At Home With Sally

God does not arbitrarily issue us commandments to be hard on us. His commandments, which must be obeyed, are for our best — to protect us, to bless us, to cause us happiness and to help us become the best we can be.

In the same way that we expose ourselves and children to great stories to shape our moral imagination, so Jesus used so many metaphors in scripture to give us a personal picture of what He is like.

Honor was one of the foundational values of our home. Honor, recognizing the worth of another human being and treating them as such, was foundational to our children learning to bow their knee before God.

Often, we live through daily rhythms and don’t realize that even common moments are shaping the impressions on our children’s hearts.

Believing when we cannot see, practicing faithfulness when no one else sees is a long tradition of faithful saints throughout history.

Biblical truths have held me through my own dark clouds, anchoring my thoughts and heart to know and understand the never changing attributes of God and his goodness. These truths, stored up in our minds and our children, will speak to us and carry us through.

One of the strengths and profound work of a woman, is to bring civility and order out of chaos, to bring beauty, intelligence, excellence in subduing her kingdom of home into a life-giving haven.

Today on my podcast, I am starting a new series—training in truth, virtue, discipling your children and discipling yourself.

Today, I have been thinking about how to move through the different years, the varied seasons of life with generous grace. And life requires intentional endurance to keep going strong with determination to make it a beautiful story.

Every year this time, I go away by myself with a journal to search my heart in order to clear it from attitude, heart clutter.

I am praying for all of you — but even more, God is praying for you and loves you. Don't give into discouragement or inadequate feelings. With God all things are possible. He is so glad you are trying and that you care.  You are precious to Him and He is training your character to grow strong as you are training your children.

It's hard for all of us—especially in the hurry and flurry of the Christmas season—to take time to stop and listen to our children. But I've realized that's the most important thing of all. If I want my children to be open to hearing the messages I have for them, I must listen to the ones they have for me.

The goal of  Christmas traditions is not to do the most elaborate and difficult things, but to help my children love Jesus, revere Him, enjoy His story, to embed the beauty of Christmas deeply into their hearts.

Join me as I speak today about the Biblical meaning of waiting. Advents finds us waiting for His light to come into our darkness.

The holidays bring such an array of activities, things to do, traditions to occupy our time. Yet, if we want to make this holiday memorable and special, we need to determine to be present in the moment with those in our midst, our children, friends, relatives, neighbors. This is the day, this is the moment the Lord has made.

None of us will ever be perfect. We are in process. And at every step, God who is steadfast in His love and never changing, loves us and wants to companion us and carry our load.

Week by week, our family waited for the arrival of our precious baby to come. Yet, this mysterious journey of motherhood means that every time a baby is born, it is miraculous and unpredictable. Finally, on her due date, my newest grandchild decided to hint that she might be on her way.

A truth told without love and grace is a truth that is rejected. Would Jesus' message have had the same impact without His feeding thousands, taking children into HIs arms, and washing the feet of His friends? It is in service that God incarnate is recognized. And service begins with serving those who are closest to us, making home the very best place to be.

Creating and noticing beauty, the loveliness of life, the gift of sweet relationships with my littles is an emotional and spiritual defense against being overcome by evil and darkness.

Our walk with God, our hope in His reality, His companionship, His presence every day gives our children a way forward to know how to engage with the realities of a dark, broken world. The way we narrate life to them becomes their instructor for how to narrate life for themselves.