Durnstein, Austria
After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; Matthew 14:23
My life is so very blessed and I am indeed grateful for the ways God has worked over the years. And yet, my messages of life and my books and my strength has not come out of a vacuum, but out of a rich and cultivated home life; a rhythmic spiritual life through a day by day discipline; centering myself over and over again so that I may hold fast to ideals and put away those things that distract from the center.
My message of influencing my children is born out of in intimate acquaintance with the discipleship relationship with Jesus, which requires focus, immeasurable time and a rich spiritual life. Such a life must continually be cultivated and treasured, it does not come by happenstance. It is the integrity of the life lived behind closed doors, the days that no one else sees, where integrity is crafted and grows strong.
Yet, my life has been surrounded in the last few years by crowds and multitudes. Our ministry is such a blessing. How privileged I am to be able to be used, even in a small way, by Jesus, to encourage moms to embrace their divine role as mothers. Having met thousands of precious women, in person and through writing, I have continued to develop a heart to support and encourage them, to help them uphold their ideals, to point them to God. It is a passion from Him.
And yet, if I do not continue to protect the very place from which my messages come, my secret place, my home, my family, my abiding time investing in His wisdom and perspective, then I will spend myself in vanity and will empty myself from Him and just give of my own flesh–but not please Him, who truly is my treasure.
And so, the past two weeks, I have been sequestered away, in Austria, with my own wise counselor, Sarah–my first child.
Sarah, having just finished a semester at Oxford, (with the highest of honors, my mama heart soars with her great news), said, “Mom, let’s meet in Austria, and we will rest and pray and talk and drink coffee and seek the Lord together.”
I am indeed blessed to have children who now inform my life and who help me reason Biblically and make intentional plans for my life, as it has been the warp and woof of their own upbringing.
And so, wonderful Clay, sent me away, knowing how I long for peace, quiet and time for reflection, and generously held the fort down with delightful adventures with Joel and Joy. I am very blessed to have a husband who is so very generous to me. I adore spending time with my sweet children, we had free airline and hotel points, and I was one tired and spend mama.
So, two very precious weeks were invested in walking the familiar streets of Vienna, where I cut my spiritual teeth so many years ago as a young missionary. Even just the moving amongst familiar places, as we walked miles and miles, (also my therapy!), I caught again, the spirit of my mission heart that had beat so strongly over 30 years ago, when I entered this missional life. God began to meet me there and He began to unfold to me some of the ways He wants me to seek in the days and years ahead.
He is pretty true and simple in His direction of life,
Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness,
And so, I am rearranging some of my priorities and commitments so that I may continue to invest in what He has for me to do.
Sometimes the pulling away from multitudes is what is necessary in order to hear His voice, But then, I want to end well, having sought the praise of Him, my cherished and beloved Friend, who has led me so faithfully over the years, and not be swayed by culture, as I have less time left on this earth to please Him than I used to have.
So, please pray with me, that my commitments will be the right ones, that my home will continue to be a place of grace, truth, wisdom, life and peace, and that I will have the faith to follow hard after Him.
Be blessed in His will today, as that is where His peace will follow your soul.
And my prayer for all of you, is that you, too, will seek to hear His voice and follow hard after His pathway for you.
Sally,
I felt like I could be right there with you seeking HIM, relaxing and taking in the beauty that surrounds you {or maybe I wish I was there! lol} I think your post will resonate with many, including myself, who fill our plates to the brim. Where everything becomes blurred, there is no real direction and the purpose of it all begins to diminish. Keeping our eyes on HIM first is so important.
Thank you so much for this post Sally! I will surely keep you in my prayers, I always do!
Hugs & Blessings,
Tiany
Thanks for your sweet thoughts, my friend. May He bless you today.
Beautiful message… I need to regain my quiet place with God and let him re-prioritize for me!
Welcome home, dear friend! I am so glad you had a wonderful time. But would it be too selfish to say that I feel better knowing you’re back home?
So grateful for your example of prioritizing what’s truly important. Hearing the Lord remind me, too, of the need to drink deeply of Him, to fill my heart with beauty, and give from a place of peace. Blessings to you!
