Salt

A Time for Everything...

2011-05-12T10:00:00.016+01:00

God appoints a time for everything.

We so often want to see him work quicker, and too often to our own time frame.

We are reminded beautifully in Ecclesiastes of how God works in his time.

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens: ² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

The most important thing is to know God, seek his will and wait on him to work in his time.

Please ponder and pray, and create something in your time, please leave a comment as we would love to see what you create.

While we're on the subject of time, we have an important announcement to make. The current Salt team have decided to make this the last challenge for the foreseeable future. We are so grateful to all the followers and participators over the last 2 years or more.

We would like to thank all those who have been part of the Salt team
Esther
Gillian
Casey
Kimberly
Julie
Mona
Tanis
Melita
Nikki
Gina
Kim

God bless you!

We will be keeping the blog online so it can continue to be viewed, and in the near future we will be updating it to include Christian websites and blogs that we recommend.

Ruth

Being part of the Salt team has been such a blessing. Not only the discipline of crafting for Christ on a regular basis, but the spiritual challenge of the thoughts expressed by my fellow team mates. So often I have heard the Lord speaking through them. Let us keep being Salt and Light in the communities we live and in the virtual ones that we encounter online.

Pauline

Although I've only been part of the SALT design team for a relatively short time, I've found myself being blessed in so many ways by it. Firstly, there's the new friendships formed with others on the team. I've found everyone so supportive, always willing to share their faith journeys and what has helped them when they've encountered difficult 'life' situations. The second blessing is the spiritual growth I've experienced as we've wrestled with the challenges, discussing them and sharing our thoughts. Thirdly, it has been such a privilege to share a little of my faith through my crafting with everyone who follows the SALT blog. I will miss all of this and much more.

Hazel

I have been privileged to be part of the Salt team since the challenge blog started at the beginning of August 2007. It has been a pleasure to get to know so many gifted Christian crafters both within the team - past and present - and those who have shared their creativity with us in response to our challenges. I have been encouraged and blessed by so many and have formed friendships that I know will continue. I'm thankful to fellow team members for their prayerful concern and fellowship and also for the challenges that I've been presented with, not only to help develop my crafting, but also to enable me to delve deeper into the scriptures. I hope and pray that this blog will continue to be a blessing to any who still come to visit.

Lythan

I have been with Salt from the beginning and have so enjoyed being challenged to express my faith creatively. The team have been such an inspiration and prayerful support to me. Thank you Saltinies, past and present for all that you have shared!

Freedom

2011-05-05T10:00:00.000+01:00

In the UK today a referendum is being held. At present, the UK uses the 'first past the post' system to elect MPs to the House of Commons. What we are being asked today is: should the 'alternative vote' system be used instead?

I'm not going to get into any for or against discussion, but simply to reflect upon the freedom we have in this country - freedom to have our say, whether or not we exercise that freedom by voting - we have the right to choose.

It got me thinking about freedom in a wider sense, conscious of the fact that for many Christians throughout the world there is a lack of freedom - a lack of freedom to speak openly about their faith, with the threat of persecution.

If, like me, you are blessed enough to live in a peaceful part of the globe, please pause and thank God today for our freedom - and if you are not in that position then I pray that you will be given the strength and courage to maintain your faith in difficult circumstances.

True freedom, of course, is ours only if we put our trust in Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. Jesus said: 'So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.' (John 8:36) We can enjoy that freedom regardless of our physical or geographical state. I am enjoying that freedom - are you?

The Great Commission

2011-04-28T10:00:00.015+01:00

Before I introduce the challenge for this week, we have some Design Team news - Kim is stepping down from the SALT team after having been involved for a considerable length of time. We're all sad to say goodbye to her, having been inspired by her reflections and thoughts on the challenges and having enjoyed the fellowship we've had on the team. Thank you Kim for you for everything you've done for the SALT blog, for your insights on the challenges, and for the friendship we've been able to have with you.

We hope you will join with us in wishing Kim every blessing.

__________________________

It’s not quite Ascension Day (40 days after Easter), however, since the Easter celebrations are now a few days ago, in today’s challenge I (Pauline) asked the team to reflect on Jesus’ final teaching to his disciples. The words of that teaching are found in Matthew 28:18-20,

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When I was a child, I learned the following song, based on these verses;

God's spirit is in my heart
He has called me and set me apart
This is what I have to do
What I have to do
He sent me to give good news to the poor
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone
The news that the kingdom of God has come
Just as the Father sent me
So I'm sending out to be
My witnesses throughout the world
The whole of the world
Don't worry what You have to say
Don't worry because on that day
God's spirit will speak in your heart
Will speak in your heart

The Easter story is a powerful one, but it does not end with the resurrection of Jesus and the restoration of our relationship with God the Father. Jesus is calling us to allow him to work in and through us. The Great Commission is for us all and is made possible by Jesus’ completion of his great mission on earth.

Remember if you create something based on the challenge, leave us a comment and link to your blog or gallery. We love seeing what people create!

Pauline

Hazel

Lythan
Ruth

Jesus Suffering and Resurrection

2011-04-21T21:50:00.002+01:00

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die John 11:25

With the coming easter season we are reminded of what Jesus did for every single one of us. How he took away our sins and he died on the cross for us. Now if i did not know the rest of the story i would think WOW. I have to say i am in many ways not ready to die, i think very few people crave suffering or look forward to death. I hope when my time comes that i am brave and have faith knowing that it is only the beginning.His suffering and Death was only the beginning of the story as it will be for us.Christ gave us a victory that we did not deserve or earn .He has liberated us from fear. He gave us a glimpse of the wonder of eternity and joy with him. Happy Easter Everyone He is Risen..

The Servant King

2011-04-14T10:00:00.006+01:00

We are now approaching Holy Week which begins with Hosannas on Palm Sunday and ends with Alleluias on Easter Sunday. And in between comes the awe and sorrow on Good Friday. Which layers on the meaning of Palm Sunday as we watch Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem in triumph but in a way that inverts expectations. He comes, not as a warrior, but himbly on a donkey. He comes, not to wage a battle against the Roman oppressors but against sin and death - the oppressors of the whole world. His victory does not come with the slaughter of others but his own death upon a cross. And he finds time to share food with his friends and humbly wash their feet. What a wonderful Saviour!

This challenge is to reflect creatively on what the Servant King means for you. If you feel led to join us this week on our challenge, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or online gallery. We'd love to share in your creation!

Pauline Hazel
Lythan

Ruth

Coveting

2011-04-07T10:27:00.002+01:00

Now there's an old fashioned word that you don't tend to hear too often.

In our church's children's club, they have been learning about the Ten Commandments. My husband Tom has been taking it in turns with our Pastor to do the little talk with the children. Today he will be covering "Do not covet". We had some discussion last night as to what that actually means.

I have to confess it is not a Commandment I think about that often, and find it difficult to apply to my own life.

Does it mean that you should not desire to possess anything that anyone else has? You shouldn't be greedy? You shouldn't want anything you don't actually need?

As Tom and I were chatting, he said he felt the essence of the Command was teaching us that we shouldn't desire to be somebody we're not. That by desiring the possessions of others, it is not only their belongings we want, but who they are and the lifestyle they might possibly have.

As a crafter and someone who loves looking at other people's Blogs for inspiration I can often fall into this trap. I sometimes think - if only I had that new product that person used, my cards would look just as beautiful as theirs, and then maybe I’ll have as many followers as them and be asked to be on design teams like them...and so on. Can you see how the desire for a thing turns into wanting to BE someone else.

God requires us just to be us. To be accountable just for ourselves. To come to Him just as we are, with all our faults and gifts, imperfections and hopes. To be made complete by Him, through the work of Jesus. To the live the life we have been given, to do the tasks he has set and created for us to do, to love the people around us and to share the love of Jesus with everyone we meet.

So rather than get down and feel ever so guilty about all the times I have coveted, I am going to look to Jesus, to remind myself I have been made perfect by him. That God has a plan for my life and it's my job to find it and follow it, and with God's help run the race set before me.

The Cure for Worry

2011-03-31T10:00:00.009+01:00

Thanks so much for joining the SALT team for another challenge. This week it was my (Kim) turn to set the challenge and I chose the topic of worry. I have a tendency to worry and thought this would be an excellent study for me, especially as we all face such uncertain times in our world. I read through a sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the topic and it was a real blessing. My notes below are from the sermon Worry: Its Causes and Cure, based on the Scripture verse from Matthew 6:34, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

First, what is worry...Jones describes it this way, ".....worry is something positive that comes and grips us and takes control of us. It is almighty power, an active force, and if we do not realize that, we are certain to be defeated by it. If it cannot get us to be anxious and burdened and borne down by the state and condition of things that are actually confronting us, it will take this next stop, it will go on into the future. Worry about the future is so utterly futile and useless; it achieves nothing at all. The result of worrying about the future is that you are crippling yourself in the present; you are lessening your efficiency with regard to today, and thereby you are reducing your whole efficiency with regard to that future which is coming to meet you. In other words, worry is something that is due to an entire failure to understand the nature of life in this world. The result of sin is that there is always a problem in life. The great question is, how are we to face those troubles?"

"According to the Lord, every day has its problems; some of them are constant from day to day, some of them vary. We are allotted our quota for each day. Very well; we must face that and meet it; and He has already told us how to do so. We must not go forward and tack tomorrow's quota on to today's, otherwise it may be too much for us. We must learn to realize that the God who helps us today will be the same God tomorrow. We must learn to take things to God as they arise. Live day by day; live a life of obedience to God every day; do what God asked you to do every day. Never allow yourself to indulge in thoughts about worrying about what tomorrow will bring. God gives us grace once and forever but He also gives grace to us in parts and portions day by day. Start each day by saying "Here is a day which is going to bring me certain problems and difficulties; very well, I shall need God's grace to help me. I know God will make all grace to abound, He will be with me according to my need". This is the essential Biblical teaching with regard to this matter; we must learn to leave the future entirely in God's hands."

"We can sum it all up by saying that, as we learn in wisdom to take our days one by one as they come, forgetting yesterday and tomorrow, so we must learn this vital importance of walking with God day by day, of relying upon Him day by day, and applying to Him for the particular needs of each day. The fatal temptation to which we are all prone is that of trying to store grace against the future. That means lack of faith in God. Leave it with Him; leave it entirely with Him, confident and assured that He will always be going before you. As the Scripture puts it, He will 'prevent' you. He will be there before you to meet the problem. Turn to Him and you will find that He is there, that He knows all about it, and knows all about you. May He, in His infinite grace, give us wisdom and grace to implement these simple principles and thereby rejoice in Him day by day."

I pray these sermon notes are as much a blessing to you as it was to me. I chuckled reading it feeling as if Pastor Jones had perhaps written it especially to me. :-) (The book that this sermon was in is called Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by Martyn Lloyd-Jones). If you feel led to join us this week on our challenge, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or online gallery. We'd love to share in your creation!

Kim

Pauline Hazel
Lythan

Ruth

Stacy

Half empty?

2011-03-24T10:00:00.001Z

Following on from Lythan's post two week's ago about Lent, I (Pauline) wanted to share today a little of what I've been doing this year. I decided that rather than give something up for Lent (mainly because my willpower is appalling) I would instead make an effort to Count My Blessings by using Christian Aid's make Lent meaningful suggestions. The idea is that you take the opportunity during Lent to celebrate and give thanks for even our smallest blessings, and to think about those in need around the world. The aim is to help people reflect on what is good in their lives and think of others for whom life is very different. You can read more about it here.

This week the focus has been on work, thinking about minimum wage (even earning the British minimum wage, you would be among the richest 11% of the world), those who have little or no choice over the way they earn a living or the number of children around the world who have to work to support their families. There are a few niggles at my work at the moment, nothing major, but I think both staff and pupils are ready for a holiday. However, I have tried to focus on how fortunate I am to have a job that I love while the majority of those I studied with 2 years ago are unemployed or in very short term positions.

I find it all too easy to focus on the negative things in my life - I'm definitely a glass half empty sort of person. I struggle with this, knowing that I am very fortunate in comparison to others and yet still finding minor complaints about daily life. By choosing to focus on the blessings in my life I've been able to focus on all that God does in our lives and how good He is to us. Psalm 100 says, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God."

It has been a real blessing to me to NOT give up something for Lent this year, but instead to focus on all the good things in my life.

Trust

2011-03-17T10:00:00.016Z

Today's challenge is about trust.

It's Hazel here - some of you know that my husband, John, is registered blind. He does have a little vision in his left eye, but nothing much.

Some years ago he applied for a guide dog - his first dog was Oscar, a golden retriever, who actually had to retire when he was only six as he lost his nerve and was unable to work properly. We still see him from time to time - his retirement owner brought him over to see us the day before his 13th birthday. Then John trained with Josey, a yellow labrador - they made a very good partnership, but, sadly, because of health issues, John had to say goodbye to her some three years ago and she is now enjoying early retirement with a couple in Sittingbourne.

As someone who needed to be guided, John had to put his trust in the guide dog to lead him correctly. I have to confess that I would find it hard to do that.

But, as Christians, that's exactly the relationship we should have with our Heavenly Father - put our trust in Him to lead and guide us through life. There are many scriptures that encourage us to do this, particularly in Proverbs and the Psalms, such as:

'Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.' Proverbs 3:5-6

and

'Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.' Psalm 143:8

Just like the blind person who is being led by the guide dog, we are not aware of the dangers that we might be about to encounter, but out Guide is and He will lead us aright if we put our trust in Him.

Perhaps you would like to reflect on these verses:

'Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.' Psalm 25:5

'For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.' Psalm 48:14

'If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.' Psalm 139:9-10

Here is what the team have crafted in response to this challenge.

We would love you to join in our challenge and create something in response to reflecting upon 'trust' - please leave us a comment with a link to your post so that we can some and see your creation.

