Life with Sally

Find Randall and his wonderful products on Instagram at Slugs and Bugs and his website here: Slugs and Bugs

You can find Ruth at her lovely blog, Gracelaced, or on Instagram as Ruth Chou Simons.

It's safe to say that most of us would agree with the popular aphorism "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." That unforgettable phrase first entered the collective American mind in 1972 as the slogan for UNCF ads, helping that worthy organization raise billions of dollars in scholarships for African American college students. It has since become part of the American vernacular, expressing a truth that resonates for all thinking people: Every mind is valuable and worthy of investment and development. It also suggests that the mind is a renewable resource, or, as Leonardo da Vinci quipped (though not in English), "Learning never exhausts the mind." In other words, the more we invest in the mind, the more it will give back.

No matter how hard we try to help our children stay on the straight and narrow way, how diligently we try to guard their eye and ear gates, how much we try to model and train them to practice the Golden Rule, they are constantly tempted to be pulled away from God's ideals. Truly faith-driven parents will never completely give up on their biblical standards, and yet the longer we are on the parenting journey, the more we may let go of our tight grip on what we believe Scripture teaches about parenting. But that doesn't change the realness of the ideals.

Because it is launch day and Clay and I are in Oxford, England, we will not be in the right time zone to do our normal facebook launch party. So we recorded a special launch day podcast for you from Scotland.

Nurturing my children was not always a planned part of my normal day, but sometimes the spontaneous times of training and instruction were the best times.

Website: www.LaraCasey.com

Shop: www.shop.cultivatewhatmatters.com

Instagram: @LaraCasey

Set kid-sized goals. Training your children how to set goals, even at a young age, is giving them early practice at one aspect of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

Kristen Kill is a woman transformed by the delight of God. She is passionate about encouraging women who feel stretched thin with the truth that, even in the tension, God is singing over them with love. After spending the last seven years in the hustle of New York City, Kristen and her husband, Josh, are learning to go slow as they raise their five kids in the Pacific Northwest. Her days are filled with homeschooling, walking her slightly anxious hound dog, and putting off the cleaning for one more day. Find Kristen writing at kristenkill.com and follow her on Instagram @kristenkill.