Life with Sally

C.S. Lewis is one of my heroes. I love his writing and thinking. Yet, I appreciate him even more because of his very difficult life. He wrote great psychology of many characters not just because of his imagination, but because of the experiences of His life which taught him to forge through the dark times to strain into the light.

Today, Sarah, Joel, Joy and Joel and I share some of what we who are all a part of each others' story, about what we love and what we have learned here in this God ordained place. I hope you enjoy. And a bonus is that Joel just finished composing a brand new album that is quite wonderful. I hope you will consider purchasing this and enjoying it for yourself and with your family. (Thanks for your support of his music—it is how He is funding his way through His PHD.

God created us to see the invisible fingertips of Him in our lives, the glory of His creation, the reality of His love manifested in countless ways and the generous and abounding love expressed throughout the story of His people.

Today we have a treat for you; a sneak peek of some of our exclusive Life with Sally membership content! Summer is upon us, and so we're shaking up our usual schedule a bit to let you into our various Girls' Clubs—the membership, our leadership team, etc. Misty and I are talking about our summer plans today, and I hope you'll listen to the podcast to learn more about what we have up our sleeves, and of course to contemplate this message about the power of words.

God does not intend us to be filled with anger and frustration and disappointment. Sometimes when we want to blame God, we refuse to see that we have not walked His ways, or followed His paths, and so our lives and our souls are filled up with the world of man, which will always carry with it confusion and grief. How can we learn to instead dance with our Heavenly Father?

I have invited a friend, Sheridan Voysey, to join me in my podcast today whose story goes along with all that we are discussing in my book. What to do, feel, where to go when life is turned upside down from what you expected. We met several years ago here in Oxford and his heart and story encouraged me very much.

Join us today to hear about decisions we are making for our hearts, souls, minds and strength to be sure we are living intentionally, well, to invest time in the things that will provide us the most meaningful and flourishing best life forward. Love love being with my Joy. And I will never forget the wonderful time we shared in Vienna. Such a great decision.

In this Podcast episode, Aaron and Jen share about the uniqueness of the body of Christ and how we all have a purpose and a ministry to fulfill. They also share the importance of friendship in marriage, as well as how having a marriage after God impacts parenting. You are not going to want to miss this one!

Looking for opportunities to deepen friendships, to counsel women, to have fun and invite someone in so that I do not feel alone has provided me with countless sweet and memorable moments from setting my table in my hotel rooms.

Each tea was different in attendance and unified in spirit. As we sipped and munched together, we created fellowship during a season that for many people is filled with loneliness.

Hearts were opened by the simple beauty of bread, cheese, and warm herbed soup as we spoke of the shepherds who had found and worshiped Jesus on that first Christmas so long ago. And my own heart was warmed by the gathering of friends from such different cultures who shared our table and celebrated the love that whispered His reality through the moments of the evening.

We still have Family Day every year even though our children are now grown and living away from home, and we still begin the day by listing our "memorial stones" together. This practice reminds us not only of God's faithfulness to us individually and as a family but also of the fact that we are inextricably tied to one another, bound in loyalty.

Nathan, Joy and I put together a little podcast just because we want to wish all of you well this Sunday when women with mother's hearts will be celebrated.

Today, in my podcast, I talk with my friend, Jamie Martin, about her new book called: Introverted Mom: Your Guide to More Calm, Less Guilt, and Quiet Joy I wish I had this book when I was a young mom because I think it would have given me permission to seek some quiet, soul filling time without guilt. It took me years to learn this truth. So many moms I know have said, "You know, I used to think I was an extrovert but now I think I might be an introvert."

Over time, my teatime habit became a foundational discipling tool for me. Taking time in the middle of a busy day to focus on a real live person and share our hearts over tea or coffee became a way of connecting with other women, with neighbors, and especially with my children—and even with my swirling, hurried self.

