Tuesday, June 16, 2009

What shape are you in?

Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Wow! Was it hot yesterday and today promises to be the same! We did not leave the house all day because of medications that caution not to get too warm. Thank God for air conditioning!

However, from my part of the world, I can see squirrels playing around the trees and chasing each other, and I walked all around the house noticing that it really needs cleaning outside. Amazing how dirty and full of webs a house can get! Better to stay inside and forget about the outside! :o) But God is good and we are thankful!

From Quiet Moments with God:

The inward man is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV

Clay pots of all shapes and sizes were valuable tools in ancient households. Large jars were used to store water and olive oil; jugs were used to carry water; and small terra-cotta vials held perfume.

The potters who supplied these much needed pots were important to the economic life of ancient villages. A modern potter described her craft like this:

Both my hands shaped this pot. And, the place where it actually forms is a place of tension between the pressure applied from the outside and pressure of the hand on the inside. That's the way my life has been. Sadness and death and misfortune and the love of friends and all the things that happened to me that I didn't even choose. All of that influenced my life. But, there are things I believe in about myself, my faith in God and the love of some friends tht worked on the insides of me. My life, like this pot, is the result of what happened on the outside and what was going on inside of me . Life, like this pot, comes to be in places of tension.

Throughout the day we may be buffeted by stress, pulled apart by responsibilities, and pressed by challenges that come at us from the outside. Without strength of spirit on the inside, those difficulties will cause us to collapse under the external pressure.

During this break, feed your spirit with Scripture. This will keep you strong, renewed, and restored within. You can respond with inner strength and creativity to what could otherwise defeat you.

Remember your inner life gives you the strength you need to become a useful vessel in the household of God.

Renew thyself completely each day.
Do it again and again and forever again.
Confucius

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!

Love and hugs,
Amaryllis