Posts Tagged ‘salt’

Almost Perfect

July 9th, 2010

As you know last week I was blessed to be able to spend a week on the Gulf coast at one of my most favorite places – the beach.  Oh the sun, the warm sand, the soft waves.  No. not at all.  Because of the recent Hurricane Alex, we spent most of the week being drenched by the feeder bands and then the remaining parts of the hurricane after it come upon shore.  It was really disappointed, and quite thought provoking.

One day after spending a little too much time at the house ( even though I really can’t complain, the porches and the porch furniture at this house provided a very relaxing setting for a rainy day) I decided to take a rainy walk on the beach.   As I walked on this lonely rainy beach, and I listened to the roar of the waves and watched the dance between the sand and the water, the beauty of this tainted day become very apparent.  Also, during the trip I found two shells.  Two shells that were almost perfect.  One a Nautilus and the other a nice conch-type shell.  Both just a little bit broken or covered with ‘junk from the sea”, however both are still very beautiful.  It was in these shells that I finally realized something I have always thought – that the beach is so much like our lives.  Everyday its different, and even what seems to be the most disappointing of times there is beauty.

Today, you may be dealing with disappointment in your life or in your work, or in your relationships, or maybe even in the mirror. Look past the imperfections and look for the beauty.  These two shells are the only two I brought back this year and I hope that each time I glance over at them, I will remember that even when life is full of apparent disappointments that many blessing still exist.

24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (New International Version)

Be Salty!

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Seasoned with Salt

May 21st, 2010

Woo hoo! Its Friday, and I can’t be more happy about that.  I have a day with lots of talking in front of me  so I found these words to be helpful to me today.  Hopefully you find them a little motivating as well.

6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.  Colossians 4:6 (New International Version)

Be salty and full of grace!

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Salt and Light

April 29th, 2010

Yesterday I was blessed to be able to spend 5 hours driving back home from Columbia, SC alone – just me and my truck!  It would stand to reason then that I would have conjured up some great revelation or antidote after all that great thinking time.  Well, that’s just it. I am really stuck this week on the whole idea of being salt – of being all in.  My thoughts actually moved a little bit to Luke 14:33 – the cost of being all in, but I am not really sure that I am ready to write anything about that!

So, today, I continue to think about being salt and being light.  I wish I could write today and say – here is what this means, here is the practical application of this lesson, of this encouragement.  However, the best I can come up with is to impact for good those who are directly in your path.   Don’t hide it, don’t put it under a basket, but shine and do good to each person you come in contact with.  Remember earlier in the week, I mentioned my sister-in-law and the job she does with the chorus.  Here is a practical application of someone doing all they can to make those around her better.  I am sure that on some days her students may not agree with this, but she gives everything she can to bring out the best is those students.  That’s one way to be salty.

So I apologize if today seems a little redundant, however, I think it’s worth repeating – remember “Are you really listening, really listening”.  So, study your life today and look for ideas and ways you can be salt and light!  If you don’t mind share it in the comment section on the blog.

Matthew 5:13-16
13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.New International Version (NIV)

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.14-16“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.The Message (MSG)

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Salt Life

April 28th, 2010

I Love the beach.  I am so looking forward to my time there again this summer ( hopefully, not covering in tar and oil from that sunken rig). Anyway, as a lot of you do, I really enjoy my time at the ocean on the beach  – the sand, the smell, the warmth, the sun, the salt. The Salt. As much as it’s a little trendy, I like these Salt Life stickers people have on their vehicles.

I like them because they are a reminder to me – a reminder of the ocean and a reminder of a message for life.  This week I have continually been thinking about Luke 14 and the message there about living the Salt Life.

 34“Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.   ”Are you listening to this? Really listening?”  The Message

Flat salt is good for nothing.  Some other translations say its not even good for the manure pile!  

 34“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
      ”He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”  New International Version (NIV)

I don’t think I want to have a life that is not even good enough for the manure pile!  

 I am trying to be salty.  I am trying to live the salt life and to impact people – by expressing love and concern for them.  By being the spice that makes things better.  This is so important that the Christ even asks “Hey – do you hear this? – BE SALTY” . 

So today slap that Salt Life tag on your vehicle, on your surfboard, on your keyboard, on your whiteboard, or in the board room.  Dream of the ocean and lazy days in the surf, but also, impact others by being the salt of life.

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Cold Iron

March 8th, 2010

Today I engaged that in that old battle.  One that I have engaged in many times over the last several years.  The battle with the hotel iron.  Yes, thats right, the battle with the iron to get your clothes presentable after squooshing them in the luggage!

This morning I thought I had it whipped.  I put in some water, turned in on high and when to town on my shirt, only to see wrinkles that would not go away.  Argh!  I really hate to iron anyway, its a neccassity of life, that I find so mundane.  So, back to the story, I then reallized, that is was not producing enough steam.  I puledl it into the sink, filled it to overflowing with water, and then though the cloud of mist and steam, I could see a nice flat pressed shirt appearing on the iron board.

Aren’t we like that some times.  Just not full enough to be effective?  There’s nothing more irrating then ironing with a cold iron – ironing with an iron that is not operational.  Whats the purpose?  Its a waste of time.  There is no impact on the clothes.  You can press harder, move it faster or yell at it, and it doesn’t matter, a cold iron is just that - a cold iron.

In the famous sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, Jesus mentions something like this:

 13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

 14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

He tells us that we are to be effective, useful and impact others.  Today, don’t be unsalty salt, don’t be an unlit candle, don’t be a cold iron.  Fill yourself up, turn the steam on high, and impact what you touch.

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