Thursday, July 14, 2011
Salt
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Part 1 - Salt
This is a very familiar passage of scripture found in Matthew 5, and I've been thinking about it a lot. It tells us - followers of Christ - that in relation to the world, we are salt and light. It says that's what we are, not what we can be...we are, present tense, indicative mood...a simple statement of fact.
Salt is both a preservative and a seasoning, but in the context here, it's clearly referring to it's taste, not it's ability to preserve. How many times have you eaten something and said, "It needs a little salt?" Whenever a dish is lacking in flavor, salt is almost always what it needs. It is added to cookies to enhance the sweetness, and it's added to vegetables to make them tolerable. I mean, really, you can manage to eat just about anything, if you can add a little salt.
The verse says, what good is salt if it loses it's flavor? It's good for nothing. Here's the thing: pure salt can't lose it's flavor. It's salt, so it's salty. It's a mineral, not a spice that comes from plants and whose flavor does fade over time. Salt can lose it's flavor, however, if it becomes contaminated with something.
If we are salt, then we need to be used as such. We keep our salt in a salt shaker. It's salty in there, alright, but useless until it's poured out, bringing flavor to whatever it touches. Until then it's just a shaker filled with potential. I feel that our churches are much the same. As long as we stay contained inside our buildings, doing the Jesus thing during designated hours of the week, we are potential flavor in a bottle, never poured out for the world.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the world can be a very tasteless, intolerable place. A little salt would go a long way. A smile, a little conversation, an extra tip for the waitress, some yard work for a single mom, a little elbow grease for an elderly person, clothing for someone in need, a judgment-free hot meal for the homeless, and I could go on and on. Salt.
You are salt. I am salt. If we aren't making a difference in the world, then I see at least two things that could be the problem: one, we just aren't carrying our faith outside the church building; two, we are contaminated.
We live in an environment full of contaminants. If we don't guard our hearts, that stuff gets in, watering down our flavor, and then we taste just like everything else. We blend in, no noticeable difference. Self-centeredness is probably the biggest contaminate, and shows up through materialism, fear, trying to fit in, even being "relevant" to the point that you are no different - you've just added Jesus, and maybe you're a little nicer. Well, I don't know about you, but if I am salting my green beans, I don't want to add more green bean flavor...I want something different. I want salt. Ask God to show you if there is anything contaminating your life - that's His job, not mine. I'm just encouraging you to think about it.
I know I have a long way to go, but this is what motivates me to reach people. He re-created me for this. You, too. We really can make a difference in the world we live in...wherever we find ourselves planted in it. This Saturday, July 16, is a great opportunity to love people in Auburn. If you live here and want to serve, meet us at Church of the Highlands at 8:00, and we will help you find a place to serve. I am praying that this becomes a lifestyle for us, as a church body.
Part 1 - Salt
This is a very familiar passage of scripture found in Matthew 5, and I've been thinking about it a lot. It tells us - followers of Christ - that in relation to the world, we are salt and light. It says that's what we are, not what we can be...we are, present tense, indicative mood...a simple statement of fact.
Salt is both a preservative and a seasoning, but in the context here, it's clearly referring to it's taste, not it's ability to preserve. How many times have you eaten something and said, "It needs a little salt?" Whenever a dish is lacking in flavor, salt is almost always what it needs. It is added to cookies to enhance the sweetness, and it's added to vegetables to make them tolerable. I mean, really, you can manage to eat just about anything, if you can add a little salt.
The verse says, what good is salt if it loses it's flavor? It's good for nothing. Here's the thing: pure salt can't lose it's flavor. It's salt, so it's salty. It's a mineral, not a spice that comes from plants and whose flavor does fade over time. Salt can lose it's flavor, however, if it becomes contaminated with something.
