{"id":2698,"date":"2012-06-07T10:58:44","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T14:58:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2698"},"modified":"2012-06-09T11:34:06","modified_gmt":"2012-06-09T15:34:06","slug":"the-tabasco-factory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/06\/the-tabasco-factory.html","title":{"rendered":"The Tabasco Factory"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Years ago, our children moved to South Louisiana. \u00a0All hot sauce and especially Tabasco sauce is a BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC deal in South Louisiana. \u00a0Therefore, we had to visit the Tabasco Welcome Center because it is one of their greatest tourist attractions. \u00a0Both my husband and I loved the tour and the wholesome, HOT environment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I’ve always enjoyed hot sauce as a condiment. But before our visit to that HOT Welcome Center, my husband refused to eat anything that was spicy hot. \u00a0Even black pepper was banned from my kitchen, lest it\u00a0accidentally fall onto his plate. \u00a0After that visit, however, he became a Tabasco Sauce connoisseur. \u00a0He purchased a Tabasco Sauce coffee cup and that became his favorite cup. \u00a0He wanted Tabasco Sauce at the table for every meal,especially breakfast. \u00a0He requested it at restaurants and sprinkled it liberally on his food.<\/p>\n

His visit to the Tabasco Factory Welcome Center had transformed his eating.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, I’ve found the same is true with Special Gathering. \u00a0Most people are extremely hesitant to even visit our program. \u00a0It is as though intellectual disability will fall onto them accidentally and they might catch something. \u00a0Yet, if a person ever “visits our Welcome Center,” they are usually transformed. Our members and their inclusive, loving and enthusiastic ways become part of their cultural experience. \u00a0They usually want to and do come back.<\/p>\n

A retired pastor and his wife often visit our program. \u00a0They have been immersed within the culture for years because their son is a popular young man within our community. Yet, they come to Special Gathering whenever he is not preaching somewhere else. \u00a0 They could attend any church but they chose to worship with our chapel members because the members love them and, in return, they have come to love our members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In much the same way we jump into a pool on a hot, sultry day, each of us\u00a0reaches into different experiences with a variety of reactions . \u00a0Some are hesitant, creeping into the water slowly. \u00a0Others dive in gracefully. \u00a0Many simply jump, feet first. \u00a0However, I’ve found that when a person is fully immersed in the pool water, they want to stay in the refreshing coolness as long as possible. \u00a0It doesn’t matter how hesitant or forward they were in entering the experience.<\/p>\n

The key to enjoying other cultures and new experiences may be immersed–or being baptized. \u00a0 Perhaps this the reason that the Lord insisted that baptism become a part of the Christian experience. \u00a0There is no way to truly enjoy or become a real part of an experience without total immersion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years ago, our children moved to South Louisiana. \u00a0All hot sauce and especially Tabasco sauce is a BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC deal in South Louisiana. \u00a0Therefore, we had to visit the Tabasco Welcome Center because it is one of their greatest tourist attractions. \u00a0Both my husband and I loved the tour and the wholesome, HOT environment.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,40,186,49,8,4,41,400],"tags":[690,688,7,699,715,701,694,689,6,401],"class_list":["post-2698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","category-tabasco-sauce","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-tabasco-sauce-2"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Tabasco Factory - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/06\/the-tabasco-factory.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Tabasco Factory - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Years ago, our children moved to South Louisiana. \u00a0All hot sauce and especially Tabasco sauce is a BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC deal in South Louisiana. \u00a0Therefore, we had to visit the Tabasco Welcome Center because it is one of their greatest tourist attractions. \u00a0Both my husband and I loved the tour and the wholesome, HOT environment.…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/06\/the-tabasco-factory.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-07T14:58:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-06-09T15:34:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/06\/tabasco-sauce-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Tabasco Factory - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/06\/the-tabasco-factory.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Tabasco Factory - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Years ago, our children moved to South Louisiana. \u00a0All hot sauce and especially Tabasco sauce is a BIG, HUGE, GIGANTIC deal in South Louisiana. \u00a0Therefore, we had to visit the Tabasco Welcome Center because it is one of their greatest tourist attractions. \u00a0Both my husband and I loved the tour and the wholesome, HOT environment.…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/06\/the-tabasco-factory.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-06-07T14:58:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-06-09T15:34:06+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/06\/tabasco-sauce-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. 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