Life with Sally

Awaking Wonder is an opening our hearts and the hearts of our children to His presence, His gentle love, His patience, His reality amidst the storms of life. Awaken wonder, live into His light and love today.

Join me today as I speak with my inner circle friends who hold a philosophy defined in my new book, Awaking Wonder, as they share their beginnings—how to develop a philosophy of Education and where to start.

The more I take care to keep rhythms, to celebrate beauty, to keep meeting with loved ones, I will probably be more likely to hold fast to my faith during hard times. Intensionally filling my cup, regularly at the same rate at which my energy and emotions are depleted helps me to be able to keep giving to others.

The more we can accept ourselves, our personality, our story, our strengths and weakness, our flaws and our passions, the more contentment we will nurture in our lives. And when we are content, we are able to accept and affirm others for their uniqueness and for their individual responses to life. The more we like who God made us, the more secure our children will be.

I pray that Awaking Wonder will encourage you and help direct you to understand what really matters in the overall shaping and development of children. I pray our story will lead you to the deeply fulfilling life I have had as a mother, teacher, writer, leader. What a gift I have received that I didn't know would be so deeply satisfying—and to feel a part of kingdom work in a world that needs hope.

Wonder is the engine that drives curiosity and shapes a robust intellect. Wonder is the vehicle that nurtures spiritual formation by engaging in the miraculous, the sacred, the intricacy of our world around us. We ponder the personality, inspiration, breadth of the One who crafted all of the sublime natural art we behold. We respond in awe and worship.

We live in a little town, near the Rocky Mountains for a backdrop. It is always breathtakingly beautiful when we get to hike. Monument, the town in our county, has always hosted the most amazing parade of veterans, kids on decorated bikes and trikes and every assortment of groups, clubs, and floats imaginable.

I asked Ginger to share with us on my podcast some of her favorite books that are about people of color. We have in common some of our mutually loved books. I know you will enjoy listening today. It is really two friends letting you into our conversation.

Somewhere while running hard over the past years, I decided that I loved to add "sparkle" to my every day life. I embraced color, dimension, taste, adventure as a part of who God made me to be. Since I live off and on in Oxford and have a walking life, I decided to cut my very straight hair short because I was always walking in the rain and it was the only way to keep my hair manageable. And then I adopted a habit of always wearing fun earrings as a little bit of a "girly" touch that gave me much pleasure.

His will today is for you to find His joy and blessing and to enjoy life. He is doing an invisible work that is beyond what you could accomplish yourself. He is faithful. He will reward every decision of faith that you make in the darkness when no one else sees, He sees. It is your integrity, your spiritual service of worship, to believe even in the invisible, weary moments of your life. He is with you and has a heart for all children--even you. He is the one who cast the flowers upon the field for his child to enjoy.. He is the one who is willing make all things in your life beautiful in His time.

Today on my podcast, I share some of the foundational values shared in these books. Leave a comment below, on Facebook or Instagram and you will be entered to win one of four books. (2 of each will be given away.)

When we seek to redeem the normal, daily, mundane by imagining how we might bring grace, hospitality, love, light, beauty, we can actually help cover the darkness and impact of despair with beauty that creates and cultivates new life.

We have been meeting this way for thousands and thousands of meals, delighting in one another. Hearing the love of Christ defended this evening between each bite, talking of God's manifest love in the midst of a dark world, peaking into the souls of each one as they shared their heartfelt convictions made a very tiring and exhausting day worthwhile.

Even when we are tempted to fear, we can cry out to our God and He will answer and calm the storms of our lives. Yet, we must rest in the fact that He is sovereign over all powers and is working beyond what we can see during this time.

I think I would have been so much more content and joyful if I had just known at the beginning that life for me would not be balanced--but could always be meaningful--if I would just accept the limitations of each day, each season, each child, my marriage and my finances--none totally balanced or perfect--but all a blessing.

I read it when I was 10 years old, (you hear the story in my podcast) and it has left and impact for life. Consequently, I read it and discussed it with my children and it became one of their favorites. Enjoy!

