Living Well in the Meantime

Most of life is lived in the waiting, in the meantime. For 43 years, Clay and I have held fast to marriage. We lived through mundane rhythms of life day and night, through all the phases of childhood where relationships were forged, where the Clarkson story took root, where ministry was birthed. In the meantime, between big life events, is where the treasures were found.

We all wait to see what is ahead. Will it be calm? Will it be violent? I have waited to fall in love, waited to get married, waited to get pregnant, waited to get pregnant again. Waited for 19 houses to sell when moving, waited to find another suitable place. Waited for children to be out of diapers, to learn to read, to grow up!

On and on it goes. Clay has waited through all of these seasons by my side. What does life hold? What is going to happen?

Most of life is in the “in between.” And yet, what we do in the meantime is what really defines the story of our lives. As Clay and I waited together when our hopes for our ministry were only ideas we talked about together, we worked hard to start a ministry without a paycheck for 5 years. Our first conference had only 11 people.

We talked late at night about if we would ever write books — we have now written 38. We lived through illnesses, moves, car wrecks, loneliness and rejection, out of the box children, asthmatics, family trauma, church drama.

These places are where our character was made, our story grew with integrity. Each season of learning to be faithful in hard times, of pushing through to see if God would answer prayer, learning to forgive when we didn’t feel like it, loving a child who was acting in an unlovable way.

What you choose to believe and cherish, practice and submit to, work at and believe in, happens when no one else is looking. These are the glorious days your children will remember — the joy of the meantime, the moments cherished, the memories made at bedtime, table time, birthdays, times of illness, holidays.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. What will you do in the meantime? How will you pass the days/years meaningfully while you are waiting? In the meantime, celebrate life.

We Are Investing In Eternity

Children who have such a "shepherd" in their homes to oversee, provide for, direct, and protect the life of the home will benefit profoundly. By embracing our call to home-making, we are ensuring that these life centers are thriving and well.

The strong and secure future we help to build for our children is laid by the hundreds of small deeds we do every day as we serve faithfully in our homes. Yet the great value of our service will be felt for generations to come and throughout eternity.

Tea Time Tuesday: Delighting in an Oxford Spring & Celebrating Monumental Events with Sarah

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Tea Time Tuesday

Sarah and her precious little Elanor. (What does Elanor have to do with Lord of the Rings? Listen to today’s podcast!) Isn’t baby Elanor beautiful? And so is her mama, inside and out.

As my podcast releases today, I will most probably be flying over the Atlantic Ocean toward my home in Colorado. I have had such a magnificent 5 weeks in Oxford with great meals, sweet fellowship, magnificently beautiful walks, and precious time with my precious grands.

Today, I ended my time in Oxford with my wonderful daughter, Sarah, chatting about life, a momentous birthday and values and relationships we cherish. I hope you enjoy today’s podcast and our fun time together.

Praying for you all, my friends, and hoping you know God’s generous love and companionship with you. We shall have a meeting of our membership friends in California at Wild + Free. Also, some fun plans for members in the Colorado Area. Stay tuned. Ihope some of you can join me at the Writer’s conference at Glen Eyrie.

Finally, so excited to be one of the speakers The Wellness Collective Event in the fall. Lots of great speaking events and fun plans for Life with Sally members.

Hope to meet many of you at these events!

The Unity of the Family Table

Children come to believe more easily in the constant strong and present commitment of God in every circumstance, no matter what, when they have a family who is there for them, parents they can come to with any trial or trouble on their heart.

The unity of the family table, the commitment to change plans in order to celebrate special days with one another, the decision to speak blessing — all these create a rhythm in which our children get a sense of God's commitment to them because they have tasted of our own active, constant, committed love in our home and at our table.

Read more about this in The Lifegiving Table.

A Joyous Easter To You

So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.

John 13: 14

I love remembering the last supper, Jesus is my ponder for how to live my life. He made food, feeding crowds, washing feet, lifting prostitutes off the dusty ground, holding squirmy babies close, giving His life, as a servant king. I realized His life was my example of how to serve my children, friends, neighbors.

Servant leadership starts with a choice to serve Christ by giving my time & energy to my children, husband, friends, neighbors, not when I feel like it but when they need me. I sacrifice my own needs, desires for the purpose of giving them what they need. I model for them the depths of Christ's love.

Choosing servanthood means sitting quietly on a child's bed, listening to sorrows & loneliness, encouraging with gentleness of spirit, administering love— when I would rather have time to myself. It means being exhausted from caring for three children under six, yet still getting up at midnight to soothe pain of an ear infection, without complaining about how tired I am. It means planning an outing—a picnic lunch, a drive to the mountains, a favorite audio book when we moved to a new area and my children felt friendless, even though I had a million other things to do or would just love time by myself. I became the friend my children couldn't find in others. I gave my time freely. It means taking time listening to a friend pour out her heart, taking flowers, writing a note.

Choosing to be a servant leader means willingly giving up myself, my expectations, my time to others, & the task of mothering, It means that, by faith, I have already made a decision to make myself available in the routine tasks, myriad interruptions of daily life and needs of others because I believe it is God's will for me to serve Him this way as he served when He lived on earth.. Making this choice ahead of time means I will expect problems & needs to arise, and be ready to deal with them in peace instead of impatience, resentment. I give up expectations.

Ministry to others rarely happens at convenient times, but it changes lives forever.

A joyous Easter to you, friends.

You Don't Have To Be Perfect

As I walk honestly before God, with my children watching, they will learn how to have a real relationship with him as well. As they see me apologize to them and pray in front of them to ask for God's forgiveness in my own life, my children will learn that God is a God of grace who forgives me and guides me. My worshiping him in gratitude for a beautiful sunset or a rainbow gives them a pattern for their own spontaneous worship.

