life changing books
the year is 2021. the season is summer. i’m newish in motherhood and looking for encouragement.
the life changing book is The Life Giving Home by Sally & Sarah Clarkson
in many ways this book reminds me of a favorite passage in scripture in Deuteronomy 6 when it speaks of teaching the way of the Lord to our children when we sit and when we lie down. when we walk by the way and when we are at the gates. binding the words on our hearts and putting them on our door posts. because the walk of faith is all about the heart, these things are instructed to be IN our hearts, so we can pass them on our to children. it is an invitation to a way of living that’s more than rules and performance. it’s full of grace, beauty, romance, play, relationship and everlasting love and life.
I really enjoy the way Sally and Sarah, mother and daughter, communicate relationship. and I was looking for that in my early years. both my parents passed away before my son was born. and although I was raised christian, it was a little more performative than relational. I was craving that wisdom from a spiritual mother. Sally became that for me. i’m really grateful!
one thing I loved to do with my sweet boy was to just pack up and go. now that’s built such a beautiful rhythm in our home, he’s nearly eight and he’ll ask if we can just go hold hands and go on a walk. or go to the nature park and hike or have a picnic. it’s such a beautiful part of our lives and reading through the life giving home helped me see how our daily goings about create a beautiful family culture. I have ten minutes left on my timer to write this blog and we plan to go to the board walk when I finish. he’s tidying up while I write and we’re both looking forward to spending time together outside. I cherish this so deeply!
the book is a look at all twelve months in a year and shares some of their family traditions and how they cultivated a faith-filled home. Sally writes from the mother’s perspective and Sarah from the daughters. it’s really sweet and I come back to it every year during random months for a refresh and an encouragement.
“Give foundations of strength and inspiration to these precious ones, but give them wings as well.”
—Sally Clarkson, The Lifegiving Home
“Because in those moments I tasted and saw the goodness of God in a way I couldn’t ignore.”
—Sarah Clarkson, The Lifegiving Home
in June Sally says :
God is active and present in every moment of our lives, but too often we are so caught up in how we ought to be rather than allowing ourselves to be swept up into the whirlwind of the Spirit. God desires that we learn to play again, to experience Him like little children do, open in wonder to the vastness and endless wonder of him.
the genius nineteenth-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once wrote that “Christ plays in ten thousand places.” Jesus himself is waiting to play with us, to shape up and overwhelm our imaginations, if only we would once again learn the movement of His dance of joy.
I was especially worried I wouldn’t be a good “summer mom” because I really struggle to enjoy summer. I don’t always know how to function in the heat and I am not known to be in the best of moods. I was worried I would just be perpetually irritated and not want touched or to be close to anyone. that is how I feel on hot, awful days. but, joyfully, everything changed when I had my precious little one. he taught me how to play again. he lit up my mornings. doing life with him showed me of everything wonderful about summer from a whole new perspective. like messy, strawberry mouths and sweaty little boy smells. I had no idea. and, I got the kind of kid that woke up before dawn, so we mostly had our days from 4am-11am, which is before it gets too hot to be outside anyway. ha!
oh, we had the loveliest rhythm. wake up so early, have coffee for me and bible time, play and books or blocks for him. and then head outside. stroller ride, toddling about, stopping to look at bugs (or “gugs”) and be home for lunch and a glorious nap.
I wasn’t worried about being productive. I was just simply being. I began to come alive anew. I had hope that I can cultivate the family we dream of and that it’s okay to move on from the death of my parents and imagine a whole new life for myself. that it’s okay to be happy and even though it’s not what I thought would be, Jesus is walking with me, beside me, all around me. in every season of life, marriage, and motherhood.