If we are salt, then we need to be used as such. We keep our salt in a salt shaker. It's salty in there, alright, but useless until it's poured out, bringing flavor to whatever it touches. Until then it's just a shaker filled with potential. I feel that our churches are much the same. As long as we stay contained inside our buildings, doing the Jesus thing during designated hours of the week, we are potential flavor in a bottle, never poured out for the world.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the world can be a very tasteless, intolerable place. A little salt would go a long way. A smile, a little conversation, an extra tip for the waitress, some yard work for a single mom, a little elbow grease for an elderly person, clothing for someone in need, a judgment-free hot meal for the homeless, and I could go on and on. Salt.
You are salt. I am salt. If we aren't making a difference in the world, then I see at least two things that could be the problem: one, we just aren't carrying our faith outside the church building; two, we are contaminated.
We live in an environment full of contaminants. If we don't guard our hearts, that stuff gets in, watering down our flavor, and then we taste just like everything else. We blend in, no noticeable difference. Self-centeredness is probably the biggest contaminate, and shows up through materialism, fear, trying to fit in, even being "relevant" to the point that you are no different - you've just added Jesus, and maybe you're a little nicer. Well, I don't know about you, but if I am salting my green beans, I don't want to add more green bean flavor...I want something different. I want salt. Ask God to show you if there is anything contaminating your life - that's His job, not mine. I'm just encouraging you to think about it.
I know I have a long way to go, but this is what motivates me to reach people. He re-created me for this. You, too. We really can make a difference in the world we live in...wherever we find ourselves planted in it. This Saturday, July 16, is a great opportunity to love people in Auburn. If you live here and want to serve, meet us at Church of the Highlands at 8:00, and we will help you find a place to serve. I am praying that this becomes a lifestyle for us, as a church body.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Progress
**I realize this is a "lightweight" post. These are the kinds of projects I do when I am processing the bigger things in life.**
Progress is happening in the living room. The USB cable for the camera is missing, so I had to resort to Instagram to take a picture...which means things look even more monochromatic than they really are. One day maybe these walls will get painted, but for now I'm happy.
Again I wish there was a before picture, so you could fully appreciate the difference. It was so thrown together, haphazard and wires were showing everywhere.
The bookshelf is almost finished. There are two shelves that need painting, then it will be done. Somehow it always seems like there is some little detail of a project that is left undone. I won't leave it that way for long this time.
This is a napkin I found at World Market...I bought two of them. They will be a pillows. Eventually.
Progress is happening in the living room. The USB cable for the camera is missing, so I had to resort to Instagram to take a picture...which means things look even more monochromatic than they really are. One day maybe these walls will get painted, but for now I'm happy.
Again I wish there was a before picture, so you could fully appreciate the difference. It was so thrown together, haphazard and wires were showing everywhere.
The bookshelf is almost finished. There are two shelves that need painting, then it will be done. Somehow it always seems like there is some little detail of a project that is left undone. I won't leave it that way for long this time.
This was an old mirror that I got for free at a thrift store. I removed the glass, which looked terrible and turned it into a chalkboard, where I can write not-so-subliminal messages to my kids.
This is a napkin I found at World Market...I bought two of them. They will be a pillows. Eventually.
Next is to deal with the furniture. We have no less than four different fabrics happening in there. Serious visual clutter. I'm seriously considering an attempt at making my own slipcovers. Pray for me.
Friday, July 8, 2011
And Now, On To the Bookcase
I am now in the process of painting the aforementioned bookcase (here). I wish I had taken a before picture - I don't know why I didn't. It was U-G-L-Y and it didn't have no alibi, it was ugly. What, what... Okay, I digress.
Anyway, after talking to my mom, who is a fabulous decorator, FYI, it was decided that I needed to give the bookcase the same treatment as the dresser. Well, that was a little challenging, because...well, it just was. They are two different kinds of furniture, and one started off black and the other stained wood, etc. There are obvious places on the drawers of a dresser that you can distress and it will look natural, but no so much (to me, anyway) on a bookcase.
Oh, and because I decided to try a black glaze instead of the brown I used on the dresser. It was waaaaaaay less pliable than the brown, for whatever reason. So, what that means is you better only put it where you know you want it. Lesson learned.