Hazel

Pauline

Stacy

Lythan

Ruth

Forty Days

2011-03-14T11:33:00.002Z

If I had remembered in time that it was my turn to do the thought in the middle then it would have been the second day of Lent. As it is, it's a few days later... but I still have Lent on my mind. Early on in Salt history I set Lent as a challenge theme and discovered that not every Church celebrates it. That is the wonderful thing about bringing a diverse group of Christians together creatively - you learn so much!
Lent is the 40 days (plus Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter Day which act as a kind of preparation to meet the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. It is a time of discipline that is to model the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness preparing for his ministry. A friend linked a wonderful animation of drawings about how Jesus spent his time in the wilderness that has echoes of the readings for the first Sunday of Lent - Genesis 3 and Matthew 4:1-11.
And so I want this video to speak for itself - to help you reflect on Jesus time in the wilderness and how it resonates for your preparation for Easter. Forty days is a long, long time
Watch here

Attitude

2011-03-03T10:00:00.016Z

Have you noticed the Attitude change in people? I know there are many reasons for a person's perception in life the way they go about it and how they handle it. But have you ever caught yourself being sucked in? I do a lot lately to much negativity and stress makes life harder then it needs to be. I have been praying that God would fill me with joy and love in my heart so i can show people the positive. I read today something so simple and child like but I know it works " if your nice to me , I am nice to you if your mean to me , I am still nice to you". Gods says in

1 Kings 11:11 (The Message)

^11-13 God said to Solomon, "Since this is the way it is with you, that you have no intention of keeping faith with me and doing what I have commanded, I'm going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it over to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won't do it in your lifetime. It's your son who will pay—I'll rip it right out of his grasp. Even then I won't take it all; I'll leave him one tribe in honor of my servant David and out of respect for my chosen city Jerusalem." So because of Solomon breaking the basic demands of the convenant and there by severely underminding the entire convenant relationship between God and his people. God took away the kingdom.

He also says in Romans 12:3 " For by the grace given me I say to everyone of you , Do not think of yourself more highly then you ought , but rather think of yourself in sober judgement in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."Because God has given the power there can be no basis for a superior attitude or self righteousness. We have been working on our 9 year who is very set in her ways , very bossy and kinda overbearing . I know what your going to say "already at nine??" I said to her today after Ruth had mentioned this verse, that she should think on it and pray.this quote kinda says it all "Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching?" ~Dennis and Wendy Mannering. Can't wait to see what you come up with.....

Stacy

Pauline

Hazel

Ruth

Lythan

Truth

2011-02-17T10:00:00.011Z

TRUTH - such a powerful concept.

So rooted in the character of God, important enough to make it one of the Ten Commandments yet so easily dismissed in day to day life. I've lost count of the times when people have told me they had to tell a 'white' lie, or when I have exagerated or underplayed a fact so save face. Often we try and justify these things but u

ltimately they do offend our Holy God who knows the truth and wa

nts us to be truthful about ourselves and to speak truth.

The meaning of the word truth has been slightly twisted by the way it is used. In a recent sermon I heard the preacher explained that the phrase 'being true to yourself' was often an excuse people give to why the behave in a certain way. Yes we should face the reality of our sinful motivations, and acknowledge when we have failed God, but the truth is we must not excuse it.
The TRUTH is, that God has created a way in which he will remember our sin no more, and that truth can set us free from the bondage of UNTRUTH. Our enemy the devil will so often through untruth at us and ultimately he does this so that our faith will weaken and our winess become useless. How we must keep reading the word of truth to remind us of the wonderful promises of God that he has never broken.
Please enjoy the pieces that myself (Ruth) and the team have created for your inspiration. Please meditate on how the Truth of God is a reality and how we can practice being truthful and speaking truth in love to others. We would love to see any creations you make on this theme, please leave us a comment and we'll pop by!

Ruth

Kim

Hazel

Pauline

Lythan

God's everlasting love

2011-02-10T10:00:00.000Z

Hi, Hazel here with the 'in between' post. In a few days' time it will be Valentine's day and there seems to be a lot of love around atm - in crafting challenges anyway!

Our own current Salt challenge is about love - love for our enemies - you will find the post here - and it's not too late to create something and link for our challenge as we still have a week until the next one.

It doesn't come naturally to us to love our enemies - 'We love because he first loved us.' (1 John 4:19).

Sadly, human love can sometimes let us down, but God's love is everlasting - Psalm 136 is a testimony to this fact - so many times throughout the Psalm the writer says: 'His love endures forever'.

And He is so generous: 'See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! ' (1 John 3:1).

'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' (John 3:16)

'Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.' (John 15:13)

We pray that you will respond to God's love and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

Loving our Enemies

2011-02-03T10:00:00.016Z

Hi, it's Pauline with this week's challenge. I asked the SALT team to reflect on Luke 6:27-36 where we are challenged to love our enemies. I had an interesting discussion with some teenagers recently where they were talking about how we behave when we are with friends, and how differently we behave when around people we are less comfortable with or who we don't like. Being in a Religious and Moral Education class, the talk inevitably turned to religion and it was suggested that people who follow a command such as 'love your enemies' are pushovers, weak-willed people who cannot stand up for themselves. However, one pupil, summoning every ounce of courage they had, said that they thought the strongest person was the one who could rise above what people were saying to them and not end up in a fight at lunchtime. As a side note I work in a school for pupils with additional support needs and behavioural issues, so fights happen regularly and not just at lunchtime!

"Turning the other cheek" has made it into the English language as an expression meaning to go out of your way to avoid a nasty confrontation. Even though provoked, instead of lashing out, you turn the other cheek. The natural human reaction is to retaliate. On an almost daily basis we have pupils getting into fights over the smallest comment. We work with a restorative approach where we try to help the pupils understand their own behaviour and why they reacted the way they did.

People who have known each other for years can sometimes get into arguments (parents with children, couples, friends etc); tensions that may have been simmering for years boil over once again. And with the boiling comes anger, and with anger a willingness not just to defend, but to strike back. To get an advantage. To have the last word. To wound.

Though Jesus' instruction to turn the other cheek is intended to mean when dealing with a sworn enemy, the principle applies to every area of our lives. Don't retaliate. Don't hit back. This isn't easy though! My layout shows a class photo from when I was in my final year at school. Not all the people in the photo were friends, some went out of their way to make me miserable (or so it seemed at the time). It has taken me a long time to come to a place of acceptance where I don't find myself bearing a grudge against people who made me unhappy. I can't say that I've necessarily reached the place where I can love my enemies, but I believe that I have reached a more healthy stage.

I hope you enjoy the team's creations on the theme. It's not an easy one to contemplate and I really appreciate their willingness to think about things that are not necessarily happy things to contemplate. Remember to link back to us if you create something on the theme. We'd love to see your interpretations.

Pauline
Stacy

Kim

Lythan

Hazel

Ruth

one little word

2011-01-27T10:00:00.002Z

Did you choose your one little word this year?

My word for this year is LISTEN, I chose this word because i think sometimes i am just clearly not listening. I am very easily distracted with my computer or scrap booking or the phone. I am very easily irritated by my children and found many times that i just don't want to deal with it. So when preparing for this post i thought why not share my word. My word means to me that i need to take a step back and just listen to my kids, my husband and GOD. I really believe that he is calling me to live a life in grace. I read a blog post yesterday in fact that i can totally relate to you can read it here.

What i got from that post was that maybe i am looking to occupy my time, my brain or just plain bored. Whatever it is i could use my time more wisely and focus on GOD. In turn it will help me to listen to my life and focus more on my life and less on my computer.

God says in Psalm 46:10 " Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations , I will be exalted on the Earth" and what he is really saying is Attention, Attention See all the marvels of God, He plants flowers and trees allover the Earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons over his knee. " Step out of traffic take a long , loving look at me, Your God, Above politics and above every thing...............

Walking through the valley of the shadow of death

2011-01-20T10:00:00.013Z

Thanks for the comments and creations on praying for holiness - we really appreciate your contributions. It is Lythan choosing the theme this time and as a Minister, at the moment my life is filled with funerals and terminal illness. Although this brings with it sadness - especially when the people who have died or who are bereaved are known to me - yet I am also left with a sense of hope in the resurrection and an awareness that through even this darkest of times, God is with me. I often liken bereavement to walking through the valley of the shadow of death from Psalm 23 - it is a dark and horrible time, but it is not a time of being alone "I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." as the Psalm goes on.
You may like to think about what the psalm says to you, or think about how you can comfort others.
Other verses that might strike creative thoughts in you are these
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
By his great mercy he has given us
a new birth into a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

As ever, if you feel inspired to create a card, scrapbook page, or other project based on this week's challenge, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. We'd be delighted to share your artwork!
And here are the Salt team interpretations.

Lythan

Kim

Pauline

Hazel

Stacy

Ruth

Not in my strength...

2011-01-13T20:40:00.003Z

Hi there Salt followers, Ruth here for our 'inbetweeny' post.

Just want to tak the opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Got a few thoughts for you today, and hopefully something to encourage you.

Most of my children and myself came down with a horrible flu like illness just before Christmas, and I feel like I have been chasing my tail ever since then. Generally I am quite a confident person, and am organised enough to get through the jobs I need to do at home and in the community. However there have been moments of late where I've felt a sinking feeling in my stomach when facing the day.

However, I have been reminded that it is not in my strength that the day should be faced, and it is not me that should be the centre of my world. Often when feeling down it's very easy to slip into a spiral of pity and woe. God wants better for us and of us. By coming to him again and again, laying our burdens before him, confessing our sins and re-dedicating our lives to him we can find our strangth renewed. More importantly we can get back on track and do the thing that makes us most happy and content - Glorify God.

So in those times of self doubt or even selfishness, let's look to God to be our strength and inspiration. In him we will find forgiveness and the motivation to keep living a life in honour to him.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say,

"The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?"
Hebrews 13v5-6

Pray for Holiness

2011-01-06T10:00:00.024Z

Happy New Year!! We pray that your holiday and new year were blessed events and we look forward to what the Lord has in store for us in 2011!

Since New Year's typically brings with it resolutions, such as losing weight or exercising (both good goals by the way!), I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to also meditate on spiritual matters. If we seek to first renew the inward man then we can be sure that the outward man will also improve.

The Scripture verse for this week's challenge, Pray for Holiness, is from 1 John 5:15, "And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

I tend to have a "I can do it myself" kind of attitude when I approach challenges and while I don't think that's necessarily a sinful attitude to have I do think it can prove to be a stumbling block to real practical and spiritual progress. I'll give you an example. I'm not a terribly patient person and I found out early on that having children is not for one who is lacking in patience. So...I prayed, I prayed and asked God to make me a patient person. Guess what? He didn't. You know why? I expected God to hit me on the head with some magical wand and turn me into a totally different person...pesto, chang-0...I'm now and forever more...patient. What I failed to realize is that God doesn't work that way. He works by us stepping out in faith, behaving in the way He's instructed us to behave in Scripture, and then relying on Him, through prayer, for the strength to do those things He called us to do.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones had this to say on the challenge verse, "We can pray that all the precepts, all the promises, and all the prophecies in the Bible with respect to ourselves may be fulfilled in us. "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3). If you pray for sanctification, you can be sure that God will sanctify you. It is God's will that we may know His love; ask Him therefore to reveal His love to you by the Holy Spirit, and you can be certain He will do so. And it is the same with all the various other promises that are in the Scriptures. "Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7).

Are you concerned that you do not love as much as you ought? Tell Him about it; ask Him to shed His love abroad in your heart, and He will do so. Are you concerned about some sin that casts you down? Pray a confident prayer. It is the will of God that you should be delivered from sin; so pray for it. Are you concerned that your heart shall be clean? Offer David's prayer ("Create within me a clean heart, Oh God; and renew a right spirit within me, "Psalm 51:10) and I assure you, on the basis of the Word of God and His character, that He will answer you, and the blood of Christ will cleanse you from all sin and all unrighteousness. Go through your Bible, and make a list of the promises of God to you; then take them to God, use them in His presence, plead them, and you can be quite certain that you have your petitions. You already possess them, and in His own time and way God will give you a full realization of them and a full enjoyment of them."

It's been almost seven years since I became a parent and I still struggle with patience from time to time but since I confessed that I couldn't "do it by myself" and began to "ask, seek, and knock" while simply exercising patience and praying for strength, I have seen an amazing transformation; not only in my own attitudes but more importantly in the behaviors of my children and in my general mood during the day. The bottom line is that God has called Christians to live differently. We are called to live a holy life; the Scriptures promise us that whatever His will is for our lives (live holy), He will enable us to do. We simply need to grab hold of God's promises and never let go...Not only is He able to grant us the strength to live as we ought but I suspect that He delights to hear and answer our prayers. If we would only ask...

If you feel inspired to create a card, scrapbook page, or other project based on this week's challenge, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. We'd be delighted to share your artwork!!

Kim
Pauline

Hazel

Lythan

Stacy

Spot the Easter Egg

2010-12-30T09:37:00.003Z

Have you seen the first Easter Egg of the season yet?
I spotted mine on 21st December. Not the big ones in boxes but a whole shelf of Creme Eggs and similar and my major weakness Mini Eggs (btw the packaging in the photo is wrong. In the UK it is yellow. These things matter)

But...
Easter Eggs BEFORE Christmas?
Maybe shops have just had enough of Christmas after 3 months and are hoping we have too.
Or maybe they are making a theological statement about the links between Christmas and Easter.
One which I think is best expressed in the service of Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day when we share bread and wine and remember that the child born came to die for us - to be the best present we could ever have by offering himself to be broken for us. That the broken world may be made whole again. And that resurrection - symbolised by the eggs we eat - is part of that present.

So perhaps those Easter Eggs were acting as, well, Easter Eggs to point us forward so we don't just get misty eyed about babies but are are struck in awe and wonder about just what Immanuel - God with us - means.
As the carol I love to sing on Christmas Eve goes (to the tune of Greensleeves if you want to sing along)

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.

Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

and, perhaps even better, the rather wonderful poem by Steve Turner Christmas is really for the Children

So, to celebrate the season of birth and death and new birth for us all - God's present of his present - I am going to eat a (yellow) bag of Mini Eggs.

The greatest gift

2010-12-23T10:00:00.010Z

Christmas Day is almost upon us - and, indeed, might well be over by the time you get to read this post - so it is a time to reflect upon the greatest gift ever - the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah foretold:

'For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' Isaiah 9:6.

When the angel gave Joseph the news that Mary would bear a son, he said:

'She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'

There are accounts of the birth of Jesus in both Matthew's gospel and Luke's - may I encourage you to read these - perhaps you have read them many times before, or perhaps this will be your first time of pondering upon them.

At Christmas time we don't so often turn to the gospel of John because he didn't actually record an account of the birth of Jesus, but in John 1:14 we read:

'The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.'

John chapter 1 gives us a profound insight into the purpose of the coming of Jesus to earth - He is indeed the divine gift that John talks about in John 3:16:

'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life'

The greatest gift we can receive this Christmas time is Jesus.

In writing to the Ephesians, St Paul says:

'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.'

