0:07

Hi Everyone welcome to At Home with

0:09

Sally! I'm Sally Clarkson and I have

0:12

the biggest privilege in the world to

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be Was so many friends from all

0:16

over the world who join me every

0:18

week to listen to my stories, inspiration,

0:21

biblical encouragement and I am just so

0:23

glad that you're here today! Thanks so

0:25

much for joining. Me: Hello

0:37

my friends, how are you? It's

0:39

Sally Clarkson year and I am

0:41

so happy to be with you

0:43

today. I am in the midst

0:45

of making. Who. Are my children

0:48

love which is kind of a

0:50

rice it's appeal off that I

0:52

do with a little bit of

0:54

bullying on in a little bit

0:56

of time, in a little bit

0:58

of. Olive

1:00

Oil in. Little

1:03

we know few more things and

1:05

then I do chicken pieces and

1:07

I put a little bit of

1:09

in the sauce that goes on

1:11

it. I don't have any tonight

1:13

but usually I would put a

1:15

tiny bit of white wine. I

1:19

make a room with some olive

1:21

oil in flower or cornstarch. Iri

1:23

stars whatever you like and I

1:26

put a drain the rice that

1:28

I have already cooked with a

1:30

fresh a chicken going on. And

1:34

and then I put a little

1:36

bit of Parmesan and that and

1:38

a tiny bit of half and

1:40

half and I make a sauce

1:42

out of it. and that's what

1:44

we're having for dinner. That's what

1:46

simmering downstairs right now. So you're

1:48

just catching me lately right before

1:51

dinner. So the nice thing is

1:53

about my week, I hope you

1:55

had a good good week. Oh

1:57

my goodness, the weather here. I

1:59

think that. But one of the rewards

2:01

in Colorado is you just

2:03

about die during the winter because where I

2:05

live it's kind of on

2:08

a pass, Monument Pass has more wrecks

2:10

than any other pass in Colorado every

2:12

year. You kind of go

2:14

up to Monument Pass and then you go down towards

2:16

Denver. But anyway, the

2:19

reward is that when you have two feet

2:21

of snow or when it snows every weekend,

2:24

even if it's just three to five inches of snow and

2:26

it's icy, icy, icy, and we had

2:28

a lot of very cold weather this year, when

2:31

the summer starts to

2:33

come, when late spring, early

2:35

summer, it is absolutely gorgeous.

2:38

I love the fact that there are

2:40

aspen trees that twinkle. I think it's

2:43

one of God's best creations that

2:45

they gently blow as we look

2:48

out into our yard. There

2:52

are so many beautiful colors.

2:54

The clouds are cloudy enough

2:57

to keep you from being very hot. I'm so

2:59

sorry for those of you who

3:01

are quite warm, quite hot this week. We

3:04

are not. So far it's been perfect here.

3:06

But the greatest thing is that

3:08

my son Nathan and his

3:11

wife, Keeliah, have come home

3:13

for most of the summer. This

3:15

happens every year because they

3:17

are both actors and they work

3:19

as extras and they work in television

3:22

and they work in film and

3:24

they're both writers and they're just

3:26

creatives out their toes.

3:30

But in the summer, there

3:33

are hardly any jobs in television

3:36

or movie. And

3:39

so they're pretty free to be wherever they

3:41

want to be, June, July,

3:43

and August. And then

3:45

also from about mid-November until about February

3:48

1st, it's also free. So we get

3:50

to have them a lot. And

3:53

they are so wonderful. They encourage

3:55

me. They believe in me. I

3:57

think I probably have. the

4:00

best daughter-in-law ever

4:02

born. She,

4:05

Kealia, is a kindred spirit in the

4:07

way she thinks, and she's a writer.