Here's a picture of what it looks like now. Not the best picture, but...
I'm going to live with it for a few days (I don't have a choice) and then decide if I like it. It looks a bit overdone to me...just a little too obvious that this was done on purpose. Which, truthfully, most distressed furniture does. Anyway, I would love an opinion...from the outside world. What's going on out there, anyway? What does it look like? ;)
Anyway, after talking to my mom, who is a fabulous decorator, FYI, it was decided that I needed to give the bookcase the same treatment as the dresser. Well, that was a little challenging, because...well, it just was. They are two different kinds of furniture, and one started off black and the other stained wood, etc. There are obvious places on the drawers of a dresser that you can distress and it will look natural, but no so much (to me, anyway) on a bookcase.
Oh, and because I decided to try a black glaze instead of the brown I used on the dresser. It was waaaaaaay less pliable than the brown, for whatever reason. So, what that means is you better only put it where you know you want it. Lesson learned.
Here's a picture of what it looks like now. Not the best picture, but...
I'm going to live with it for a few days (I don't have a choice) and then decide if I like it. It looks a bit overdone to me...just a little too obvious that this was done on purpose. Which, truthfully, most distressed furniture does. Anyway, I would love an opinion...from the outside world. What's going on out there, anyway? What does it look like? ;)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
A Little Project on the Side, Take 3
The first time I posted this, blogger freaked out and lost the entire post right before I hit publish. The second time I posted it, I messed up the HTML code somehow...I know no-thing about HTML, so I have no idea what happened. This is the third try, and I'm really about over it, so there will be much less detail ;)
Here is the dresser transformation in (mostly) pictures:
BEFORE - we bought this at an antique/junk store for $30-40 several years ago. I think Caeley used it for a while, then we painted it black for Riley's nursery. The drawers are very small, so it's really not great for clothing storage.
However, it is going to be fabulous to hold the TV in the living room. We bought a flatscreen back in November, and it has been sitting on a random table ever since...wires hanging out everywhere...driving me crazy.
One day as I sat staring at this dresser, wondering what to with it, I was hit with inspiration. That's usually what I do - stare at things until they "tell" me what to do with them - I promise I don't hear voices...really...it's just my creative process. Caeley thinks I'm crazy, I am sure of it.
I'm entering a new phase in decorating. I have loved, and still do love, dark wood and the high contrast of black against a lighter color. But, I'm ready to lighten things up around here. Enter painted wood.
PHASE 1 - a couple of coats of "Egret" paint (the color of our trim...it was what I had on hand)
PHASE 2 - Sanding. At this point I was very concerned.
FINISHED PRODUCT - I went over it with a glaze and after several hours of rubbing and removing and leaving the room and coming back to look at it, I was happy with the result. That's the great thing about glaze - it stays pliable for hours.
Here is the dresser transformation in (mostly) pictures:
BEFORE - we bought this at an antique/junk store for $30-40 several years ago. I think Caeley used it for a while, then we painted it black for Riley's nursery. The drawers are very small, so it's really not great for clothing storage.
However, it is going to be fabulous to hold the TV in the living room. We bought a flatscreen back in November, and it has been sitting on a random table ever since...wires hanging out everywhere...driving me crazy.
One day as I sat staring at this dresser, wondering what to with it, I was hit with inspiration. That's usually what I do - stare at things until they "tell" me what to do with them - I promise I don't hear voices...really...it's just my creative process. Caeley thinks I'm crazy, I am sure of it.
I'm entering a new phase in decorating. I have loved, and still do love, dark wood and the high contrast of black against a lighter color. But, I'm ready to lighten things up around here. Enter painted wood.
PHASE 1 - a couple of coats of "Egret" paint (the color of our trim...it was what I had on hand)
PHASE 2 - Sanding. At this point I was very concerned.
FINISHED PRODUCT - I went over it with a glaze and after several hours of rubbing and removing and leaving the room and coming back to look at it, I was happy with the result. That's the great thing about glaze - it stays pliable for hours.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
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