Salt...and Sinuses

So sorry for my prolonged absence. I noticed last Tuesday that the chili I'd fixed was not pleasing to my palatte. So I added some salt. Upon re-tasting, I still couldn't quite enjoy it without adding another dusting of the white stuff. And another. I should have known something was up...

On Wednesday, I headed to the doctor with what turned out to be the "head" infection of a lifetime. One ear has fluid, the other is angrily infected, and the sinuses are infected as well. Had I not been so self-absorbed with the move to working/staying at home, I'd have known something was coming. When I'm getting sick, I can't taste salt. It took years for me to add two and two but I kept noticing that when I'd layer on the salt for lack of flavor, something dreadful was coming down the pike.

That got me to thinking, so I googled "what does salt do?"

This is one of the first sites I was drawn to. Here's the quote on their home page:

"Over the course of human history, salt has added much more than flavor. Its ability to preserve foods and sustain civilizations through cold winters has sent countries on desperate searches to find it, control it, tax it, and trade it. In some parts of the world, salt was minted into coins as valuable as gold and soldiers were paid in salt (hence the terms 'salary' and 'worth his salt'). Today, salt is far more common that it used to be, but not every type is the same."

- Weber Grill-Out Times, Fall 2002

Soon I got to pondering the spiritual concept of being salt. After all, this is an illustration used by Christ Himself. In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus tells his disciples, "You are the salt of the earth" From here we read this:

"Salt is necessary for flavor. Without Christians and the gospel they proclaim and practice, this world would be more insipid. There is no true flavor found in the world. There is no true joy found in this world. Only the company of Christians gives flavor and joy to the world. We can prove this by examining the worldly parties and good times. What are they like? Boring, tasteless, and insipid. As Christians, we have the function to provide flavor and taste to the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. The world is without hope, and only the Christian, by his proclamation and practice, will point the world to hope in Jesus Christ.

The world is sick. Terribly ill with all that satan has to offer. All that is void, displeasing to the Creator, unlovely, unloveable. In fact, it's so sick it can't taste the salt. May God hear my prayer for just a tiny way to be salt to a sick and dying world.

Too Cute...

Who told them they could be so stinkin' cute anyway?!

It's official...

I'm home now. Today was my last day at the part time job I've held for 6 years. I'm feeling a tiny bit sentimental, but not so very much. I'm very glad to have this opportunity.

The timing certainly was grand on the Lord's part, though, the kiddo has a severe sinus infection today and needs some extra TLC.

That'll give me something to think about OTHER THAN some special friends I won't see nearly as often now. *sigh*

I love this idea!

I'm participating in A Commitment to Loveliness over at
Charming the Birds from the Trees. What a lovely idea! Here are my commitments:

1. Fresh flowers for the table and nightstand
2. Bathe the dog...it's hard to have a lovely home with a stinky critter running about!
3. Take time to read the Mitford series of books my wonderful Mother gifted me.
4. Polish my antique silver - I display part of it and it's tarnished.
5. Wear makeup. My hubby loves a tiny bit of color and I just don't take time for it often. I will make more of an effort now that I know he likes it.

I'm sure I can come up with much more, but this is a good start. Join me?

A Kindred Spirit

"What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow." -Martin Luther

Rebecca has this quote scrolling at the top of her lovely site. I absolutely LOVE it. How wonderfully blessed we are to be entrusted with such great responsibility!

The Codfish/Catfish Story

I just found this great blog! The following story was featured there, and I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you:

Codfish is a big business. The market is huge. When codfish were first being shipped, they froze them. They noticed that the flavor was lost during shipping. Somebody came up with the idea to put them in tanks and ship them in actual seawater. Even then the codfish would arrive at the market 3 or 4 days later, and would have lost much of their flavor because they were not active enough in the tank. They had a kind of mushy texture.

Finally, they learned to ship the codfish with a couple of catfish in the tank with them. The catfish is the natural enemy of codfish. During shipping the catfish would chase the codfish all around the tank the whole time, and when they got to the place where they were going, the codfish tasted like you just pulled them out of the sea. Their texture was great; their taste was even better than before.

See God knows that we are codfish in a catfish world. God allows all things, even catfish type things to help us grow strong and if He kept us from those things, we wouldn't grow into the image of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said, "In this world you are going to have struggles. You are going to have troubles, tribulations, but be of good courage. I have overcome the world and I am going to take those troubles and I am going to transform you more and more in to my likeness."

Today is District Children's Talent at Church

So we're off...with artwork in tow:

...and scripture passage firmly in mind (hopefully)! Here is what the kiddo will (hopefully) be quoting today. It's really quite lovely.

Praise the Lord, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise His holy name!

Praise the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits -

who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion.

Who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.

-- Psalm 103:1-5

Mother Sent Me

this lovely little book, and I'm enjoying it so very much! I highly recommend it, and it can be found at Amazon.

The Big Question for Frugies...

In our parents' and grandparents' eras, the big Where Were You Question was, "Where were you when you found out Kennedy had been shot?"

The big question for those of us more {ahem} frugal minded? How long have you had your copy of The Tightwad Gazette?

Sallie posed this very question not so very long ago. Mine is a funny little story that teaches a big lesson about God's grace. Did you know he even cares what you read? Of course you did!

I'd been scouring frugal websites and kept seeing TG or Amy mentioned. I finally asked about it and was told about the book. This was during a very lean period in our lives, and I decided to go to the bookstore to see if they had a copy I could read. If it were cheap enough, I reasoned, I would buy it.

I looked everywhere in the store - to no avail. There wasn't a copy to be found, so I approached a sales person to ask about ordering and the price. She checked the computer and said that there should be a copy in the store somewhere...and off she went. I kind of hung around, a little lost, when lo and behold she returns with another lady. The lady looked at me and said, "I've been carrying this book all around the store but had just decided to put it back because I'm buying so much. Would you like it?" I breathed a quick prayer to the Lord that if He wanted me to have the book it would have to be on sale. {A little late, I know. LOL} As she handed it over, I saw that the book normally priced at over $30 was on sale for $7.00. I smiled, thanked the lady, thanked the Lord and paid for one of my new favorite books.

That was over 4 years ago. I've implemented many of AD's ideas with a great deal of success. Others will never be for me unless we're under duress, but it is nice to know they can be done and they work!

SAHM I Am...

or soon will be! That's right. A week ago now I gave my two weeks notice.

I have really loved working where I did, but one mama can only be spread so far no matter how much of her there is physically. Papa-Dew and I both agree that it is time to devote more energy to homeschool and my small freelance business. I'm scared, excited, frightened, challenged, afraid, and did I mention scared?

I now have a little less idea what tomorrow holds, but I most certainly DO know who holds tomorrow. So come to think of it, I'm not really so very afraid after all.

Big News Coming Soon...

tomorrow or the day after. But for today mum's still the word!