Tuesday, May 20- Matthew 5:13

hi there!!

Do you like to cook or bake? I do.

I started cooking about 2 years after I got married. Up until that point, I cooked all things out of a box, packet, or can- or we did what most Americans do, went out. I started grabbing those little cookbooks at the check out line and slowly became interested in cooking. I felt very accomplished as I began replacing the box of Alfredo noodles with my own homemade Alfredo sauce, replacing the Ragu with my own tomato sauce. Now, I try my best to cook everything with fresh and natural ingredients- the less processed the better. But that means I have to work hard at bringing out great flavor. One thing I learned in time was the importance of herbs and spices. I started collecting many spices and experimenting with them- learning how to season my food with fresh seasoning instead of pre-packaged seasoning.

If you know anything about cooking, you know this one thing- salt makes THE difference in all meals. It not only adds just the right flavor to a dish, but it helps to bring out the flavors of everything it is added to. I feel bad for anyone who has to watch their sodium intake- oh, how bland everything must taste. I didn't know this until a couple of years ago- but, I always saw salt as one of the ingredients in baking recipes and never understood why. Well, even in baking- just a pinch of salt is needed to help bring out a richer sweetness in the dessert. Salt is the key to a great tasting meal, without it- your left pretending that your enjoying your meal.

[[side note]]
We all know too much salt is bad for us- but, I'm gonna leave that alone in order to bring the point across here.

If salt has no flavor, it has no value. How can salt lose it's flavor? Well, I know that if it gets too diluted- the flavor is gone.
The same goes for our relationship with God. Jesus refers to us in this verse as the salt of the earth, but if we are allowing the worldly things around us to influence us, then our effectiveness as a Christian will be diluted- becoming invaluable and ineffective. We need to realize that our effectiveness as 'salt' of the earth is not only in what we do, but how we act.

Christians should not blend in with everyone else.

Instead, we should affect others positively, bringing out the best in people- just as salt brings out the best flavor in food.

love you guys,
Pam S.