4:09

She helps me so much with my

4:11

social media. But the best

4:13

thing about her, and I think I

4:15

mentioned this before, is that

4:17

she cooks. And she empties a

4:20

dishwasher. Oh my goodness. You

4:22

know, I think that I've mentioned before

4:24

that with all the thousands of meals

4:26

and the literally thousands of

4:28

people who've been in my home. It's

4:30

such a delight to have somebody to work

4:33

alongside, but also who will, we've

4:35

already divided up the meals. They're going to take four

4:37

this week. I'm going to take two. I've

4:40

already cooked a little bit here and there. So

4:43

it's really fun to have them home. But

4:46

we have on our front

4:48

porch, and we got

4:51

this house at a discount

4:53

some years ago. And we've replaced a lot

4:55

of things and designed

4:57

a lot of things. But we have, as

4:59

I've mentioned before, five rocking chairs. One is

5:02

a double, and the other four

5:05

are just single rocking chairs. But I

5:08

always wanted to have enough rocking chairs so that all

5:10

of my children, if they were home before they got

5:12

married, could have to sit in the rocking chair

5:14

in the front porch with us. So we sit in the rocking

5:17

chairs a lot in the mornings

5:20

and afternoons where we can see

5:23

the wonderful aspen trees. We

5:26

have some big, huge rocks cut

5:29

out of a mountain sort of

5:31

thing in our front yard. And it's

5:33

a lot of fun. And Darcy joins us and sits

5:35

there. We've been drinking

5:38

tea, coffee, cookies

5:41

every afternoon at 3.30, just one. And

5:44

we've had some delicious meals. And

5:47

then we

5:49

go walking. You know that I'm neurotic about

5:51

walking. And I walk so that I can

5:53

go and have another meal with these people.

5:56

Clay and I don't quite eat as much when our children

5:58

aren't here, but we're having a lot of fun. Then

6:00

celebrating life and fifteen and

6:02

been friends so. At any moment

6:05

you might find me there but on

6:07

the in the evening us when we

6:09

eat in the back deck mean are

6:11

you have to stay on the sunny

6:13

have to gear when the sun is

6:15

Clarice air so I am really enjoying

6:17

it when my children are here. Many

6:19

of his said i feel so lonely

6:21

with my children are gone and I

6:23

think that's a little bit of a

6:25

crisis. Ah and our lives these days

6:27

because jobs take our adult children all

6:29

over the world, all over the United

6:32

States, oliver to different places. And

6:34

yes, I absolutely miss my children

6:36

deeply when they're gone. They're my

6:38

best friends that when they're here

6:40

are there's a there's a new

6:43

song in my heart so it's

6:45

just a lot of fun. Hope

6:48

that you're having some fun to

6:50

all right now. I have a

6:52

lot to talk to about today,

6:54

but I certainly may not be

6:56

able to get to it. But

6:58

I did have a. Post.

7:01

Today actually Monday on the

7:03

Giants in the Land and

7:05

the I'm just going to

7:07

repeat them little bit because

7:09

the overall story is that.

7:12

When Moses Ah

7:14

had separated the

7:17

people from Egypt

7:19

into. The

7:21

desert and know where they stayed for. Forty

7:25

years. When a

7:27

joshua took over. She.

7:30

Had sent out spies in the land or

7:32

was it when Moses and I am. I

7:34

have two different stories and books that I'm

7:37

looking at, but the point is. A

7:40

person was chosen from each of

7:42

the tribes of Israel. As

7:45

leaders of their tribe to

7:47

go into the land to

7:49

observe this land of milk

7:52

and honey an. Oz

7:54

so they were supposed to see

7:56

what.had promised to provide for them

7:58

in this is. Important. My. Friends

8:01

because. How we

8:03

see our lives. A

8:06

depends but determines how we

8:08

live our story in our

8:10

lives. and so what happened

8:12

was the spies on into

8:14

the land and they saw

8:16

this huge bundles of grapes

8:18

and all sorts of produce

8:20

and it was a land

8:22

slowing with milk and honey

8:24

which was a sign of

8:26

wealth in those days. And

8:29

so. In

8:31

in they had been commanded

8:33

ago and so they went

8:36

there and this was during

8:38

the reign or during moses

8:40

as years and. Day.

8:43

Ten. Of them. Came. Back.

8:46

And they saw the same

8:49

land net Joshua and Caleb

8:51

saw. but they said. Oh

8:53

my goodness, it was a land

8:56

slowing with milk and honey. Prosperous.

8:58

A. Very fruitful. Very productive.

9:00

And in the they talked

9:02

about all of a different

9:04

crops that they saw their

9:06

but ten of them said.

9:09

Oh, but they were giants in

9:11

the land and we were as

9:13

grasshoppers in their site. And.

9:16

So we became grasshoppers. Isn't

9:19

that interesting And I want ask

9:21

you, Are you a grasshopper in

9:23

your own site And are you

9:25

are? Are you of perceiving that.

9:28

The. Giants will overtake you that

9:30

there is no way forward is

9:32

there is no hope that there

9:35

isn't a a A A solution

9:37

to your life. What I want

9:39

you to know. I have felt

9:41

that way many. Many times.