Among the busy-ness of Christmas, let's be mindful of the real reason for the season - the birth of our Saviour.

I (Hazel) asked the team to reflect upon that wonderful verse from Isaiah 9:6 and respond creatively. Perhaps you too would like to join us and be prompted to create your own response - we would love you to share your creations with us - please leave us a comment so that we can visit your blog.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog.

We wish you a very Happy Christmas
and every blessing for the coming New Year

Hazel

Pauline

Kim

The Perfect Gift

2010-12-16T10:00:00.001Z

I've been getting slightly frustrated this week as I've been waiting for an order from an online store. It contains 4 presents for various family members and friends and was ordered at the end of November. This would have been ample time for it to arrive, but then in Central Scotland and across most of the UK we had huge snowfall which has caused chaos on our roads, railways and with our postal service.

I have an admission to make to you...I am a perfectionist. I love things to be 'just right'. I love to be organised. It makes me really happy to be on top of things, to be in control. However, in this instance it's completely out of my hands. I have no way of changing the situation, I just need to sit back and wait for the store and the mail system to catch up after the chaos of the beginning of December. It's out-with their control and it's out-with mine. That's not an easy thing for me to deal with. I don't like things being left in limbo.

There are many passages in the Bible that speak of waiting, of expectation. In Isaiah 9:1 we read,

"Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee...will be filled with glory."

and then in verse 2,
"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine."

It's not about the 'perfect gifts' that I've chosen for people. Christmas is about the joy that is found in Jesus, He is the perfect gift.

It's just over a week until Christmas Day. In that time I hope you will reflect on the joy in our faith, and in the perfect gift given to us by the Father.

Pauline
x

Believe

2010-12-09T10:00:00.009Z

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps

When I grew up, we had next to nothing. My parents were divorced and often did not see my Dad for long periods because of his line of work. Shortly after my Mom's second marriage failed . My mom started school to finish her high school and get a secondary education so she could provide for us. There was never any extra money because of this or that. It did not help my Dad was again married himself and had a family to provide for there. We often went without , during this time we got involved with the local food bank . When i say got involved we did lots of stuff with them. Christmas parties, Easter, and generally whatever else was going on at the time. My Mom did a lot of community service with them because often that was how we got food for the table. The people were always interesting and kinda off balance but it made things special. I think even as a child I believed in God , I have shared my testimony a bit here and there. About how i grew up in a church setting that i no longer believe in. I believe God was always there guiding and directing my sisters and my path.My friend said to me just the other day that she is dreaming of the simple life. Where no one is too busy to help and give of their time or even of their pocket books. To believe to show other by being the evidence of God to show others he does exist. To believe-to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.Have a look at this link to a beautiful song or this
song.............................

Stacy

Pauline

Hazel

Kim

Ruth

Crazy Love

2010-12-01T22:17:00.005Z

I recently started reading a book by Francis Chan titled, "Crazy Love" and I'm 'loving' it! Here's a quick blurb from the back of the book, "It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe - the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor - loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not...we all know something is wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts - it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, you will never be the same."

In reading the beginning of the book I realized that Francis and I have had some similar life experiences, in particular with our fathers. He relates that his emotions about his earthly father often got mixed up with his emotions about God. I understand those feelings and they have often made me struggle with the idea that God loves me. I know He loves other people but really...He's just kind of tolerating me, right? I mean I still sin so much...I don't deserve His love.

The truth is...I don't deserve God's love but for some reason, in His most wise and infinite knowledge, He called me unto Himself. I know that He has because I can see the changes that have taken place in my own heart and conduct. Changes that I would have never made on my own for I dearly loved my sin far too much to give it up for "religion." This alone should cause me to be overwhelmed by His love but...I tend to hold back...to be conservative in my emotions for letting someone really love you is too risky...at least that's how I was raised. But I recognize that isn't a very healthy or right view of God and that is what led me to pick up the book Crazy Love. So far it has been a real blessing...God has used it to soften my heart and to enjoy His love and to allow real change to take place...not just from aquiring head knowledge but as a love and affection overflowing from my heart, a gratefulness for all that God has done in my life, for allowing me to want to really reach and help those around me. It is so good to let go and embrace all that our great God and Savior Jesus Christ has to offer because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.

I would highly recommend Francis Chan's book, it's a quick and easy read, but full of straight forward talk and honest ideas, based fully on Biblical principals about God, His nature, and His overwhelming love. A love so great that He sent His only Son to die...so "that man might have life and have it more abundantly: (John 10:10). All praise and glory be to our great God!!

Providence

2010-11-25T10:00:00.009Z

Hello Salt followers, thank you for joining us this week. Happy Thanksgiving to our American readers. Some of our Saltines are very busy at this time of year so we're a little down on numbers this week.

Ruth here with the theme of Providence. I have been reflecting recently on God's timely provision of a home to our family and how he truly does meet our every need. So often we get a little confused and think our 'wants' are our 'needs' and may even spend time praying for things that our Heavenly Father know will not be right for us. I recently heard a sermon where the preacher said sometimes God answers yes, no or later. However what we can be assured of is the promises God does give us. He has made eternal provision for us. Through his Son we are provided for in the most crucial way possible, and although there are promises about our practical needs...

Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

there is an even more precious promise...

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. ⁴And you know the way to where I am going." John 14:1-4

We hope you will join in with our theme this week, please let us know if you do!

Ruth

Hazel

Pauline

Stacy

Reflecting on change

2010-11-18T10:00:00.001Z

Following on from the 'transformation' challenge that Pauline set last Thursday - and, by the way, that challenge is still current, so we would love to see you design something for it - I'm continuing to reflect upon 'transformation'.

We all go through various changes in our lives, from childhood, through adolescence into adulthood - eventually becoming middle aged and later on, senior citizens - I now fall into that category. Of course, sadly for some an early death denies them the later stages of life.

But we also go through changes of circumstances - relationships, career, health, friendships, where we live etc. And, apart from personal changes, there are many changes going on around us, most of them outside of our control, but they affect our lives - changes in society, in government policies etc.

As our 'transformation' crafting testified, Jesus is transforming Christians - we are 'new creations'. I know that He still needs to make many more changes in me even though I've been on the Christian pathway for many years.

But amid all this, I am so thankful that, despite all other changes, God Himself is unchanging. 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,' Hebrews 13:8 is one of my favourite verses - I know that I can depend upon the One who never changes, whatever I face in life.

Transformation

2010-11-11T10:00:00.014Z

Before I introduce this week's challenge, we have some Design Team news - Julie and Tanis are stepping down from the team after having been involved in SALT for a long time. We're all incredibly sad to say goodbye to them, having been inspired by their thoughts on the challenges and having enjoyed the fellowship we've had on the team. Thank you to both of you for everything you've done for the SALT blog, for your insights on the challenges, and for the friendship we've been able to have with you.

We hope you will join with us in wishing Julie and Tanis every blessing. Hopefully they will both keep in touch with SALT, maybe even joining in a challenge every now and then!

__________

As we've moved rather rapidly from summer to autumn and almost instantly (in Scotland anyway!) into winter, I've been thinking about the seasons and how seamlessly we move through the year and each stage of the transformation. As Christians, we are transformed by God, we are new creations when we allow Christ into our lives. We read in 2 Corinthians 5, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come". In our relationship with Christ we leave behind our old selves and are transformed by His love. Dave Bilbrough's worship song speaks of us being new creations,

I am a new creation,

No more in condemnation

Here in the grace of God I stand

My heart is overflowing

My love just keeps on growing

Here in the grace of God I stand.

And I will praise you God

Yes I will praise you God

And I will sing of all that you have done

A joy that knows no limit

A lightness in my spirit

Here in the grace of God I stand

As we move from our current season (which season it is will depend where you're living so I won't assume everyone is getting as cold as me!) I pray that we will find joy in the transformation taking place both in nature and in ourselves.

Remember to link to your blog in the comments section if you are inspired to create something on the theme. I hope you will consider taking part and letting us see your work.

Pauline

Hazel

Lythan
Kim

Ruth

Still thinking about Priorities....

2010-11-04T11:59:00.001Z

I think Priorities is the theme of my year!

Still seeking and searching for wisdom and growth in this area. It's a busy life, this life of ours. Somehow chaos and stress seem to be the norm - I see it everywhere I look. And it's NOT the life God wants for us.

He wants us to have peace. And He wants our lives to be purposeful, to have goals, to have direction - all to bring glory to Him.

I was reading through this devotional, and just LOVED the way the author expressed these thoughts...

We first need to remember our purpose in this life, and evaluate our priorities. If we fill our schedules with things that have nothing to do with our purpose – if they don’t bring us closer to our goals, then we run around in chaos, being busy but pointless! If we’re not making the important things priority, then we are out of balance.

Jesus paid a very high price to reconcile us back to God, to make peace and give us an abundant life. He is a God of order who never meant for us to be too busy to enjoy the simple pleasures He offers, which lead to contentment, joy and peace. Complicated lives prevent “simple freedom”. It really is that simple.

Dear God, please help me get my life and home organized. Help me make it simple, not complex and complicated. Help me understand what matters most and enjoy life on earth the way You want me to. In Jesus’ precious Name. Amen.

(excerpt taken from http://womenbygrace.com/womens-devotions/simplify-your-life/)

Who is my neighbour?

2010-10-28T10:00:00.009+01:00

This is a question that never gets tired or old. It is a question no less valid today as the world gets smaller and we can find out what is going on in far flung countries. Who is my neighbour? Does my heart grow bigger as my horizons do, or does it grow small and hard when I am called upon to care in a costly way? It is a question no less valid today at a time of austerity and belt tightening when it is all too easy to "take care of our own" first and just give our leftovers to others. Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan may be heart warming in its familiarity but there is a heart warning for us too. We are called upon to love in unexpected ways, to see our neighbour as an unexpected person. Spend some time thinking about what this means for you and your faith today.

As ever the team have come up with some beautiful interpretations of the challenge for this fortnight. Why not visit their own blogs and find out more about their thought, inspiration and how they put their art together?

Hazel

Ruth

Lythan

Kim

Pauline

Life is busy

2010-10-21T14:36:00.003+01:00

With the kids returning to much of the school routine things have gotten out of hand for me really , no excuse my priorities are out of whack. To much of work , to much facebook and not enough time to enjoy. My Hubby has been working alot and out of town almost everyday getting home very late at night. His sacrifice has kinda left me feeling very uninspired. So when thinking and praying about what to write about this week I thought what a good time to remind myself of those priorities. To put God first in my life, he will fulfill my every need.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (New International Version)

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

God's Righteousness

2010-10-14T10:00:00.004+01:00

Last week we had a guest speaker at our church and his sermons really stuck with me as he raised some very common questions that I, and I suspect others, hear frequently when talking about God. One of those questions was, “Is God righteous?”
The only way to effectively answer such a question is to head straight to the Bible. Romans 3:21 states, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.”

Matthew Henry has these helpful comments on these verses, “Never was there such a demonstration of the justice and holiness of God as there was in the death of Christ. It appears that God hates sin, when nothing less than the blood of Christ would satisfy for it. The iniquities of us all being laid upon Him, though he was the Son of his love, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Mercy and truth are so met together, righteousness and peace have so kissed each other, that it is now become not only an act of grace and mercy, but an act of righteousness, in God, to pardon the sins of penitent believers, having accepted the satisfaction that Christ by dying made to his justice for them."

The one thought that I walked away with from hearing those sermons was that God is good. There is nothing in us that deserves God’s favor, it is only His mercy and long suffering that sustains us, even through those times that we walk away from Him or ignore His kindness. It may be argued that we deserve whatever we want or that God’s requirements are too heavy, too hard. Yes, God requires something from us but it is merely faith, faith in the One who was sent to deliver us from our sins. Christ is the answer, He came to take away the sting of death to stand in our place and take the punishment that we deserve. How great is His love and how righteous His works! May God be pleased to show you the love of Christ today!

Thank you so much for allowing us to share these challenges with you, it is a blessing! And we're blessed when you share your artwork and thoughts with us...If you feel inspired by this week's study and/or art please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery...we'd be delighted to see your creations!

Kim

Lythan
Hazel

Ruth

Pauline

Judge not...

2010-10-07T10:00:00.003+01:00

Hi there Salt followers, thank you for following our efforts to be SALT.

It's me, Ruth's turn for the in between post.

I've been pondering lately on what it means to judge others. I find it an area in my life that I struggle with. When I don't know the full picture of a situation and somebody does something I don't like I often make a snap judgement about their motivation.

The Bible says

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

This is the way God wants us to live, and these verses are such a clear illustration of how we should examine ourselves first. But even more amazingly, God the righteous, all knowing, holy and loving God, the one who does have the right to judge us does not judge us when we put our faith in Jesus - "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

Speaking With Kindness

2010-09-30T10:00:00.011+01:00

I (Julie) have been particularly burdened with verses about our speech lately. As often happens when you have children, I hear them making unkind comments, hear them yelling at each other or saying things that they shouldn't. I have been trying to impress upon them the need to speak to each other with kindness and love - or just not speak at all if that is not possible!

Personally I have always been convicted by Proverb 31:26 "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness." The note for that verse in the Geneva Study Bible says "Her tongue is a book by which one might learn many good things: for she delights to talk of the word of God." Ouch! Is my speech such that my children "learn many good things?" I desperately want that to be true!

In her book, The Virtuous Woman, Vicki Courtney has a whole chapter about speech. The last paragraph sums it up very nicely:

"A virtuous woman . . . speaks with wisdom because she wisely considers her words because she wisely considers her words before she opens her mouth. When in the presence of gossip or hearsay, the law of kindness remains on her tongue. With an awesome fear of the Lord, she is quick to remember ' that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken' (Matt. 12:36)."

Please consider joining us by creating a card or project with this week's topic and please leave us a link to it! In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful creations the design team has come up with

Julie

Pauline

Kim

Hazel

'Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt.' Colossians 4:6:

Tanis

Ruth

Lythan

A new year of priorities challenge update

2010-09-27T17:44:00.006+01:00

The 'New year of priorities' challenge by Tanis is still open - please go to the challenge here.

So far we have had these two lovely creations:

From Elisha (you can read what she wrote here):

From Lee (you can read what she wrote here):

Thank you, ladies for your beautiful contributions.

If anyone else contributes something for this, please leave us a comment and a link to your creation so we can come and have a look.

