SALT: Freedom in Christ

Here's my latest for the SaltFaith Challenge. Casey has set the newest challenge: Freedom in Christ. Here's what she said about the topic:

"Just recently I attended a conference where an international Christian speaker presented the message to us. One of the things he spent time on was the identity messages we get from the world and our actual true identity. He said we often try and change our behaviour to match someone elses. But, it is essentially our identity message that we hear in our heads that will determine our behaviour. So, we need to gradually align our identity with the identity Christ has given us which says we are accepted, significant and secure. Then our behaviour will be changed and be more Christ-like . Knowing and believing the truth of these messages which Christ has died and risen for, will indeed set us free from all our striving and comparing."

Being a patriotic American who also happens to love the color red, I couldn't help using a red and navy theme for my 4 X 4 page.

I used this photo for two reasons. First, it's a decent, recent picture of me. Since I usually am the one taking the pictures, there aren't a lot of me. Second, it was taken on a special trip Mike and I took. Mike is a high school history/social studies teacher and football coach. Two years ago, he and I, along with 2 other teachers from his social studies department and the wife of one of the teachers, chaperoned a trip to France and Italy over Spring Break with 24 students. That trip went so well that we chaperoned another trip this past Spring Break, this time with 7 adults and 34 students, to Ireland, Wales, and England. As chaperones, we got to take both trips for FREE. I know that doesn't have to do with Freedom in Christ, but it's still a free thing:) Anyway, the picture was taken by Swallow Falls near the beautiful mountainside village of Betws-Y-Coed in Wales. Mike and I loved this little town and would love to return someday, just the two of us, to hike up in the mountains.

When you lift the flap with my picture on it, the top of the flap has the words to Chris Tomlin's version of Amazing Grace. We were just singing that in church Sunday morning, and I thought the words were so appropriate for this piece.

On the bottom of that flap, there's an accordian-folded paper that lists some of the things Christ has set me free from. The sin part is obvious.

I grew up in a church that was more "conservative" ~ or maybe you'd call it "legalistic" ~ than my current church. Drinking any alcohol and dancing of any sort were seen as sin. You very rarely saw women wearing pants to church on a Sunday morning, and IF anyone there had a tattoo, they kept it quite hidden. (In case you're wondering, I love Coca-Cola and always choose it over wine at dinner, my hair is shoulder length, I like to dress up for church, so I usually wear a skirt, and I'm way too chicken to get a tattoo. But I could do any of those other things if I wanted.)

Then there's the "I am free to love the 'unlovely' " part. I wrote that because of two people I know. The first is a neighbor of ours, who is shunned by the rest of the neighborhood because of a big mistake he made in his past. His wife is a Christian, and he has told Mike that he is "searching" for what he believes in . The second person is a teenager who comes from a terrible family life and is addicted to drugs. I can tell that the love and acceptance I've shown to this teen have made a positive impact in his life. Because of Christ's love, I am free from the fear of reaching out to these two people who Christ loves enough to die on the cross. My prayer is that they would see Jesus in me.

I got the idea for a flap with an accordian-folded paper underneath from a book I got from the library called Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks.

Supplies:

red papers: Creative Memories

navy paper: Stampin' Up

Key: Dress It Up Nostalgic Treasures