Cultivating a lifegiving table is all about helping those who gather around it to know the love of God and to understand His truths, laying foundations of faith that will serve them years after they go out into the world. Intentionally crafting words and messages to share along with the food we serve and the conversations we enjoy is a part of my role as hostess and as mama. Table talks are where lightbulbs come on, where ideas are fully embraced as they are discussed, where love is received as it is generously poured out.

Today on my podcast, I will be sharing a bit about the foundations of life that I love to talk about here on my podcast and that I will be talking about in the months to come. These foundations will hold up your life through all seasons. And of course, I always want to help encourage those of you who have children, as well, in your role as a mama who is raising a godly generation right in her own home.

I've come to believe in the profound importance of snack meals—meals that are easy, nourishing, and restful. They can absolutely save your sanity during those crazy times. But here's another benefit: When you bring beauty and rest into the occasional chaos of your life, you are teaching your children how to prepare for the storms of life and live well through them.

Sometimes I think that grace is best experienced through greasy pizza and gentle curiosity. To me, this strategy was not only a home philosophy, but a disciple- ship principle put in action—perhaps the most important one of all: Discipleship happens at every moment along the way—morning, night, and every time in between.

Join us girls today as we share our own thoughts about challenging life, falling apart and how we are moving towards sustainability, and read passages that come from our heart to yours.

Francesca has won one Grammy and had four career nominations, two K-LOVE Fan Awards, six Dove Awards (including being named the Gospel Music Association's Artist of the Year) and seven No. 1 singles! I hope you will enjoy our chat together. I love her heart and her desire that we all find our roots in Jesus to hold us through all seasons of our lives. Be inspired.

Why is it so important to us? Why did I go to the extra trouble of yet another special meal on yet another morning—especially when church offered doughnuts? Because we are building pathways in our hearts and brains that connect us to thousands of hours spent over years in this way, reminding all of us what we believe and cherish together, what we hold dear, what keeps us faithful through one more table and one more pancake shared over many times of consuming pancakes and French Toast.

Sometimes, when we have piles of responsibility on our plate, we start to place a lot of energy, worry and fear into the issues of our lives and fret. The last thing that seems productive when life is busy is to rest. Yet, rest may very well be the most strategic thing to do if we have a busy, full and demanding life.

Nathan and I have recorded a podcast for you that we hope will encourage and inspire you to breathe in the peace of God while you exercise the hope and faith that He is at work spinning great hearts and lives while you are living and building values and messages in your every day life. This week, Nathan's new movie, The Unlikely Good Samaritan, comes out in a debut in a theatre in Colorado Springs and you can pick up your own copy on Amazon or in your local Walmarts. Hope it inspires you—and look for Clay and me as we play a tiny cameo appearance. So fun.

Throughout life, it is in resting in His presence and strength and power and goodness that will put our hearts at rest. It is only when we patiently face the storms confiding, "This is too big for me to handle, but I am asking you to handle it for me," and then learn to wait--and sometimes wait and wait and wait!--that we will see His purpose, ways and yes, salvation from our storms. I wish I had learned at a much earlier age not to struggle so and worry and fret--it did me no good, and now I see how very faithful God was--He just didn't always do it my way!

I've been a fan and friends of Elizabeth Foss for many years. She is a faithful, kind mama to nine, a true lover of Jesus, and an encourager to many, for many years now through her blog and writings. I know you'll be encouraged by our conversation! You'll definitely want to follow her, so find Elizabeth here: www.elizabethfoss.com www.takeupandread.org Twitter and Instagram: elizabethfoss Elizabeth is also so kind as to offer our readers a copy of her new study on friendship, plus a beautiful mug! Comment below to enter to win.