What you believe about who God is, then, becomes the platform for your behavior, your values, the grid through which you see life. When you ponder God and cultivate a personal theology, it will influence what you pass on as a legacy to your children as your life messages of integrity.

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.

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.

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."

I wish I could invite all of you, my friends, into my home, for a warm meal, a friendship conversation where I could listen to what is on your heart, a place to restore your soul— and to spoil you just a little. Hospitality, the tender care, attention, love and attending to the needs of others is a way we use our place to give others welcome. After such a wearying 3 months, many are in need of our invitation. You are probably in need of it yourself. Our homes can give life where hearts can find comfort, welcome, belonging if we use our them to invite those who need care Into a place we have prepared as a haven for them.

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 lawyer asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor."

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.

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.

Justice has been a study of mine. through the days. Jesus is a God of just love—equitable generosity and care for all people, all created in His image. Most of all, though, as. Christ followers, we are to exhibit Him in every relationship. He humbled himself to give us everything. We owe all people His love and grace and friendship. And so choosing to pass on racism as a legacy of our lives is not acceptable. if we have given our lives to serve Jesus. Yet we do see hate, small mindedness, violence everywhere.

Teen years are the making of the child into an adult and the humbling of the parent who realizes they never were in control of their children! But it also makes for forming great adult friendships that will give back to you the rest of their lives. Take heart and a deep breath and expect to see God's grace and provision in new ways--and above all, don't let it get you down. It is a normal process for all of history--the reason Solomon wrote Proverbs to teens, and the means through which many adults become more humble and compassionate for others.

I hope you will enjoy the second podcast with Clay and me sharing our thoughts about what we have learned about parenting to reach the hearts of our own four, who love us and love the Lord—all by His grace. We are always putting in something in their lives—we invest thorough the seasons:

Many of you who have read our books know that Clay and I are very relationship-based in our approach to children. As we looked to Christ for His model in how He reached the hearts of his disciples, so we wanted to develop a close and deep with ours. Yet, I think because every parent wants to do everything right, they often become susceptible to whatever parenting book they get their hands on first, seeking to find a formula for disciplining children.

Often, my children were doubting God, they were doubting because it didn't seem like He was answering prayer, or because other Christians had hurt or disappointed our family or acted without integrity or one of their friends had fallen from faith or adopted an immoral lifestyle. There are many reasons in a world full of temptation, but I think staying close, communicating love, affirming and understanding their questions and speaking forward into their lives is helpful. And of course, pray, pray, pray!

There is darkness in our world, discouragement, confusion. Yes, this is a really crazy time and we are not living as healthy as God intended us to—without regular contact with community, family, friends, church, restaurants, trying to meet all of our own needs alone without the normal interaction of those who used to be our support system. But there is still beauty, people we can love and be loved by, things to laugh at, and places where we still see goodness and God's lifegiving creativity in our daily lives.

Do you ever feel like just when you are going to have a good day, someone spills something, argues, gets a fever when you were looking forward to going outside? Part of the challenge of life is learning to celebrate the joyful times and learning to live in grace through the times when life is just hard to tame.

How are you? Most of "my people" are getting restless and cranky and drained to their toes. In now world is this normal life. The seclusion from church, friends, family and normal activity is truly unhealthy at the heart of it. We were made for relationship, work, fun, faith inspiration and ways to have a break once in a while—whatever that means to you.

A mother, living well in her God-ordained role, is of great beauty and inestimable value to the future history of any generation. Her impact is irreplaceable and necessary to the spiritual formation of children who will be the future adults of the next generation. Fun, comfort, humor, graciousness, spiritual passion, compassion for the lost, hospitality, chores, meals, training, life-giving words, hours and hours of listening and playing and praying and reading—all are parts of the mosaic which go into the process of soul development.

We know we are called to follow Christ, to take His message to the world, to raise our children to heed Jesus' call. But sometimes I think we fail to consider that following the Lord might mean leaving behind the ordinary and the familiar. It means exchanging a temporal view of life for an eternal goal. And this may mean leaving behind things we really care about--involvements and pursuits that seem important and worthwhile but may not be God's best for us.

