Meditating on Growth

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

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

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.

Guidance

Every now and then we all need a little Guidance from above. This week was my turn (Stacy) to share a challenge, I am going to share a little bit more of my testimony with you to present my challenge.

My sister and I are both Christians now but when we were little we attended a very different type of Church. A very family driven Church that was attended by many good people with very good intentions, but my sister and I never really felt as though we belonged . The church always helped us out, as my mom was a single parent, my dad was not around very much and we three kids were a major handful to care for and feed. The church would always drop food by or send extra clothes our way as we were living off social assistance most of the time. My mom was going to school to provide a better life for us. I always wanted a better life, a better set of clothes and to be cool. This mindset got me into to trouble and I was always pushing my mom. When I moved out at 15 I was going to have a better life, better clothes and more things. To be honest I felt lead out this situation with my mom I met a wonderful couple whom I adopted as my mentors /parents who led me to Christ .

This last year my husband lost his job, first ever that he can remember, in November and ever since I have been asking for Guidance from God. Asking "what do we do next?". It seems we have yet to reach the end of that journey and I will admit things have gotten harder. My husband's boss is looking like a crook and hubby is not happy, makes things very hard on a marriage and on family life.

I created a verse journal so I could remember verses that I want to hold on to including this one Psalm 25:5 says, 'Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long" and this one Isa 58:11, 'The lord will guide you always He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame, You will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fall."

Lets see what you create with this..................................................

Stacy

Hazel

Kim
Pauline

Ruth



Julie

Lythan

Meet the Design Team - Kim Schofield

Hi! Welcome to the SALT blog and another installment of our "Meet the Design Team" series! :-) I've been blessed to have been with the SALT team since the beginning and pray that the bios we've been sharing, as well as our artwork and challenges, have been a blessing to you too!

As the title suggests, my name is Kim...I am first and foremost a stay-at-home-mom to two little boys (5 & 3) and have been married to my soul mate and best friend (we got "hitched" five months after we met) for almost 11 years. Our family resides in beautiful New England. I have also been tremendously blessed to be on a few design teams and am a writer for Scrapbook News & Review, in addition to running a small event management business from my home. (It's true...I don't sleep much...LOL!)

I was raised in a non-religious home; where my parents took me to church when I was very young but later avoided all mention of anything religious or Godly, divorced, and each moved on to new spouses. As a teenager my Mother was diagnosed with cancer and during the time she was receiving treatment, I spent a summer with my Aunt and Uncle, who were Christians. Over that summer they took me to church and presented me with the gospel. Within a few weeks I prayed what I would call the sinner's prayer and at that moment felt that I was indeed saved or born again.

After my Mother passed away, I began a downward spiral into a very worldly and sinful lifestyle. (Just a side note here: I do not blame any of my circumstances for how I lived, as some have tried to do in order to make me feel better, it was my rebellious choice.) I was able to soothe my guilty conscious, that would pop up from time to time, by telling myself, "once saved, always saved." This idea that we can live however we want, with no regard for how God commands us to live, is so prevalent today. However, the Bible clearly teaches that if you love Christ, you will keep His commandments (John 14:15) and that God's grace does not give us a license to sin (Romans 6).

Many years later, I moved in with my Grandmother, started attending church again and for a time maintained a moderately Godly lifestyle. However, I was in a church that rarely focused on the problem of sin or holy living. Like the Pharisees in the New Testament, they were more consumed with cleaning up the "outside of the cup and dish" (Matthew 23:25) but cared little for what was on the inside. Jesus taught that if even if you appear lily white on the outside but fail to obey or serve Christ that your "inside is full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:28)

Once in New England I gave up church attendance and wasn't even sure that I was a Christian...Looking back, it's quite possible that I was not. Thankfully, once married (my hubby had been working for Christians and had recently himself become a believer...imagine that!) we started attending church regularly at our now home church. The first few weeks there our Pastor did a number of messages on I John 1:8-9, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I believe for the first time in my life, I was not only hearing true, Biblical teaching but I was really broken over my sin. Not just a fear of going to hell, which I believe prompted me to pray that prayer so many years before, but a fear of facing a holy God, and answering for the way I lived. An absolute dreadful pit in my stomach would not go away until I prayed again, this time with a sincere confession of my sins and an earnest desire to serve Christ, no matter the cost.