Oh my. I am so glad for you! What a great opportunity! This post really struck a cord in my heart this morning, as the Lord has been doing some pruning in my life lately in regards to how my time is spent, priorities, and how to make time for the spiritual food I so desperately need! I’ve really been encouraged and challenged here at your blog and while I’ve been reading The Ministry of Motherhood to take this job of motherhood more seriously. I love your thoughts today on this! WOW! I feel like it’s a confirmation to all that He is showing me…now to walk in obedience!
Ummm… Is it ungodly to be jealous? Shucks!
It has been fun to watch tour children mature into adults ( even though Sarah was more mature than me when she was born)!
Blessings to your family and thank you for continuing His journey. We miss you all!
you are a good example of making time for what is the most important.
investing in the eternal.
thanks for sharing, glad you had a time of renewal and resfreshment.
I’m so glad you were able to get away!! I hope it was exactly what you needed.
What a wonderful retreat you had with your precious first born! (And congrats to her on such high honors!!!) My hubby and I are missionaries not too far from where you spent the last two weeks, and although with two little ones we don’t get to travel or take breaks much, we have often been advised to take a break from our ministry and commitments to retreat away like that…for those very same reasons. I think it’s a wonderful and wise thing to be able to do, and I am so glad you had the opportunity to do that.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said,
“And yet, if I do not continue to protect the very place from which my messages come, my secret place, my home, my family, my abiding time investing in His wisdom and perspective, then I will spend myself in vanity and will empty myself from Him and just give of my own flesh–but not please Him, who truly is my treasure.”
In our culture, it’s called “burn-out!” You are so wise to give this advice Sally! I see many moms burning themselves out because they have not guarded against this…great post!!
Sally,
This is such a great reminder for us all. There is a need to reevaluate why we are doing the things we do. It’s necessary to reevaluate and seek Him for each season to be sure we are where He wants us. I’m grateful for your ministry and trust that the two weeks away filled your heart and gave you direction.
I relate to the beauty of how our older children, aka friends, speak truth into our lives and provide direction. Know you are greatly loved and appreciated by many.
Blessings
I’ve been enjoying reading your blog since discovering you a couple of weeks ago. I especially like this post because of the top photo. I was an exchange student in Krems, Austria, which is very near Durnstein. The scenery in your photo looks beautiful to me. I would like to return with my daughter someday like you have done, and perhaps we will.
Thank you for the sweet and gently reminder. Your testimony is for us all. I’m sure we can all use a little “re-evaluating” to make sure we are in his will. It’s so easy to get caught up with “good” things that we lose our intimacy with HIM. I know I needed that reminder this morning. THANK YOU!
Stephanie and I were just talking about you two being in Austria (and, I may add, wishing we were with you!).
We will be very busy when she and the family arrive in May as we are catering her brother’s wedding reception (lots of cooking and baking) but there are already plans for coffee and a snack at our very favorite coffee shop near campus.
While I am very close to my son… daughters truly are soul mates to their mothers. After all, sons are still men and men do not understand women as another woman does. Especially a woman who was raised by her mother to be her best friend when she grew up.
(((HUGS)))
Sweet Sally,
It makes me smile to know you got to be in one of your favorite places with your sweet Sarah. Thank you for letting us see into your rest.
I am challenged to remember to make my time with Him my top priority so that I have something to give those in my life, not from my flesh. Thank you.
My verse for this time is “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.” Psalm 62:5 This has become my mantra, as we are moving again. No small move. (not there is such a thing) My husband is retiring from the Army after 21 years. We are going to Montana. My MIL decided to move back to TX. We are going to serve the Lord. I had to laugh, I may be using your idea of selling homemade cinnamon rolls. “Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him.”
Love you Sally. I’m so thankful the Lord has shared you with me and so many others.
Sally, I never tire of your beautifully crafted words. They speak to my heart like music. I’m trying to sing harmony with you right here in my home as I let your words resonate in my heart.
Love, Kimberly
You know I will be praying – follow after the path God has set before you. You have ministered to me daily & I appreciate your ministry & so thankful for you.
I SO needed to read this today! Beautiful, as always!
What a blessing to call your own child your wise counselor. I’m seeing that more and more with each day they grow. I pray I’ll never forget what God can do through my children. They are wiser than I’ve had appreciation for.
I am praying for you Sally! Love you tons and so glad you were able to get this time of focus and rest!