Sweet & Simple Thursday (SAST Link-Up)

Today I'm blogging from my mother's house in Draper, Utah. Having a great vacation with the kids (and eating WAY too much fast food!) I hope everyone's summer is going well. Thank you to everyone who has linked up at SAST in the past couple weeks. And I apologize for the little snafoo with last week's link up. Hopefully this week's link up party will go much better :)

Enjoy!

________________________________________

Salt Of The Earth

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall be thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men."

– 3 Nephi 12:13 (see also Matthew 5:13)

Salt is used to bring out the flavor in dishes, and also used as a preservative. It is a valuable mineral, and has been used in some ancient cultures as a form of money. So when Christ teaches us to be the salt of the earth, what does this mean? 

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have the good news of the gospel to share with the world. We can share a spiritual flavor with those around us, and season our speech, our actions, and our lives with spirituality. We become the salt of the earth as we study the word of God, keep the commandments Christ has given us, and strive to live a life of worthiness. 

How does salt lose its savor? Have you ever really thought about this? You can keep a canister of salt on your shelf almost indefinitely, and the salt stays salty and potent indefinitely. You can mix salt in food, and it will increase the flavor and savoriness of the dish. It doesn't lose its savor. The only thing that makes salt lose its savor is mixing it with dirt.

So think about that for a minute. As God's spiritual salt, we can lose our spiritual savor when we allow filthiness into our lives. There are so many different kinds of filth that can damage our spirituality - what we say, what we do, who we associate with, things we pursue for entertainment, the list can go on and on. We have to be careful and show discretion about these things. If we do this, we will not lose our spiritual savor. 

Personally, I don't want to be cast out and trodden under God's foot, worthless to Him. There is nothing I want more than to be valuable in my Lord's eyes and to be put to good use for Him. I am made for Him and His service, and I long to stay that way.

With love,

Sweet & Simple Thursday (SAST Link Up) - FIXED LINK UP!

The Rock of Our Redeemer

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that 

it is upon the rock of 

our Redeemer, 

who is Christ, 

the Son of God, 

that ye must build your foundation; 

that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, 

yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, 

when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, 

it shall have no power over you 

to drag you down to 

the gulf of misery and endless wo, 

because of the rock upon which ye are built, 

which is a sure foundation, 

a foundation whereon if men build 

they cannot fall."

– Helaman 5:12

Gone Swimmin' (SAST Link Up)

As you read this, I am officially on my summer vacation. Yeehaw! So my posts will be a little sparse for the next several weeks. In the meantime, keep visiting for my weekly link-up, and happy summer to you!

With love,

Jean

Trust That God Loves You {SAST Link Up}

In high school, I memorized what would become one of my favorite scriptures of all time –

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct thy path."

– Proverbs 3:5-6

Usually when we read this verse, we think about trusting God's will for our lives, and that He has a better plan for us than we can ever know. But have you ever thought of this idea: Trust in God's love for you. Trust that He loves you so much He will NEVER let you down. He will never be fickle or untrustworthy or false as a friend. He will never betray you.

Lean not unto your own worldly understanding of relationships. God does not love you by these 'rules.' He loves you by a higher, heavenly law. He loves you so much He died for you. Put your trust in Him and know that your trust is well-founded.

Sometimes it's hard for people to put this kind of trust into anyone, especially someone we cannot see or hear except in our hearts and minds. Some people have been so hurt by others they have chosen to never trust again. It's so sad to see people hurt so badly like this, it can make people bitter and resentful, and the end result is they scare away would-be true friends.

Our Savior is not scared away by your bitterness. He does not ever harbor doubts about loving you. He is always there for you, through the good and the bad. He wants to share your triumphs and cry with you in defeat. He wants to love you more than you can ever comprehend.

Trust that God loves you, and your life will be transformed.

With love,

Jean

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's time for Sweet and Simple Thursday! One of my favorite times of the week!

There were some fun and though-filled links this last week. Thank you everyone for making SAST so successful!

Jenni at Thrive @ Home Thursday shared a beautiful post about how to create a loving atmosphere in your home. Her post really resonated in my heart.

What is spiritual fasting?

In my last post I mentioned that I practice spiritual fasting. Once a month I join other members of my church and fast for 24 hours. During that time, I refrain from eating and only drink water when absolutely necessary, I pray about burdens on my heart, and pray for others that need the Lord's blessings.

The practice of fasting has been around for a very, very long time. We first see evidence of it in the Old Testament, where it is used as a natural way of showing sorrow and humility.

"And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession."

– Daniel 9:3-4

How do I fast?

Since fasting is a spiritual practice, it must always be coupled with prayer. Without prayer, you're leaving out all the spirituality and just starving yourself. I personally begin my fast with prayer on a Saturday afternoon, and end on Sunday afternoon with prayer and a family meal. During my fast, I will pray continually in my mind and heart. When hunger pains hit me, that is a good time to remember to get down on my knees in prayer.

What's the benefit of fasting?

As a teenager, the benefit of fasting was always hard to understand. I just saw it as intentionally starving myself! But now that I'm older, and have (hopefully) more mature spiritual eyes, I can see some benefits of fasting. 

"They did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

– Helaman 3:35

This verse explains that fasting and prayer will increase our faith, purify and sanctify our hearts, and increase our humility. When we yield our hearts unto God, we bring our hearts in alignment with the will of our Heavenly Father. 

How I know for myself –

I have personally found that fasting and prayer is a way to receive strength from God. Several years ago I was experiencing major temptation. Satan was pounding some horrible ideas into my brain, and I couldn't take it anymore!! I needed to cast Satan and his temptations out of my mind.

"Howbeit, this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

– Matthew 17:21

Praying about it day in and day out just wasn't working, so I decided to have a personal day of fasting and prayer to plead for God's help. AND IT WORKED!!! The thoughts and feelings left my mind completely, and they have never returned since then. What a blessing that was! This special day increased my faith in the doctrine of fasting, and now I am much more willing to fast when special help is needed from above.

I encourage you to consider having your own special day of fasting and prayer. Think about what you may need special help for from God. Or perhaps you know someone else who is suffering physically, spiritually, or emotionally. Dedicate the day to prayer and fasting. I promise you God is waiting to pour His blessings down upon you as you witness your faith in Him.

With love,