The Wheel Still Works

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: ² “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”³ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. ⁴ And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ⁶ “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

Have you ever felt like where you were was absolutely, positively NOT where you were supposed to be? I know for sure that I am not alone in this feeling, and I know that I haven’t sat in this place as a lone representative. As a matter of fact, MANY of us find ourselves questioning why we are where we are and why we keep doing things the way we do them.  I am not alone in thinking “this CANNOT be the life, because LIFE is not supposed to feel this way!”.  And because I know I don’t stand alone, I wanted to take a minute to encourage you (and me) in the word of God.

About six months ago, at a time when I was both frustrated AND ready for “a change to come”, God began to speak this word to me.  In my spirit I heard “the wheel still works”, over and over again.  Eventually I made a note in my phone of those exact words, “the wheel still works”, and purposed in my heart to write a blog about it soon.  But then, that was it…I made the note, and I left it there.  For some reason I couldn’t find the time, drive, or energy to actually get the blog written, so I let it sit.  Periodically I would hear the words again, “the wheel still works”, and I would thank God that the promise of it was still there, but I hadn’t quite found the courage to write it out.

During that same time period, I found myself on a new leg of my life journey.  The journey began with my seeing a picture of myself in a moment of perceived “cuteness”, and realizing that the image looking back at me WAS NOT who I thought I was.  I saw a heaviness on me, literal weight gain, that somehow I ignored as I put the weight on.  I was saddened by who I saw, and I asked myself “how did you get here”.  After revisiting the picture multiple times, it was clear that who I saw was not who I wanted to be. So, I decided to make some changes.  I began to purse a healthy lifestyle that has consisted of changing the foods I eat, drinking water over much of anything else, and adding MANY DAYS exercise to my life.  Consequently, I have been able to shed several inches and pounds off of my frame in about 6 months.

Recently it occurred to me that God was actually preparing me for the journey as whispered to me, “the wheel still works”.  He was letting me know then that I was about to embark on a journey that would be difficult…some days with actual blood, sweat, and tears…but that He intended to accompany me every step of the way.  WHY, because He would be the one actually reshaping me into WHO He intended for me to be!

One day I heard a group singing the song “The Potter’s House”. The lyrics of the chorus had me in tears as I considered what God was doing in my life!  I’ve always loved the artistry of pottery, and the bravery of the Potter.  I love how Potter’s don’t mind getting dirty and messy with the their creation, and how they take all the necessary time needed to get the piece JUST RIGHT.  Potters understand that that their best work takes time to perfect, because you simply can’t rush a masterpiece!  What I particularly love is how an already existing piece can get damaged and broken, but doesn’t have to stay in that condition…not in the hands of a good potter!  In the potters hands, brokenness is just an opportunity to get back on the wheel!!!

So now it all makes sense to me why I heard those whispers in my spirit. And it also makes sense why I couldn’t write about it yet.  I didn’t quite know then that I was about to be picked up by the Potter and placed back on the wheel.  And to me, not knowing was a good thing, because had I known I may have resisted the process.  You do know that in repairing broken pottery, at times what is already broken has to be broken…AGAIN…in order to be fashioned into something new.  In the remaking process, there is pushing, and pulling, and bending, and shaping that HAS to take place in order to get to the piece to look like the Potter intended.  And before the process is all said and done, the piece has to be placed in the fire to seal the process and protect the product!  So God knew that he could only remind me then, “the wheel still works”, because knowing the rest of the details would have likely caused me to attempt to derail the job.

My encouragement to you is what God used to encourage me…to simply remind you that THE WHEEL STILL WORKS!  The remaking and reshaping process may look (and sometimes feel AND be) difficult.  But the end result of being touched by the Potter is nothing shy of sheer PERFECTION!!!

 “You who are broken-stop by-the Potter’s house; you who need mending-stop by-the Potter’s house.  Give him the fragments of your broken life, my friend, the Potter wants to put you back together again”. 

?? Whatcha Wearin ??

