TreasuresInTerraCotta

I love a good story! I always want there to be a good guy and a bad guy...and I want the good one to BE GOOD and the bad one to BE BAD. It’s the stuff good stories are made of! So it’s frustrating at times the uncanny way that the great Bible characters consistently display short-comings. People who are highly favored by God but as their stories unfold their flaws are obvious...usually very serious flaws! It can leave us wondering about God’s choice in leaders (Moses), God’s choice in kings (David), God’s choice in prophets (Elijah), Jesus’ choice in followers (Peter). So when I ran across this quote from Karen Jobes regarding the book of Esther I thought it fit nicely into my ponderings of good and bad. “Esther’s request is another instance of the disquieting moral ambiguity that characterizes this story. Rather than attempting to resolve it, we should reflect on it.” Do you think God places “mostly good” characters in our path so that we will think upon them? So we will think ...

"Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others?" For some reason I thought that was a funny observation. But since it came from Oswald Chambers in "My Utmost For His Highest " he probably wasn't trying to be funny. Can you think of "issues" that disturb individuals and subsequently disturb others? A lot of situations could apply, but I immediately thought about the issue of unforgiveness . Unfortunately , it was at the forefront of my mind recently. During the course of a normal conversation a snide and sarcastic comment unexpectedly slipped out about a mutual acquaintance . Almost immediately I thought, "Where did that come from? That was totally inappropriate." If I'm honest, it goes back to an old issue that (still) disturbs me and reveals my unforgiveness. Obviously, I was also a disturbance to someone else that day. Oswald Chambers goes on to say: If so, it is always s...

This passage has been placed in my path a couple times recently. Usually, that means I should pay attention and figure out how and why it applies. I have read it in half-a-dozen versions, but can not get my mind around it's meaning. The NIV is the most familiar, but The Message makes the most sense. I guess I have some more studying to do. Perhaps I should write this out on an index card so I can ponder it some more. Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV) Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. The Message I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wond...

Only God in His perfect creativity could have given me "Treasures in Terra Cotta." For months I have pondered a screen name. I wanted something catchy but not too revealing. Should it reflect my role as wife and mother? Should it relate to my home in the desert? Should it be a memory verse? I prayed about it but nothing came to mind until today. For years God and I have been working through (and learning to love) verses about Him being the potter and me being the clay. Unfortunatley, the journey began in my rebellion that kept asking God, "Are you sure you made me this way on purpose? Can't I be more like so-and-so?" Over and over God reminded me that He was the potter and that I needed to quit questioning His design. Is 29:16, Is 45:9 It's a continuous process with many lessons along the way. But when I came across 2 Cor 4:7 it was like I got a glimpse of what God wanted all along. He fashions us of clay. He exerts pressure to mold us. Each little pot creat...