And don't forget that Tanis is kindly offered to send her beautiful digital stamp set to anyone who responds to the challenge. Elisha and Lee please let Tanis have your email addresses so she can send you the digital stamps - her email address is on her blog.

To enter please leave a link in the comments section of Tanis' original post here.

Facing the Day

2010-09-23T10:00:00.002+01:00

“The time just before dawn contains the most energy of all hours of the day. This has helped me become an early riser and an early doer.... When I wake to see that it's light out already, I feel like the world has started without me.”

_____

“If people were meant to pop out of bed, we'd all sleep in toasters.”

_____

Are you an early riser or the sort of person who prefers a lie in and leisurely start to the day? I started a new job in August which involves a longer commute Monday to Friday. I was full of trepidation about this, how would I cope getting up earlier (I really like my sleep and struggle if I don’t get enough!), would the change in routine for the family have adverse affects, would I hate the hour-long drive…

Several weeks into it and I’m enjoying it a lot. I’m not usually too tired to function in the mornings, I have time to sit and have breakfast and some quiet time before waking everyone else up, the family are adjusting well to the new routine and are actually benefitting from being up and about slightly earlier than previously, and I enjoy the drive to work.

I’ve found it particularly important to have that little bit of time to myself before I wake everyone else up. I get up, have a shower, get dressed then go downstairs to let the dogs out and get breakfast for myself. I do a lot of thinking at that time of day, during the lull between getting up and the ‘activity’ of the day beginning. It’s my time for talking quietly to God and putting the new day into his hands. My day never goes quite so well when I’ve been in too much of a rush to have that time. I always feel there’s something missing when I’ve rushed headlong into the day.

“Morning by morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; morning by morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”Psalm 5:3

The Psalmist starts his day by talking to God. He lays his requests before God and then waits. He doesn’t ‘do’ anything, he doesn’t try to provide answers himself, he just waits. As Christians it is important is to find that time to talk to God, to lay our requests before Him and then simply wait.

A New Year of Priorities

2010-09-16T15:11:00.000+01:00

Happy Thursday! Sorry for the late start today.

For me, September, with back to school, is always a time of starting fresh. It's my "New Year" more than New Year's is.
So this year, when I started reflecting on this fact, that life would be changing again and there is a shift in the balance of the every day experiences, one word kept coming to me.
Priority.
What will be my priorities this year? How can I make sure my own priorities are God's priorities for me? How will I make those big (and even those small!) decisions - in prayer and trusting Him to provide clear direction....or on my own and for my own selfish reasons?
It all comes down to being in constant conversation with my Creator. And making THAT my first priority. All else will fall into place if I'm communicating with Him and trusting Him daily.

So that's my challenge word and my focus for you this time!

And I've got a little "bonus" for you! If you complete the challenge and link your creation up in the comment section on this post, I will send you this digital stamp set (just click the image to see the details).....

Just my way of saying THANKS for joining our challenge!

ON with the projects!! Check out how the Salt DT used this digital set in their creations!

Tanis

Pauline

Hazel

Ruth

Julie

It's hip to be square

2010-09-09T10:00:00.001+01:00

Over the summer my family was hooked on a tv show called Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers in which 5 Amish young people - two of whom were on rumspringa, visited various forms of youth culture in the UK and experienced life with different families. At the same time we learned a lot about life for the Amish. It was fascinating. I had wondered if the programme would end up making fun of these naive young people in their long sleeved clothes and funny hats. But it didn't. Instead there was as deep an exploration of Christian faith as I have seen on UK television.

What intrigued me most was how the Amish were not laughed at by the other teenagers, rather were listened to and treated with respect, even if their views were not agreed with. And talking with them helped the UK youngsters reflect on their own lives. This was a big surprise. I confess that I assumed that devout Christians would be treated with derision or simply ignored. That is the message we get about secular Britain today. But instead what I saw was a hunger for something more expressed by many of the teenagers and an appreciation of the integrity of the Amish.

Now, I do not think the answer to Britain being a less faith filled place is to retreat into little communities. But I found this programme both an inspiration and a reminder that people are more receptive to hearing about faith than we can expect. I think the key is integrity - be true to who you are and people will watch and listen. That also tells us that we should watch how we behave as others will take notice. but above all, take to heart the teachings of Jesus about being salt and light. I do love the way that Peterson expresses this in the Message

"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.

"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.

Something new

2010-09-02T10:00:00.020+01:00

As an ex-teacher who retired quite a few years ago, I (Hazel) still tend to think of September as a time of 'new beginnings'. It was a time for getting to know another class of children and issuing new exercise books - and I well remember my own schooldays when I received those unspoiled books.

So, when I was thinking of today's challenge, my mind went to 'something new'.

With our Heavenly Father there is always an air of expectancy - Lamentations 3:22-23: 'Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.'

This is echoed in that much-loved hymn 'Great is Thy faithfulness', one of my mum's favourites and was dad's too - it brought tears to my eyes at his funeral thanksgiving service.

Great is Thy Faithfulnesss, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy Faithfulnesss!
Great is Thy Faithfulnesss!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy Faithfulnesss, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great Faithfulnesss, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

It is our prayer that those reading this will experience these blessings for themselves.

'New beginnings' can be scary at times, for instance, for children going into a new class, a new school, young people going off to college or uni for the first time - there is an air of excitement mixed with a certain trepidation at stepping out into the unknown.

With Jesus as our Saviour and friend we have no need to be afraid of the 'new beginnings' that He has in store for us, for we have the confidence of knowing that 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever' (Hebrews 13:8).

Perhaps you are going through a dark patch where life is difficult and troublesome. Be comforted by the words of Isaiah, who assures us in chapter 43 of God's presence with us in troubled times and going on to say 'Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:18-19)

So my challenge to you for this fortnight is to create 'something new' - it might be a LO that reflects on a 'new beginning', an event of special significance like a wedding, a new job, etc or a card for a new event, such as 'new home', 'new job', 'new baby' etc - or something that rejoices in God's faithfulness in His provision of 'new mercies' every day.

My own LO is based on those verses from Lamentations 3, reflecting on 'new mercies' even amid suffering. As usual, each member of the DT has her own unique response to the challenge. Please visit their own blogs to read and see more about their creations and thoughts.

If you are prompted to join in our challenge, please leave us a comment so that we can come and share in your creation. We would love to see you joining in with 'something new'.

Hazel

Lythan
Pauline

Kim

Ruth

God's Covenant

2010-08-28T15:35:00.002+01:00

"He hath commanded His covenant forever..." -Psalm 111:9

Forgive my lateness in getting this posted...I completely forgot and was lovingly reminded by one of our dear DT members. :-) Thank you!!

I'd like to share a devotion I read a few days ago from Spurgeon's Morning & Evening, based on the Scripture text above, and I pray that it's a blessing and encouragement as you consider the sureness of God's promises!

The Lord's people delight in the covenant itself. It is an unfailing source of consolation to them so often as the Holy Spirit leads them into its banqueting house and waves its banner of love. They delight to contemplate the antiquity of that covenant, remembering that before the daystar knew its place, or planets ran their round, the interests of the saints were made secure in Christ Jesus. It is peculiarly pleasing to them to remember the sureness of the covenant, while meditating upon 'the sure mercies of David'. They delight to celebrate it as 'signed, and sealed, and ratified, in all things ordered well'. It often makes their hearts dilate with joy to think of its immutability, as a covenant which neither time or eternity, life nor deal, shall ever be able to violate - a covenant as old as eternity and as everlasing as the Rock of ages. They rejoice also to feast upon the fullness of this covenant, for they see in it all things provided for them. God is their portion, Christ their companion, the Spirit their Comforter, earth their lodge, and heaven their home. They see in it an inheritance reserved and entailed to every soul possessing an interest in its ancient and eternal deed of gift. Their eyes sparkled when they saw it as a treasure trove in the Bible; but oh! how their souls were gladdened when they saw in the last will and testament of their divine kinsman, that it was bequeathed to them! More especially it is the pleasure of God's people to contemplate the graciousness of this covenant. They see that the law was made void because it was a covenant of works and depended upon merit, but this they perceive to be enduring because grace is the basis, grace the condition, grace the strain, grace the bulwark, grace the foundation, grace the topstone. The covenant is a treasure of wealth, a granary of food, a fountain of life, a storehouse of salvation, a charter of people, and a haven of joy.

Celebration of Marriage

2010-08-19T10:00:00.025+01:00

Today would be my parents 39th wedding anniversary,but they divorced when I was five or six. Although it hurts they are not together I see it for what it is, a lesson. My parents both remarried within a couple of years to people they thought were better and more suited. They both divorced again, another lesson. My mom has never remarried but she had several lengthy relationships that were just another reminder of bad choices. My dad remarried a third time and he is still married to Alice, which I find is a Godsend. She has taught my Dad to smarten up and may be just the best choice for him. They have moments when he comes knocking on my door, moments were things seem to go really wrong , and he threatens divorce again.

The lesson I, my sister and brother have learned is divorce is just not option for us. Everyone laughs when I say it, but I totally mean it. Its death before divorce in our house and in our marriage. If I could share advice I would say 1. choose to work things out, it may take time but work it out, compromise, find common ground 2. give 100%. 3. Date always 4.Love always 5. Always forgive, even if it hurts. 6. Do not allow outside interferace no matter how well intentioned it is unless its a pastor or a godly counseller. 7. hold on to God no matter what and meditate on his promises.

I asked the ladies to think on

1 Corinthians 13

Love

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Come and show us your take on the challenge leave us a link , here is ours

Stacy
Hazel

Hidden journalling:

Kim

Julie

Ruth

Lythan

Pauline

A Cure for Grumbling?

2010-08-13T15:16:00.000+01:00

I'm late for my in between post - oops! Summer is winding down, school is just around the corner and my children cannot wait! As we head into a new year of homeschooling I am wondering how things will work this year. I will have 3 in school this year (kindergarten and grades 1 & 3) and 2 younger ones who will have to be occupied while we are having school. The first day of school is always so exciting yet I know that after a couple weeks the newness will wear off and the grumbling will begin! I am considering having a theme verse for school this year -

Phil 2:14 "Do all things without complaining and disputing."

The trick is, how do you translate the memory verse into a living verse? That is, how do the children learn to live the verse, not just remember it? I suppose one very important way is for me to live it before them! I confess that I am often guilty of grumbling when things are not going according to my plan. I need to realize in that moment that God may have other plans and I should not be complaining!

"Do it, and do not find fault with it. Mind your work, and do not quarrel with it.’’ God’s commands were given to be obeyed, not to be disputed. This greatly adorns our profession, and shows we serve a good Master, whose service is freedom and whose work is its own reward." Henry, Matthew. "Commentary on Philippians 2." . Blue Letter Bible. 1 Mar 1996. 2010. 13 Aug 2010

I'd love to hear some of your ideas to ward off grumbling, leave a comment with your thoughts!

TRINITY - Three in one

2010-08-05T10:00:00.011+01:00

This week Salt it three years old. Praise God for the way he has blessed and sustained our Salt team. We've known answers to prayer in times of need and various sorrows and joys. We pray that we will continue to be Salt and Light and that you will be blessed and challenged with the artwork the Lord allows us to create.

Although the word 'Trinity' does not occur in the Bible, it is never the less an important word to those who believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the way they are revealed in the Scriptures.
Their inter-relationship is unique and to fully understand is impossible. However when we read about the way they interact, work together and yet are one we get a glimpse of just how amazing God is.

As a Christian there are times where I relate to the different persons of God, and yet I know they are all one. The Trinity is a witness that the shared love of God stretches back to eternity past. What a privilege that we can be brought into that family. It also reminds us that God has been a communicating God because of the fellowship shown between Father, Son and Spirit.
Please contemplate your relationship with God and his uniqueness, how do you relate to the different persons of God? Remember to let us know if you create any artwork so we can come and see!

Hazel

Kim

Stacy

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever

2010-07-29T10:00:00.003+01:00

One of my favourite Bible verses is found in one of my favourite books of the bible - Hebrews 13:8:

'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.'

Whatever our circumstances, He remains the same - our constant Saviour and friend, one on whom we can depend, come what may. He is far more reliable and dependable than any human friend, however good that friend is.

He was there at the beginning of creation, He took on human form, born of a virgin, He died, rose again and ascended to be at the right hand of the Father.

When I was a child, my grandparents had a plaque hanging above their back door in the kitchen which said:

'Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday - and all is well'

If we acknowledge Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, He takes care of each day and what happens within it - unless, of course, we choose to go our own way and ignore His prompting. Why would we willfully want to go our own way when we have such a caring friend who has our best interests at heart?

Our challenge 'A trouble-free life?' is still open - you can read it here - if you are prompted to create something for this we would love you to leave us a comment and a link so we can come and have a look at your crafting.

Heather has joined our challenge with this beautifully crafted card - you can read what she wrote here:

A trouble-free life?

2010-07-22T10:00:00.015+01:00

Hi, it's Pauline with this week's challenge. I asked the SALT team to think about the story of Jesus calming the storm in Luke 8:22-25,

"One day Jesus said to his disciples, 'let's go over to the other side of the lake'. So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him saying 'master, master, we're going to drown'. He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him'."

There are so many aspects to this story, but what I've been reflecting on recently is not the miracle of the walking on water but rather the issue of difficulties, or troubles, in life. For Luke and the other disciples, Jesus was their Saviour and they trusted in him to save them when there were any difficulties, however when faced with a storm while they were in the middle of the lake they were still worried and upset.

Jesus does not, however, promise a trouble-free life. In fact we read in the Bible that trouble will come (Acts 14:22). The journey across the lake wasn't stress free for the disciples, but as Christians we must trust that we can overcome difficulties. God can bring good out of evil. There are many situations that I'm sure we can all think of where this seems impossible, but as the Body of Christ we can share with others that while the Christian life is not free of troubles, the power to cope comes from God,

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

We hope you enjoy thinking over this week's theme and if you feel inspired to create something as a response then please link back to us in the comments.

Pauline

Hazel

Kim

Julie

Ruth

Stacy

A Common Life

2010-07-15T14:31:00.000+01:00

One of my favourite inspirational authors is Max Lucado. A couple of years ago, I read and worked through his book "Cure for the Common Life - Living in Your Sweet Spot".

I loved it so much, I recently picked up a used copy so I can read it again.

The theme of the book - "Use your uniqueness to make a big deal of God every day of your life" - and the concept of "finding your sweet spot" in life (that place that uses your strengths to glorify Him) are worth revisiting again and again.