9:44

In. My life in I

9:46

think that. To

9:48

be tempted to be in difficult

9:50

times. This as a chaotic world,

9:52

it is a fallen world. Second

9:55

Law of Thermodynamics Everything is illness.

9:57

In the process of going downhill.

10:00

I'm I'm in in so I

10:02

think that there's cray possibility for

10:04

Bernard. Oh some people call it

10:07

age. you know you just get

10:09

know you need alumnus drinkers anymore.

10:11

Please don't say that about me.

10:14

the some of it might be

10:16

true or something. It is inevitable.

10:19

I'm a to to make it

10:21

in this marathon. Of

10:23

ideals and motherhood that we have

10:25

in this culture. So I've told

10:27

you many times I believe that

10:30

God has trusted us with this

10:32

time it doesn't mean you won't

10:34

struggle. I think one of my

10:36

biggest difficulties in this whole lives.

10:39

As. A mom was that. I was

10:41

never prepared for it. I didn't know

10:43

how long it would be. I didn't

10:45

know that that motherhood wouldn't for peace

10:47

over. I didn't know that I would

10:49

get very few breaks. I didn't know

10:52

about asthma, air infected children who continue

10:54

to have difficulty. For years. I had

10:56

to have my own emergency equipment. I

10:58

didn't know about children and the spectrum

11:00

with clinical or city. I didn't even

11:02

know what that was. I had never

11:05

heard of on the spectrum or autism.

11:07

Ah, I had never heard of. The

11:09

Aim of Anxiety disorder. Ah, I

11:11

had never heard of learning disabilities.

11:13

I see started out all of

11:15

these ideals learning as I wins

11:17

and I wish that I had

11:19

no more ahead of time. But

11:21

I look back and I see

11:23

there were many seasons of life

11:26

where I felt this trend a

11:28

drain and the temptation. So it's

11:30

not wrong to be tempted. To.

11:32

Be weary Sullivan wrong to feel weary

11:34

in I'm in Some of you have

11:36

such difficult circumstances and I've been through

11:38

many seasons were on that the stress

11:40

scale if you have over three hundred

11:43

and fifty points on mister a scale

11:45

like if you move you get so

11:47

many points if you have an illness

11:49

you get so many points gave a

11:51

car wreck you get so me blaze

11:53

marriage create so many points and they

11:55

say if you have over three hundred

11:57

and fifty points. you

11:59

are moving in the direction of bad health and

12:01

possibly a heart attack. And

12:04

for Clay and I, we had over 350 points,

12:06

12 years in a row

12:09

of our lives. And

12:12

as a matter of fact, we would have 700 points. And

12:16

so I guess by now we should be with the Lord. But

12:19

His grace has sustained us. But

12:21

anyway, I think

12:24

that some of

12:26

you might be like me too. Right

12:29

now, I have so many friends who

12:32

are having deep difficulties. Another

12:35

wife betrayed by adultery with a

12:37

husband, a child

12:39

who has gone astray, an adult child who has

12:41

gone astray, a pastor

12:43

abandoning his flock and

12:46

committing adultery, fire, riots,

12:50

cancer, disease. And

12:52

so I think that it's normal.

12:55

As I said yesterday, it's human.

12:57

It is normal to be tempted

12:59

to despair and to

13:02

be tempted to give in and to be tempted to think,

13:04

there is no way out. And

13:06

yet one of the things I found

13:08

last week is

13:11

I went back to a lot of my old

13:14

notes that I had prepared to speak to

13:16

an old group here, to my intensives. And

13:19

I was going through a list

13:21

of verses, which I will probably

13:24

turn into a course sometime, but I

13:26

was reading verses about the Word of God.

13:28

It is all

13:30

the verses that talk about it in Psalm 19 and Psalm 119.

13:35

And I was looking at Psalm 1, how

13:37

blessed is the man who does not walk

13:39

in the counsel of the wicked, that would

13:42

be the world, nor stand in the path

13:44

of sinners. Don't be tempted to be

13:46

drawn to what other people are doing, nor sit

13:48

in the seat of scoffers. But

13:50

his delight is in the law of the Lord. And

13:53

I was reading verse after verse after verse that

13:55

says, the law of the Lord is appearing,

13:57

so on and so forth. And

13:59

just read. eating the verses and remembering who

14:01

God is and how many times He has

14:04

taken me through these seasons was so encouraging

14:07

to me. I

14:09

think that I have finally admitted it.

14:11

I might possibly have the personality of

14:14

Eeyore when I'm

14:16

tired. When I'm weary to my

14:18

bones, I can see a

14:20

lot of little dark things. I

14:23

love this quote by Eeyore.

