And we're talking about pruning in order to make room for Light and Warmth. What's crowding your spirit and obscuring God's access to your soul?
"Sometimes, it’s a slow process. Sometimes, we wake up one morning and find the whole bush covered with blackened, holey leaves. If we allow it, God begins to prune. Often, the pruning is painful, very painful. The only way to bear the pain of the pruning is to keep our eyes on the face of the Gardener. He has a plan. It’s a plan to save us, a plan to allow us to bloom abundantly. But first, He must strip us bare. And there we stand in the summer sun, naked in our seemingly barren state. Very little green remains, no blooms can be seen. We need to begin again, confident that the Gardener will provide all we need to grow and flourish." Please read the rest here.
“And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him.” — Edith Stein
Whew. I’ve had a lot of nights like this one lately, a lot of fragmentary, embarrassed, and ashamed nights, many, many worried nights, a lot of dreams where all the bumps of the day crowd out peaceful sleep and I awake feeling defeated before I’ve begun.
Do you have a fear, something you think about way too often, something your family knows not to mention? You're not proud of it and you try to dispel it, but there it is. I'm writing about fear today at MomHeart. And yes, actually, the picture goes with the fear. Sort of.
He called around dinnertime, as the noise around me was reaching a hungry crescendo. We talked about his flight, his plans for a dinner meeting, his jampacked schedule the following day. And then he said what he always says, every time he closes a phone call, tinkering only with location, "I'm loving you in Miami."
"I love you, too."
We speak the words. Again and again, throughout a lifetime. Loving. What does it mean?
Once upon a time, I was a young mother. I had four children under ten and a fifth on his way. We'd just moved to a new house in a new town and my husband was working 15 hour days and 7 day weeks. My best friend had moved to England--and this was well before Skype or easy intercontinental calling, before most of us had email.
I was in need of a mentor, an older mother who understood the challenges of the lifestyle to which I'd been called and could help me see the joy in the midst of it all. By the grace of God, I found Sally Clarkson. I read every thing she'd ever written. I bought every. single. audiotape I could find. I let her sweet voice pour over my soul and I could almost feel her the warmth of her hug. I am very certain that I could quote some of those talks to you verbatim, even now.
I don't know how we connected. I think I sent Sally some articles I'd written and offered to represent her ministry, Whole Heart, at a Catholic homeschooling conference. What I do remember, with startling clarity, is that just as we were walking through the door, bringing home that fifth baby, the phone rang. It was Sally. She had no idea of her timing, but it struck me hard and has never left me. Just as I was wondering where to turn for the warmth and wisdom of a mature woman of faith, there was Sally Clarkson on the phone. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Sally made me a better mother to that growing family. And I'm grateful beyond words for her voice, now, as I grow weary and the hill seems much steeper than I thought it would be. She tells me that I can do this, that together with my husband we can continue to grow in faith and holiness and raise Godly children, despite the tendency we all have towards sin.
These days, it's much easier to sit at Sally's feet. The internet is a grand and glorious thing isn't it? And so, it is with unbounded joy that I share with you a new ministry for moms. Here is a treasure trove of wisdom as we persevere. Here is a lovely group of women to encourage you and warm you and keep you going as you endeavor to raise Godly families. We all need someone beside us to help us, someone to keep us moving forward, to carry the crosses with us--it's a long, long road. This new collective is intended to be just that. I'm honored and humbled and ridiculously excited to be a part of it. Take a moment or two to hear Sally's heart in the vision for this endeavor.
The ocean of “mom blogs” on the Internet seems to grow wider and deeper every day. You already know that it is impossible to follow every good blog you find as you surf that ocean. If you did, there wouldn’t be much time left for mothering! So, you are right to want to know what makes Mom Heart Online different. Out of all the wonderful mom blogs wanting and deserving your attention, why should you visit us at MomHeart? Why is it worth your valuable time to spend time here.
Mom Heart Online is spiritual harbor. We’re here not just to bring you in to stay, but also to send you out to sail. We are a place any mom can come to be encouraged, equipped, and enabled as a mother after God’s heart. We are here to inspire and engage your heart with great content that calls you to a high vision for your life as a mother, to create an online community of moms where you can network and interact with others who share your heart, to train you how to easily start and lead your own Mom Heart Group to continue in life what you find online, and to provide quality and original materials and resources that will fill your heart and mind with life-changing wisdom and truth.
Leave me a comment and let me know what kinds of things you like to read at MomHeart. Add MomHeart to your regular blog reading. You can connect via Facebook or Twitter.
Sally is offering a free copy of one her books to an In the Heart of my Home reader and I'm offering a free copy of her book as well. Your choice of book! Two chances to win:-)
Grab a button and come back and hang out with us often.
And finally, please pray for this new ministry.
Have a very blessed and happy Thursday, my friends!
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Why?
...that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures or wisdom and knowledge. ~Col 2:2
If you click through an Amazon link on this blog and subsequently make a purchase, I will receive a small credit from Amazon. I will be very grateful for this credit and will use it purchase still more books and such to share with you. An eternal circle of Amazon life, you might say:-)
