Salty Conversation

For our first official guest post, I am honored to introduce a dear friend of mine. Along with our love for writing, we also have sons born only a month apart who have the same name. Small world, huh? Please join me in welcoming YA author, Stephanie Morrill.

Stephanie Morrill is a twenty-something living in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and two kids. Her only talents are reading, writing, and drinking coffee, so career options were somewhat limited. Fortunately, she discovered a passion for young adult novels a few years ago and has been writing them ever since. Stephanie is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series and is currently working on other young adult projects. To check out her blog and read samples of her books, check out www.StephanieMorrillBooks.com and www.GoTeenWriters.com.


I’m a huge fan of salt.

I’m even kinda picky about my salt. I use Diamond Crystal’s Kosher salt and even drive to a specialty spice store here in Kansas City to purchase it. I use it for everything. Baking, cooking. You know, your basic salt needs. I’m fascinated by how many recipes call for salt. Ever made chocolate chip cookies and left out the salt? They don’t taste quite as good. They lack dimension. Same with blueberry muffins. I made that mistake a few weeks ago, and the muffins just tasted flat to me.

This has left me sensitive to every mention of salt in the Bible, and during my reading time on Monday, I came across this beautiful passage:

“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6

As I mulled this over, my eyes kept catching on Paul’s use of “seasoned with salt.”
My mother is a fabulous cook, but I can remember two meals that were utter failures. The time she fixed shark (no comment) and then the time she made what we refer to as “the salty soup.” I don’t know what exactly happened there, but I remember taking a bite and the salt overwhelmed my mouth. It was the only bite I took, and then we all ate peanut butter and jelly for dinner.

But to season is to heighten and perfect the flavor. And it’s different for each taste bud, which I suppose is where Paul’s “so you may know how to answer everyone” thing comes into play. Because everyone is at a different place in life, has a different family history, different religious background. That must be taken into account. As Paul says, “we must be wise in the way you act toward outsiders.”

I love this verse. As a woman who’s jammed her foot into her mouth aplenty, I aspire to become known for graceful, well-seasoned conversation.


Wow! Something to think about. Thank you, Steph! Now, we want to hear your thoughts. Steph is giving away one of her books, so leave a comment below and we'll draw a random name on Saturday.