Salt

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Part 1 - Salt

This is a very familiar passage of scripture found in Matthew 5, and I've been thinking about it a lot. It tells us - followers of Christ - that in relation to the world, we are salt and light. It says that's what we are, not what we can be...we are, present tense, indicative mood...a simple statement of fact.

Salt is both a preservative and a seasoning, but in the context here, it's clearly referring to it's taste, not it's ability to preserve. How many times have you eaten something and said, "It needs a little salt?" Whenever a dish is lacking in flavor, salt is almost always what it needs. It is added to cookies to enhance the sweetness, and it's added to vegetables to make them tolerable. I mean, really, you can manage to eat just about anything, if you can add a little salt.

The verse says, what good is salt if it loses it's flavor? It's good for nothing. Here's the thing: pure salt can't lose it's flavor. It's salt, so it's salty. It's a mineral, not a spice that comes from plants and whose flavor does fade over time. Salt can lose it's flavor, however, if it becomes contaminated with something.

If we are salt, then we need to be used as such. We keep our salt in a salt shaker. It's salty in there, alright, but useless until it's poured out, bringing flavor to whatever it touches. Until then it's just a shaker filled with potential. I feel that our churches are much the same. As long as we stay contained inside our buildings, doing the Jesus thing during designated hours of the week, we are potential flavor in a bottle, never poured out for the world.

I don't know if you've noticed, but the world can be a very tasteless, intolerable place. A little salt would go a long way. A smile, a little conversation, an extra tip for the waitress, some yard work for a single mom, a little elbow grease for an elderly person, clothing for someone in need, a judgment-free hot meal for the homeless, and I could go on and on. Salt.

You are salt. I am salt. If we aren't making a difference in the world, then I see at least two things that could be the problem: one, we just aren't carrying our faith outside the church building; two, we are contaminated.

We live in an environment full of contaminants. If we don't guard our hearts, that stuff gets in, watering down our flavor, and then we taste just like everything else. We blend in, no noticeable difference. Self-centeredness is probably the biggest contaminate, and shows up through materialism, fear, trying to fit in, even being "relevant" to the point that you are no different - you've just added Jesus, and maybe you're a little nicer. Well, I don't know about you, but if I am salting my green beans, I don't want to add more green bean flavor...I want something different. I want salt. Ask God to show you if there is anything contaminating your life - that's His job, not mine. I'm just encouraging you to think about it.

I know I have a long way to go, but this is what motivates me to reach people. He re-created me for this. You, too. We really can make a difference in the world we live in...wherever we find ourselves planted in it. This Saturday, July 16, is a great opportunity to love people in Auburn. If you live here and want to serve, meet us at Church of the Highlands at 8:00, and we will help you find a place to serve. I am praying that this becomes a lifestyle for us, as a church body.

Progress

**I realize this is a "lightweight" post. These are the kinds of projects I do when I am processing the bigger things in life.**

Progress is happening in the living room. The USB cable for the camera is missing, so I had to resort to Instagram to take a picture...which means things look even more monochromatic than they really are. One day maybe these walls will get painted, but for now I'm happy.

Again I wish there was a before picture, so you could fully appreciate the difference. It was so thrown together, haphazard and wires were showing everywhere.

The bookshelf is almost finished. There are two shelves that need painting, then it will be done. Somehow it always seems like there is some little detail of a project that is left undone. I won't leave it that way for long this time.

This was an old mirror that I got for free at a thrift store. I removed the glass, which looked terrible and turned it into a chalkboard, where I can write not-so-subliminal messages to my kids.

This is a napkin I found at World Market...I bought two of them. They will be a pillows. Eventually.

Next is to deal with the furniture. We have no less than four different fabrics happening in there. Serious visual clutter. I'm seriously considering an attempt at making my own slipcovers. Pray for me.

Tree Star Smoothies!

I don't know how your kids are, if you have any, or how you are (because you might be a picky eater, too), but mine won't touch anything of the green vegetable variety of food. Or any other color for that matter. So I found a great recipe for a healthy green spinach smoothie here.

I wasn't sure how it would go over, or if they (meaning Riley) would even try it, but they did and they loved it! And I decided that for our purposes, they would be called Tree Star Smoothies - my kids are hooked on the Land Before Time movies. They have no idea there is spinach in it, and I have issued a gag order for Dave and Caeley. They cannot know there is spinach in there until they are like 20.

So, the moral of this story is, if you or a child you know are picky and lacking balanced nutrition, then try this! One caveat, if you don't like bananas you might not dig it. Otherwise, give it a try!

THE END.