A year ago, my wonderful friend, Nicole, NPT, created a program called "30 Days of Whole Living". I know that stress is slowing me down in my own ideals and practices. I thought it would be encouraging to all of us to talk about a healthy lifestyle today. Nicole has a plan, "7 Days of Whole Living", that helps women make a plan that fits into their lives for healthy rhythms and practices.. Today, we talked about her plan for whole living and what we both do to try to keep ourselves as healthy and strong as possible as a rhythm of life, all the time, every day. The purpose of her own program is to help women and moms, especially, learn different practices of self-care or what both of us call, "Whole. Living"

Drawing upon Scripture and upon his own experience learning from his friend and mentor Eugene Peterson, Grothe shows how our lives can be secured by the resource that will keep us from collapsing under the onslaught of the difficulties of life. Wisdom is available to us. It takes work to pursue it. Chasing Wisdom reveals how. We had a grand time in our interview and I was so very encouraged. I know you will be so inspired by his message.

Today, I talked with my dear friend, Holly Packiam. Holly serves as the Pastor of Parenting Ministries at New Life Downtown, and brings her experience as a mother and her training as a counselor to the subject of loss. She shared how this season of being in isolation reminds her of when her kids were 7 and under and it felt impossible to go anywhere, get anything done, or see anyone outside of her family.

I hope you will enjoy the podcast today. Greatness is shaped in the hidden moments of life, the repeated rhythms over and over again that shape a life of memories and values in the hearts and minds of our children.

I hope you'll enjoy our podcast today, as we discuss ways to find peace in the midst of stressful times!

Mothers are the keepers of lives entrusted by God in every generation. This week, I celebrate Mother's day with some personal thoughts and some book giveaways that I hope will further inspire you.

Mama's are my heroes who God uses to shape the destinies of little boys who become men. When a boy thinks his mama is for him, his mama sees a hero in his heart, prays for him, enjoys him, the messages last for life. Nathan, my son, is releasing a new book today that I think will help recapture the imagination of men all over the world to live into their capacity to become Good Men. But I think that mamas can be such an important part to working forward in creating this desire in the heart of her men.

I thought it would be fun to talk a bit about something light— what we like to do, when we need to blow off steam! And so our team gathered over Zoom this weekend to share some ideas. Our podcast is about what we'd do to have fun for ourselves, but here are some ideas for what to do when your kids need to have fun, too!

As I look to the needs of children of today, I am convinced they need the same things from their mothers that I needed—and received—from mine. They need not only the gentle touch of a mother's hands, but her focus and her attention on a daily basis. They need a champion and a cheerleader, someone who has the time and energy to give encouragement along life's way and comfort in dark times. They need a directive voice to show them how to live.

Whatever your personality, be sure you allow yourself the time to be refreshed in a way that is right for you. There is no single, one-size-fits--all formula for how and where that happens, but you need enough time with yourself to determine how and where it will happen for you. But when you take care of your personal needs and make time to invest in your own well-being through this marathon of life, you will live a more sustainable life.

When your children walk with you, are they walking with a wise person? Can they look at your seasoned responses, your insightful understanding of people, your fortitude in difficult times as they walk the moments of your daily life? Children watch us, listen to us when we are talking to others, hear us behind closed doors as we talk to our husband, see us in public. Our lives are the walk that our children will imitate.

I hope you'll enjoy today's podcast as Misty Krasawski joins me to discuss parenting our children from toddlerhood through the teenage years!

Contemplating the hearts of my own children and seeking to teach them about the grace of God, I realize my love and service to them must come before any of my great words, my teaching and training. My time, my attention, my "soft-tickling"--even when I am tired or have other "important" things n my mind--is what builds our relationship and prepares them to listen to what I have to say. Only then, once the wells of their need are filled with the grace of being loved, will my words to them about God's grace finally make sense."