Today we're joined by Bailey Hurley as we continue our discussions about Girls' Club! You can find Bailey at her website: Bailey Hurley She also has wonderful friendship journal prompts that are free for download from her website! These journal prompts redirect you back to Scripture to help you define friendship for your current season. Here's the direct link: https://baileythurley.com/friendship-journaling-prompts/

So grateful that Mackenzie Koppa was able to join me for today's podcast! She says … "I'm MacKenzie Koppa and around the interwebs I'm known as Bold Turquoise- or the gal who attempts to cultivate loveliness in her life and tries to encourage other women to as well (I'm an ENFP, I can't help it!). I'm a single mom of four sweet kids, voiceover artist, podcaster and speaker. I love Jesus, my kids and chocolate- in that order." We hope you enjoy our podcast! Find Mackenzie here at Mackenzie Koppa She also podcasts at Cultivating the Lovely! And here's the podcast that Sally specifically asks about toward the end of the episode~ thesamepagepodcast.com Instagram- @mackenziekoppa

I am so very thrilled to be sharing this podcast with Gina Smith today! Gina is a wonderful mama and friend to many, and her husband is the author of the Green Ember series. You can find his information here … Audio book! https://sdsmith.net/freeaudio/ Newest book! https://sdsmith.net/book/the-wreck-and-rise-of-whitson-mariner/ Sam on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/sdsmithereens/?hl=en

Whew! Sweet Friends, We love you so much. I am probably on a plane from Dallas to England as you read this. We have all been so very inspired by meeting so many at Dallas, Raleigh and Wild and Free. We are already getting letters from so many of you who say this book is inspiring you to embracing your capacity as a woman, to seeing the need to cultivate excellent accountability and community and we are thrilled. Thanks for sharing this book with so many. We have a few more wonderful recordings with our friends but wanted to give you a look into some of what we have been talking about together. I hope you enjoy our chat today.

So glad to be with Emily Thomas today! Emily's first job was teaching juvenile inmates in the prison system. That job didn't kill her so she thought she'd try parenthood. Before kids she was a teacher, nurse, and world traveler. Now she mostly travels around her house picking up toys. Motherhood proved much harder than Emily anticipated so, in an effort to not run away from home, she started a podcast. On her weekly show, Emily interviews other women who are struggling WELL in some area in hopes of figuring out how to be less of a mess herself. She uses humor and honesty to share the encouragement from God's word and her personal misadventures in an effort to build up worn-down ladies everywhere. Find Emily here at her website: strugglewellproject.com and on instagram: instagram.com/strugglewellproject I hope you'll enjoy our talk today!

Renee Swope : Word-lover, heart-encourager and grace-needer. Wife of 25 years, mom of three (ranging from 10-23), former radio co-host and executive director of Proverbs 31 Ministries and best-selling author of A Confident Heart and A Confident Heart Devotional And … she's joining us for our podcast, today! I so enjoyed our conversation and I know you will, too! You can find Renee here: https://www.ReneeSwope.com https://www.facebook.com/aconfidentheart http://www.instagram.com/reneeswope

So glad to be hosting Erin Loechner today on the podcast! Author of Chasing Slow and founder of Design for Mankind, Erin Loechner has been blogging and speaking for more than a decade. Her heartfelt writing and design work has been showcased in The New York Times, Lucky, Parenting, Dwell, Marie Claire, Elle Decor, Huffington Post, and a two-season HGTV.com web special, garnering over one million fans worldwide. She has spoken for and appeared in renowned international events for clients such as Walt Disney World, IKEA, Martha Stewart and Home Depot. Now nestled in a Midwestern town, Erin, her husband, and two kids strive for less in most areas except three: joy, grace, and goat cheese. Find Erin here: Design for Mankind Her book, Chasing Slow, can be found at Amazon!

What fun it was to speak with Lara Casey! She has a wonderful team of women she works with in business as well as her lovely family, and she's a fantastic encourager— have you seen her beautiful life planners, the PowerSheets? She's blessing so many people and I'm so glad she's joining me today! Not only is she wonderful to talk to, she's also offering one of our readers a Write the Word Journal—and one for a friend! To enter, please go to this poster on my Instagram feed and tag a friend!

