A potter raises and shapes clay in to ware, such as vases and pitchers, on a revolving wheel, using his hands, fingers, and thumbs. He smooths surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and a wet sponge, and he adjusts the speed of his wheel according to the feel of changing firmness of his clay. Most of you at this point see where I'm going with this. The perfect description of our creator. He shapes us in to what He wants us to be and in His own image. He smooths our rough edges, and He adjusts the speed of trials based off how firm we are in our faith and belief in Him. Sometimes, He needs to speed the wheel up to really form that one spot in our lives. (AKA: "hit rock bottom") Maybe He will use the scraper to smooth our surface. This can mean pain and letting go of something we may not want to let go of. He kneads us... molds us and shapes us until we are who He planned us to be. Who He planned us to be before he even grabbed a hold of the clay. What a wonderful reminder of who our God is and how he will never give up on us!
"Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get." That couldn't be more correct. You never know what you are going to get. But, with some faith trust.... and maybe a little bit of pixie-dust... who needs to worry about what we're going to get?! This week I decided to stop worrying about what these next couple of years hold for me. (Something I should have done in the first place.) The truth is that it IS in God's hands. That doesn't mean it won't be painful or hard; it just means that I don't need to take matters in to my own hands. My hands are far too small to even try to hold these matters... the Lord sees the big picture. He will guide my steps, as well as Cameron's for this journey.
This past week, Cameron and I have kept browsing through apartments. We found a few interesting ones (good AND bad.) Thank God for online reviews, though, huh? I found a complex that I really liked. New appliances, hard-wood floors, spacious... and all around a nice-looking complex. I looked up the Google reviews and the the reviews from the past year (four of them) were all horrible! Apparently the office staff is real nice when they are giving you a tour, but once your name is signed, they do a 180 in the wrong direction. I saw so many things about thieves, break-ins, people just playing 'follow the leader' through the gate... and all of the reviews said that the office staff did NOTHING about it. Even allowed the intruder to come back to the complex!! How absurd is that?! So, I can guarantee that we will NOT be moving there.
Jack is doing well. If you don't remember, Jack is my soon-to-be guard dog. He can sit, lie down, and roll over so far. And, he definitely knows his name. This week, we have had some difficulties with potty training due to the fact Cam and I have both been gone all week from morning to evening. But, I have faith in him. He is already 13.2 lbs! Growing up to be strong... and tall! Liberty (my kitten) isn't too fond of how rough he is with her, now. The past few days he has lost knowledge of his own strength and starting biting too hard, running too fast, and even sitting on her a few times. You always know when she is done playing because you hear her make this AWFUL low-toned growl. Lately, she's wanted to just cuddle with him... which he takes as playing. When she wants to play, though, she knows she can count on Jack to help her get some energy out.
I made something this week. Power tools and all!! Quick picture:
Alright. That's all I have for now.
(Side note:)
I don't know if y'all have seen the buzz about "StopKony." It's a really touching movement that's going on, and I really encourage you to find out more about it!