14:25

Eeyore says, everybody crowds

14:28

around so in this

14:30

forest, there is no

14:32

space for me. I

14:34

never saw a more spreading lot of

14:36

animals in my life in all the

14:38

wrong places, basically

14:41

bothering me. And

14:44

then when it

14:46

quieted down and he was finally left

14:48

alone and had space on his own,

14:50

Eeyore said, one can't

14:52

complain. I have my friends. Why?

14:55

Someone spoke to me only yesterday.

14:57

And it was last week

14:59

or the week before that rabbit bumped into

15:01

me and said, bother the

15:04

social round. Always something

15:06

going on. So poor Eeyore. I

15:09

didn't even know Rabbit was insulting him. But

15:12

I think that it is so

15:14

normal. I even wrote two books, Dancing

15:17

with My Heavenly Father and Help

15:19

I'm Drowning, about those

15:25

seasons of life where

15:28

you can be so, so, so

15:30

discouraged. But

15:33

I think that one of the things, I

15:35

just want to read you a couple of little passages that

15:37

I actually wrote in Dancing with My Father. I

15:41

remember it was when

15:43

Nathan was, I think

15:46

he was a senior in

15:48

age in his education. And

15:53

that made joy about

15:55

11 or 12. She was entering

15:57

the hormonal time. And And

16:00

so, let me see, Sarah would

16:02

have been 22 and had a lot of issues with

16:04

her clinical OCD

16:08

as well as Nathan at

16:10

the pinnacle of his OCD. And

16:14

Joel had gotten a

16:16

scholarship to Seattle Pacific University, and in the

16:18

midst of it, he said, I don't think

16:21

I'm learning anything, I'm just wasting money. So

16:23

he came home and was kind of looking for life.

16:27

And there were just so many difficulties in our

16:29

lives. I had a friend who was dying of

16:31

cancer that did die. There were, you

16:33

know, you know how those seasons go. And

16:37

so I'm just going to read you a little bit

16:40

about where I was during all of this. When

16:43

I first fell in love with the Lord, I was

16:46

so much happier. I was

16:48

willing to read my Bible for

16:50

hours, hungering for understanding and truth,

16:53

discussing into the wee hours of

16:55

night with my college friends. The

16:58

wonderful truths I had never heard before

17:00

that meant so much to me. Praying

17:03

fervently and eagerly awaiting miracles was the

17:05

call of my heart. Enthusiastically,

17:08

I would foray into the lives

17:10

of strangers, eager to tell

17:12

them about God's love for them, His

17:14

redemption, His grace. I would

17:16

fellowship with other believers, and it was sweet and

17:19

intimate. My whole life was genuinely

17:21

wrapped up in God, not

17:23

in a religious ritual, but

17:25

in an excited, passionate, graceful, purposeful

17:28

way. That

17:30

was the place I had left, the

17:32

place from where I had fallen. Since

17:35

then, I had had so many mundane

17:37

duties that had propelled me forward through

17:39

the many corridors of my life. Yes,

17:42

I enjoyed occasional waves of excitement

17:44

in the heart choosing to love

17:46

Him. It is the

17:48

commitment of my heart forever, now and

17:50

then. But more often

17:53

during the very, very difficult, discouraging

17:55

times, waves of excitement in

17:57

a heart choosing to love Him. was

18:01

gone. I had

18:04

been putting one foot in front of the other

18:07

out of sheer obedience. I

18:09

wished for the reality of God to be true,

18:11

but sometimes I had difficulty

18:13

believing it or grasping the

18:16

transcendence of God. I was

18:18

living in obedience and cultivating faithful character,

18:21

but often I would feel no

18:23

emotion. I would drag through some

18:25

of the days and give the party lines that

18:27

people had come to expect from me, but

18:30

I definitely was not dancing and celebrating.

18:33

Now I realized as I was pondering

18:35

this, actually I was in Poland when

18:37

I had been on a long mission trip and

18:39

I was pondering it in an old

18:42

park that I had walked through when I was a

18:44

college student there. Now I

18:46

realized I wanted much more than a spiritual

18:48

theology or a philosophy only, but

18:51

I wanted the real living intimate relationship with

18:53

the one I had originally learned to

18:56

cherish the most. When

18:58

entering the corridors of heaven, finally

19:01

meeting Jesus face to face, I

19:03

do not want to arrive gasping

19:05

out of breath, desperate, barely making

19:08

it over the finish line. Instead, I

19:10

want to enter resiliently with

19:13

a hopeful, loving heart. If

19:16

joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment are what

19:18

God desires for me, then

19:20

God created me with those capacities so

19:22

that he could fill them. God

19:25

disdains dry, mundane obedience as much

19:27

as I do. He

19:29

wants true, pure of heart, devoted love,

19:32

innocent, childlike devotion, to

19:35

be shared in a personal, vibrant relationship.