In the past several weeks I have found myself counseling and ministering to several people in the heart of battle in their lives…they are battling conflicting emotions – with anger, sadness, depression, and anxiety appearing to have the upper hand most of the time; they are battling flesh, they are battling in relationships with spouses, family members, coworkers, exes, and friends, or they are battling in their finances.  I fit in this group too, as I find myself seemingly struggling to be an effective Wife and Mommy (at least in my eyes) in addition to some of the other issues mentioned above.  But this morning…and yesterday…and the days and weeks before that…God reminded me that he has already given direction on where our hope comes from, and led me to the book of Ephesians, right to the middle of chapter 6!!  So I thought it not stingy of me to share with you what God reminded me of….that everything that we’re facing right now really has nothing to do with us, but instead is a wicked scheme of the devil to get us off track, and cause us to take our eyes of Christ (v. 10-12).  And to him, what better time to use his trickery than right now, as we prepare to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ!

So as I find God doing some AMAZING things in my life, even in the midst of a few trials, I’m so grateful that he reminded me to refer to his Word for HELP.  He reminded me to check my wardrobe to make sure that I wasn’t simply wearing what was cute and trendy, because cute and trendy won’t be enough to combat the rush of tears…or anxiety…or frustration that keeps deceptively impersonating itself as bigger than God.  But instead God instructs us on what our appropriate attire should be…which is to put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD, “so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you’ve done everything, to stand”.  I earnestly encourage you to take some time to study Ephesians 6:10-18, and learn God’s strategy for us in these troubling times.  I was encouraged and feel better by reading them, and I pray you will be blessed by them as well.

Until next time….TTYS

Lisa

It’s Just Noise

As I sit here trying to do some work, and I look around at my 1 year old Son, and the lovely mess he’s making in the playroom (where the computer also happens to be located), I began to think about all the things that we allow to distract us throughout the day, things that ultimately stop us from reaching the destiny that lies ahead of us.  I know full well what all can present itself in a days time that will totally throw me off of the game plan that I’d outlined for myself in the quiet of the day.  I get up most mornings at 4:30 to pray, read my bible, and just commune with God.  In that time of quietness I get a lot accomplished…mentally.  It is then that I remember everything that I’m SUPPOSED to do each day; my mind is clear and I am alert and focused, and often times I either write down all my task for the day or send myself an email so that I don’t forget.  I’m also very in tune with God spiritually, and it is in this stillness that I’m led to pray for someone, or even send a text of encouragement…right at 4:30/5 in the morning!!  In the stillness I feel really good, I’m at peace, and I know that things are going to be ok.  BUT…then the alarms begin to go off for my family to get up, the tv or radio comes on, and people start talking (or fussing)…and all of a sudden the quietness is overcome by NOISE, a noise that doesn’t seem to end until bedtime most nights.  What I wanted to encourage you with today is this…IT’S JUST NOISE…and noise doesn’t last always!!!  I’ve had to stop typing this blog many times this morning in order to play with or redirect my Son and the “noise” only he can create….LOL; BUT…I’m able to sit still, right now, in this moment, and finish this…because He is ASLEEP (PRAISE GOD FOR NAP TIME!!!).  No matter what noise presents itself throughout your day, my reminder to you is to push through it…redirect it…overcome it.  Change the channel and overpower the noise with a sound that is more soothing to you.  I have my favorite Pandora station playing right now, and my favorite Preacher is already recorded on the DVR to watch when I can get a break.  But no matter what…don’t let the noise win…you can do this and do it WELL!!!  Get SOMETHING done today…even if it’s just one thing…and even if it takes the entire day.  Forge ahead…push through…and remember…IT’S JUST NOISE…and it won’t last always!!!

TTYS,

Lisa

On The Red Carpet

Have you ever felt like life was just too much? Like everything that could possibly go wrong WAS going wrong in your life? Like something new was happening EVERY TIME you turned around?  Are you feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, encompassed, or overcome? Have you ever felt like you were literally carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders???  I have, and I suspect (and KNOW) that a lot of you have, or are currently experiencing something similar to this too.

