Life with Sally

Deep friendships and connected relationships happen best when intentional encouragement is planned and given on a regular basis.

Something that seems to be true of my own life, the longer I live: "Life is a long lesson in humility." (JM Barrie) Oh, to be openhearted to be like Jesus—that is my prayer.

God is my hope when I am out of control. He is my prayer-answerer when I am beyond my own strength. I live practicing joy because He is my audience and I want to rest in Him because He wants to be my adequacy.

This week, I am on a quest for delight—for myself and my people. We all need some moments to put away darkness and to invest in beauty, fun, celebration. Determine that this will be a week when you bring joy, beauty, delight to yourself and your beloveds.

I had no idea what motherhood would cost me in time, heart, work, creativity, love, instruction and so much more. And yet, I am old enough, seasoned through the many years to be able to say it is the most profound work I have ever undertaken—to shape real human beings in faith, virtue and purpose in life over days, months, years and decades.

This is a marathon of a life for most of us, but with every step, I come to see the loving, gracious compassion and sympathy of God at work. Most issues take longer than I want them to take—God rarely seems in a hurry. Yet, He companions us each step. Sip your tea or coffee with me today and rest in His generous love.

In a study about gentleness recently, I found no less than 8 Biblical writers that place gentleness at the core of their call to righteousness. Today's podcast is about these leaders and what they wrote. God grant us gentleness.

Lots of fun on Tea Time Tuesday today!

As I look back, I am sometimes amazed at the ways God has led, lessons learned, souls were shaped, faith grew. It all started when I made a quiet commitment to Him.

Whether you are single, married, working outside your home, or a stay-at-home mom, you are called by the heart of Jesus to give of yourself to others.

Today, I review the disastrous storm in which Paul found himself and other passengers who were scared. He teaches us about how to rally others to courage and faith.

There is no one right way to live life in a home. No one size of routine or rules or order fits all. Homes with young children will be quite different from a single-adult home. Elderly adults will order their lives by different life rituals than will young marrieds or students. But the more carefully we plan our days, the better our homes will provide us with freedom and enjoyment as well as purpose and accomplishment.

Many years ago, I began the habit at the beginning of the new year to declutter my heart and soul.

Pondering Mary, one of my favorite role models, I speak today of what was in her heart when God says, "Greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you."

When Jesus said, "whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward," I'm quite sure He also had in mind "whoever gives a steaming cup of tea!"

Faith requires a listening heart. God is so willing to use normal people—who are listening, willing to obey. What risk will you take, by faith, to live a story that others will tell for generations to come?

Today, my forever friend, Jacqui and I speak of friend formation, and tell of our intentional and purpose driven fun times and how it has shaped us. Such fun. Hope it encourages you.

Nothing quite prepared me, as an untrained young woman, to know how to bear all of the stresses we would face by being a family. And yet, I had been taught to seek God's word, to pray and to obey and live in wisdom.

This week, I am asking myself what I need to do to prepare my heart to be present to my people, ready to serve and to determine not to give into the weariness or demands.

In my life as a mom, there have been countless times, I felt like I was not accomplishing anything productive from day to day. Five scriptures have been especially helpful to me when I am overwhelmed.

To me, Thanksgiving is the entry way to preparing my heart to be filled and renewed with a love for Christ. I need child-like excitement and gratitude to fill my heart again, so that I might bring light into my year ahead.

Giving thanks starts with a humble heart, one that does not demand but receives the gifts of everyday moments with joy. A grateful heart sees the fingerprints of God in normal every day circumstances, a lens through which we see life, people, simple pleasures as a gift.

When we read in the Word, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good," this is a call out of passivity to action, to engaging, to spreading the moral excellence through each aspect of our lives that God has called us to. Today, I discuss what that has meant to me lately. I hope it will encourage you.

Stories have the power to change and inspire us in ways nothing else does. I hope you'll join us in this journey of bringing a good story to life that just might be the thing to help a world in need.

I have come to realize that embracing God's call to the duties of motherhood doesn't diminish my abilities to use my gifts, strength, and training, but fulfills a part of God's design.