"Each person is given something to do that shows who God is". 1 Corinthians 12:7 (msg). No matter where we are, what our position is in life, what we do everyday - God has given every person gifts that we are to use for His glory - to make Him known to the people in our lives.

I'm looking forward to spending some time studying this book again. God has made me for a purpose. I want this to be true for me - that I would "live so that "he'll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything - encores to the end of time...." (1 Peter 4:11 msg). Exhibit God with your uniqueness. When you magnify your Maker with your strengths, when your contribution enriches God's reputation, your days grow suddenly sweet. And to really dulcify your world, use your uniqueness to make a big deal about God...every day of your life."

(all quotes take from Max's book "Cure for the Common Life")

Clothe yourself in Christ

2010-07-08T10:00:00.005+01:00

July already! How time goes by. Some of us have already entered into holiday time. But there is always time to reflect on God's word! This time round I (Lythan) have chosen a Bible passage to think about
Galatians 3:23-29 - Clothe yourself in Christ
23 But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed. 24 And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith. 25 Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us. 26 It is through faith that all of you are God's children in union with Christ Jesus. 27 You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. 28 So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.

I think this is a great passage to reflect on - it moves quite well from the obedience not sacrifice and talks about how following the about the letter of the law is not enough - faith brings freedom which brings responsibilities. The difference in life is to be clothed in Christ which means there is no difference when we are in union in Christ. There are all sorts of themes to take here - those of you who have just celebrated Independence Day may want to think about what Freedom means; there is also a lot about equality as well as the wonderful phrase about being clothed in Christ. We look forward to seeing your creative reflections.

Hazel

Lythan

Julie

Shout to the Lord

2010-07-01T10:00:00.000+01:00

When praying and thinking about my post today, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite praise songs. I have been so crazy lately kids out of school taking on a second job and Hubby finally working more then one day a week. I pretty much have this song in my head at all times. It keeps me sane and more in a happy place.Which is harder right now being busy busy. If you have never heard it you can find it here. I looked on biblegateway.com for it and it shared this passage

2 Thessalonians 1

¹Paul, Silas^a]">[a] and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

²Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. ⁴Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

⁵All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. ⁶God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power ¹⁰on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

¹¹With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. ¹²We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.^b]">[b]

^{b]">I am so hoping i am worthy even in my best moments! To All Canadians have a wonderful Canada Day and also Happy July 4 to all Americans if anyone else is celebrating this weekend i am thinking of you !!}

To Obey is Better Than Sacrifice

2010-06-24T10:00:00.006+01:00

Greetings everyone and welcome to another SALT challenge! We're thrilled when you have an opportunity to play along with our challenges so if you're feeling inspired to create something based on today's topic, please drop us a comment with a link back to your blog or online gallery; we'd love to come visit!

This week I’d (Kim) like to focus on a verse from the Old Testament; 1 Samuel 15:22. I’m specifically thinking on the portion, "to obey is better than sacrifice." This statement was Samuel's response to Saul when he realized the Saul had failed to utterly destroy a certain city, saving “all that was good” for himself. Saul first tried to blame the people and then claimed the reason was that he saved the "best animals to sacrifice to the Lord." Of course God knew Saul's heart...the result of Saul's actions? He would no longer be king.

Since we can't identify with the Old Testament rituals of animal sacrifice, how can we apply this verse to our modern lives and experiences? We can think of those we know that are very giving, maybe even putting professing Christians to shame. They feed the poor, give a lot of money to charities, sacrifice their time to certain causes, etc. However, these same folks will never bow the knee to Christ. In Matthew 7:22 Jesus tells His followers, “many will say in that day “Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you…”

That said, I agree that works are important, God calls us to good works (James 2:14) but to offer works without faith in Christ is empty. I spent many years proudly boasting of the many things I didn't do. I had a neat little list; I didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, didn’t listen to “worldly” music. The problem? I don't believe that I was trusting in Christ; I was merely worshipping myself and my list of man made rules. Had God not truly changed my heart, I would have been one of the ones He confessed to not know.

My study Bible has this to say on faith and works, "...(there are those) that know the gospel and even agree with it, but fall short of trust in God. Failure to grow, develop, and bear the fruits of righteousness shows that the free gift of Christ has never been received. The answer for those with such a faith is not to save themselves by establishing a righteousness of their own, as if they could create faith by their own efforts, but to call on the name of the Lord (Rom. 10:13)."

All that we do is acceptable to God only because of the mercy of Christ (Rom. 7:13-20). Christ changes our hearts so that we express love for God by doing what pleases Him and He in His kindness promises to reward us for what we do (Phil. 3:12-14, 2 Tim. 4:7, 8).

May God enable us to cling to Christ and His righteousness as we seek to serve those around us.

Kim

Hazel

Julie

Lythan

'Here I Am'

2010-06-16T16:26:00.003+01:00

It’s nice to be back briefly for a guest appearance. Glad to see that things are looking as lovely as ever on SALT. Here are a few thoughts for the week…

1 Samuel 3:8-10
And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.” Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

Genesis 22:1, 9-12
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

These passages have been brought to my attention recently, but on different occasions. Both the responses we find in the passage have the same words ‘Here I Am’. It made me think about the willingness to hear and answer God when they heard His voice. If God were to call us to a certain place or to a certain work would our answer be ‘Here I am’? And are we ready to listen to what God has to say to us through the scriptures? And are we willing to act upon his will for our lives whatever the challenges may bring?

Mother

2010-06-10T10:00:00.017+01:00

Hello it's my turn today (Julie) to post the challenge. A friend from church and I will be starting a program in the Fall for the little girls (kindergarten & up) at our church. We have several elementary school age girls in our church, and a couple who live in single-parent homes with their dads. It's our desire to spend time teaching them from Prov 31, different aspects of being godly girls and women someday. In preparation for this, I have begun reading books and search for resources for not only the group, but for the mothers of these girls.

I was reading an excellent book this week the author talks about motherly love and one of the best examples of it in Bible, Hannah. We all know the story well I'm sure. As a mother I cannot imagine giving up my son, my firstborn son, to live far away from me the care of priests at the temple. But the author pointed out that the very next verse after Hannah takes Samuel to the temple and gives him over to Eli is I Samuel 2:1: "And Hannah prayed and said, 'My heart rejoices in the Lord.'" After doing what was probably the most difficult thing she could have, she praised God! Hannah knew, as we should, that our children belong first to God - He loves them more than even we do and He has given them to us for a short time to raise for His glory!

I thought of the verses in Deuteronomy 6:6-7: And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. As the mother of 5 small children, my greatest desire isn't that they be "happy", as you hear so often, but that my children love the Lord with all their hearts and live to serve Him always!

Enjoy all the beautiful creations from the team today and if you get chance, we'd love to have you create along with us! Be sure to leave a link.

Julie

Tanis

Hazel

Kim

Lythan

Pauline

Stacy

The Empowering Spirit

2010-06-03T10:00:00.001+01:00

"Everyone around was in awe - all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met."

Acts 2:42-45 The Message

The story of the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, which we read in Acts 2, dramatically shows a new order begun by Jesus. The sense of unity is incredible, with the people working together in harmony. People speaking different languages could understand news of God's work, and God is seen to be uniting people for a common purpose. The same Spirit of Pentecost remains with us today, uniting us as Christians and empowering us to work together. Do we keep our eyes open for signs of the Spirit today?

"The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace."

John 14: 23-27 The Message

The Spirit can empower us in positive directions, not limiting us or holding us back. In church on Sunday we sang a song to the music of a Tanzanian melody, Njoo Kwetu Roho Mwema. Some of the words are:

Gracious Spirit, hear our pleading;

fashion us all anew.

It's your leading we are needing;

help us to follow you.

Come, come, come, Holy Spirit, come.

Come, come, come, Holy Spirit come.

Guide our thinking and our speaking

done in your holy name.

Motivate us in our seeking,

freeing us from guilt and shame.

My prayer is that we can all be united through the Holy Spirit and be empowered to do God's will in our own lives.

Power to be witnesses

2010-05-27T10:00:00.029+01:00

It's Hazel here. Thank you for visiting our blog - we would love you to respond with some artwork that is prompted by today's challenge for the next fortnight.

It was Pentecost on Sunday, so it seemed appropriate to centre this challenge on the work of the Holy Spirit - which follows on well from Lythan's helpful reflections last week, which you can read in the post below.

The verse that I'm focusing on is Acts 1:8:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 2 records how the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and as a result they were able to speak in languages understood by those around, telling them about Jesus. Peter spoke with such power, saying: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call."Luke, writing in Acts, records: "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."

And the power of the Holy Spirit is just as available for us today - giving us power to witness to the saving grace of Jesus. Going back to Acts 1:8, Jesus said, "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The Holy Spirit isn't given to us as Christians just for us to enjoy and benefit in our pesonal lives, but for us to pass on the message of Jesus to those around us and further afield, even to the ends of the earth. A few years ago, it was only overseas missionaires who were able to share the good news of Jesus with 'the ends of the earth', but now, with contact made so easy by the internet, it is possible for ordinary folk like me to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.

Wherever God has placed us, we can call upon the power of the Holy Spirit to witness for Christ. Just as Jesus told the disciples to witness in Jerusalem, so we should be witnesses within our family and friendship circles, and then within our neighbourhood community and beyond.

Just a final thought - I looked up definitions of the word 'witness' - I'll share one of these:

"One who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced."

As Christians we have a story to tell - a firsthand account - of our experience of God's saving grace in our lives and of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Below are the beautiful responses of our team to this challenge - we would be delighted if you felt able to respond with your own crafting, in which case please leave us a comment so that we can come and visit your blog.

Hazel

Pauline

Kim

Julie

Stacy

Lythan

Ruth

Tanis

Come Holy Spirit

2010-05-21T17:20:00.002+01:00

This Sunday is the celebration of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit on Jesus' disciples and how they set out in ministry.
Before his ascension to heaven Jesus had commanded his disciples
" Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples" (Matthew 28:19) but this isn't something that he called them to do alone. Although he left them, he promised them that the Holy Spirit would help them to fulfil this mission
"But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
and sure enough from being frightened inarticulate followers they became empowered and empassioned leaders, willing to stand up and be counted - even if others thought them foolish.
(How I love that the first known reaction to the moving of the Spirit is "these people are drunk!" Acts 2)

So what does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
well, I have a theory. And my theory is that, just as we all have different personality characteristics, so the Holy Spirit comes to us in different ways. For example, I don't speak in tongues. I'd love to and have prayed for it earnestly but no, its not happening. I know that were many in my congregation able to speak in tongues they would find it really hard to deal with. For other congregations it is not speaking in tongues that can be an issue.

But I know that I am filled with the Spirit - I have known moments when I can feel the presence of God with me. I have had times when I have had what I have thought was a simple impulse to do something which has turned out to be the answer to prayer for someone. I have been able to do things that I could not do in my own strength. For me, it is the quiet introverted way that the Spirit works in me because I am quiet and introverted. (Well, actually I am loud and introverted).

What is important is that we ask to be filled - and we will receive. We will receive. And it is not a once a year, now or never offer - there is always more power, more love to be shared.
What is important is that we do not class people by the way we see the Spirit working in their lives but rejoice that the Spirit has filled them - in whatever way that happens
What is important is that we are open to the Spirit working within us.
I know there are times that I fail to do that. That I choose to ignore the Spirit because I don't want to be challenged and pushed. I want a duvet day instead.
But when I am open, oh the joys! Sometimes it is a real rollercoaster ride but the love is amazing.
And Pentecost Sunday helps me to refocus and renew and re-open myself to the power of the Holy Spirit.
So, pray with me,
Come Holy Spirit!

Putting Him First

2010-05-13T10:00:00.006+01:00

WELCOME to Salt today! Glad you decided to pop by!

I'm here to bring you your next challenge. My thoughts started with this quote from C.S. Lewis.

"Put first things first and we get second things thrown in: put second things first and we lose both first and second things" (C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock)

Over and over again I find myself putting second things first. And then wonder why things are falling apart.

C.S. Lewis hits the nail on the head here. Put God first. Put time with God first. Put thoughts of God first. Put God ahead of our own personal agenda and desires.

But things seem to keep getting in the way of seeing Him and seeking Him through each moment of the day.

The verse I chose for this week's challenge is from Matthew 6:33

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

As you think on this verse, and maybe find other scripture that expands on this thought, I'd also challenge you (as I'm challenging myself) to think of something that's keeping you from putting God first, and what exactly that means for us as Christians.

I'm leaving you with some lyrics to a song from a while back. Hope you have time to join in on the challenge this week!

SEEKERS OF YOUR HEART
Until we give You first place, until we let You begin
to fill us with Your Spirit, renew us from within,
nothing matters, nothing's gained.
Without Your Holy presence our lives would be in vain.

Lord, we want to know You, live our lives to show You
all the love we owe You, we're seekers of Your heart.

Ruth

Pauline

Hazel

Kim

Tanis

Julie

Lythan

Stacy

Wisdom

2010-05-06T03:04:00.002+01:00

Today I'd like to share with you a reading from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening...one of my favorite devotionals.

"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and

whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he."—Proverbs 16:20.

Wisdom is man's true strength; and, under its guidance, he best accomplishes the ends of his being. Wisely handling the matter of life gives to man the richest enjoyment, and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence by it he finds good in the fullest sense. Without wisdom, man is as the wild donkey's colt, running hither and thither, wasting strength which might be profitably employed. Wisdom is the compass by which man is to steer across the trackless waste of life; without it he is a derelict vessel, the sport of winds and waves. A man must be prudent in such a world as this, or he will find no good, but be betrayed into unnumbered ills. The pilgrim will sorely wound his feet among the briers of the wood of life if he do not pick his steps with the utmost caution. He who is in a wilderness infested with robber bands must handle matters wisely if he would journey safely. If, trained by the Great Teacher, we follow where He leads, we shall find good, even while in this dark abode; there are celestial fruits to be gathered this side of Eden's bowers, and songs of paradise to be sung amid the groves of earth. But where shall this wisdom be found? Many have dreamed of it, but have not possessed it. Where shall we learn it? Let us listen to the voice of the Lord, for He hath declared the secret; He hath revealed to the sons of men wherein true wisdom lieth, and we have it in the text, "Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." The true way to handle a matter wisely is to trust in the Lord. This is the sure clue to the most intricate labyrinths of life, follow it and find eternal bliss. He who trusts in the Lord has a diploma for wisdom granted by inspiration: happy is he now, and happier shall he be above. Lord, in this sweet eventide walk with me in the garden, and teach me the wisdom of faith.