19:38

The very one who created the wild,

19:40

lively winds, the intense beauty

19:42

of storms, waterfalls, sunsets, and

19:44

music of nature is

19:46

the one who wants me to love and enjoy

19:48

him amidst the dance of life.

19:52

And so, my friends, I just

19:54

wanted to share part of this today. I'm

19:57

going to take a tiny little break here and Go

19:59

back to the next slide. that is an

20:01

attack from things that I prepared free today.

20:04

Because I actually have had fun of

20:06

us and week and I'm gonna tell

20:08

you about some of my application of

20:10

this, but I'm. Anyway,

20:14

I think that I told you that

20:16

a. About. The dinner so we've

20:18

been having on the tell you what my best

20:20

meal of the weakest but. I've

20:23

been walking before they got home and

20:25

listening to times a day. I do

20:27

a mile and a half to two

20:29

in the morning around my neighborhood and

20:32

a mile and a half or two

20:34

in the afternoon. My goal is for

20:36

miles a day. Sometimes I have to

20:38

water in the living room if it's

20:40

too cold. Here says this bird. I'm

20:43

simultaneously simultaneously listening to to books at

20:45

once and audible when I. Walk the

20:47

first one is I mention a

20:49

couple of weeks ago called the

20:51

Watchmakers daughter and it's a story

20:54

about Corey Tin Boom which I've

20:56

really been enjoying because it gives

20:58

more details to what was happening

21:00

in her life that the progression

21:02

of of how they began to

21:04

keep. The. Jews in

21:06

their home and of the ways that

21:08

they serve God, the ways they were

21:11

bowled to serve God in. It's really

21:13

very interesting and convicting. and and also

21:15

I'm reading a of fiction. A

21:19

work of fiction about the same

21:21

time in the same time during

21:23

the war in the same country

21:26

in the Netherlands called Chasing Shadows

21:28

by live in Austin and it's

21:31

so fun to read more. Of

21:33

a storybook and a historical book at the

21:35

same time. so I thought I would. Just

21:37

like you know that there is another books

21:39

Chasing Shadows That's. Been kind of fun to listen

21:41

to. Along with that, a friend recommended it up

21:43

the couple of weeks ago. Erm

21:46

as far as eating the best meal

21:48

of the week. Or

21:50

actually that I really enjoyed it

21:53

is something I'm since and before

21:55

but when Nathan's home she makes

21:57

it an he saw cheese. The

22:00

patties and erm he does it

22:02

in just a tiny little bit

22:04

of oil in whistler sauce and

22:06

he has a special spices that

22:08

he uses that as a little

22:10

bit of garlic and little bit

22:12

assault and. Several.

22:14

Different things and he saw Taser

22:16

am in I like and my

22:18

burger I like brioche burns the

22:20

best that's why I used them.

22:22

and Sunday I really splurge on

22:24

my calories on Sundays. I like

22:27

onions, On. Pickles Mayo,

22:29

Mustard to matter,

22:31

Tomatoes, Tomatoes, lettuce,

22:34

And. She's. An. These are

22:36

the best burgers we eat. I'm outdoors

22:38

so much fun! And

22:41

I'm I also made this week. I

22:43

haven't made it in a long time

22:45

minutes actually on my blog and it's

22:47

also. In my own. The. Like

22:49

giving table book is called. Nabil

22:52

apple cake. Is t

22:54

an Ob be I eat apple cake

22:56

on my blog and Joy used to

22:58

call it squirrel nut can take because

23:00

we happen to have been reading a

23:03

Peter Rabbit during that time. so you

23:05

can find out on my blog is

23:07

so good as close favorite every to

23:09

make it. he acts like I've never

23:11

made it. he says oh this is

23:14

so good you should make this again.

