It is only in being intentional and purposeful about your life that you will grow. And in growing, your heart and soul will become more fulfilled, because God's will, which is that we become more "holy" ? set apart for His purposes ? is indeed good and acceptable and perfect.

Special April freebie: 5 Ways To Cultivate Beauty In The Ordinary ? download here!

Every year, when darkness seems longest, daffodils spring up first, blooming "with all of their heart," they proclaim, hope is coming, light is on its way!

The way to live well, to flourish on the unique pathway of our lives, is to follow His wisdom, to obey His ways. It must encompass our thoughts, our inner choices, our willingness to live by faith, our commitment to take ?Every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," that we will be able to live all of our years well, to see His purposes and ways for us.

Leaving godly disciples is the greatest work we will ever achieve. When I meet Jesus face to face, He will say, "What did you do to invest, love, teach your children the secrets of the kingdom of God so that they will love me and serve me with wholehearted devotion?"

My dear friend, Melissa Lester, editor of Victoria Magazine, chatted with me today about her beautiful new book, Gracious Home: Cultivating A Spirit Of Welcome.

A mother's love and legacy is one of the most powerful influences in the world, will determine the strength, history of a culture. But to provide such a legacy in the lives of our children requires a choice.

Join me today on ?m?y podcast to ponder the sweetness of cultivating deep friendship with your children, and learning how to put the duties of life into their proper place.

Join Sally as she invites author Whitney Newby on this special podcast episode to discuss Whitney's new book, Lift Your Eyes: Daily Invitations To Behold Christ In Motherhood.

When we understand and accept that the world is indeed fallen and creates all sorts of chaos, we can better prepare ourselves to become warriors of light, goodness in difficult times.

No matter how old your children become, you are their example. They will always look at you to see faith lived out in the day to day, how to interact with God.

One little act of kindness gave me the energy I needed to trust God that day, to keep going, to have hope. That day, that moment, hope began to fill my heart.

I see that through the decades of intentional living, us Clarksons were becoming each other?s community. There are more of us now, and we continue to cherish any time we can be together.

We are all fragile, vulnerable, limited human beings. We mamas can be so hard on ourselves. Yet, God understands those times when you are empty and discouraged or feel that nothing you do matters or is making the difference you hoped for. Your discouraged heart matters to God.

Friendship is an imperative part of a healthy life! I invited the girls to join me in a podcast today because I thought it might be fun for you to hear from them and what they are pursuing in this season of their lives. We have so much fun.

Find Joy's substack here: https://joyclarkson.substack.com/

Find Wallflower Journal here: www.wallflowerjournal.com

Your children are fearfully and wonderfully made by Him! Through patience and commitment, we will eventually reap a harvest. Today, I encourage you to begin the journey of discovering the individual wonders of each one.

In our new book, Uniquely You, Nathan and I step beyond mental illness and learning disabilities and explore every way a child can be different.

As Clay and I enter what will be our last season of ministry, we are praying that God will give us energy, health, strength to continue to be light in this dark world. We hope to teach more profoundly about the love of God, His desire to work through families to shape a godly generation.

The glory of Christ appearing to common men and women, shepherding their flocks was something we wanted to remember together?the glory of angels singing amidst the ordinary work of shepherds watching over their flocks. And so, Shepherd?s meal became a sacred, beloved tradition for us.

Most of us carry baggage of some kind. But, if we understood the amazing, redeeming, generous meaning of salvation, God's commitment to love us, we would  be different women.

Lanier is the wordsmith for all the stories and ideas of this beautiful and Jennifer is the artist who filled the book with beautiful illustrations. I know you would treasure this in your library. We had so much fun chatting about it on my podcast. I know you will enjoy this spirited conversation I had with two kindred spirits.

It is not from a place of worldly influence, or accomplishment that a godly woman caught the attention of God, but from an authentic place of humble worship of her creator, a place of serving faithfully in the normal moments of life. God saw a heart willing to love, follow, respond to Him.

Your home is a laboratory of the life of Christ, where He can be seen through the incarnation of himself through our music, our love, our feasts, our faith, and lights that reflect His very presence in our lives.

A mother?s love is a vibrant, living picture of what Christ is like. When we love our children well, model to them what it is like to live a life of deep faith in our amazing God, our children will better be able to catch a glimpse of the remarkable life God has planned for them.

If we are created in God's image, shouldn?t we, as believers, be the most excellent in our behavior, character and influence? Doesn?t scripture teach us to lay down our lives for the sake of others ? in this case, our children? Doesn?t anything worthy always require great sacrifice, vision, and hard work?