This morning during my prayer time, as I prayed for 2 people very dear to my heart, God reminded me of the time he had to take me down, to deal with me about this very thing.  I was in college, either in my Freshman or Sophomore year.  I lived in an all-girls dorm with my Best Friend as my roommate.  What I remember most about our room was this ginormous oval shaped red carpet that we had on our floor.  It was really a site to see, but we loved it all the same.   I remember that I was experiencing a really tough time in my life.  I had gone to college to escape my home life, but got to college and discovered that life didn’t get as easy as I thought it would.  I was an ‘ok’ student, but because I was truly only in school to escape the other place that I was in, I did not give my all.  As a matter of fact, I remember the dread I felt when I had to go home to reveal a 1st Semester GPA of 1.9 and a letter stating that I was on Academic Probation!  And then there were the newly found “relationship issues” that I had no idea how to handle, because I didn’t have many boyfriends in high school…I just wasn’t “that girl”, and boys really took no interest in me.  So to be dealing with ‘breakups’, and then starting a new relationship, was just blowing my mind.  And did I mention that I was only in school to escape home, but my escape didn’t change the dynamics that I tried to leave behind.  I still got calls…I still heard the stories…and I still remembered why I wanted…NO NEEDED…to get away in the first place. So I found myself in a place of frustration and was completely overwhelmed.  I was tired all the time, sad and emotional, and often felt sick.  I know now that I was experiencing depression symptoms, but I didn’t  know that then.   During that time I remember saying often, “I feel like I’m carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders”.  And I said it all the time…until one day God did something.

One day, I woke up in devastating, dire pain.  My back hurt so bad I found that I couldn’t sit up for long, and I ended up leaving classes early and going back to my dorm room.  My roommate was gone to class, so I was in the room all by myself.  I remember laying down on the floor…on that huge red carpet…and I began to cry.  I told God about how hard things were, how tired I was, and how I didn’t think I could take much more of what I was going through.  And I said those words again…I told God “I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders”.  And in that moment, God began to speak to me.  He told me “you don’t have to feel like this…I never created you to carry the world”.  God reminded me of my physical stature, that I didn’t even weigh more than 125 lbs, so there was no way I would be capable carrying the world…not on my small shoulders…because He never designed me to do so!  God began to remind me that HE holds the whole world in His hands, which meant the hard part for me was already done, IF I would just rest and relax in Him.  He told me that everything was going to be ok, and that He was already making everything alright!!!  I’m not sure when it happened during that time, but I eventually was able to get up off the floor and get into bed, but I have always held on to the encounter I had with God on the red carpet.

Today, the application I get from that experience, an application I want to share with you is this: When you get into the place when you’re feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, encompassed, and overcome, TURN TO GOD!!!  God never intended for us to carry the weight…the heaviness…the burden of life all by ourselves.  In Matthew 11:28-30 he leaves us with an antidote…an answer…a solution to our worries and our woes.  He says to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.  God wants you (and me) to know that HE has already done the hard part.  He carries the brunt of the load for us, because He is bigger, and stronger, and very capable of handling the load.   And if/as we begin to walk in step with Him, we will get to a place where we don’t even feel the heaviness of the load any more.   Be encouraged today, and learn from my experience on the red carpet.  Hold fast to a God who is big enough…and strong enough…to carry the whole wide world in the palm of his hands!!!  

TTYS,

Lisa

Let the DOING begin…NOW!!!

Hello Hearts!

Boy am I EXCITED!!! Healing Hearts Counseling and Consultation Services is ready to roll!!!  And what excites me most about this announcement is that we are ready to roll WITHOUT all of the necessary pieces being in place…or least that we know of. What we DO KNOW is that God is, and has been at work in, for, and through us from the very moment we stepped out on Faith to follow God’s calling.  In the time from the day we started until this very moment, we have been learning and seeking God about what to do and where to go next.  And what I heard LOUD AND CLEAR yesterday was God saying, “you have gotten more than enough word…you have listened and heard me clearly…now I need you to DO”!!! So we are starting with the launch of this website.  The website is an ever-evolving endeavor, so please be patient with us as we continue to enhance it to be an effective resource tool for you.  As we journey, we will be sharing blogs on different topics and ideas that are pressing on hearts, as well as exploring things that YOU desire to learn more about.  Thank you so much for traveling on this journey with us…Healing Hearts appreciates your support and will be forever better because of it.

TTYS,

Lisa

Hello world!

Welcome to Healing Hearts Counseling & Consultation Services!!!