23:16

I really like this. I know he

23:18

does and we always put a dab

23:20

of. Her. Cream on it. But

23:23

also I just wanted to mention again because

23:25

I made. A part of this for some friends

23:27

that came over the sweets. From bed

23:30

time. Decaf brew. Is

23:33

a Yorkshire tea bed detest

23:35

brew. And

23:38

it has a little bit of an ill and

23:40

nutmeg, but you know what I do. I make

23:42

a pot of is t It has no caffeine

23:44

so you can drink it before you go to

23:46

bed. I make a pot and I put just

23:49

a few dances of nutmeg in the pot in

23:51

a teaspoon of Miller said. Makes it a little

23:53

tiny bit sweeter. I think I even put honey

23:55

and one of the pots. Oh my goodness, it's

23:57

really it's great drink before you go to. So

24:02

I wanted

24:04

to, I'm going to save one

24:06

of these things until next week.

24:09

But I do

24:12

want to talk about just one question. I'm going

24:14

to try to answer a question a week. I

24:16

might be doing more quotes. But

24:18

I wanted all of you to know that

24:21

I have planned for those

24:23

of you who are able to or want to be

24:25

in my membership, Life

24:28

with Sally. It's so much fun. My

24:31

administrators and I are planning some really

24:33

fun things for the

24:35

membership this fall. I'm going to be

24:37

taking some videos around

24:39

my house, and I'm going to have some

24:42

really fun stories about some of the art

24:44

and the historical things that we have, and

24:46

some of the books and some

24:49

of the pictures on our walls, just

24:52

maybe that would give you encouragement. I thought it might

24:54

be fun to do something actual. So

24:56

for those of you who are a part

24:58

of my membership, I just want

25:00

to thank you so much because your

25:03

membership with Whole Heart

25:05

Ministries, which is, of course,

25:07

my ministry that sponsors At

25:10

Home with Sally, or Life with Sally, I'm sorry,

25:13

lifewithsally.com, we

25:15

are able to do more books,

25:18

to do more missions,

25:20

to do so much more to help support

25:22

the staff that we have. We're hiring some

25:24

new staff to help us with all

25:26

the things that we do. So if

25:28

you have ever considered giving

25:31

back to having heard these

25:33

podcasts or the books that we've written, the

25:36

best way would be either to

25:38

support us financially, which we are so grateful

25:40

for the people that do, or

25:43

to support us financially by becoming

25:45

a member of our membership. So

25:47

either way, you can go to

25:49

wholeheart.org to find out

25:52

how you can support us. And if you can't, don't

25:54

even worry about it. We

25:56

were talking the other day that a lot of people have

25:58

said, I support

26:00

you?" And I love what you

26:02

do. And so I realized

26:04

that I needed to mention that.

26:07

wholeheart.org has a giving page,

26:09

but also you can just go

26:11

to lifewithsally.com

26:14

and find the

26:16

books, the Awaking Wonder, the videos

26:19

as well, although we're going to be putting that

26:21

behind the wall soon. We're making a course out

26:23

of it. The Awaking Wonder Unit Studies that we

26:25

have every single time. I do a Bible study.

26:28

I'm going to be doing more recordings. And

26:30

I'm hoping to do

26:33

some live

26:35

streams for my members sometime

26:37

this year, two or three times an

26:40

evening with me because I feel

26:42

like I never get to answer all the questions that

26:44

people have. So we're trying to

26:46

make it a place we've always wanted to

26:49

have a place of community. And

26:51

because in my life right now, I have

26:54

felt isolated so many times in my

26:56

life. And I know that many

26:58

of you feel isolated. We wanted to create a

27:01

community of people who can communicate

27:04

with each other. We have a

27:06

forum where people can communicate or

27:08

just where we as

27:10

a staff, as a group of people who

27:14

are working on this membership can give

27:16

back to you and pray for you and

27:20

provide resources for your home that might

27:22

be of encouragement to you. So

27:24

thank you for letting me talk about that for a moment.

27:28

But I wanted

27:30

to talk about one thing. I thought I'd start

27:32

answering one question at a time. I

27:35

think that a lot of people are

27:38

confused by their mysterious

27:40

babies. For instance, several

27:44

of my children, well

27:46

actually two of my children were

27:48

the calmest babies in the world. And

27:51

I thought I was the best parent in the world. And

27:53

a couple of my babies refused to sleep.

27:56

Oh my goodness. And I think now as

27:58

I look back, I Learned so much. More

28:00

I think some of them were digestive

28:02

issues that their little time he hasn't

28:04

hurt and Sarah has had similar issues

28:07

as her children from time to time.

28:09

And so it can be that every

28:11

single child as a different kind of

28:13

personality. So there's no, don't read all

28:16

the online stuff as this is what

28:18

you have to do their it's all

28:20

because no children in the same. I

28:22

remember Sarah by God's grace had a

28:25

because she had been in intensive care.

