My assistants and I have chosen special, old podcast episodes to share with you so that I can take a break from that for a few weeks. After all these years of sharing my life and encouragement with you, there are some episodes that have particularly resonated with my listeners and that have had the most listens. I am looking forward to sharing these episodes with you over the next few weeks.

We see that dark nights of the soul are a part of a faith journey with our precious shepherd in this broken world. That is when I need to gently reach for His hand and heart, walk slowly through each season with His kindness, compassion leading me.

You'll have to listen to our podcast today to hear how the Lord miraculously brought this together and made it a possibility—a long life dream come true.

Gentleness grows stronger with practice. It comes with humility. It grows as wisdom and takes root in the heart that values the ones she loves.

There is something sacred about life celebrations. To underline and commemorate a life accomplishment, a normal day, a birthday, or just life, gives the person value, adds importance. Celebrations live in the hearts, minds, souls of the one celebrated for a lifetime and gives hope and courage when hard times come.

In April of 2003, my husband Clay released his book, Heartfelt Discipline, with the most beautiful study of reaching the hearts of children, giving them a vision for the life of relationships, faith, character, values through personal relationship, love and biblical training.

Training our children to commit to godly character happened day in day out, correction, instruction, taking time, learning to be gracious in relationships, working hard to complete a task, years of training in the midst of normal life circumstances.

I love historical biographies that inspire, give me a model of faith I can learn from, have full-bodied Christian women who call me to my best self and stay with me for decades. Lilias Trotter has been a favorite Victorian role model for me for quite a while. It just happens, a very dear friend of mine just released an excellent, soul-filling book about her life.

Words must also be initiated to be useful. It is no good just thinking appreciation. Words are water to thirsty souls, food to hungry hearts. May we pour out a flood of great words today and see the lives of people who need to hear God's voice, be changed by the grace that He uses through us to give to them who are longing for a touch from His Spirit.

Today, I am quite tired to my bones, but it is a good tired. I never knew God would give me 4 children, or that they would live far, far from home. Or that I would have the privilege to have a ministry amongst kindred spirits all over the world.

We must persevere, to subdue, to create beauty in our world. When the walls within our home bring safety, the music brings comfort, the food satisfies the body, the touch brings affection, the words bring hope, we are like the Holy Spirit—bringing the reality of God to the dark places of our world.