Honor and Respect

2010-04-29T10:00:00.009+01:00

“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”- Romans 13:6-7

Honor-The courage to do what is right, no matter what. A belief that your actions represent more than just yourself, the recognition that what you do defines your entire generation.

Respect-To treat people in the manner in which you expect to be treated. To show consideration for another person's feelings and interests. An attitude demonstrating that you value another person.

Lately it seems that everyone is so busy being busy that we have forgotten the simple things in life to Honor and Respect. We teach our kids to honor their friends, honor their words, honor their property and honor each other. We also teach them to respect others the way they want to be respected. Not being snoopy, wrecking toys and cleaning up their messes.We also teach them to respect the house they live in by doing their chores that they have been assigned. We teach them to have respect for good work ethic and to help others. By doing this we are asking them to honor God, because no one worked harder then Jesus.............

Stacy

Pauline

Kim

Tanis

Lythan
Hazel

Such A Time As This

2010-04-22T06:00:00.001+01:00

My children and I have been reading the book of Esther for the past 2 weeks in school. Even though we all know the story well we have enjoyed hearing it again and it's funny how you notice things you'd forgotten. For instance, (and this is a minor detail but interesting) how many times have you heard Mordecai referred to as Esther's uncle? Did you know he was actually her cousin! (Esther 2:7) Also, did you know that God's name is not mentioned at all in this book of the Bible? He is certainly present though!

One scene I find interesting is when Mordecai, through Esther's eunuch, relay's to her Haman's plan to kill all the Jews. Mordecai asks Esther to go to the king and plead for the lives of their people. When Esther mildly objects stating that she has not been called by the king and could therefore be put to death, Mordecai tells her

"Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14, emphasis added)

I love Mordecai's absolute trust in God! He is certain that the Jews will be saved by God and points out to Esther that this may be the reason God has elevated her to the position of queen. He encourages her to use her position and, by his example, trust God for deliverance. Esther's response is perfect, she prepares to do what Mordecai has asked and requests that the people fast and pray for her for 3 days. Her faith evidenced by her statement "if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:16)

Of course, we know the end, Esther was used by God to preserve His people. She had the courage to be used by God in the place that He placed her. What would God have us to do in the place/situation we are in?

What is home?

2010-04-15T10:00:00.005+01:00

Hi everyone,

Ruth here bringing you this week's thought and challenge.

I have been pondering lately on HOME. What makes one and how does Jesus make mine different to other homes.

We all have different routines, rituals, habits, priorities etc that will shape how our home works. But in the Christian's home we have the addition of Jesus Christ himself. How does he make a difference to your home? Is he the 'unseen guest at every meal', is he consulted on decisions made, is your home a place where the stranger is welcome and hospitality is practiced?

Perhaps more importantly your home on earth is temporal. Do we truly recognise that our treasure is in heaven and that earth will fade and pass away? Although our homes are important for the nurture and training of children, a rest away from the world and and a tool for ministry, Christ is building our mansions in Glory.

I would like to leave you with this verse

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Corinthians 5:1

Please enjoy looking at the creations from the Salt team, be inspired to make a card, layout or other paper craft. Maybe something for your home to remind you of Jesus and how he wants your home to be.

Ruth

Pauline

Lythan

Stacy

Hazel

Tanis

Julie

Resurrection hope

2010-04-08T10:00:00.004+01:00

Wasn't it good to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour on Easter Sunday, sharing again the thrill of those gospel passages where Jesus' friends and disciples discover that the tomb is empty and He has risen ... and then he appears to them.

Our Christian hope is based on the resurrection of Jesus, as Paul discusses in that difficult but marvellous passage in 1 Corinthians 15 (perhaps read it in 'the Message' for a clearer understanding of what Paul is saying).

In normal everyday conversation we often use the word 'hope' to indicate desire and expectation. Christian hope of eternal life here and now and for the future in eternity is something much more secure and sure because it is based on the certainty that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive now at the right hand of the Father.

In Hebrews 6:19, the writer says: 'We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.' That hope is available to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour because of his tremendous sacrifice on the cross.

We not only celebrate the tremendous hope of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, but every Sunday of the year, indeed, every day of the year.

And every Christian can testify to the words of the old chorus:

He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

* * * * * * * * *

If you haven't done so yet, please scroll down to last week's challenge Gethsemane - if you create anything for this we would love you to leave us a comment so we can visit your blog and see your crafting.

Gethsemane

2010-04-01T10:00:00.001+01:00

Since this challenge for SALT goes live a few days before Easter Sunday, I (Pauline) decided to reflect on the events in the garden of Gethsemane and used a reflection from Karen Rollins in my preparation which expands the theme I wanted to explore. Some of this reflection is included here.

In Matthew 26, Mark 14 and Luke 22, Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, goes to the garden of Gethsemane. He tells his disciples that he is upset "even to the point of death," asks them to wait for him as he goes on ahead and tells them to stay awake. Jesus goes on, then falls to the ground and prays to His father. He asks to be relieved from his suffering and yet makes clear that He will do what His Father demands. He returns to Peter, James and John and finds them asleep. He is disappointed that they are not able to stay awake even as he undergoes torments. This then happens another two times. Jesus declares that the "hour is near" and He has been betrayed and they start to leave.

As He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus made a plea to God to deliver him from his suffering. He knows God has the power to do all things and asks God to use that power to save Him from the trials that are coming. He is agitated because He knows that while as a human He has a choice, He is being called to obedience.

Jesus doesn’t avoid life. In the scripture readings, Jesus is facing life head on and is paying the price for it. The Jesus we find in the garden of Gethsemane isn’t a Jesus we hear much about. This Jesus is distressed, agitated and deeply grieved. This is a very human Jesus in a very uncomfortable position.

A struggling Jesus, a human Jesus, a Jesus that teaches us to face life head on and not to avoid being uncomfortable.
I wanted the SALT team to have the freedom to choose an aspect from the story that spoke to them personally. The humanness of Jesus is where my layout came from, but you will see from the contributions that there are many aspects to the story and our layouts, cards and other creations reflect that. I hope you are inspired by the team’s creations and that if you decide to participate in the challenge that you will link back to us in the comments.
The SALT team wishes you all a very Happy and blessed Easter.

Pauline

Lythan
Hazel

Kim

Julie

Stacy

Penitence

2010-03-18T10:00:00.017Z

IN my tradition we follow the season of Lent - a time of reflection and preparation for Jesus death and resurrection. It lasts for 40 days (not including Sundays) to echo the time that Jesus spent in the desert preparing for his ministry. I have chosen one of the themes of Lent as our next challenge -

Penitence

Which I would put simply as "being aware of what we have done wrong and seeking God's forgiveness" or having a sense of regret for sin and wanting to make a sincere change. The focal reading for me is this one 1 John 1:8-9
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Which comes before the prayer of confession in some orders of worship. What does it mean to be aware of our wrong doing and of the forgiveness we receive through Jesus Christ? How can we sincerely make a change in our lives? There are many ways that the word and the reading may take you.

If you feel lead to create something based on this week's topic, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. We'd love to share in your creation. Here is how the design team explored the challenge.

Lythan

Hazel

Kim
Tanis

Julie

Ruth

Pauline

Stacy

Renew

2010-03-11T10:00:00.001Z

Renew-to make again; to start over again.

When Spring comes after a long 6 months of Winter in Alberta, Canada. I always feel rejuvinated, renewed and restored. So with Spring just over a week away renew has been a strong presence in my mind. So when i thought about my topic i feel lead to share this with you, Romans 12:2 states

“ And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

The message breaks it down for us like this

Place Your Life Before God
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Just as the spring rains renew the earth so my soul feels refreshed by him. Take an opprotunity to place your life before GOD..................

Keep Yourself from Idols - I John 5:21

2010-03-04T16:55:00.003Z

Hello all of our dear crafting friends! We're so thankful that you've taken the time to come visit the SALT blog and pray that this fortnight's challenge will not only be a blessing to you but encourage you to participate by creating a project based on this week's theme of Keep Yourself from Idols, taken from I John 5:21, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

The idea for this week's challenge came to me by way of a short blurb from my (Kim) church's bulletin, titled "Me, Worship Idols?" The paragraph in the bulletin was from a book by Ed Welch, The Journal of Biblical Counseling in a section that deals with addictions. (I want to note that although this section from Mr. Welch's book is dealing with addictions, my goal is to focus more on how we create idols of the heart that may not be as outwardly noticeable).

"One of the most common portrayals of the human condition, and one which captures both the in-control and out-of-control experiences of addictions, is the theme of idolatry. From this perspective, the true nature of all addictions is that we have chosen to go outside the boundaries of the kingdom of God and look for blessing in the land of idols. In turning to idols, we are saying that we desire something in creation more than we desire the Creator. This sounds like strange language to Western ears, but idolatry is perhaps the most dominant image in Scripture and it abounds in potential applications. Did you ever notice how many Biblical stories could be summarized with these questions? Who will you worship? The Creator or the created thing? God or man? The Divine King or worthless idols? The basic story line of the Old Testament is about people who find idolatry irresistible. Then God, ultimately through Jesus, comes to rescue His people out of their enslaving practices."

One of the things that struck me from this writing is that I too frequently struggle with idolizing my work, keeping a schedule, or something I deem, based on my actions, as more important than Christ. When I get very busy, I have a tendency to have a "just a minute" attitude towards God. Thinking, "I'll pray and read just as soon as I finish this thing" and of course more and more things come into my day but I too often fail to make time to spend with God. And isn't that a form of idolatry? It reminds me of the text in Matthew 26:16, "for what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his sown soul." At the end of the day, although God, through His providence, may bring many distractions into our lives, is anything as important as Christ?

The good, or should I say great news, is that Christ came into the world to break the power of sin, to enable us to do those things that we're unable to do on our own, if we would simply seek Him in repentance and faith.

If you feel lead to create something based on this week's topic, please leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery. We'd love to share in your creation!!

And before I leave, I wanted to mention that one of our dear design team members, Mona, has decided to step down. We have been delighted to have gotten to know Mona and to see all of her beautiful creations. We'll miss you Mona!!

Lastly, I wanted to thank our participants from our last challenge on prayer, Fiona and Martha. Thank you ladies for joining us!!

Kim

Hazel

Julie

Lythan

Tanis

Pauline

Ruth

Stacy

Obedience

2010-02-25T16:33:00.004Z

Apologies for the lateness of this post.

I have to confess I hadn't realised it was my turn to post until this afternoon, when it was past the deadline. Although I have been online, I haven't been checking in with the Salt girls as I ought to have. I need to overhaul my priorities. Praise God that he sends people to nudge us in the right direction.

As a family we have recently taken the step of moving back to the church we left 3 years ago. It is in our home town, and we believe God has a work for us to do there. In the weeks leading up to the transition, I have been very mindful of the Lord speaking to me gently but firmly of things that I have to lay aside in order to serve him effectively. As you can imagine, the reasons we left in the first place were not happy, so the idea of coming back to a place of hurt is not an easy one. However, the Lord can provide such healing when we seek his will, and on hearing his voice, obey. I am reminded of a chorus we sang as children.

O B E D I E N C E
Obedience is the very best way,
to show that we believe.
Doing exactly as the Lord commands,
doing it joyfully (woopee)
Action is the key, do it immeadiately, and joy you will receive.

We obey because he first loved us, and in obeying we find peace and joy in the perfect will of God, what a great place to be!

Continue in Prayer

2010-02-18T01:44:00.003Z

My topic today is taken from Colossians 4:2 "Continue in prayer." I have been thinking a lot lately about prayer and it's importance in the life of God's children. As a busy wife and mother it's often difficult to find time for a meaningful conversation with anyone!! And yet, prayer is most important especially when we are busy! I remember hearing this quote from John Wesley, "I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it." When I read the morning reading from January 2 out of Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon which used this verse as it's text I was convicted to be more prayful this year. Here is an excerpt of that reading:

It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;" and just as we are about to close the volume, the "Amen" of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob—there a Daniel who prayed three times a day—and a David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands, and myriads of promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. . . .If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father's face, and live in thy Father's love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of His love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto for this year must be, "Continue in prayer."

We'd love to see what you create using this inspiration - please leave us a link to your project. Thank you for joining us today.

Julie

Hazel

Pauline

Kim

Lythan

Love is in the Air

2010-02-11T10:00:00.005Z

Even in our local supermarket you can’t escape the signs that it is nearly St Valentine’s Day. The cuddly toys, cut-price boxes of chocolates and large displays of cards to choose from to help us show our love to partners, potential partners, friends, parents and perhaps even our teachers (there is a wide choice of cards to peruse!!)

Historians trace the origin of St Valentine’s Day to the Roman Empire, although a young priest called Valentine gave the day its name and clearer meaning. There are various legends about Valentine himself (I’ll leave the very interested among you to your own research!) but many believe the 14^th February to be an opportunity to celebrate love, and not just romantic love (remember those teacher cards I mentioned earlier?)

The Bible is full of passages talking about love – our love for God, God’s love for us and love that we have for one another. I’ve been reflecting on some of these passages recently because of a situation a friend has found herself in and I have to be honest and say that some of the seemingly ‘simple’ passages present us with some of the greatest challenges.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'^a]"> This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' Matthew 22:37-39

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . .And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Excerpts from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13

God’s love transcends all of our human definitions of love to the point that we perhaps cannot fully understand it. For me, the crucial thing is that God’s love is unconditional. It does not depend on feelings or emotions. He doesn’t change the love He has for us based on how we make Him feel or how ‘loveable’ we are. He loves us, created us to be in a relationship with Him, and sacrificed His only Son to restore that relationship. Even though we may struggle to comprehend it because of the limitations of language or understanding, the fact is that God is Love and as Christians we can rejoice in that fact, not just on one day, but 365.

The Beatitudes

2010-02-04T10:00:00.018Z

Sadly, we say goodbye to Esther from our design team. Esther says, 'Having taken on more responsibilities since my son has started school, I don’t find myself at my craft table as much, let alone blogging. I think it is wise that I step down.' She goes on to say, 'I hope Salt continues to go on from strength to strength and it will continue to be used for the glory of God.' We already miss Esther, who was one of the founder members of the Salt team - she has encouraged and blessed us, not only with her gorgeous crafting, but with her care for our team and in sharing her spiritual journey with us. Thank you, Esther, for your love and friendship.

