Life with Sally

In the podcast today, you will hear my own story of how out of control I was of my life when my children were little and we had moved to a very remote country place to start our ministry. You will learn about the circumstances in which I had to yield my impossible life into God's hands and by faith believe that this awful place was exactly the place he wanted me to be, the place I was to cultivate life in my own desert.

The next 10 weeks, I will be leading all of us through a podcast series based on my book, Own Your Life and the Bible study guide and planner. It is my hope that this series will remind all of us about the ways God desires each of us to find our place in His story, meaning through our every day and the way to live life in such a way that we can follow along His path of love, purpose and fruitfulness that will last for eternity. I will be discussing the vision of life as well as the details of life that happen every day. Join me and I hope it will be of great encouragement.

We're all chasing rest and beauty and delightful interludes, aren't we? But why? What do we crave at the root of that desire? Today, Sally and Kristen dive into the third and final podcast in the series that accompanies Kristen's new book, Finding Selah: the Simple Practice of Peace When you Need it Most. They share about the longing for beauty that we all have deep in our souls and discuss the only way it can ever be satisfied. They talk about real ways that we can practically grow in peace in our real lives, and the reason they are so passionate about sharing delight and visible joy with their children. Do you want to change the world? It begins with discovering beauty that changes your whole heart! WHAT WE TALK ABOUT: -How to take action and allow a practice of peace to sink deep into our lives. -God's heart for us to receive the gifts He gives us with joy. -The fact that rest is often active and often requires that we yield or surrender. -Activities that are restful to each one of us and how you might implement them in your own life. -The transformative effect of rest in our lives- and the way it equips us to pour out our hearts to others. -How we cultivate spaces that knit beauty and peace into the lives of our children, and all those we influence. -Finding the root of all beauty in Jesus, and learning to trust Him and be satisfied in our relationship with Him as a pattern that shapes the rest of our lives. -Why its so important to talk to give our children a home, a table, and an education that all speak life- that all give them a vision and a picture of heaven- that guide them to the heart of God. -God's provision of his people when they had great fear and anxiety. -The gifts of our "miracle babies" and the way God softened each of our hearts through the joy of motherhood.

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT: -How embarking on new experiences requires new muscle to develop in us. -What C.S. Lewis spoke of when he called earth "The Shadowlands" -How to develop a vision and imagination for God that will sustain us throughout our lives. -How do we develop a kingdom vision that will sustain us and our children in this place? -What we believe about God and his story for our lives and his vision and story for the world and the part we play will be our foundation for the way we live each day. -Stories of how each of us have shared the delight, enjoyment and mission of God with our children will shape their view of our family and of God. -Trials we have faced and how they have helped to define our character and how we have seen the way they have prepared us for even greater things. -How we have learned to have interludes of beauty and delight with God in the midst of all our difficult circumstances. -A story of art that captured Kristen's heart and shifted her understanding of what God saw and was doing in her life. -The way God's song and beauty and art awaken our hearts to Him. - How we can encourage others through the sharing beauty and the truth of God's word. -The history of the Psalms and music in the church. LINKS - Composer Studies at Cultivating Life With Sally - Monet's Regatta at Sainte Adresse

Waiting on something has taken up most of my life. Waiting for answered prayers that occupied my heart and hoping that God was paying attention. In this podcast we will talk about the difficulty and sometimes pain we have when we are waiting for answers from God. We will also talk about the value in learning to wait as well as the ways God blesses beyond the waiting time we are in. God is in control--we must humble ourselves to let Him be God and king over our lives to wait well. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God until He is gracious to us. Psalm 123:2 Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 Faith is believing when we cannot see--choosing to believe when we absolutely do not know what is happening or what will happen--we choose to believe in God. Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 Be still before the LORD, rest and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7 Waiting brings deep wisdom and perspective and stretches our character muscles Waiting develops humility and compassion and extends your ability to minister to others Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31

As we ponder the countless thousands who have engaged in our ministry through the years, through conferences, through the publishing and launching of 20 books and Bible study guides, the development of an online ministry, our blogs, podcasts, small group and international ministries, the Bible studies and conferences that are taking place all over the world, we are humbled by what God has done.

In today's podcast, you will hear about: *My time with a dear friend, Terri Moon, and reminiscing about our lives with our children who have grown up together. *Favorite music and why we study composers and their character qualities in our membership, "Cultivating Life with Sally. And how music is healing *Favorite recipes and traditions we both celebrate (She is an amazing cook!) *How worry has never ever changed any of our circumstances *How both of us restore and refresh and celebrate Christmas to bring Joy *Why joy is a healer and why a joyful heart is good medicine. We think that Christmas is a great time to share books as gifts because they also bring healing and inspiration to those we love. So, we are giving away 3 books to our readers for Christmas.

Take time to regroup today--Go eat some chocolate, and don't feel guilty as you are eating it (that would certainly be a waste of good chocolate!) Listen to some beautiful music, watch a heart-warming movie, take a nap, eat off of paper plates to save cleanup! The rest of December is still coming and you will be the better for it. I'll be praying for you!