This is a time to build virtue and to form destinies by giving our children a vision of what their personal stories might be in God?s hands.

No matter what the circumstances, no matter what events, no matter what evil is boiling in the world, if we know our God, we understand that He is still at work, He is leading this world toward an ultimate celebration where all tears will be wiped away, all will be made new, all will be well.

Christian virtue is not just knowing the definition, but it is in putting virtue actively in the presence of every moment. The virtue of trust, thanks to God in all things, must be acted out in a real life to be understood and copied.

The sharing of life, the pointing them to His truth, His ways, His love, in the warp and woof of life moments ? this is the secret of a blessed motherhood.

Being ?kind to yourself? is the only way to walk by God?s sweet, gentle, kind love and grace through our own marathons of life. That is what I wish for you today, that you would be kind to yourself.

Well Lived is officially out in the world today!

It has taken me a lifetime to learn the truth about what it means to suffer in this world and yet live to see the grace of God. I want to come alongside others so they will not feel as lost or alone as I often have. I want you to know, my friends, that you are seen and loved in the place you find yourself right now.

A habit begun many years ago with a heavy traveling life ? just a few rhythms of grace in my life make it a little bit more pleasant, even when traveling. Predictable, comforting, and after all, who wants to have tea or coffee out of a styrofoam cup when you can have it out of a china cup?

None of us will ever be perfect, but we are the exact mothers our children need.

Motherhood is a long game, a marathon. There is no quick fix to make it easy. No amount of ranting or complaining can change the fact that we live in a fallen world, a battleground for souls.

Last weekend, Clay and I celebrated our marriage of 43 years ? quite a legacy. We could never have imagined the adventures, legacy, lessons we would learn about life through our many years.

In order to have a deeper personal faith, a foundation of truth based on reading God?s word, a habit of journaling and prayer, a trust in His goodness, a dependence on His counsel through His Holy Spirit, I must practice my spiritual walk as I practice my physical walk ? as a discipline of my life every day.

God designed women to be strong agents of love, redemption, truth and beauty. The more clearly we can define our design and purpose, the more peace of mind and flourishing our lives will be.

Even now, my heart is tempted to deep discouragement as I ponder unanswered prayer, world issues, life tragedies of friends and family. Yet, walking with God through these pathways for many years has taught me to hold fast to faith, to cultivate thankfulness, to believe in His presence and reality.

Building virtue, character, and righteousness into the life of a child is a lifelong commitment. But influence always starts out with a relationship with someone who is trustworthy, one who has integrity, who is gracious and kind.

Every day of your life, you have the potential of leaving a godly model to follow, a kingdom message to believe, an integrity that is holy and a purpose that is eternal.

Sometimes, I think mamas hold the whole world together. Their work is that important. Much of our lives as a family has been a battle through raging storms. But, there are some amazing graces on this side of motherhood, when my four children have reached adulthood

To know and believe that God ?wills us to be as free as birds,? and cares that we we are pleased is oxygen to our hearts that long to know His love. Just a little thought to ponder this week as we seek to show our children His gracious, generous love toward us.

God?s word became to me a guide for how to find peace in relationships, how to invest in them with God?s word as my guide. I still have conflict along my pathway, but I have been straining forward in learning how to avoid as much of unnecessary conflict as possible?and how to love better.

What we practice daily when we face life?s trials will determine, to some degree, the legacy and memory we leave to those who know us well.

When we learn to take initiative, we reflect the out-reaching character of Christ. Little by little, as we train our children patiently and teach them to take initiative to be responsible, we are giving them a strong character and familiarity to take initiative when they are strong adults.

Jesus befriended His disciples, fed them, taught them, loved them, modeled faith, healed, spoke comfort and forgiveness. He was attentive to their needs and ultimately sacrificed His life on the cross for them and for us, that we might receive wholeness, forgiveness, eternal life. He was the servant king. I learned to become a servant mama, copying His ways.

An advocate parent is one who champions each child?s personality, seeks to encourage, pour in love, and is willing to go the long road to walk beside their child in every situation. It is what Jesus was like with us, His own children ? an advocate, a lover, a shepherd, a savior.

The daily habit of eating together while being intentional to talk, discuss, teach, encourage, debate, and share rousing stories was one of the most profound rhythms of our family life.

Diligence is one of my ponders today on Tea Time Tuesday. Diligence requires attentive and persistent commitment in doing a task or keeping faithful to complete work, goals or faithfulness in relationship.