The Beatitudes

For this fortnight's, challenge I (Hazel) thought it would be good to look at the Beatitudes:

Matthew 5
1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. Sadly, sometimes they are mistakenly seen as a blueprint for how we are to be saved, something for us to strive to attain – but rather, as Spurgeon said, they are ‘the marks and evidences of a work of grace in the soul.’ It is only possible to truly possess the qualities Jesus commends if we experience the salvation He offers. They are the characteristics that should be evident in every Christian.

As Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said: ‘Happiness is the great question confronting mankind. The whole world is longing for happiness and it is tragic to observe the ways in which people are seeking it.’ In the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is saying that if you really want to be happy, to be blessed, then here is the way.

The characteristics identified in the Beatitudes are not ones that come naturally to us, but are produced by grace and the work of the Holy Spirit.

I hope that you enjoy seeing the crafting response of the team - please visit their individual blogs to read what they have to say.

Our challenge: It would be lovely if you could join with us in creating something that is your response to these sayings of Jesus - or perhaps concentrate on just one of them. We would love to see any crafting that is prompted by these words of Jesus - please leave us a comment with a link to where we can come and see your creation.

Thank you to those who follow us, leave us comments and join in our challenges - we hope and pray that you are blessed by our little corner of the internet - combining our two passions of faith in Christ and crafting.

Hazel

Pauline

Stacy

Kim (to read journaling, click on photo to enlarge)

Lythan

Ruth

* * * * * * * * * *

News from our friends at Scrapbook News and Review magazine:

They are pleased to announce that they're adding a new monthly feature to their online publication - Faith Full Cards - and they're looking for submissions! The focus for these projects is 'faith-based' and they should showcase Bible verses, inspirational quotes and/or images.

Please follow these instructions for submissions:
*All projects must include a complete supply list and contact info.
*All images should be named with the contributor's name, and project title. Example: Mary Smith_Valentine's Greeting.jpg
*Image should be no larger than 550 pixels on longest edge.
*Please email submissions to ahouse@scrapbooknewsandreview.com by the 1st of every month.

WAAAAAAAAY LATE!!!!!

2010-01-29T00:21:00.005Z

I(Mona) apologize that this is MANY hours late! With everything that has been going on in my life this past week, God really spoke to me today with this verse:

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. (Ps.94:19)

It always amazes me how God speaks to me where I am and knows exactly what I need to hear when I need to hear it. My husband and I have been hit with "bad luck" from all sides and I was at the end of my rope and felt that nothing else could go wrong. But then God reminded me that he can fill me and He is my strength when I have nothing left to go on. I felt I had no hope, no joy, only melancholy, but then I remembered my Creator, my Jehovah -Rophe (The Lord who Heals) to give me strength to get through!

Between problems with school, hacking computers, lost money, thousands of dollars in bills in the course of a week, and lost friends, my heart is broken. But God is my healer, he will take care of me when I no longer can. Thank you Father!

Daily

2010-01-21T10:00:00.043Z

Happy Thursday! This is Tanis with today's challenge topic.

Before I start, I just want to say THANKS for stopping by and I hope that if you decide to study and record your learning, that you'll link your project up here!!

I was going through some old sermon notes and found one that I knew I needed to spend some time looking at again - here's a few points and Scriptures that jumped out at me. I know this is a challenge for me - busy schedules and kids running this way and that can be draining on your time with God. So it's good to rethink about DAILY spending time with God!

Being a DAILY Christian

1. Remembering God DAILY, because He is a daily God.
Psalm 68:19
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!For each day he carries us in his arms.

2. Know that you are DAILY accepted and DAILY forgiven if you are DAILY returning to God for forgiveness.
1 John 1:9
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

3. DAILY trusting Him with our problems and concerns.
1 Peter 5:7
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Isaiah 33:2
But Lord, be merciful to us,for we have waited for you.Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble.

4. DAILY talking to Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

5. DAILY claiming his promises.
Lamentations 3:20-25
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”

6. DAILY praising Him in all circumstances.
Psalm 42:8
But each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me,and through each night I sing his songs,praying to God who gives me life.

Psalm 96:2
Sing to the Lord; praise his name.Each day proclaim the good news that he saves.

Lythan

Stacy

Pauline

Tanis

Julie

Ruth

Hazel

Kim

Happy New Day!

2010-01-14T10:00:00.005Z

How are you doing with your New Year's Resolutions?

Still on the diet? Going to the gym? Decluttering? (that is mine and the answer is "kinda"). My husband is learning poems and he is doing really well so far - I am proud of him!

But they are not that easy to stick to are they? These promises that we make to live our lives differently.

What helps me is knowing that God's time is not the same as my time

These helpful words are from Ecclesiastes 3

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God

I think it says that sometimes we have to let God be God and go with the flow and try to respond to his time and not be in a hurry to make it our time. What it also means is that the opportunity to change our lives and turn around and take the steps we need to get closer to God don't happen only once a year. Because what do New Year's Resolutions do? Sometimes they just set us up to fail, to feel bad, to be less inclined to even try next time.

The good news for us, the great news is that thanks to Jesus death and resurrection for us, every time we come to him saying sorry, every time we share the ways we know we have fallen from grace, he picks us up and hugs us and says "I forgive you.

I love the way that it is expressed in the song by Amy Grant - Brand New Start

When I think of all the things he's doing for me,

It makes me stand in wonder at what he's making me to be

Trying to walk through straight but getting turned around

Always asking the Master to take a back seat and wait around

But I praise the Lord for giving me a brand new start each day

And I praise his blessed name for guiding me all along the way

If he didn't I wouldn't even try

I'm going to try and declutter still and I will encourage Phil in his poem learning, but most of all I am going to try and be the person God made me to be, to trust in him and when I need it, to receive a fresh start once again

Faith Hope Love

2010-01-07T10:00:00.014Z

1 Corinthians 13

Love

¹If I speak in the tongues^a]">[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b]">[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.
⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

When i read these verses i think of motherhood ,marriage and life in general, but i was recently reminded more of motherhood. Biologically she is not my child but i care about her very much. She came to live with us not to long ago and she is leaving us very soon. She made some bad choices over Christmas and i am asking you to keep her in prayer our korean student..

p.s. i never got my project done i will post it later

Stacy

Kim

Hazel

Julie

Tanis

Ruth

Lythan

Mona

Pauline

If any man thirst...

2009-12-31T02:55:00.003Z

I thought it fitting that on this last day of 2009 that I share a reading from Spurgeon's "Morning and Evening" from the December 31st morning section, where Spurgeon quotes John 7:37, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink." And here are Spurgeon's most excellent comments on this verse:

Patience has her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast He pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year He pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of His Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!

Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus "cried", which implies not only the loudness of His voice, but the tenderness of His tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, as through God did beseech you by us. What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo His children to His bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come.

Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul's thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it.

Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.

Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's last day!

No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the clear Redeemer's loving voice as He cries to each of us,

"If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink."

Jesus Joy!

2009-12-24T09:33:00.007Z

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

We often sing these words at this time of year, I would like to take time to reflect on what this actually means. And how the reality of the joy of knowing Jesus can dramatically change the direction of your life.

It's my turn (Ruth) to set the theme this week, we're slowly getting back into a routine after the birth of our daughter Mae.

I have recently been introduced to the Christian speaker Louie Giglio. If you search for him on Youtube you will find clips. One of his talks is headed Indescribable, he goes into great detail about the Universe, our Galaxy and the size of the stars. They are inspirational messages, that have made me appreciate how great and awesome God is, indeed how indescribable he is. It has reminded me of the humility of Jesus - God's son, in taking on humanity - being human.

The even more amazing thing is, he take on 'being human' for a holiday, or for the 'experience' - he did it for a purpose. He had to become human in order to pay for the punishment we deserve for the things we do that we shouldn't, and the things we don't do that we should.

Although Christmas isn't a day we are told to celebrate in the Bible, it is a time where we as Christians can stop and ponder and be thankful to God that he came in flesh all those years ago. A time to be truly JOYFUL for JESUS.

Have a blessed and peaceful Christmas, from everyone on the Salt team.

Hazel

Stacy

Pauline

Kim

Julie

Ruth

Lythan

2009-12-17T07:12:00.001Z

"For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you." Psalm 86:5

Recently my husband and I have learned that some very dear friends of ours are going through deep waters. This situation has been a total surprise to us and something that we have found ourselves completely burdened about. It seems that there is nothing we can really do other than to show our love and support through prayer. I found myself thinking about this a lot today. Sometimes we tend to look at a situation and think it is hopeless or too far gone but thankfully that is not the mesage of the Bible! As the verse above tells us, God is "ready to forgive". There is no statute of limitations on forgiveness, the only requirement is true repentance. And unlike us frail humans, when God forgives, He forgives completely, not holding our sins over us. I am praying for an opportunity to share this with our friends and praying for God's mercy toward their family but what a good reminder for us all!

God with us

2009-12-10T10:00:00.014Z

In Isaiah we read the prophecy “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14), then in Matthew’s gospel, we read of the fulfilment of this prophecy with the birth of Jesus. Immanuel means 'God with us' and it’s this meaning that I wanted to focus on this week.

Life in our house (and no doubt everyone else's house too!) is always busy in the run up to Christmas and with this being the first year I’ve been working full time since having our eldest daughter, I’ve found it difficult to adjust to the changes, and I’ve felt less ‘festive’ than I normally do. Bryan (DH) is in the midst of preparations for Christmas services and activities and the girls are busy learning their lines for the nativity plays at school and church. Yet at the school I teach at we haven’t really started thinking about Christmas because the focus has been on prelim exams for the senior pupils. It’s only really this week that the staff have started to realise that Christmas isn’t too far away! It’s for these reasons that I’ve been reading the Christmas story and taking time to reflect on it.

There’s a lot of conflict happening around the world in big and small ways. I’m thinking not just of conflict in terms of war but also in terms of the number of redundancies, financial difficulties etc that people are experiencing. People are hurting for many different reasons and many are fearful of what may happen next. The inspiring message of Christmas is that we are told, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2) God understands our fears but doesn’t want us to be controlled by them. The prophecy of Isaiah meant that Jesus birth was not unexpected. God became human just as He had promised. God became completely accessible to all of us.

I feel so privileged to know that Jesus’ birth was promised many years before it happened and that when he was born the prophecy was fulfilled. God is faithful and will keep His promises.

Pauline

Hazel

Kim

Stacy

Lythan

Mona

Julie

Thoughts for advent

2009-12-03T10:00:00.004Z

One of my favourite passages to ponder on at this time of year, at the beginning of the advent season, when thoughts turn towards Christmas and the coming of Christ as a baby born among us, is John chapter 1.

Matthew and Luke give an account of the foretelling of the birth of Christ and the actual event, including those who went to visit the infant Jesus.

John doesn't give any account of the Christmas story, but he paints a far deeper picture of the incarnation when in verse 14 of chapter 1 he says: ' The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.'

What a staggering truth to ponder that the Word became flesh and lived among us. Indeed, that Word was there at the beginning of Creation - v.3: ' Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.'

May I suggest that at the beginning of this precious advent time that we reflect again upon John chapter 1, particularly the first 18 verses.

As we think towards Christmas and listen again to the nativity account, let's remember that 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.' (John 1:1)

Christmas didn't start with the birth of the baby Jesus at Bethlehem, it started in the heart of God way back in the beginning of time - God's redemption plan for fallen mankind.

Giving Thanks - Colossians 3:17

2009-11-26T10:00:00.001Z

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

On November 11, Remembrance Day in Canada, this verse was in my devotions and it really spoke to me. Having grandparents who were in the war and having lost a cousin in Afghanistan it really spoke to me - especially as a Mennonite woman who believes in pacifism. Then I thought about it and realized that NO MATTER where we are in our lives nothing is more important than what we do FOR OUR FATHER; nothing else matters. There is nothing more important in my life than knowing that everything I say and do needs to be for the praise and honor of my Lord. I am thankful to my Father every day for the life he has given me and I want everyone to know that all I do is to HIS glory. That is what my life is for - Thank You Father!

Kim

Hazel

Lythan

SNR Blog Hop Winner

2009-11-17T15:29:00.004Z

We have a winner!!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the SALT blog and left such lovely comments! We were thrilled to have you and hope that you not only enjoyed everyone's artwork but that you'll be back to visit and participate in our upcoming challenges!! And now...

to announce the winner of our bag of stamping goodies....

Grace who left us this comment, "Oh wow... how wonderful! LOVE the friend one!! I'm so glad to meet you my sister in Christ! This hop as been a pleasure to hop along as well as an honor to participate in! God bless!"

Congraulations Grace! Please contact me at ksdm@comcast.net with your full contact info and I'll get a goodie bag out in the mail to you asap!!

SNR "Thankful for Friends" Blog Hop

2009-11-13T14:45:00.017Z

Welcome to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine's A Faith Perspective Thankful for Friends Faith Blog Hop! Today, we're out in force on the internet -- showing our faith and giving the glory to God. United, we stand as Christian paper crafters and blog owners to make a presence on the internet for all to see. We're celebrating the theme of friends and we're happy to share our projects with you based on the verse:

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. " Ecc4:9-10a

If you're just joining in on the fun, you can find the start of the train at A Faith Perspective.

The blog hop is being supported by wonderful and generous co-sponsors: Layers of Color Stamps, Gina K Designs Stamps and Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps. Together with Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, these companies have donated some wonderful prizes for today’s blog hop.
Prizes? Oh, yeah! There will be three lucky grand prize winners for today’s event.

To enter, simply hop to the blogs of all of the participating staff members (this blog is not part of the staff, however, Kim from Paperie Petals is so visit her blog to enter the contest!!) of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine, take note of the staff member’s name, and leave a comment on their posts. Then send us an email at games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com listing each of the staff members who participated in today’s hop. It’s that easy.

All entries must be received by Monday, November 16, 2009 at 12 noon, EST and three winners will be randomly chosen to win.

What are the prizes?
-One $100 gift certificate from Layers of Color Stamps AND a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.
-One basket of goodies -- four stamp sets from Gina K Designs and a 6 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.
-One set of digital stamps from Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps and a 3 month subscription to Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.
In addition, every participating staff member of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine will offer a free one-month subscription to the magazine to one of their lucky visitors by simply leaving a comment on their blog.

That's a lot of chances to win, so let’s get to the Hop and enjoy our DT's artwork!! Leave a comment here by Monday, November 16, and the SALT team will select a winner to receive a goodie bag of stamping supplies!

