Salty Two Cents of God-Flavors

Mm, I wanna be salty! I started out today reading 3 different posts about salt!  I thought I’d just leave my two cents, but then realized…my two cents really looked a bit too lengthy and sent me on some bunny trails all starting with this verse:

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.  But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor?  Can you make it salty again?  It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.”

—You are here to be salt seasoning that brings out the GOD-FLAVORS of this earth.

After doing some inquiries into salt here, I found quite a few ponderous nuggets to chew on:

• Salt was required in all the sacrifices (Lev. 2:13)
• If we don’t have salt in ourselves, how can we spread it out to others? (Mark 9:50) We need to be spending time with Him, loving Him, and letting Him fill our cup to overflowing so that everything comes from that and goes back to glorify Him.
• To eat salt with one is to partake of his hospitality, to derive subsistence from him; and hence he who did so was bound to look after his host’s interests (Ezra 4:14).
• The Arabic word for “salt” and for a “compact” or “treaty” is the same.
• Salt is emblematic of loyalty and friendship.
• I wonder also if the salt reference has to do with the gospel we present…are we presenting the gospel in its full “saltiness” or are we only throwing in a pinch because we are fearful or so watered down ourselves?

Lastly, I love the version of the verse in the video…Mmm, I wanna be salty, but even more I want to BRING out the GOD-FLAVORS of this earth. I want to ooze with joy and give the world a taste of this God that loves big…I want to bring out these God-flavors in others. To empower, equip, and enable all those around me to live the ABUNDANT life in Christ.

But, how can we do that if we’re not salty ourselves?

Are you salty? What are you doing to stay salty? Are you spreading your saltiness? What do you think God-flavors are? Thoughts?

A Ten Year Old Boy and a Rickety Dinosaur

“But once the issue has a name and a face, it changes everything, doesn’t it? God knows each of those names. God knows each of those faces. And it breaks His heart.” –Primal by Mark Batterson

I didn’t know what I was getting into that day.  The day that I still travel to with heaviness weighting down my heart.  The burden grips my soul.

I stepped out of the vehicle with a vague mission of “hanging out.”  The park felt separated. empty. I found a little girl playing near the slide.  Unlike most kids, she shied away from me. I didn’t force the conversation. We just were.

Then she led me toward the rickety dinosaur.  And it was there that I put a face to issue.

Before long, I found myself surrounded by a group of boys.  They chattered away with questions like “Do you know Chris Brown?” or “Do you have a boyfriend?” We talked about how some of them wanted to be police men while others were adamant about being doctors to help others and another wanted to be a teacher.  These kids saw what was wrecking havoc on their communities: crime, HIV/AIDS, a need for education.

Yet, what happened next slammed my heart to the wall.  The conversation blurs in my memory, but the faces stay.  The twisted look of this is just life here.  The shame. hurt. brokenness. I sat on a metal dinosaur piecing together the horrific reality of rape. of a ten. year. old. boy. sitting in front of me and that this wasn’t the first child or the last. Oh, no. The kids knew who did this. They knew that the police may put this person in jail, but before long he would be out again searching the park…for the next child.

I felt God’s heart break alongside mine. No longer could I hold onto a statistic or a number. I had a face. I had a name.  I had a hug.

Sure, I can swoop in and “save” the day, but that’s not the solution. No. I want to empower for change. These amazing kids’ dreams and hopes for a better future can become a reality.  This nation can change.

They see the problems and they see how they can bring about a transformed nation.  To bring abundant life.  And that. That gives me hope and passion to empower them. To say “I believe in you” and I want to love you, I want to equip and empower you so that you can do this with God by your side. Because when we are weak, He is strong.

Re-created My World

“I love you more than my clothes (dress, socks, shoes).  I love you as a teacher and as a friend.” -Sylvia

“To someone who thinks not only for herself but thinks for everyone.  And that person is you.  You have re-created my world and made me a believer.  My life is a more Holy and loving place than before.  You have been my pillow of strength throughout this course.  I appreciate you and I don’t know how life would’ve been possible without you.  You have taught me a lot and I hope you’re gonna keep on changing many other lives as you changed my life.” -Malefu

Loved the cards that I got from my LaunchPad students today.  They caused my heart to overflow with love and served as a reminder of how I want to live:

To let everyone know of the abundant life in Christ by living to glorify God through following Him, speaking words of life, and coming alive in order to do everything with love that overwhelms, empowers, and transforms.

Weighty

I stood at the doorway waiting to bring in the Jell-o for the game to see who could eat it the fastest through a straw.  My eyes watched the room from afar.  Looking at the wide range of emotions on the kids’ faces and seeing their reactions to counting stickers.  When I looked closer, I saw and felt hope.  These kids live at Hope House.  A House that can be filled with Hope.  An expectation of things to come, the potential for changed lives filled the room.

Suddenly, my attention turned to a cry from outside the room with commotion.  I turned to see what happened.  Katleho (above) sat on the floor crying.  I asked what had happened to find out that he had fallen forward with his head hitting the floor first.  A bump already popped out and a previous scar from another fall stood out.  My heart reached out with my hands as I tried to hold his hand.  The caretaker tried to drag him to his feet by grabbing his hand, but I went behind asking if I could carry him into the kitchen.  I picked him up, not noticing the wetness, and sat with him on the floor.  I asked the caretakers about Katleho’s seizures and if he was taking his medicine along with if he was up for adoption.

Desperately, I wanted to take him home with me along with all the other kids.  I wanted to hold them in my arms and give them the one-on-one attention they crave.  Yet, more than that, I wanted to show them that I believe in them.  I believe they can.  I don’t want to say, “I can do this for you.” I want to empower them and overwhelm them with love. To feel the weight of the glory of God and the weight of His love for them.

1 Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything”