Life with Sally

This week reminded me that our family was shaped by feasting, talking, laughing, being together over and over and over again. And this is how we celebrated our closeness and mutual legacy of family friendship this week.

Since Nathan was little, he has been cultivating the hero that was inside his heart. Now, he decided to write a book that would come along parents to inspire their children to imagine themselves becoming a hero in their own stories. The Way of Kings is a beautiful book written with you in mind.

This week, I have been pondering death and dying to self. If only I had known that was the secret to my life of worship—giving up my rights, pouring out my life, choosing to serve others as Christ did, and living into the joy of the Holy Spirit surging through my life to bring His light and love to bear.

Being "for" someone does not mean that they will always exhibit the kind of behavior or character we deem admirable. But it is looking at our children with unconditional love and cultivating eyes that see the possibilities in the midst of the "terrible twos" of toddlers or hormonal teen years.

Our world is very troubled now and has been for a long time. Yet, I have learned that cultivating joy, being a light bearer is a spiritual discipline to practice, employ in the demands of every day life.

Some things are more important than all the piles of "to do's." Time with my very precious daughter, where we would invest in one another's lives, talk, make memories drove me to put everything aside for one day and to make the spontaneous commitment.

So much to share about on this Tea Time Tuesday podcast: music, lentil soup recipe, 2 books to read, stories about Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mozart. Blessings and blessings to all of you today!

Serving others, when it becomes a habit, becomes an art form that can bring great pleasure and a sense of accomplishment to us and our families.

I decided I could slip in one more Tea Time Tuesday! Today I'll share about umbrellas, spiritual trends in America, and a new book, The Resilient Pastor, along with a chat with Pastor Glenn Pakiam.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of meeting a kindred spirit: Cristina Odone, who works as the Director of The Family Policy at The Centre for Social Justice. Her story was so amazing that I knew I wanted to have her join me on a podcast so that you could hear it.

I share many thoughts this week about my eye accident, why I am having surgery, and what I have learned over many years of how to become a dependable and wise warrior in this broken world.

When a child grows up developing graciousness as they go, they will have it as a treasure the rest of their lives.

Today, I'll share all about my trip to London, some tasty food, and what I have been pondering lately about cultivating patience and flexibility.

Character is the pool from which our children will live and make all of their life decisions. Virtue takes a lifetime to build, yet is it one of the best gifts we can give or our children.

When we feel someone knows us and still loves us and understands us and our deepest thoughts and dreams, we are so very grateful. I pray you will feel seen, loved and affirmed in our time together for Tea Time Tuesday.

To give our children a virtuous heart, to teach them to value hard work, patience, relationship skills, truth-telling, keeping their word and so much more is to bless them for their whole life.

How I wish I could have each of you over for tea to my little home today. I would pick your brain, hear your thoughts and dreams, share with you mine. To have the opportunity to share in real friendship is one of the treasures of my life. So join me today for another Tea Time Tuesday podcast!

Our children will adopt a "putting others first" heart only if we first help them have God's mind about selflessness. Instructing our children in what it truly means to put the needs of others first will enable them to be great friends and have great friends.

This week, after reading some news reports, I felt a little anxious about the state of affairs. I did a little study on peace in scripture. I hope you will enjoy it.

Just the other day, I was looking at old photos and found a favorite from some friends I used to spend a weekend a year with at the beach before or after our California conference—I could never have made it through all the years without my sweet friends.

Ely has for many years been one of my very favorite towns in the UK. What a gift it was that a sweet friend of mine invited me to go on a little 2 day explore together to have fun once again in the Magical Medieval town.

While every family has its own story and each puzzle of life is different, there are some practical ways we can make the life of faith tangible to our children and those are the focus of the second half of this chapter!

The world of teens is focused on their test scores as they graduate from high school. But what if God wants us to focus on a different kind of preparation before they leave our homes?

I have a family of tea cups that sit together on my shelf wherever I live. Stay tuned — you will be seeing my adventures with tea cup in hand. I have some adventures planned this very week. As mom of 4, I learned to see life as an adventure and to create a sense of joyful adventures along the way, even in mundane days.

In the weeks ahead, I will be hosting a podcast series from my book, 10 Gifts of Heart, a book Clay and I wrote to focus on the habits we wanted our children to have before they left our home and entered the world as adults. Today, I talk with my friend, Dr. Michael Ward, about his book, After Humanity, and we discuss the role virtue plays in the shaping of character. Be inspired.