I'm happy to report, praise God, that it's been a joyful 11 years! Not that there aren't struggles with remaining sin and the trials of every day life but there has ceased to be a struggle in my mind about the genuineness of my salvation. I trust that Christ has kept His promise to forgive my sins (through my ongoing confession of those sins) and that through ordinary means - it seems usually my children LOL! -, He is slowly cleansing me from unrighteousness (understanding that we will never attain any sort of sinlessness this side of heaven). I am truly grateful that we serve a long suffering God who is full of love, compassion, and grace. He has faithfully protected and guided me through many uncertain times in my life, and I praise Him for how He has chosen to work out my salvation. Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite verses, one we covered here just a few weeks ago, "For I know that all things work together for good, to them that are called according to His purpose."

May God be pleased to use my testimony of His goodness to be a witness and encouragement to those around me! God bless and thank you for hanging in there for my typical lengthy post! :-)

Purpose

Like so many words that Christians use, it holds a different meaning when you become a child of God. Often when I hear it used it may mean to be puposeful - to know where you are heading and aim for it, sometimes regardless of consequence. It is seen as a 'good' thing to have a 'dream' and persue it. Or it could be taken to mean that you have a purpose, your existance is meaningful. These interpretations are not in themselves wrong, but sometimes through our self driven motivations they can become tainted.

When someone becomes a believer in Jesus and what his life and death signifies on a deep personal and spiritual level, their PURPOSE changes. Our motivation becomes to live each day for the GLORY of God. To honour HIM in the way we live our lives. How does this happen? When a heart is changed by the Holy Spirit, we realise that often what we live for on a day to day level is how the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it - MEANINGLESS. BUT through the death of Christ our lives can have deep MEANING, FULLFILMENT and PURPOSE.

Recently a friend of mine has undergone serious heart surgery, many prayers have been lifted up for him, and so far the surgery seems to be successful. He has lived a varied life, striving to fulfill the purposes of God, and inspite of fearing the worst he was able to trust God for everything. It has been good to be reminded that we are mortals and one day will die for sure, however our eternal destination is based on wether our PURPOSE has changed in this life or not.
How does your faith make you think differently about your PURPOSE?

Ruth
Pauline
Hazel


Mona



Kim

Julie



Stacy

Meet the Design Team: Julie Masse

It's my turn to share a bit about myself but I really have no idea what to write! I live in Maine with my family which includes my husband, Jeff, our four children, Emma (7), Anna (5), Ethan (4) and Aaron (2). We will be adding #5 to our family in early October and are looking forward to meet this new blessing!

As for my "spiritual background" I was blessed to have been raised by Christian parents who made sure that my brother and I received Godly instruction, whether at home, at school or at church. I remember as a small child praying the prayer asking God to save me because of Jesus' wor on the cross but I believe that it wasn't until a bit later on that I actually was regenerated and changed by Holy Spirit of God. I am constantly amazed at God's grace and mercy extended to me! There is a hymn we sing often at church (in fact we just sang it last Sunday!), How Sweet and Awful Is the Place written by Isaac Watts. You really need to read the entire hymn, but two verses in particular always speak to me:

“Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there’s room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?”

’Twas the same love that spread the feast
That sweetly forced us in;
Else we had still refused to taste,
And perished in our sin.

The Christian life has not been easy (we are never told it will be!) nor have I passed many of the tests but I praise God for His long-suffering and faithfulness. That reminds me of another favorite hymn - Great Is They Faithfulness! When my oldest was born I used to sing that to her over and over and over and over. She got to know it quite well and always calmed down when I'd sing it to her. "All I have needed Thy hand hath provided . . ." how true that is!

I've been so blessed to be on this team! Sometimes I struggle with how to translate a topic in papercrafts but I always learn something and grow by studying the topic a bit more. Thank you to those who follow along with us - you encourage us every week by your visits and comments and I hope that our entire team is an encouragement as well!