Salt and Light

 I sign. I am okay at it, but I am fortunate to be able to worship in sign language. I'm not David, and I'm not much of a dancer, so I don't dance before God as several verses admonish. One of my favorite verses about dancing before God is Psalm 30:11-12, but when I sign, as I worship, my hands are dancing.  11  You turned my mourning into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12  that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. LORD my God, I will praise you forever. Signing got me thinking about body language.  As a former public school teacher, I have mastered the "look" that can make people squirm in their seats, and as a signer I know the difference that posture and facial expressions can make to your language. Over ninety percent of our communication is non-verbal. It includes: Facial expressions : The face can convey a wide range of emotions. In signing, it can totally flip the meaning of your sign. Posture and movement : The wa...

I recently had a fall and cracked a rib, and it has caused me to meditate on bones and their significance in the Bible. Our analysis of bones starts in Genesis, where Eve was literally made from Adam's rib. Adult humans have 206 bones of which 24 are ribs; 12 on each side. True ribs attach to the sternum, along with false ribs, which attach to the sternum via cartilage, creating a cage that protects our heart and lungs, but two pairs of ribs, the floating ribs, only attach at the spine. These are the most dangerous to break because they can pierce another object in the chest. In Genesis, bones represent unity and family.  Adam describes Eve as "bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh", symbolising their deep and fundamental connection. Bones are tied to our spirit      Proverbs 17:22:  "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones".      Proverbs 14:30:  "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy [or jealou...

  Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isa 64:8 I have been talking about our lives as masterpieces, and no such discussion would be complete without adding pottery. Pottery begins with the clay. Clay gets its color from the impurities added to kaolinite. These impurities are primarily metal oxides.  The specific minerals present, such as iron, manganese, and copper, determine the final color of the clay. For example,  iron oxides  create reds, browns, and oranges, while  cobalt  creates blues, and  chromium  can produce greens.  What are the colors of your life? Nowadays, most pots are literally thrown on a wheel. But before that, the clay is wedged.  To wedge, use either the  Rams Head  or  Spiral  method, which involves repeatedly pushing and pulling the clay. A master potter avoids pushing only, as this can push air pockets deeper into the clay; ins...

 I admire people who can paint. I can draw, but somehow, when I add color, my artistic ability dramatically declines.  Yet just as our lives are musical compositions, they are also masterpieces that reflect our Creator. The first element of our painting is l ine . Line can be geometric or organic. This reminds me of the verse, Psalm 119:105 , which says,  "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Our life journey is a path toward sanctification, and I'm not sure about you, but sometimes I struggle to discern the path God has set before me .   Look at a Degas, and you will see the underdrawing. Can others see the lines God has drawn on your masterpiece? The good news is that some artists are lousy draftsmen. Take Van Gogh, for instance; he was a very poor draftsman, but his paintings make up for it with riotous color . He was an expert at complementary color s, like the purple and yellow in his work Irises. What colors has God used in you that are comple...