Builds a Godly Nation & Podcast
”Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” --Aristotle
“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” Abigail Adams
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As we come off of several days of catastrophic violence and destruction throughout the country, I have asked myself what is behind this? Why the deep reaction and so much anger at this moment? Frustration does not come from a vacuum. I have had much sympathy for the pain, frustration and grief that many have felt. Their frustration for feeling they aren’t heard or valued, have no one to give justice is understandable. And this frustration goes beyond skin color or culture. Many have been building up frustration from many stresses and pressures and fears stored up in the demands of life—job loss, insecurity, racial tension, values clashes and more.
Yet, I believe that at the bottom of many of the behaviors we have seen is the lack of a foundation upon which to rest life, a shaky ground upon which to build and live life. Perhaps lack of character training, the absence of instruction and modeling of a noble life, and the deficiency of models of moral strength—the absence of seeing the love of Christ displayed to them personally. Love must be shown and felt, honor must be modeled and spoken about to take root.
But at the root of it all is the absence of God in our midst. God brought to my life all that I longed for and needed—unconditional love, purpose, community, wisdom, protection, wisdom. Jesus became the epicenter for my whole life. A life without all of these that He provides is a life that is empty, unfulfilling, without hope, devoid of unconditional love and forever belonging.
A generation of adolescents have not internally ingested the idea of how to honor others or other’s possessions because they have not been taught to value the lives of all human beings. They have been surrounded by violence on television and in media, the voice of snarky critical, often hypocritical people and have a vacuum in their souls to understand the need to honor all human beings. In the absence of biblical wisdom and instruction, people are subject to the drives of their anger and passion, and peer dependent on the voices and messages of culture. Souls are raw, needs are unmet and behavior expresses what frustration is going on internally. I do not want to diminish the reality of inequity or feeling invisible to the justice we all deeply long for.
Yet, for true understanding and compassion for people to take place, it must be built for many years, over many days, intentionally correcting heart attitudes and coxing love to come forward.
In other words, loving others as we love ourselves is developed over much time and through intentionality. We prayed how to enact this. My children grew up in the organic life in our home of hosting people from all over the world at our dinner table. We prepared our guest rooms for people from every culture, every sort of background. We spoke of the verses in scripture about God’s compassion, love, justice. We prayed for people who were in need. We learned of the desire of Jesus to set captives free and we read rousing tales of people who, throughout history, gave generously for the sake of others who were oppressed. We had people in our church in Vienna from 40 different nations and they were our friends. Learning to be free from racial baggage came over a life-time of living free of bias in the daily circumstances of our lives. It was a living process of learning and becoming.
If we hope to see long term changes in the ways people think about racism, equality, honor, civility, decorum, behavior, we need to understand that that shaping of a soul and the forming of convictions is a long term endeavor, not solved in limited acts of dramatic engagement.
Change does not usually come through one enormous dramatic event, but heart-deep change come from daily, weekly, monthly training and instruction over many years. Embracing virtue, loving godly character happens over a lifetime of practicing living a godly life.
Rembrandt became a master of light and a detailed painter, exquisite faces by training, practice, and years and years of painting, over and over and over again--practice. And so it is with any craft, skill, degree or accomplishment.
However, it is also true of character and a Christian testimony--
the character that is habituated to improving, developing integrity and relational inclusion grows by practice, stretching to work hard, to do the best, to exceed expectations which comes from daily practice and personal integrity
Those whose ideals are set high and aim, each day to pursue those ideals will have the opportunity to become excellent in any field, any philosophy of life.
This comes from an inner grid, the way one learns to see life and expects himself to live. We called this "self-government," when we trained excellence of character into the very fiber of our children's souls.
Recently, I spent hours on the phone with 3 of my children to discuss life, to see what they were thinking. Seeing them care greatly about issues of morality, faith; watching them understand the need to uphold God's character in the market places of life, hearing convictions and desires to impact their arenas for Christ, heartened this mama's soul.
Being together like this and discussing these important issues was reminiscent of all of the years we discussed truth, history, morality, the need for obedience, personal righteousness and a stewardship of the gospel and the inclusion of love for others. Their adult hearts were shaped by endless days of soul investment in our home when they were little. God would take my fish and loaves, my inadequate efforts and through His spirit, stir their hearts.
It is possible to watch God transform lives of little ones into adults who care deeply about the things of God. Passion, inspiration, obedience, a love for truth is learned by our children, family, friends, from seeing it modeled and being captured by the life coming from a real live person--you!
It has made me realize, again, that I would so love to help encourage, inspire, train women to own their lives by learning how to establish foundations of these important convictions in the lives of their own children.
I have been surrounded by mediocrity, compromise and substandard Christians behavior in several public arenas and personal situations lately. Our children have experienced the same in their worlds. I have asked myself, with the image of the living God imprinted upon my very being, shouldn't I, and all true believers, be able to call forth excellence and integrity as a reflection of Him in my life.
" As a man sows, so shall he reap." Galatians 6:7
Yet, excellence and integrity is a personal issue.
One can only become this way through a personal commitment, a vision of oneself, and a decision that says,
"Regardless of what is happening around me, I will be the best I can be, work the hardest I am able, pursue the highest standards--especially for my personal life where no one but God sees--because I have been bought with a price and have His Holy Spirit residing within. So my worship of Him requires that I pursue the standard of His Holiness, sacrifice and love as an affirmation of His reality in my life."
Whether as a mother training the character of children, filling their minds with excellent writers, artists, thinkers, or as a woman being a steward of every aspect of her life, one can only become excellent by stretching, determining to obey His still small voice and then using every resource to pursue bringing His light and imprint upon this world.
This labor of excellence, personally and in the lives of our children, may/will take many long years--but if we are not committed to pursuing whatever it takes to build these convictions, then what hope does our future have--and even more, how can we represent Him, who has given all?
Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." We are called to become leaders that others can follow and emulate. With every year of faith, there should be more of Him reflecting through our lives. It is not a choice, it is a call on our lives. We cannot say, "I am a Christian, but I think I will make "c's or d's" in my character choices. We aim high because the love of Christ compels us.
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