Salty Ramblings~
A place to come, sit, pull up a chair, and talk awhile
As most of you know - we are collecting Salt Leaks for 900 women, for a conference on March 7th, As of right now - I have 328 that have been sent to me from all over the world.....if w get all that have been pledged to us, we will be able to bless the workers and the hotel staff as well...praise God for "loaves and fishes"!!!
Yesterday, we asked, and you heard! There were an overwhelming amount of pledges yesterday and we have nearly reached our target of 900 salt leaks - what an amazing day to see all the flurry of activity and pledges - amazing!!! What an awesome community, so welcoming and encouraging! I am- simply overwhelmed by it all.
I wanted to share one of the stories from yesteday" "These were my last batch of ATC's for the conference...phew. Finished these tonight. With the flags, I was thinking about women in the military or possibly military wives who may be at the conference. I did up a couple more of the key ring cards as well. I did 12 total of the flag ATC's. Keeping it real, I struggled. I have tremors a lot, so I did my best. Let God take care of the rest, right? I'm reminding myself of what I said this morning. Perfection not required. A heart for God and people required. And that is all. So, a nice big salty box will go off to Miss Lisa when this silly snowstorm is done with us sometime Tuesday with items made for the conference. I am SO grateful to the Lord for allowing me the time to do this for these women. I am also grateful to all of you who are reaching out as well. Love you guys!!!" We are out to love a region through the salt of creative expression! We will be participating in a JOY conference, in Advance NC, on March 7th. We are looking to bless an entire region- by blessing the NINE HUNDRED women that are attending the conference with a salt leak!!
We would like to send each women home with a creative outpouring of the Gospel, presented with love, IN love- to hungry hearts. Imagine them taking their salt leak home and telling their families about it, blessing gives way to blessing.....love and generosity open doors and crumble steel resolve. Our thoughts are to have a "vendor table" - but this vendor table will be different than every other table there. Women will be allowed to shop for the piece that speaks to them and they will be given it with a prayer of peace and joy. Want to help bless a region? Contact us at saltysidewalks@gmail.com for more info! We are praying that He can multiply our efforts - at this point we only have 200 leaks - and we need so much help. Would you consider pushing up your sleeves and joining us? Let's agree to bless a region, and then pray that the Lord would continue bringing us spaces and places where we can shine His love. Welcome to this creative army He has called forth for a day such as this - now, let us fight the darkness with beauty and scripture!! It occurred to me, his morning, that Paul was a letter writer....an avid letter writer :- ) He did much of his work and encouragement through the written word. We are all being called to arms in this community, in a very PAULian way. We are being called to pick up paintbrush, or pen.....knitting needles or beads.....and spread the encouragement of the Body to believers and non believers alike,, so that Jesus Christ might become manifest in hearts, cities, governments, schools and continents. PAul was steadfast in his communication.....lets be steadfast in our commitment to communicating the good news of the Gospel through our creativity! ......thank you Lord for the vision of Paul this morning...an avid creative soul.
Announcing "Salt For Our Soldiers". a wonderful friend has graciously agreed to oversee this aspect of Salty Sidewalks!! She will help and encourage all that would like to get involved in this powerful ministry...she is ready to answer all questions! We are in a learning curve, but we know that the Lord is leading. Please join us in prayer as we, intentionally spread the Gospel to our soldiers!
I wanted to share a great idea for our salty sidewalks, from one of our precious members:
"I wanted to let you know that as I was praying about Salty Sidewalks this morning, I asked God for some further guidance. I heard what I call a "God whisper". I suppose that's what some people refer to as His still, small voice. Anyway, I found this fabulous website concerning adopting a deployed US soldier. I signed on for one this morning! There are so many opportunities here. Noted at the site is that soldiers always appreciate cards and letters. Also, within the care package ideas lies some fantastic information on how you could incorporate God's message in your gift. This is not a faith based organization, however, if you research a little there, it does specifically state that many soldiers love to receive Scriptures, inspirational quotes, as well as prayers written out specifically for them! The more I read, the more excited I became. Depending on the location of some soldiers, they may or may not be able to respond to you in writing. Often, however, if they are able to respond, it is suggested to ask them how you could best support their spouse and children at home. Cards and letters are often the answer to this question, as well as prayers. I see this as a phenomenal opportunity! For more information, please go to: http:/adoptaussoldier.org There you will find frequently asked questions and many suggestions as to how you can help. Once registered, you will receive your 'adopted' soldier's information within 3 days. I can hardly wait! There is also a section that describes how you can obtain free shipping materials through the USPS. The list of items recommended in care packages is so basic. It really makes you think and not take for granted what we all have access to every day. For some of you who have been searching for a way to help with Salty Sidewalks, consider praying about this opportunity! I can hardly wait to see where God takes this! If any of you choose to do this, I would LOVE it if you would be willing to leave a comment. There are so many needs everywhere we look. No matter what you've chosen to do will be honored by our God. I know it! God bless you all and looking forward to this new adventure!! Will keep you posted on what happens too!! Thanks for reading and believing with me for God to reign His love down on the soldier I am assigned to, and potentially, their family as well!" Please pray that the Lord would open doors and that we would have favor with man- and favor with Chaplains - to present the Gospel through the arts - in one of the darkest places on earth.....calling on our Ephesians 3:20 God to do MORE than we can fathom or imagine!! My biggest, most wildest imagining would be that chaplains would adopt our program and allow us into the system....my God promises to do MORE than these things I have imagined....Let's go God!! Let's do this thing!
Have you ever noticed that the world is a sweeter place in December? People seem to smile more. They greet you at the checkout counters, talk and laugh. " Merry Christmas" is still heard on the lips, and it is always accompanied by smiling eyes.....a season of wonder. A season of expectation....and, really, isn't that what Christmas is all about - expectations rising? Wonder multiplying? Santa's cool - he is the symbol behind the season - for me- a jolly, old elf....that says its ok to be kind, and giving - it is almost expected during Santa's season...but, the true gift- the gift that is beyond measure is a baby. God, in all of His infinite Glory chose to save the world, one night, with a pink, wrinkled, vulnerable baby- that the world didnt recognize. When the face of God entered the world, He was at the height of vulnerability . He came and met mankind, flesh to flesh, in a stable, with flies, and poop, and scratchy straw- He met mankind in all of its filth- and the heavens erupted in praise. I love the unpredictability of God- I love that He does things that amaze, confuse and fill me with wonder.
Christmas- houses this time of wonder. The world slows down. The world smiles more...how about if we take the month of December and give the gift of the Gospel throughout our sidewalks? What better gift to give this Christmas- than the Word, that became flesh? I am so excited to tell you all about a divine appointment and a blessing that we found through, "His Kingdom Come", a faith based creative community. In our attempts to have global impact, God crafted a beautiful partnership between these two groups. In His Kingdom Come, there are workshops, challenges, swaps and various communities. Salty Sidewalks is housed under the "Community Outreach" portion. With members flooding in from all over the globe - you can see the unlimited potential God has provided for His words to hit the streets.
His Kingdom Come also houses two exciting free projects: "Take Me Deeper" and "Logos 365". These are both intentional, deep pairings of scripture, art, prayer and introspection. As we go deeper- we can provide inspirational, thoughtful, provoking artwork to use as a salt leak. Please head over to "His Kingdom Come" and see what it is all about! |
Lisa Albinus
A Gospel spreading, mixed media artist...out to love the world through the salt of creative expression Archives
August 2018
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