As my children see me in the deep waters of life, being tested to my core and still holding on to my Lord and choosing to believe the best, this observation will prepare them for their own trials, which will surely come. They will know that he will guide and forgive them as they lead an imperfect but devoted life before a loving Father who has always met their mother's needs.

Read more about this in The Mission of Motherhood.

Loving Words: The Pathway to Your Children's Hearts

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What could be better than a teatime with my sweet daughter, Joy, that she planned as a surprise to treat me. Talking together is our favorite hobby together. Pathways, loving words were a theme we shared. Paths, made of infinite steps, determine our destination.

"You remind me of superman! Brave, strong always wanting to help others."

"You are exactly the child I would have picked if I had a choice of all the children in the world."

"Yes, I think you will be a wonderful writer. You are a crafter of ideas."

"I love spending time with you. You delight my heart."

Words have so much power in our lives.

Not long ago, one of my sweet children surprised me with an email that brought thankful tears to my eyes:

"Dear Mama,

"God is doing amazing things in my life, opening doors I never imagined possible. But when I was thinking about my dreams coming true, I thought of you. Throughout the years, you told me you believed in my impossible dreams. You listened, affirmed, encouraged, supported. I don't know if I would be where I am today, if you had not constantly invested in my life through your words of love. Thank you, mama, for being my forever cheerleader."

I believed that words invested forward into what my children could become to shape their sense of self. I prayed God would give me eyes to see hidden gifts, the potential of what lay within their hearts, to invest.

Words give hope, communicate ideas, inspire movements to fight for freedom, sharpen our minds to know how to think well, inspire heroism, give leadership to those longing for direction. These words are alive and shape life.

Jesus was the Word, the message sent from God’s heart of love. Calling him that shows such the significance of words to God.

God is a message maker, a lover who wants us to know His words of love. He is a Father who wants to give us words of wisdom so that we should understand how to live life well; the great teacher who would fill our minds with truth that we could live free from the world’s false messages through our whole lives. God is a communicator, longs for our fellowship.

Your children long for your sweet words today. What can you tell your children that will fill their souls today?



We Are Passing On A Life

If, as Jesus says, the student will become like his teacher, then to become a good teacher, we must examine our own lives. What have I stored inside my heart, mind, and soul? Does my character reflect the integrity I hope my child will imitate? Am I exhibiting the attitudes that I want my child to exhibit? Do I love those around me unconditionally so that my child can understand the love of God?

The heart of a mentor is to act in relationship for the benefit, development, and well-being of his student. A worthy mentor seeks to maximize the human potential of the one being influenced. Taking seriously the stewardship of their trust as we guide them should be an underlying motivation of our heart as we commit to influencing them.

Read more about this in Awaking Wonder.

Mothers Are The Formers Of Eternal Souls

Over and over in Scripture, we are reminded that these children of ours are made in the image of God, and their souls will last for eternity. As a mother, you are the first shaper of a soul that will last forever. Mothers were designed by God to be the champions for their children’s souls. God did not entrust children to the church, to neighbors, to groups, or to schools, but to parents.

Our love, our will to give life and celebration, to portray grace and goodness—these will be the factors that shape our children into adults who will love God and His kingdom, and who will change the world.

May God encourage you to be a finisher of your mom walk, a faithful soul in your long journey of motherhood with Him. May your heart be strong in love and faith toward your children, always seeking to see God’s hand and work in their lives. May your heart be strengthened to endure, in marriage and parenting, through storms and troubles. May you determine to walk your path of motherhood, the one God has placed you on, with His eternal purpose, assurance, trust, and heart.

Read more about this in Your Mom Walk With God.

I'd Rather Be a Risk Taker

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“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” -C.S. LEWIS

Tea Time Tuesday: Thoughts from my past, from Austria.

“Oh, Lord! Please provide! I really need you to provide!” I found myself desperately uttering this prayer in my mind before my eyes had even opened. It was one of those times in life when I couldn’t see past tomorrow. I had four grown children with adult worries, a dear overworked husband, and a diminishing bank account. At that moment, my prayer was for the needs of one of my children’s university tuition. Over and over again I had seen God work, but at that point, after a year that felt like a boxing match, I found the eyes of my heart couldn’t see around the bend in the road.

I believe all come to the moment where we can’t see around the next corner. In fact, in my life, there have been too many such times to count. It is at those crossroads that our claim to “have faith” begins to mean something for the real, practical, present world we live in.

When I was a young believer, I pictured faith as something like the enthusiastic hand-raising worshippers I saw at youth conferences. As I grew, I saw that faith more often looks like the quiet trust and sincere outpouring of a heart before God. It is most visible at moments of crisis, death, hurt, need, new beginnings.

It comes at the moment when we are faced with a choice to fully trust God or the world, to give in to despair, or trust in God to take us beyond what we can imagine and see.

I'd rather be a risk taker, live by faith, believe that He is here present than to let fear of what might happen (or fear of failure, or fear of what people might think) squeeze the life and childlikeness of my believing and hoping out of me, to cause me to do nothing at all.

I do not want to be the one who hid what I had in the ground and find a frown on His face because I was afraid to do anything. I can always ask for forgiveness if I am wrong, admit that I am falible, but how few years I have on this earth to say, “I believe though I cannot see. I trust though I don't understand. I am your girl. I will bring your light into dark places. I know you are with me. I know that though I am weak, you are always with me, you will redeem.” I would rather be a risk taker…

More on today’s podcast: recipes, composers, books, and history.