A Little Light Reading

I'm doing a little light reading this morning, from Ignatius' (he was a student of the apostle, John) letter to the Magnesians (I have no idea who they were, but I wonder if they invented Milk of...nah). If you're a follower of Christ and have never read the writings of the early church fathers, maybe you should consider doing so. I always thought of them as the fathers of the Roman Catholic Church, and since I am not catholic, I never considered reading them. But guess what...if they are RCC fathers, they are mine, too, since we all came from the same root.

Anyway, I was reading a few minutes ago and came across this:

Now it becomes you also not to treat your bishop too familiarly on account of his youth, but to yield him all reverence, having respect to the power of God the Father, as I have known even holy presbyters do, not judging rashly, from the manifest youthful appearance [of their bishop], but as being themselves prudent in God, submitting to him, or rather not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, the bishop of us all. It is therefore fitting that you should, after no hypocritical fashion, obey [your bishop], in honour of Him who has willed us [so to do], since he that does not so deceives not [by such conduct] the bishop that is visible, but seeks to mock Him that is invisible. And all such conduct has reference not to man, but to God, who knows all secrets.

It goes on to talk about Daniel, Solomon, Josiah, Timothy, etc, who were all young, but very wise and godly.

The bottom line is that if we argue with, complain against, our pastor (they said bishop), then it isn't him we do that with, but God Himself. He is the true authority and He tells us to respect our authority(ies) on the earth, and in so doing, we respect Him. And the warning here is in the context of a young pastor, because Ignatius, and Paul, knew that youth doesn't always get respect.

This strikes me today simply because we do have a young pastor, and I can see how it would be easy to treat him "too familiarly" and forget he is answerable to God for this body of believers, and that he is in charge. A good word for me this morning.

Need I Say More?

I've had this saying in my mind for a long time and have been wanting to put it up somewhere in the house. It needs some touching up, but whatever. Really, I think it needs no explanation. This sign is as much a reminder for me as it is for anything else. We have a home...with real people inside. And children...two preschoolers (well, technically, one preschooler and a kindergartener!)...a toddler...and a teenager. Oh, and two parents...one slightly messier than the other - but I won't say which one...pleading the 5th on that. All this adds up to mess. The bottom line is that I would rather enjoy myself, and them, than try to maintain perfection. Note to self: repeat that last statement often.

What if...

Well, hello!! I haven't blogged in a while - haven't had time. In fact, I'm wondering how I ever had time before. Not that I have a great track record, but I did have a pretty good run recently.

I don't even know where to begin. Should I try to play catch up? Or should I just begin at, say, today? Hmmmm...

I guess I'll start with a small update and then we'll see how much time I have left. Some of you may recall the post from November, where I wrote about the run-in I had at Walmart with the elderly woman who said this to me:

"I believe that whenever I do a kindness for someone, I increase His [insert, "God's"] glory."

I felt that it was significant at the time and the beginning of a shift in thinking for me. And it was. Following that I also read a book called, "Interrupted," by Jen Hatmaker (I recommend it) which furthered this shift. Over the years I have loved studying scripture, talking about it, learning new things related to it...but I discovered that I wasn't always living the things I knew in my head.

I lacked compassion...there was truth without grace. That was what changed...God awakened a place in my heart that was sleeping. The desire to be kind, defend the helpless and see justice done has always been there, just ignored due to my own insecurity and self-centeredness.

But I cannot ignore it anymore. There are images burned in my mind that I can't bear to even think about. For instance, the picture I saw of an African boy holding his sibling, a toddler. My 18-month old is what you might call, "juicy." Fat legs, fat behind...so cute. But this child was so emaciated that he had NO bottom at all. It was just totally flat. I've never seen anything like that before.

I've never seen a brothel in Thailand or India in person, but in my mind I see children hiding under their mother's beds while they "work." I watched an MSNBC special on human trafficking in Thailand, and the children being prostituted were as young as 5 years old. FIVE. And do you know that American men are some of their best clients? Absolutely wicked. There are people enslaved on our own soil, in the United States of America...Land of the Free. Oh, and we are also "The Home of the Brave." We need to act like it and stop allowing these things to go on.

Something I saw that seems a little less tragic, but that really sent me over the edge, was this. I was folding laundry one day and turned on the TV. Let me say I NEVER watch MTV, I despise it, but this one day I saw that "16 and Pregnant," was on. For whatever reason I decided to check it out...see what kind of garbage it was.

There was a 16 year old girl (duh! - from here on out known as Mama) that had just had a baby boy. The Baby Daddy visited at the hospital, gave Mama a kiss goodbye, and left. A week later Mama still hadn't seen Daddy come around. He hadn't called, checked on the baby...nothing. Meanwhile, Mama is whining and wanting to go out partying and doesn't understand why her mother won't take care of the baby. She's acting like this baby is in her way, she doesn't have time for this, she wants to have a life, yada, yada. So, she goes to a drunkfest and takes the baby with her.

