Author Archives: Janet Salbert

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About Janet Salbert

Always becoming a listener for God.

Friday’s Five: A Few of My Favorite Things

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Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction.

Break the habit. Talk about your joys.

~Rita Schiano

1) I love color. I am a visual person and find ways to enhance the everyday with color. My business cards which are very plain get a color makeover before I hand them out. I do alot of collage using colorful layers of paper. I wear turquoise when I miss my mom. I think babies look adorable wearing light brown. Our living room has rich earthy tones, which keep us grounded in family. My office walls are painted airy blue which feels spacious and wide to me, just like God’s love. And I don’t want to forget my colorful rhinestone collection, perfect joy to add a little sparkle.

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2) I love to hike. The steeper the climb the better. I grew up hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, my parents called me a little goat because I would scramble to the top ahead of the rest. One time, I hiked the Grand Canyon, top to bottom and back up again in one day, with my Dad. I am so thankful for that memory. And in fact, this weekend, our son is taking us hiking when we visit him for parent’s weekend.

3) I love Ben Harper. He is absolutely my favorite musician. He can play a slide guitar like no one else on earth. His lyrics are full of truth. He includes amazing musicians in his work. Did I say I love Ben Harper? One of  our son’s introduced me to his music back in the late 90’s and he took me to my first Ben Harper concert; an additional reason for why Ben Harper continues to nourish my soul.

4) Fall is my favorite season, my husband and I were both born in October, we also got married in October. We love to go apple picking, enjoy small town country charm and watching the trees change color. This October, our eldest son is getting married, and I was never told how much joy that would bring me. We are enjoying adding another chair or two at our table, his bride, her family, her friends, are all becoming part of our life. This year, we are adding wedding white pumpkins to our Fall traditions.

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5) Choosing a favorite book or even genre would be hard. I have memorized passages of classic literature which continue to make meaning for me. I continue to be struck with the brilliance found in The Life of Pi. I enjoy a good southern novel. Gerald May’s writing has helped me grow spiritually. I once designed a class called “Locating God in Literature,” with my dear friend, the late Mary Marshall. Mary was a fine teacher and faithful witness. Her work in my life continues to inspire me to look beyond the written page to expose new truth.

Classifieds for Christ

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My mom was a crafter of words, for twenty years, she worked at the local newspaper and wrote all the classified ads.  When she retired, it wasn’t the number of sales she made that her co-workers remembered but it was my mother’s way with words. Mom had a way of speaking about things that exposed the interest point. My mom spent her time exposing in ads;
that one mans junk was another’s treasure,
that  a good deal  could always be found and
that a new life could always be given to someone’s throw aways.

That sounds kind of like the gospel to me. The differences are that the object that may be considered junk for one and treasure to another is the cross of Jesus Christ. The throw aways that are given new life in the church are usually human beings and the good deal you get in church is always free, the love and grace of God is free for everyone.

Think about the classified ad that you might write that would invite others toward a relationship with God and your community of faith.  When you come up with yours, please share them here in comments.