On the Wheel or in the Oven?

Hi friends ~

I wanted to share a video clip with you, it's a few minutes long, but if you have time, listen to the full thing. It spoke volumes to me...Jeremiah 18 speaks of God being the potter, and the nation of Israel like the clay. It's an admonition to follow His commandments and to leave their false gods, who couldn't hear or help them. It's where we get that old song " Create in me a clean heart, oh God...Thou art the potter, I am the clay," etc...

Fast forward then, to 2 Corinthians 4, where we read this :

"Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
"If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. "

Does this apply to you? Watch this potter as he speaks about the creations that give expression to the love and life and creativity that are within him. Watch as he is so excited to see how each and every vessel turns out - no two are the same! Watch as he waits in anticipation to see what colors will emerge after the firing of the pot...And know that your Father in Heaven is just as excited about your life, your journey, your process. You are unique and shaped for a specific purpose. No one else is like you. (Click on the link below!)

Friar Anthony's Pottery

~ Anna

God: "Who's Touching My Eye?!!!"

DISCLAIMER: This post is going to be an interactive-proactive-hands-on post! So if you shy away from action...you may want to consider coming back later when you are ready for this one.

OK, Ready?
First of all, I want you to picture your most recent "mountain" - a.k.a. a trial, or problem you cannot seem to get past. Something that's hitting you full force like a stormy wave in your face.

It could be your job, it might be the kids, maybe a glitch in your marriage, or a friend who has done you wrong, and it isn't getting better, or... maybe you are just frustrated? I'll give you a minute to call it to mind...

Ok, got the picture of that stormy wave? With all its ugliness bared and ready to crash on your head at any second? That mountain looming before you?
Awesome, stay there for a minute - I do want you to know how you feel about this thing. Are you scared? Angry? Hurt? Recognize your emotion for what it is...(And by the way, I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't be having these emotions. No, they are a real and a normal response to an assault on your person.)

OK, now that we have that down, I want you to READ - not just with your eyes, but with your heart attached - to the words I am going to put below.

God says to YOU: (insert your own name in the blanks!)

• " Fear not ( ____)...I have called you by your name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned or scorched..." (read more here )



• " (____) dwells in the secret place of the Most High, and shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]...
  A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you. Only a spectator shall you be [yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High] as you witness the reward of the wicked...Because (___) has set his/her love upon Me, therefore will I deliver (____); I will set (____) on high, because (____) knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness--trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake you, no, never].
  (____) shall call upon Me, and I will answer; I will be with you in trouble, I will deliver you and honor you. (read more here )
  


• "He who touches you touches the apple or pupil of MY eye" (read more here and also here and here! )

OK, so that should have made you feel a lot more confident about who's watching out for you - but in case you need a bit more reassurance, here it is: God is faithful and strong ; God is already beginning to arise for you; He WILL deliver you to the glory of His name so that even those who do not know Him are impressed! I encourage you to read the whole story of that last one - even if you already know what happens - it is extremely encouraging.

Now the fun part : Look at that mountain, that tidal wave, that thing that brings fear - and laugh at it! Laugh out loud!! Here THIS will help you - How to laugh 101 - ok, got it?? Felt good, didn't it? (watch that video as many times as you need to, it's free...)

And now let that realization sink in of how much bigger than your problem God really is...and that if something is coming at His EYE, He is definitely going to deal with that thing.

Finally, revel in this song - kick your shoes off, do a little dance in your living room, or lay on the floor and laugh some more, sing along, or cry your eyes out if you feel like it! But KNOW, in your deepest being - you will overcome, and He who is in you...is SO GREAT.

We look to You, Papa God. Help us to see with Your eyes. We love You so much... Click on the words to worship just a little more...And have a GREAT day.

~Anna

A few of my pictures lately...enjoy!

^{For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.
1} Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.

² You who answer prayer,
to you all people will come.
³ When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave our transgressions.

⁴ Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.

⁵ You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,

⁶ who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,
⁷ who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.

⁸ The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy. Psalm 68:1-8

The Healing Power of Touch

I may be biased in part while writting about the power of TOUCH, being that my number one love language is in fact TOUCH, but please hear me out on this and take a little adventure with me...

Let's begin with this pivitol fact that God created us with 5 senses; to hear, see, smell, taste and TOUCH. Why do we have these 5 senses? They allow us to take in information, share information and communicate. Each of these senses have many different faucets to them which make them very unique and vital to how we navigate through our lives as they unfold. Through these senses whether it be positive or negative, information is communicated to our mind, body and soul which in turn shapes our beliefs, forms our opinions and influences our decisions. Check this out, it seems to me that the very first sense we get to experience is with TOUCH...

Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT) 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

God, our creator knit, formed and wove us together in our mother's womb, He was first to TOUCH us! Through His creative and gentle TOUCH we were made! How cool is that!So what is it about TOUCH that affects our entire world? It affirms us, it comforts us, and it has the power to heals us. From the very moment that we come into this world the way we recieve TOUCH, give TOUCH and even how seldom or often we receive TOUCH will shape our world. Our mental, emotional and physical health actually depends highly on our experience with TOUCH. It has been proven that children who grow up with a lack of frequent and tender touch will not develop correctly be more insecure and have low self confidence. TOUCH actually releases endorphins in our brain and essentially helps us feel good. Just ask a physcologist, chiropractor or massage thereapist and they will all tell you how essential TOUCH is to our over all well-being. It is proven to reduce a person's heart rate, lower blood pressure, reduce stress, increase whit blood cells, ease pain, generate hope and heal! Jesus must have know this truth all to well or why else would He have said over and over again when referring to healing to lay our hands on the sick, then we will see them recover!

Mark 16:17-18 And these signs will accompany those who believe...they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.

So truth be told I myself am a personal witness to the healing power of TOUCH. About 10 yrs ago God rescued me from a spiralling pit leading to none other then death. At that time in my life I was so closed off to TOUCH to the point where my sister when introducing me to people in church she would say, "this is my sister and she does not shake hands," so that no one would try to TOUCH or even hug me. Ha! how funny, now I am so addicted to hugs! Since that time of rescue numerous times the breakthrough, growth and freedom I so desperately was in search of came through a simple TOUCH or hug. I began to discover that all along my number one love language is TOUCH. Through this healing the passion I have always for massage began to come back to life. While I give massage I love to just allow Holy Spirit, Jesus, and Papa God lead me and allow them to encounter that person! I give Him my hands in an act of worship and service, through this His healing TOUCH is then released through my hands. Massage is something that has always come natural to me and something that sparks a passion in my heart! Those of you that know me well my interest in massage is no surprise to you, and those of you who do not, here is a little insight into my world :-)

Our good good God has opened the doors for me to go to massage school! I am so excited and a bit scared all wrapped into one. I have wanted this for years and years! It is exciting because it is a dream being fulfilled and scary because it still requires me to jump of the cliff in faith that resources, finances and the time that I need to complete this school will be provided and worked out. I attended my first class on Wednesday the 16th and my expected graduation date is October 8th!

Thanks to all of you who say Amen! to this pursuit. Teruah