Sarah Mackenzie is familiar to many of you as the spunky, delightful leader of Read-Aloud Revival. I so enjoy Sarah's heart for her family as well as reading, and we had such a delightful time talking today! Sarah is an author herself, and lives in the Inland Northwest with her husband Andrew, where they homeschool their six kids (including identical twin boys). And she's been so kind as to offer one of our readers a copy of her book, The Read-Aloud Family—plus a second copy for a friend! Be sure to go to my Instagram page to tag a friend in a comment and enter. Sarah also has a wonderful podcast: Read-Aloud Revival. And you can find her on Instagram, too!

Many of you are probably familiar with the beautiful work of today's guest, Ruth Chou Simons. Her gorgeous watercolors remind us all that God loves us, and has surrounded us with a beautiful world. She claims she is "an unlikely mom to six young boys" and wife to Troy, with whom she leads GraceLaced's small but mighty team. When not painting, writing, and casting vision for GraceLaced.com, Ruth is usually busy eating chips and salsa, sorting laundry, cooking for large crowds, not finishing her sentences, and discovering off-beaten paths in the wild with her guys. She is a devotee of pho, a recovering perfectionist, a converted four-wheeling enthusiast, and a grateful beholder of redeeming Grace." I hope you'll enjoy our podcast today—I know we enjoyed creating it for you! Dear Ruth is offering a wonderful gift for one of our readers, today! Go to my Instagram page and leave a comment on the poster pictured below, to tag a friend in order to enter!

I so loved talking with both Emily Ley and her dear friend, Kristin Winchester, today! They have supported one another through very difficult, lonely times and the vulnerability with which they shared their story touched me. Both are mamas of twins and they came to deep friendship because one of them took initiative and the other responded. Their story is what our lives should hold—initiation, kindness, acceptance, support, and the willingness to be there for one another through many seasons. Kristin and Emily got to the heart of what life is like for most of us as we try to live well the challenging stories we all live within. Kristin is mom to toddling twins. Emily is mama to three lovely little ones, and runs her company, Simplified, in all her spare time. Ha! She knows the power of friendship and teamwork, and we know you'll be blessed as you listen. You can find Emily on Instagram, too! And she has a surprise for you: She's giving away one copy of the 2019 Simplified Planner plus a copy of each of her books, A Simplified Life and Grace, Not Perfection ! We hope you'll be encouraged by our conversation.

It's always a joy to share with my friend, Alyssa Bethke! Alyssa has an infectious smile, and we know her enthusiasm for life will be an encouragement to you, today. This is how she sums up the work she and her husband do on the interwebs … "We are Jeff & Alyssa Bethke. We have two kids, Kinsley and Kannon, and a dog named Aslan. We live in Maui, and we like to create things on the internet. In fact, that's probably how or why you're here! We consider it an immense privilege that people care to listen or read what we have to say. If we could sum up our mission on the internet it'd be to encourage men, women and families through online experiences and creative resources that are practical, fun and help each person on their journey of following Jesus." Find Alyssa on Instagram at AlyssaJoyBethke Podcast: the Real Life Podcast They also have these books available: Spoken For, Love that Lasts, 31 Ways to Creatively Love Him, and Finding Freedom

Sweet Jen Smith and I became friends a few years ago. How fun it has been fo me to watch her share her vision and passion as a young wife and then as a mother and now as a woman, filled with family, convictions, and so much to share from a passion she overflows with from a love of Jesus. We had so much fun catching up on my podcast again. I love her sparkle and her convictions. You will enjoy this podcast so much today. Today we talked with Jen Smith, from Unveiled Wife!

Doesn't this sound like such a fun life?! Elsie Iudicello lives in sunny South Florida with her husband and four young boys on a noisy farm brimming with an assortment of animals and tropical fruit trees. She is an author and speaker with a passion for Jesus and a great love for homeschooling, stories, tea, adventuring with her children, theology and avocados. We had so much fun talking about friendship for my podcast today—hope you will love listening in! Elsie writes for Wild and Free magazine and blogs at www.farmhouseschoolhouse.com. You can follow Elsie on instagram @Farmhouse_Schoolhouse for more updates on the upcoming release of her first book.