That all happened in the first five minutes and by then I was so mad I couldn't take any more, and I was yelling at the TV. So I turned it off. They kept showing that baby's sweet little face, and all I could think of was 10 or 15 years down the road, when they play him the video of the time Mama was on MTV. Haha, funny...til he hears how in the way he was and how selfish Mama was.

I know, she's only 16, and immature, and honestly I wasn't the best parent when I had my first child at 22 years old. But, what I wanted to do, was contact MTV, find out where this girl lives, and ask her if I could please come get her baby and raise him myself. It broke my heart. I was actually surprised at how much.

It happened to be on the first Wednesday of the month and we have a worship service at our church that day. Well, I cried through the entire thing...not like a few tears dripping, but like that embarrassing ugly cry. I couldn't stop thinking of that baby boy...then I started thinking about that severely emaciated child, then all those children caught in the sex trade.

You might say I was a little overwhelmed. It's a bit much to think about. And I began to ask God why, and where are you? And I begged Him to somehow let them know He loves them. I guess I was thinking He might could sprinkle some love dust over them, I don't know. But what He said back changed me (if you're not sure that He speaks, just start listening...He does).

When I asked Him to let them know He loved them, He said this:

"That's what you are there for. You do it."

Talk about floodgates opening...oh my gosh, I have been missing it. While I have been in self-protect mode, people around me are seriously suffering and I have been looking the other way.

So, now what...go change the world? It is completely overwhelming to think about trying to change the world. And guess what - I can't change the whole world. But I can look for opportunities to change one person's world. Neighborhoods, cities and nations are changed one person at a time. There are people in need in so many ways. There are hurts of all kinds...some obvious, some hidden.

The question is, who can I help today? Who can you help today? What if we (the church) quit picking at each other for our differences, and acted like a body? Every cell of every part in motion, fulfilling it's purpose...whatever it is. Hands, feet, eyes, mouth, ears...what if?

For My Fan

It's been a while since my last post and since my fan is clamoring for a blog update, here's what has been happening at the Pittman house:

1. The usual - Life has been busy, especially as Christopher has become super mobile. I cannot turn my back for a minute, with all the things he and Corban get into. Christopher is constantly looking for something to eat. No matter what else he is doing, he stops every few minutes or so to check out the kitchen table. It's hilarious to watch, and if there is something on the table, he begins circling to find a way to get to it. Before long he'll be able to reach the middle of the table so nothing will be safe.

BUT, I much prefer him eating food from the table to the things he was eating. In a given day I would find him chewing on the bulb in his night light (only Jesus could have kept it from shattering), gnawing on the decorative coals in the fireplace, and trying to eat anything else small enough to fit in his mouth, including ping pong balls.

Corban's current obsessions are the following: toothpaste, lotion, hand soap, bath soap, running the sink water, flooding the bathroom, markers, the key to the deadbolt, and mints from church. He spends the better part of each day concerned about where the key is and scouring my bedroom/bathroom for stray mints. He's learned to lock and unlock the door, so he will lock himself in to buy time to search for candy, while I am fiddling with the lock to get the door open. So far, no amount of disciplinary action has helped. What is in those little white mints??

2. Pest control -

The kids and I were outside - they were playing and I was getting some flower pots ready for planting. Christopher and I were under the deck and when I turned over my big urn, lo and behold there was a little snake...a now coiled up little snake. Baby C was only about a foot and a half away from it, and I freaked out. I dropped the urn back over it and snatched Baby up.

There was no way I could let my kids play outside knowing that thing was out there, so I had no choice but to exterminate it. I went inside and put on some jeans and my black and white polka dotted rain boots, now snake boots, and determined to kill it. I got out a shovel and a pick axe thing, and flipped over the urn, hopping up and down all the while. It was hiding inside the lip of the pot so I had to force it out. I so hope the neighbors were not outside...certainly they weren't because if they were, I feel sure someone would have checked on me. I was making so much noise trying to work up the nerve to kill it - squawking and squealing - I'm surprised it didn't have a heart attack.

Anyway, three different shovels later, I had chopped its head off. It was awful! According to Bear Grylls on Man vs Wild, you are supposed to bury their heads, but that wasn't going to cut it. So we flushed it. Move over Proverbs 31 woman...I didn't see snake wrangling on her list ;)

And I wish I could show you the video clip, or the cute pictures of Christopher on table patrol, but they are on my iPad and I can't figure out how to move the files to the computer. Which means I will have to read some instructions...blech...and then after wasting a considerable amount of time on it, I'll probably discover that it's impossible. As a side note, the camera on iPad2 is not fabulous. I guess that leaves them something to upgrade for iPad3. Thank you Steve.

There's more to say, with more depth and importance, but my energy for today is zapped...so nite nite. I hope my fan is appeased by this morsel of an update.