28:27

For. About five days before I was able to bring

28:30

her home or have her to nurse and I just

28:32

sat on the couch and litter. Nurse a nurse, a

28:34

nurse. And. My milk came

28:36

in eventually cause I had also

28:38

gotten the flu when I first

28:40

said sarah in i stay hydrated

28:42

but it always Sarah had a

28:45

really strong sucking. I'm. Inclination

28:47

so she was easier for me

28:49

to get the whole ball rolling

28:51

with. with I'm nursing and I

28:54

had a little used books in

28:56

the bookstore that are told me

28:58

what to do. And

29:01

saw use out. but joel.

29:04

Was kind of big sleepy baby.

29:06

He was in the. I'm

29:08

eventually she he grew in a

29:11

job seeker Believe this nation in

29:13

sera work in the a hundred

29:15

and fifteen to percentile for their

29:17

heights and for their a hit

29:19

and then job. Now is my

29:21

six foot five boys who was

29:23

in the fiftieth percentile different than

29:25

the others that she would nurse

29:27

for about three or four minutes

29:29

and then he. He

29:32

would to stop the his fall

29:34

asleep so basically had to keep

29:36

nursing him a lot and I

29:38

believed in nursing. My children under

29:40

Man because I. Worked for me. I

29:42

didn't have to take any bottles anywhere

29:44

and annum I kept them close to

29:46

me and it was lot of fun.

29:48

But anyway a different patterns with Nathan

29:50

and was joy. I don't think Nathan

29:52

such through the night till his about

29:54

four years old on a regular basis

29:57

and I think it's because he had

29:59

earned some a. digestive issues that eventually

30:01

I would learn about. But all

30:03

that to say, sometimes

30:05

when your babies cry a lot or

30:07

maybe they're exhausted and you don't know

30:10

they're exhausted or maybe they have a

30:12

little bubble or maybe it's a personality

30:14

thing or whatever reason,

30:17

I think the thing that I would love to

30:19

say when I say to people, love your children

30:21

all the time everywhere from the beginning because

30:25

I believe that it is what

30:27

God wants parents to do and

30:30

Clay wrote a book called heartfelt discipline, which is

30:32

kind of a Bible for a lot of people

30:35

who wanted a whole different way of

30:37

thinking through discipline. But

30:39

we believed in high training and

30:43

high conversation and high affection

30:45

and gentleness

30:48

and graciousness. Now we were

30:51

not toward either extreme. I

30:53

mean because we

30:55

were a discipleship sort of people,

30:58

we were talking to our children all the time, no

31:01

not this this, we we

31:03

gave them choices, we told them everything.

31:05

But the thing that Clay and I

31:07

realized is that many

31:10

parents start out as

31:12

adversaries, adversarial parenting. I have

31:14

to correct every single thing you do. If

31:17

you cry, I must correct it. If you, you

31:20

know, whatever it is, if you're tired or weary

31:22

or whatever. And

31:25

I think that adversarial parents

31:28

create children who are

31:30

a little bit afraid of a

31:34

little bit afraid of their parents

31:36

or of disappointing their parents

31:38

because it can go down the road

31:40

of becoming more harsh and I can talk about this more

31:42

later. But I think

31:45

that what I would emphasize for us, we

31:48

took our babies into our arms from

31:50

the beginning. We were their advocates. We

31:53

Kissed their little heads all over. We kept

31:56

them close to us. We sang in their

31:58

little ears. We. We

32:00

are. We just felt

32:02

that been an advocate

32:04

from the very beginning,

32:06

understanding that sometimes little

32:09

toddlers don't even share

32:11

your directions until thirty

32:13

to forty five seconds

32:15

or up. We just

32:17

realized that. To.

32:19

Reach our children's hearts. They

32:21

needed to see that we

32:23

were there to love them,

32:25

to help them, to nurture

32:27

them to care for them.

32:29

And you would probably if

32:31

you have questions about this.

32:33

Enjoy reading a very biblical

32:35

look closer up. A bible

32:37

scholar. And. To

32:39

read heartfelt discipline, So I

32:42

thought that has one of my friends said what

32:44

what does it mean to love them That means

32:46

to treat them and relationship like you would like

32:48

to be treated. Do unto others as you would

32:50

like them to do unto you. We actually use

32:53

head as a part of our philosophy as we

32:55

were loving our children and trying to understand him.