What if someone could read your thoughts—would you like what they see? Worship the Lord Your God with all of your mind, we are told. I call it "minding your mind" because thinking, learning, understanding, creating—so many things we do with our minds, are to be a focus of our worship of God. Worshipping God with our mind requires a focus, intentionality, effort, a plan.

What if someone could read your thoughts—would you like what they see? Worship the Lord Your God with all of your mind, we are told. I call it "minding your mind" because thinking, learning, understanding, creating—so many things we do with our minds, are to be a focus of our worship of God. Worshipping God with our mind requires a focus, intentionality, effort, a plan.

Whatever season you find yourself in is eventually going to pass. God is aware of your season and He will give you wisdom, strength, grace to walk through the seasons with Him by your side to provide you with insight and understanding into the ways he is working in the world.

When the places inside home are intentionally crafted, these seasons can become the places where memories can be shaped and stored forever.

There are many gifts of aging, gaining experience. It comes from waiting, learning, storing up experience and understanding.

As I watch the leaves rain softly to the ground, and the colors give their last bit of glory before disappearing into a pile on the ground, I am reminded that my own life is reflecting seasons. I want to take advantage of this time to its fullest that I may have been a good soldier in this battle between darkness and light and left a bit of the glory and light I have known.

Freedom in a biblical sense means: emancipation, the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. We do not have to be slaves to our shame, our failures, our weakness. We have been emancipated, let out of guilty land, because of His work.

Today, Giving Your Words is officially out in the world. Many of you have asked Clay to join me in an interview about our book. So today, we have a special podcast for you about how Giving Your Words came about—from his perspective.

Our hope is that parents all over the world will become even more skillful at leaving their children a legacy of words and messages giving hope, foundational faith, unconditional love.

Today I speak of choral music, tastes of French food, adventures in a flower farm cafe, the best bread, finding light in the darkest clouds of life, Jacqui adventures, and more.

Last week's adventures took me on journeys fun and mysterious. Join me for another fun podcast of Tea Time Tuesday!

Today's word is discernment: the insight to understand what is true to navigate life in wisdom.

Join me today on my podcast as I talk about becoming a Good Samaritan in the normal moments of your life, cultivating compassion for those who need sympathy.

Instruction teaches one how to do something, how to apply wisdom and skill to life and the steps to do something. It provides practical steps to take.

This week, I have been pondering how commitments, vows, and dedications of words hold us faithful to ideals we have committed to. Join me on Tea time Tuesday as I ponder the importance of making commitments to God, to review them, to live by them.

Today I will share about how life has been — beautiful and wonderful amidst many mistakes, many flaws, many immature moments. Yet, God's grace is like a beautiful cloth that covers the scars on my well-beloved old tables. His love and grace cover my imperfections.

All of us need wisdom every day. Jesus tells us to worship him with our minds — to love Him with our minds. The ability to think biblically is no small matter in a world that shouts to us with values that are worldly, pumping out lies about life, family, and morality, in thousands of ways every day.

When tea time becomes a ritual, it enables us to see greatness in even the small things.

Words become ways to influence a child when they work themselves into a child's inner being. They shape their worldview, systems of theology, ways of relationships, view of themselves, self-image, and so much more.

What started as a simple idea conceived in my living room has blossomed and grown into a site where hundreds of women from all over the world come to be encouraged and challenged to use their agency to bring God's kingdom to those around them.

It is encouraging to be amongst friends that are driven and excited about finding ways to minister to women who are lonely and doing their best to parent the children that God has blessed them with. I pray you will be encouraged by our conversation and find something to carry you through this season with courage and hope.

Hearing Carlos and Alexa's love story, how they met and got married, was a picture of God's providence in their lives. They now have 3 young children, and have continued to have flourishing careers as actors, musicians, and performers. Both are dynamic and articulate about their lives and faith, personal and warm, inspiring and grounded. I know you will love this podcast.

My friends, pray for me to run this marathon well and finish still alive. Sending love, prayers, and lots of wishes for you to have a bit of fun tucked into the days of your lives. I'll be taking a podcast and Tea Time Tuesday break, but will be back soon!

Last week, I explored a wild canyon with the man who is my real life valiant hero.

I have been pondering "should" lately — we are often ruled by them: "You should…" but most of my life, I have lived by the beat of a different drummer and it has led me to joy, peace, delight, deep love.