Resolutions

Resolutions

Have you made any resolutions for 2012? I haven’t. At least not any I have put in writing. So I invite you, along with me, to make a few. After all you can’t hit the basket if you don’t aim for it. My aim this year is to get published. For two years I enjoyed writing a column for the Ready Writer, a publication of the Fellowship of Christian Writers in Tulsa. It made me write and it was published! I like to write because then I have to organize my thoughts. Otherwise, all those vague ideas, memories, and facts making little grooves in the old gray matter just keep rambling around up there, but when I sit down to the computer and begin to write. Voila! They get organized and one idea leads to another. I guess that’s the right brain taking over and being creative.

 What are my writing goals for 2012? I would like to publish 5 devotionals, plus a series of articles for the Victory Newspaper. I want to post at least 24 blogs on Salt and Light, maybe more. I’d like to write one per week, however, 52 sounds a bit daunting.

Last year I talked to Jim Stovall about how he and his wife set their goals. Jim is the creator of the Narrative Television Network (NTN) which offers programs for the blind and visually impaired. He is a prolific author having written The Ultimate Gift, The Ultimate Life, a follow-up, and The Lamp. He has two movies, The Ultimate Gift and A Christmas Snow, made from his books and has 8 million books in print. His wife Crystal is also a writer. He told me they set aside 10-12 days during the holidays to review the past year and to make plans for the New Year.

I’ve shared some of my writing goals for2012, but there are other areas of life where we can set goals e.g. spiritual, financial, educational, and so on. I write my goals on an index card and put it on the bathroom mirror. There’s something about seeing them in black and white that makes them concrete. I got the idea from a friend who wrote each goal on a separate index card and carried them in her purse. She would read over them often. She said it helped her stay focused. She went from a size 14, her goal, to a size 10. That certainly encouraged me to stay focused on my goals!

Send me some of your goals for 2012. We can encourage each other.

It's a First

Well, I did it! I just dived into Blogland. I've been feeling the urge for some time, but finally got the go ahead from my friend, Emanuel. I asked for a confirmation and received encouragement and a bit of prophecy at church last week that it would be an adventure. How exciting! I love adventures. To me an adventure means exploring unknown territory. Writing a weekly, or maybe even a bi-weekly blog is going to be a new experience. So dear friends and readers, please bear with me while I get started. Who knows where the Holy Spirit will lead us?


Why the title Salt and Light? Salt, good old NaCl, is a simple compound with multiple uses. Among other things it's used for seasoning, for preserving, and for healing, too. (Did you ever gargle with salt water? It works.) I remember reading somewhere that the Roman soldiers were even paid in salt or given money to buy salt, and that is how the word salary was derived.


Light comes from the Light of the World, Jesus. Did you know that God said, "Let there be light." and there was light, (Gen.1:3 NKJV)  before He created the sun and the moon on the 4th day? So who or what was the Light? The first chapter of John gives us some insight into this mystery in verses 3 and 4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John  1:3-4 NKJV) Comprehend is also translated overcome or understand in some versions, if that helps make it clearer.


Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? In verse 14 He continues, "You are the light of the world." and He concludes in verse16, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."


So that is why I called this blog Salt and Light. It is my hope that this blog will both enhance the flavor of our lives and be a lamp lighting the path of all who read it.


The following is a devotional from my book, For His Glory:

Orderliness

Read Genesis 1

“So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” 

Psalm 90:12 KJV

Following my retirement I felt like I was drifting until I made a schedule for the weekly household chores and then a daily list of to-do‘s. As a goal-oriented person, having a schedule promoted orderliness and gave me a pleasant feeling of accomplishment. I think it is because God created an orderly world that operates on a timetable.

In the beginning the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep when the Spirit of God began to move to bring order. Light was divided from darkness, boundaries were set for the waters and dry land appeared. Each day the Lord worked, then He examined His work and saw that it was good. The next day He began again.

It’s a good program for us to follow. Work in day-tight compartments, rest, then tackle the next day’s work. “Sufficient unto the day is the “work” thereof” to paraphrase Matthew 6:34 KJV.

　

Thought for the Day: No matter our time or place in life, there is still work to be done.

Prayer: Dear Father God, Bless the work of my hands. May all be done for your glory. In Jesus name. Amen


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