32:57

Some some of our to talked all the time,

32:59

some of them didn't talk all the time. You

33:02

know your age at it and get their tents

33:04

and litter my eyes. Mommy wants you to come

33:06

to dinner. Oh. I. Didn't even hear

33:08

you are so anyway I hope that

33:10

that that might encourage you. but if

33:13

you to think of yourself as an

33:15

advocate now and even with my. Adult

33:18

children. I want to be there

33:20

advocate. I went to be for

33:22

them, I went to understand them,

33:24

I went to listen to them

33:26

and now and we also had

33:28

high deals and hi training. As

33:31

you can see in the to

33:33

four Philly ways but it's not.

33:35

It isn't of formula, it is

33:37

a relationship and it's an organic

33:39

relationship. grows over time. But love

33:41

love love love love and erm

33:43

Anyway I had him. He says

33:45

well my friends I was talking

33:47

with. Order my children this week

33:49

getting back to the Giants in

33:52

the land and we were looking

33:54

at houses in. I

33:56

think I just want to end with this.

33:58

Oh. In. this chaotic world, especially

34:00

as we move more and more. It's

34:03

a mystery what's going to happen in

34:06

the direction of the end of the world.

34:08

There is chaos. There's news of chaos. There

34:10

are wars and rumors of wars. There

34:13

is violence. There are disappointing things.

34:15

There's illness. All

34:17

of us are subject to a fallen world and

34:20

yet, as I

34:22

look at our world and as

34:24

I look at God, I realize

34:26

that there were two people who

34:28

looked at their circumstances differently. It

34:31

was Caleb and it was Joshua and God

34:33

rewarded them for their faith. When they saw

34:35

the Giants, they said, yes, but God, God

34:39

can overcome our Giants. And

34:42

so God did overcome

34:45

their Giants and little

34:48

by little he allowed then the

34:51

Israelites and he allowed Caleb and

34:53

Joshua to go

34:58

into the land. That was a ring from my Nathan

35:00

who's saying, are you almost ready for dinner? Anyway,

35:04

have your children ever said that to you? Anyway,

35:08

I look at them and God wants

35:11

us, yes, there can be whole seasons

35:13

of darkness. There can be

35:15

whole difficulties. We see that many people were

35:17

tested in Scripture and became strong leaders over

35:19

time. And yet,

35:22

I want you to know that God sees

35:25

you and he knows your Giants well

35:27

and he understands the difficulty. It is

35:30

not wrong to be

35:32

tempted to despair. But

35:34

what God desires is to hold us,

35:37

to encourage us to let

35:39

us wait for him and to

35:41

let us keep going. I just wanted to encourage

35:44

you and pray with you today to know that you are

35:47

perfectly within your rights to be

35:49

exhausted from this marathon that we

35:51

are running. And

35:53

yet, you're also the person who can

35:56

leave a legacy of a life story

35:58

of very gently. Growing

36:00

very gently, trust God and

36:02

watching him. Answer. You

36:04

there's improves. I can't wait to see

36:06

him answer That have been years in

36:09

the making and yet God has stretched

36:11

me and given me more compassion for

36:13

people, more understanding through this time of

36:15

waiting. Dear

36:18

Heavenly Father, Bless my precious friends!

36:21

Cause. Every single person right

36:23

now today. Lord, They need Grace.

36:25

Is I need Grace. They need

36:27

strength. Is. I need to. They

36:30

need to know that you understand.

36:33

Depression or difficulty, the battle of

36:35

trying to be faithful in a

36:38

chaotic world, and just the need

36:40

for sleep Or the need for

36:43

understanding their prodigal for. They're

36:45

teenagers. The need

36:47

for seen that always. You have

36:49

been a part of your children's

36:51

lives as they trust you and

36:54

love you and raising Dudley children.

36:57

For. Your Glory. Bless

36:59

Bless! Blessed is Precious wins.

37:01

Let them find comfort Today

37:03

I pray in Jesus' name.

37:05

Same in all right my

37:07

friends. Have a wonderful week

37:09

and if you feel like

37:11

it, share. This podcast

37:13

with some of your friends and

37:15

because we really are praying that

37:18

God will use this community to

37:20

strengthen, encourage, and inspired. Precious.

37:22

Precious parents and I'm a lot

37:25

of our single friends in there

37:27

doesn't walk with God. Thank you

37:29

so much for joining me today

37:31

By by. I

37:37

hope you've enjoyed our time together.

37:39

she did. You join me next

37:41

week? Be sure to look for

37:43

more information on my blog. it's

37:45

a week for.com seems to. me

38:00

Thank you.