About Sally Clarkson

Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for and hope for and expect the Lord!

Psalm 31: 24

So many eras I didn’t think I would live through—-crying babies with colic; ear infections and nocturnal asthma; hysterical fits and fusses and tantrums for never ending years, one day at a time, with a mysterious child with adhd, ocd and odd; marriage struggles between me, a totally romantic, relational woman married to a totally rational, organized man who had to work way too many hours to keep this family afloat; messes,  rejections from family for our ideals; 17 moves; loneliness, too little help or support systems; financial crisis; illnesses and hospitalizations and testings never ending; church splits; irrational people; and on and on. Read the rest at I Take Joy

Joy, 5 years ago, being dragged around to conferences.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. 

Mother Theresa

So often as a mom, I have had grand ideals and plans of how I would influence and inspire my children. Yet it has been in the small moments that came upon me unexpectedly, those that take you totally by surprise, when the heart of what I have left my child has been most truly felt and left an eternal mark. And so, through time, I have learned to become aware at those moments to take notice, and to seek to make in investment of love, resisting what could be a forever memory of conflict. Kind words, chose well, can move a child to faith for a lifetime.

A memory of Joy from a few years ago entered my mind recently as I was praying for her to find the grace to face some difficulties in her own life. Each January for many years, our family served together at 4 national Mom Heart Conferences. These conferences were exhausting, required a lot of patience and commitment and tested all of our ability to endure well.

It had been a very long weekend–the third of such weekends. Lots of wonderful women chattering, asking questions, sharing hearts; speaking, praying, encouraging, laughing. One more conference with 4 more to go before our 20 day mission trip ending the season. And now, we were leaving the hotel to spend a day with friends. Everyone’s adrenalin was down and our tempers were short.

It is always a challenge to round up all the “stuff” we spend 3-4 days spreading out over our hotel rooms. A mess bomb had exploded everywhere, as the 15 people working with us helped us to spread it all around. Remnants of papers and copies of name-tags,  as we register women and have notebooks, stamp the bookmarks to give out, have snacks and food crumbs and leftovers we eat away from the crowds with our staff and helpers, Bibles, notes, hair spray, shoes, bathing suits, hangers, towels, ibuprofen, and lots of other little things. Somehow getting it all back in the bags the same way seems harder than when we started out.

I was bone-tired and was feeling  the weariness a little more with each year. The girls had been working long hours at registration, putting up boxes of books, setting up tables. They had spent countless hours running cash registers and putting gifts and chocolate out for all the women to enjoy, going to bed late and getting up early. Everyone did their job as expected without being asked or followed. Our family all knows the routine and what is expected.

But at this moment, as we were to check out of the hotel, and Sarah and Clay and I were walking down the hall to the elevator, Joy said, “Hey, wait! I want to get my sweater out of my bag. Just as I turned around to look at her, I saw her reach into her bag and accidentally dump the whole contents of her suitcase on the hall floor, with hair bands and brushes, shoes and books, shampoo and lip gloss, and a swim suit rolling everywhere.

A “You need to be more careful! Why did you hold up the suitcase when you were unzipping it?!” was on the edge of my tongue. I did not feel like putting down my suitcase, computer bag, purse, coat, and Clay’s shoes that were all barely juggled in my grip. But, something inside me nudged my heart and I pictured this sweet teenage girl, working, greeting, smiling and helping all weekend long. I knew this was not the time to scold or to be impatient, though I felt all of this on the edge of my attitude, waiting to spill over.

I put everything down and walked toward her. “I am so very sorry it all fell out. You must feel so frustrated and if you are as tired as I am, you could use a real rest. Let me help you.”

“By the way, did I tell you how amazed I was at how hard you worked this weekend? You were such a trooper. You are handling yourself like a pro. I can’t believe you can work such long hours without anyone telling you. I really appreciate you, honey, and know you must be bone tired.” I chattered as I picked up and folded with her. How thankful I was that the Holy Spirit had put his finger on my heart. I saw eyes of anger  and defense change into gentle eyes–glad to be understood. She really didn’t drop this whole bag of clothes just to further irritate me on a tiresome morning! And  she really was a great 13 year old.

Grace–a cup of cold water to a thirsty body; a bouquet of flowers on a winter window sill; a kind patient timely word; a rescue to a four year old who drops his whole plate of food or spills one more cup of milk; a cup of tea for a hormonal girl; a back rub and chocolate chip cookies to an overwrought teen boy; instrumental music and a candle lit with a warm meal for a grumpy husband so worried about finances when he comes home from a hard day of work.

Grace is the undeserved and unforeseen act of kindness and patience that totally changes moments. It is the noble soul exercised toward the humble, needy and grateful.

I am so very thankful that I have received so much grace from my wonderful heavenly Father. He keeps loving and giving and bearing with me through all my immature and awkward moments of life. Grace changes everything and redeems amazingly. Just thoughts running through my mind on Sunday morning before church.

I received gifts of grace in my own moments of ministry the last few weeks. A beautiful blue Spode tea cup (one of my favorites now), with my favorite tea, with my favorite chocolates to encourage me in the midst. Friends who travel far and work with us, with no benefits to themselves, just for the joy of serving–these are graces that stay in my heart and speak to me of His love seen through the actions of others near by. A lovely hot meal waiting when I return from a trip.