What a delightful group of women we are talking with this month! I hope you'll enjoy this recording with Haley Stewart. Haley is mama to four and wife to a beekeeper, author, blogger, podcaster … a prolific person, in general! She's also written a book titled, The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture. You can find Haley at all these places … Blog: https://www.carrotsformichaelmas.com/ Podcast: https://fountainsofcarrots.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleycarrots/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaleyCarrots Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrotsForMichaelmas/

I so hope you'll enjoy this conversation we had with Kate Merrick! Friendship is so very important to us, and Kate knows much about the importance of having girlfriends in times of joy and sorrow. Kate is wife to Britt Merrick and mom to Isaiah Harley, Daisy Love, and Pheodora Sunshine. They have a church in California and she's authored two books: And Still She Laughs and Here, Now (due April 2, 2019!) You can find Kate here on Facebook: Kate Merrick, Author. Enjoy the podcast—and be sure to order your own copy of Girls' Club!

I had a wonderful conversation about friendship recently with Sister Theresa that I'm so excited to share with you. It's such a grace to talk about this very important topic with wise women, and we hope you enjoy listening in to our podcast! Sr. Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP is a former atheist who, thanks to the grace of God, has returned to the faith she was raised in and now tries to help others bring their loved ones back to the faith. A few years after returning to the Church, she heard God calling her, so she left her job in Silicon Valley to join the Daughters of St. Paul. She is the founder of the Memento Mori project and author of The Prodigal You Love: Inviting Loved Ones Back to the Church. She now lives in Boston where she serves at the Pauline Publishing House in the Editorial Department. You can also find her here: Her website: https://pursuedbytruth.com twitter: https://twitter.com/pursuedbytruth Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pursuedbytruth/?hl=en

Then there are the friends in your life who also give and take. Friends who minister to you, and who you also minister to. I love these kinds of friendships! But they are few and far between. So when you find one of those friendships, do not take it for granted! They are God's gift to you. I have three friends like this. I know that I can call on them no matter what and they will be there for me because they love me and care about me. If I need ministering to, they know this and will do whatever they can for me. And I will do the same for them. These relationships are so beautiful and need much cultivating.

What fun we're having as we prepare to launch the new book, Girls' Club! Today I had the joy of recording a discussion with Greta Eskridge, a delightful mom who loves to encourage others. I hope you'll love our conversation. You can find more from Greta here: Website and blog : www.gretaeskridge.com Instagram: @maandpamodern

What a joy to have Kristen Kill joining me once again, as I continue this series all about the Clarkson ladies' newest book, Girls' Club! Kristen is a long-time friend to our family, and we've shared many a cup of tea and deep conversations all over the country. She's settling into a new spot in the Pacific Northwest with her darling family after spending many years in New York City, and can be found on Instagram and Facebook as Kristen Kill. You can also find her book all about finding rest in the midst of a busy life here: Finding Selah.

Everyone wishes for a true friend. Seldom do we consider that we must first be one.

Our publisher Tyndale Momentum has generously provided the opportunity for one of you to win this amazing gift so that you can have a holiday in Oxford, and enjoy high tea with us at a lovely and celebrated old hotel in the historical center of town. We will have our own girls club time together, and will have a heart-to-heart conversation with you to encourage you. We will also provide insider's input on how best to enjoy Oxford, and all the best places to visit. Enjoy the dreaming spires and ancient streets of this beautiful university town, and walk the same paths as people like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

God gives us choices to obey Him, to tender our hearts to His ways. Our service of worship is, because we love Him, to seek to obey Him day after day. Our faithfulness will be a testimony of our love and faith in Him through out eternity.

Sometimes the seeds that He requires us to sow, do not obviously promise anything--yet, we are asked to believe in the potential--the latent miracles inside of these small life-seeds.