The next stop on this blog hop is: Scrap of Faith

Kim Hazel

Stacy

Pauline

Psalm 46: Be still

2009-11-12T10:00:00.003Z

When I really need help I often go to the Psalms as they help me to express my feelings so well. For various reasons the last few weeks have been tough and the phrase that came to mind was from Psalm 46 "Be still and know that I am God". When I looked at the Psalm I noted some other really helpful verses

1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

or from the Message
God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.

and also
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

I need to know that I am not on my own in all of this - that I can rest in God and he will give me strength. I wish I could follow Desmond Tutu's advice “I am far too busy to pray for less than two hours a day” I certainly need this time to reflect and create and be still with God

Hazel
Kim

Tanis (I decided to go digital this week!)

Mona

Lythan

Stacy Esther

Serving for God's Glory - I Peter 4:10

2009-10-29T10:00:00.003Z

Congratulations, Ruth

I'm sure you would like to join us in congratulating Ruth on the birth of baby Mae Suan - you can see a gorgeous picture of Mae Suan here.

Serving for God's Glory

"As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another,

as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." -I Peter 4:10

I first have to once again marvel at the way that God works...I was amazed to read Stacy's comments on Romans 12:1 and how she related our need and call to serve others in the name of Christ. This has been my thought since challenging our design team with our theme "Serving for God's Glory", which was long before Stacy's post. :-)

In Peter's first epistle, he writes to encourage persecuted and discouraged Christians, exhorting them to stand fast in their faith. Thoughout the book he continually reminds them of the joys and glories of their eternal inheritance and instructs them about Christian behavior in the midst of suffering.

In verses 7-11, Peter turns to exhortation on how we are to treat others and reminds his readers to be "serious and watchful in their prayers" and to have "fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins." In verse 10 he pens our challenge verse, noted above and Matthew Henry, in his Bible commentary, draws these points from the text.

Whatever gifts we have received, we ought to look upon them as received for the use of one to another. We must not assume them to ourselves, nor hide them in a napkin, but do service with them "one to another" in the best manner we are able.
The talents we are entrusted with are our Lord's good, and must be employed as he directs.
He who has received plenty and ability from God ought to minister plentifully ,and according to his ability.
The nature of a Christian's work, which is high work and hard work, the goodness and kindness of the Master, and the excellency of the reward, all require that our endeavours should be serious and vigorous, and that whatever we are called to do for the honour of God and the good of others we should do with all our might.
In all the duties and services of life we should aim at the glory of God as our chief end.

As I considered this verse and how I can apply it to my life, I realized that I have too frequently failed to minister to the needs of others around me. I tend to be far too self-absorbed with my own life and struggles and don't stop to look for others in need. It's too easy for my focus to be only on my circumstances and not enough on Christ, the church, and my neighbor.

There are so many who are in desperate need, either of practical help, a word of encouragement, a listening ear, or genuine love and friendship and we (at least I) have a tendency to pass them by. May God be pleased, and may we be willing, to use us to minister to those around us... not so we can pat ourselves on the back or enjoy the good feelings that come from helping someone but so that God can be glorified as we faithfully use the special gifts He has given to us.

We'd love to see your artwork, created based on this week's theme. Just leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery and we'll come visit!

I also wanted to mention that the SALT team will be participating in the A Faith Perspective blog hop on November 14, 2009. The theme of the hop is "Thankful for Friends of Faith." Please stop by on the 14th for a list of participants and to see some lovely artwork created by the team!

Kim

Pauline

Lythan

Hazel

Tanis

romans 12:1

2009-10-22T06:54:00.002+01:00

romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

God demands sacrifice of His followers--but not bloody, physical sacrifice. Rather, he wants us to sacrifice our own selves to Him by committing to do His will in our lives. The worship God wants from us is to serve others in His name.

Followers of Christ continually undergo a process of transformation, by which the Holy Spirit shapes us more and more into the sort of person who is acceptable for service to God.

An offering or gift given to God to remove the guilt of sin. Throughout the Old Testament, God's people brought sacrifices to God.

Are you ready to die to your selfish ways to be worthy of God and what he has planned for you, you feeling lost.This past while has been an eye opener for me, the verses have been speaking to my heart.I have an urge that i have not had for awhile to help people and I am ready to offer myself as a living sacrifice to God. I have been sitting back i will admit. I have been angry with things. I thought i was right with God, when i was thinking of what to write today this is what came to me this is what has been on my mind since starting the journal of our journey. We as a family have been going through this process and i think some major changes are coming for us. I also think our team is going through growth, and not just in babies!!:) I have been taking verses and meditating , and memorizing . Praying ,listening to God and hoping for things to change. I believe all things happen for a reason, i believe God was slowing me down when i had this break happen. To take a breath to realize where i should be and what i should be doing. This blog has been inspiration to me. It has opened my thoughts and brought forth issues i needed to deal with. I hope and pray in does for you as well.............i am encouraging you to take romans 12:1 and meditate on it this week

Confidence in God

2009-10-15T10:00:00.012+01:00

Congratulations, Julie

Before I get on to the topic of this challenge, I'm sure you would like to join us in congratulating Julie on the birth of baby Owen Bryce, her fifth child - you can see Owen's gorgeous picture here. And another of our team, Ruth, is in the late stages of pregnancy, so our Salt families are extending!

Confidence in God

It is my (Hazel's) turn to choose the topic for today's challenge. I've been thinking that over the last few years there have been many changes in the way we live, in society in general, some for our better and some not so. Perhaps too, like us, you've had changes in your personal circumstances - deteriorating health, financial problems, family stresses and strains, some of which we ourselves contribute towards, but some that we have very little say in or control over. It would be all too easy to get sucked into the feeling that we can't trust anything or anyone as being permanent. Thankfully, we have a constant God who is there whatever the circumstances, whatever our feelings - we can trust Him completely and utterly.

As Pauline said in her reflection on the changing seasons last week: It can often be difficult to understand why things happen, but as Christians we can be confident that God is involved in the world.

Many scriptures come to mind that affirm our confidence in God, for instance: Numbers 23:19, Joshua 1:9, Jeremiah 32:27, Philippians 4:13, Psalm 16, 1 John 5:14-15, but one particular verse that was passed on to me recently is of great reassurance:

'The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever leans on, trusts in and puts his confidence in the Lord is safe and set on high.' Proverbs 29:25.

It is our hope and prayer that you, with us, will deepen your trust in God, acknowledging that it is through Christ that we can be forgiven and put into a right relationship with God if we ask Him to take control of our lives and allow Him to lead and guide us.

I hope that you enjoy seeing the crafting response of the team - please visit their individual blogs to read what they have to say. It would be lovely if you felt able to join in with a creative response to this challenge - please leave us a comment with a link to your creation so that we can come and have a look.

Thank you to those who follow us, leave us comments and join in our challenges - we hope and pray that you are blessed by our little corner of the internet - combining our two passions of faith in Christ and crafting.

Hazel

Stacy

Kim

Lythan

Pauline

The Changing Seasons

2009-10-08T10:00:00.003+01:00

"There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

I've been reflecting on the seasons recently for several reasons. The main reason being that in Scotland we've been very suddenly confronted by the changing seasons - leaves are plummeting in great numbers from the trees, the wind has been much stronger and the temperature has dropped so I have finally set the central heating timer! We've also been celebrating Harvest Thanksgiving in church and thinking about world issues of food distribution as well as local issues. Living in rural Scotland in a farming community we still have a sense of the traditional harvest - we have the combines in the fields, livestock are being moved around and every Monday we see the farm vehicles transporting animals to market.

The passage from Ecclesiastes is one I often turn to when there are very visible signs of the changing seasons. I love the symbolism in it and the way in which it paints a picture of how God sees everything that is happening in the world. While people may question God's involvement in what we see on the news, we can be confident that God is involved in world affairs and that he cares about his creation. It can often be difficult to understand why things happen but as Christians we can be confident that God is involved in the world and is calling us to follow Jesus' example to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-16).

I hope that as the seasons change around the world that you will trust in God and know that He has given us all gifts to use for His purpose. We cannot see the whole picture in the way God can but we can be confident of His love for us.

Pauline

Growth

2009-10-01T17:32:00.002+01:00

'Growth'...

an essential part in living! Where would we be without growth?
Growth and development come hand in hand, and usually developing means learning.
Just as babies and children learn, so also as Christians we need to feed on God's word and GROW!
we should crave spiritual milk 'Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation 1Peter 2:2'

In case you think this is a repeat, or some sort of coincidence- well it's not! I hadn't even seen Mona's post that she had put up about Growth. God obviously put it on our hearts, and must be something that someone out there needs to hear!

So I pray it will be a blessing!

As you meditate on this word may God challenge you through our work at SALT.
Please do share with us how you have interpreted this week's theme.

Thanks. Yours in Christ, Esther.

Esther Lythan
Kim

Mona

Tanis

Hazel

Pauline

Stacy

Meditating on Growth

2009-09-24T10:00:00.002+01:00

2 Peter 3:18 - Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

For the last few months I(Mona) have felt a little disconnected when it comes to my relationship with God. Life gets so busy - work, kids, scrapping and all the other little things, that sometimes God gets forgotten as my Bible collects dust and some days I only touch it when I move it from one place to another.
I was at the bookstore a few weeks back and the enormous number of books on spirituality and finding "true" spirituality was mind boggling. We are so busy looking for spirituality and that "feeling" of God that we forget that we can just ask for it. It's amazing what happens when you do. When I asked God to "show me" His grace and His presence, I saw him everywhere. In big and little ways God showed me that he is actively a part of my life and taking care of me in everything I say and do. He also showed me that my part is to "dwell" in Him and His word so that I will grow more in His likeness. God is faithful - He will never let us down!

Finally, as a team, we need to say goodbye to a few of our team members. Gina, Nikki and Melita are leaving the SALT team. They have been wonderful contributors and we are sad to see them go. God bless you all as you move on to other adventures in your lives. Hope you'll pop in and join some of the challenges sometime. We'll miss you!

Listening to God

2009-09-17T10:00:00.061+01:00

It's usually pretty easy to talk. But how good are we at listening?
We're busy. We live in a busy world. We have lots of commitments. We're pressed for time.

But when it comes to listening to God, we have to make time. Quiet time. And that is hard.

As I looked into my choice of topic over the past week, I found some good words and insights, both from devotionals and from the Bible.
I pray that these will help you as you study the topic this week and create what you've learned.

Here's a few words from a devotional I was reading at delveintojesus.com.

The voice of God whispers directly into our heart and soul, guiding us, counseling us and comforting us. But are we listening, or are we too busy talking? God will not scream at us to pay attention, so if we are too preoccupied with our own thoughts, His gentle voice will be drowned out.

Our prayer time must consist of listening as well as speaking. We need to attentively reach for that small voice and eagerly let it guide us. In quiet prayer, ask God to reveal His will and then listen patiently for His response. The more often you do this, the easier it will become.

And from the Bible, in 1 Kings 19:11-13, Elijah is brought face to face with God. He recognizes His voice, not as a something loud and strong, but as a "gentle whisper". We need to know Him, like Elijah did, in order to recognize His voice speaking to us.

One more verse I wrote down as a good reminder was Psalm 27:14...

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

I am still reading and studying this topic...I'm really looking forward to hearing about what you've learned as you study too.

Some key words as you look for verses about listening: LISTEN, HEAR, WAIT, VOICE, SPEAK, WHISPER.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Tanis

Pauline

Hazel

Julie

Lythan

Stacy

Meet the design team - Lythan Nevard

2009-09-10T10:00:00.000+01:00

And now for the final installment of "Meet the design team". I'm Lythan, I am now in my mid 40's and I share my life with my husband Phil, three teenage children and 5 animals. The 5 animals are a bit of a shock as I am not really an animal lover. But I love my family and some of them are! I am Welsh by birth but don't sound it as I have lived all over the UK and pick up bits of accent from wherever I am. That is currently in the suburbs on the edge of London. I live on the doorstep of countryside but am only 20 minutes by train from the Tower of London. 10 years on and I still think that is cool.

Phil and I have both been Ministers for 17 years now. We work in 4 United Reformed Churches in the London Borough of Havering. As God would have it, both our fathers were Ministers in the URC too. (And both had grandfathers who were coal miners as well. That has nothing to do with faith, it is just a cool coincidence). We were both blessed to be brought up in families of faith where Christian love was not just preached but practiced, and we try to do that too. Although I sometimes think Jesus would say "enough practicing, time to grow up and get serious"

There have been times when I have been jealous of those who have a date of conversion. Until I woke up and thought "hang on, I am the one who has been given the gift of always knowing she was loved by God" and realised how special that is. I also noted that it is like falling in love - for some it is a "ping" moment and for some a gradual realisation - each equally valid and special. I have to be honest and say that at times in my youth I wore my faith loosely. It was helped along by the URC youth movement (ie a place for meeting boys) which played a big part in my teenage years. At University I tried to keep my faith quiet. Then in my third year I realised that everyone knew I was a Christian anyway and they still liked me and thought I was normal. God taught me a BIG lesson there. I don't know what gave me away as I did my best to hid it (sorry Lord) but I suppose his love just kep busting through somehow!

During that time I was already struggling with a call to Ministry which I recieved during a service of worship when I was 17. (hint: when you hear the reading from Isaiah 6 when God says "Who will go?" and Isaiah responds "here I am send me", saying in your heart "hear I am send me" might result in God leading you places you never expected!). By the end of University I realised that I was just making excuses about why I shouldn't say yes and it was a big relief when I did.

I'm still unsure, 23 years later, what God sees in me. Perhaps it is a keen awareness that I am not perfect! God's love has stuck by me through highs and lows. Through times of seriously considering doing something else and times of depression when caring for myself, let alone others has been hard work. And I know he's not finished with me yet, however hard I test his patience! That is why Psalm 139 is so important to me - that wherever I go he is sticking by me. And probably why I love the gospels and letters to the Churches of the New testament too. Oh and all the people in the Old Testament while I am at it. There are so many people like me - who know what to do, but seem to find it hard to do it right; who know love but sometimes struggle to express it. And through it all radiates God's love, centred in the cross saying "I love you no matter what"
And so I keep trying, really trying to be the person God made me to be.

And Salt helps me with that. The challenges we are set help me think about my faith and how I express it. Sometimes it comes easily and sometimes I have to mull over a challenge for a while, but always I feel the Spirit move, guiding me in creation. And I see that in the work of my team mates too, which lifts me up so much. Its a real blessing in my life.