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Join us for giveaways, a party and celebration tonight at 9:00 eastern time for giveaways and an interview between me and my wonderful, adhd, ocd, artistic child, Nathan!

www.themobsociety.com

When all of the other children stayed in the sidewalk when we walked around a lake at a 5 star hotel, Nathan was skipping, climbing a tree, following the squirrels.

As a small child, when Nathan had a hard time settling down to sleep, others said I was too lenient. I scratched his back and told him stories to help relax him.

He sang, pretended, wiggled, ran, talked a lot and was the pied piper–the kids all loved him, the parents wondered if being out of the box could be the right way to shepherd this child who was bigger than life.

Tonight, join Nathan and me for an interview at the Mobsociety for a facebook party. We will be giving away Nathan’s book, Wisdom Chasers, Clay’s new book, Heartfelt Discipline, Joel’s cd and a copy of Desperate, as well as God’s Girl!

WILL YOU HELP US GET THIS LAUNCHED?

My out of the box child is now in Hollywood, wishing to change the world. Many of you wonderful friends have already committed to the goal of his $10,000 movie start up. Through you and other visionaries, God has helped Nathan raise $8245 toward his 10,000 goal. Won’t you pray about being a part of the team? Here is more about his story–and we need you to help us complete his  Kickstarter off the ground! Go here for more information!

And be sure to scroll down all the way to find out where the party and interview between Nathan and me will be held and be sure to enter the giveaways!

Masterworks Festival became interested in Nathan’s movie and recently interviewed him on their blog:

Masterworks, a great Christian summer conference for students in the arts and music to learn how to make an impact on their world for Christ, interviewed Nathan as an alumni.

Claire: What’s going on in your life this year? (Family, work/career, etc.)

Nathan: Hmm, well, a lot actually! I just got back from speaking at two of my family’s conferences, showing a promotional trailer, raising funds, and getting the word out about a new film that I wrote! It was a lot of fun and is really encouraging to get positive feedback. And as always, it was so nice to still be involved with my family as they continue to use their lives in ministering to other people!

Claire: When and how did you get interested in acting?

Nathan: To be honest I feel like I have always been acting, whether it was as a boy pretending to be Superman or dressing up as one of my favorite historical figures, I have always loved falling into characters and telling stories. Hearing/reading/watching stories was what lit my heart on fire since I was young, so it was only natural that I would grow up and search for ways to tell stories with my life. Somewhere in the middle of high school, I realized that I also loved people, and I saw what an impact the movies and stories had on all of us—shaping our decisions and feelings by inspiring, connecting, sympathizing, and moving us. So, I decided I wanted to be a part of the movement that was telling the stories that connected with my generation. In high school I attended MasterWorks, where I began to realize I could use my passion and natural gifts for God’s purposes. A little after high school I attended an acting/music commutation called AMTC (Actor Models Talent for Christ) where I was invited to attend The New York Film Academy. And the rest, I guess, is history!

Claire: What about your experience at MasterWorks most influenced you?

Nathan: I think the thing that so inspired and influenced me about MasterWorks was seeing and getting to take part in this amazing community of people who had realized they had been given amazing gifts and had decided they were going to use them for a bigger purpose than simply acclaim, fame, money or recognition. They had decided to use their God-given gifts to praise our Creator and bring people closer to Him. I think it is so rare for people to see their gifts and talents as something given by God and for God. Being at MasterWorks set the foundation for how I could use my God-given gifts.

Claire: You wear many different hats: writer, actor, film producer/director, musician, son of two popular speakers/writers… As a result, have you found it difficult for you to determine who you are as a person? Who or what defines you? Describe that journey of finding your identity.

Nathan: Being in LA, each day I see a city looking for identity: everyone scrambling, chasing, and doing almost anything thinkable to find themselves, to discover purpose, and to create their identity. And because of that, everyday I see people wrapping up their entire identity in such temporal and fading things, whether it’s their talent, their ‘art,’ their sexuality, or even their popularity and money. I see people building their foundations of identity on things that will surely disappoint or disappear eventually. I have even found myself falling into the trap of finding my identity in things of this world, like my acting, music, writing, and even my family! But somewhere along the way, after I had been brought to my knees by the humbling process of failed acting jobs, losing friends, and a career with nothing to show, God found me and has been leading me down a path of finding my worth and identity in Him. This is the most life-changing, freeing experience I could ever feel, because He is the one thing that will NEVER fail. Even if everything else does, I know my worth is found in Him!

Claire: You recently wrote a modern-retelling of the Prodigal Son, and now you are in the process of raising funds to make this into movie. What inspired this, and what is the message that you want to portray through this project?

Nathan: Awhile back when I was going through one of my hardest times, I randomly found myself reading the story of the Prodigal Son, and little did I know what a powerful, recurring tale it would be in my life. In the months to come, I found myself trying to follow God but often getting lost in my own desires and foolish decisions, wondering what I was supposed to do. BUT, every time I found my head in my hands as a result of my decisions, I felt God’s loving arms holding me and His voice calling me back to the man I was made to be—just like the Prodigal. So, as I began to look, I realized I lived in a city and really, a world of prodigals, not bad or evil people—just people looking for meaning, purpose and love. Often, letting the deep desire we all have for those things led them into places, situations, and answers that too often turn out to be false, temporary, or even destructive.

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