We cannot pass on civility, beauty, intelligence, excellence of mind and heart, if we do not ourselves make these virtues a goal of our lives. Whatever we pursue and cultivate will determine what we are also able to pass on to all who we encounter.

On today's podcast, I talk about making your life whole in mind, body, character, and actions so that those who listen to you have a virtuous, good, right model to follow. Jesus said, "The student when fully trained will be like his teacher." And so, our children who look to us as teachers, call us to become our best selves.

We all get so caught up with making one more meal, getting one more chore done, but it is truly our personal relationships that will see us through hard times. We must make time to say, "I am so grateful to be with you today. How are you?"

While it is incredibly wonderful to set our standards high and live within these great ideals, we must hold ourselves to a standard of grace, not perfection.

There is a life and hope and energy in this celebrating. It brings all earthly struggles into perspective, a baby bringing life that would conquer all ills, calm all storms, wrest all evil powers, heal all wounds.

There are so many ways to feel guilty or less than, but when we seek Him and His priorities and free ourselves from the burdens we are not meant to carry, we will find strength and purpose for each day. I pray you have a wonderful New Year and a light soul.

For today's Tea Time Tuesday, I share all about our family's music, food, life, Christmas plans, inspiration. Let me know if you enjoy my ramblings. Hoping you have a wonderful week!

There was something so special about that first Shepherds' Meal that we couldn't wait to "do it again next year." And so we have. In the thirty-plus years since then, our family has enjoyed a Shepherds' Meal every Christmas Eve, no matter where we lived. Even the preparation has become a tradition—a family affair.

One of my biggest challenges in this very fraught and emotional storm was that as a young, naive believer, I didn't know some of the worst hurts in my life would come from others who called themselves Christians.

We can exist within the mundane moments of motherhood or marriage or work longer if we know that somehow it is meaningful to our over-arching life story, when we serve and patiently give of our energy to meet the needs of others.

Every single morning when we awaken, God's mercy sees our frailty and provides for a covering of grace through every moment we fall short of perfection. Every day, we can live in the freedom to know we are forgiven.

Learning to think clearly and Biblically, in order to be able to fight the formulas and ways of other men takes practice and investment of time---and it is the one way all children need to grow--to learn to think well, to learn to see the fallacies, false doctrine and rules that are man made and not in scripture--it requires thinking and being a steward of the word.

Tea is magical. Whatever you need, warmth, cooling down, cheer, calm, or peace — you can find it in a few moments where you take time to sit quietly and care for your soul.

Life will always hold difficulties beyond what we ever imagined; sadness, broken-heartedness, deep disappointments. Yet, our commitment to keeping a grid of joy will carry us through and allow us to get up, time after time, to live one more day worshipping Him right in the midst of our stories.

Education of morals, habits, character and faith determine the foundations upon which a life will be built. Strong foundations lend themselves to vast structures. Make a plan today about how you will build those foundations into your own life and that of your children!

I've found that the best way to cultivate a true, deep-rooted friendship is to commit to seeking them out, intentionally going out of our way to invite a new friend over for a cup of tea and a deep discussion.

Now is the time for us to kindle our hope, encourage one another and to stay fast as we live faithfully.

No matter how old your children become, you are the example for them. They will always be looking at you to see integrity, ideals, and how you interact with God. The longer you provide your children with wisdom based on truth, the more they will quickly consider your advice as they walk their own adult journey.

Accomplishing some great feat is no more important than living a quiet life if it is done in relationship with Jesus—who lived small, quiet, personal.

The older I am the more I see my inadequacies, selfishness, and propensity to behave in an immature way. It has led me to have more mercy, compassion, and patience with others, especially my children.

Learning to be righteous is a heart issue, not a rules-memorized issue. We cannot force righteousness on our children by legalism and harshness. This only makes them want to hide from us. But instead, we nurture and cultivate a love for goodness by cultivating it in our home each day.

Delight has been my ponder in several areas the past week. The definition of delight is: a high degree of gratification or pleasure -- joy

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays I so enjoy because it's all about gratitude in the context of relationships! It is always a treat when I can gather my ministry team for a chat, and today we're sharing a conversation about Thanksgiving traditions from our own homes.

We treat our children with respect, serve them in humility, choose to use honorable words to our husbands, to friends, because when they learn this attribute of God, they will become those who win the souls of others who are so longing for someone to validate their worth.