Hey ladies! I hope you are all doing well.
Clay in His Hands
Lately I feel like I have been stretched, pulled , squished, shaped and molded so deeply. Is this how clay would feel? We are the clay in our Potter’s hand after all. Ask and we shall receive. I have asked very specific things and He answered me loud and clear what I wanted to know. Most of last week was a challenge and hard. It is easy to wallow in the hard and even painful parts but that is not what He wants for us. Growing pains hurt. Growth is happening then and we can do better from there. Even when we know better we will sometimes do undesirable things. Paul’s words resonates greatly in those moments of doing what we know shouldn’t and not doing what should. We all need mercy, grace and forgiveness. We need to extend it to ourselves as well. Don’t get stuck. Some days are just hard because life can be at times. Sometimes it is beyond our control. Sometimes we watch those we care about suffer. So many beautiful things in life and in creation are formed under pressure. Keep leaning into Him and keep pressing towards the mark. Yah is sooo good! Boy oh boy He will do what we ask. Praise Him!
Pottery is amazing to me and it has always fascinated me. Kilns help create some incredibly beautiful works of art. It is incredible to me how some things in the world can tolerate that kind of heat.
The parallels fascinate me. Wow, I love real applicable comparisons. There are many.
I think a deeper study on this would be good. Watching some pottery videos might be encouraging and insightful. It is something I enjoy watching ,so why not again?
I know there has been a lot posted here and on my social media accounts lately with a big focus on love, marriage and family. It has been on my heart so deeply. It really is true that everything, absolutely everything comes down to love. How we speak. How we act. How we treat everyone else and even towards ourselves. Our thoughts. Our everyday interactions. All.Of.It.
The Ten Commandments -> all fits into the two greatest commandments. Love towards Yah and love towards our neighbor. It truly does matter. And not the excuse making kind of superficial love. Real true Godly love. It should permeate everything.
Sometimes we do better than others for sure, saying or doing things we are less than proud of. We all do that. You are not alone when you struggle or have a moment of weakness. I get it. I see you. Yah sees you! We dust ourselves off, repent and try to do better.
How are we responding to our Master Potter as the clay?
Hearing about others’ lives changing for the better is glorious! Then they can turn around to help and encourage others through their own journey to improvement.
Study what you hear others say. Prayerfully search it out in His word when you see principles, scripture and the stories of the Bible that get mentioned. Trust that the Holy Spirit is working in and guiding you. Keeping in mind to desire and search for His will and Truth, not our own. That is my hope and prayer. I love hearing back and hope to get others’ tips and ideas that works for them or what they learned. We are here to edify, uplift and encourage each other 😊❤️🙏
We definitely need Godly women to be able to go to. What a blessing it can be. I thank Yah for the wonderful Godly women He has placed in my life. None of us have it all together nor do we have all the answers.
Sabbath Preparation Tips
Every week we have a Sabbath prep day. We don’t have to save it all for Friday. Figuring out how to do things throughout the week and even some food preparation that can be done sooner helps stress levels and being so so busy that day.
I have to sometimes remind myself to prepare my heart too. I don’t like having to admit it when I have gotten too focused on the physical preparation. It does happen, I assume, to most of , if not all of us. Meditating on His word, copy work, listening to Godly music, podcasts, read or listen to Bible, or whatever else helps us enter the Sabbath at ease and ready for it.
It isn’t meant for us to have a perfectly clean spotless house.
Now, I can attest to the truth that a cleanish home does help you feel more able to relax and enjoy the gift of His Sabbath. But that isn’t why He gave it to us, having a spotless house isn’t the point.
It is a day to physically, mentally, emotionally and Spiritually relax, recover from the week and focus on Him. It is a day to spend with family and brethren if we can. Enjoying His creation is so wonderful. What a rejuvenating day!
If some things don’t get done it is ok. The Sabbath is a gift. Focus on Him, enjoy time with our families and if you have ability to gather with other believers that is amazing- enjoy that too!
Especially when you have littles it can be a challenge. That season of life is definitely a bit harder and has a different approach and handling than when have teenagers or the kids have grown and moved out. The littles season doesn’t last long. One day the kids will be older and your approach and feeling less frazzled will adjust to each season of life.
Do what you can, don’t beat your self up and even let your littles help out too. Yeah it can take longer and does get frustrating and gets messy. But that is good! Most women I know, including myself have had moments we didn’t let them and then regretted it later on. It can be fun and make for some great memories!
Even on the prep day getting into prayer and Bible study regardless will help your day go smoother. It helps our attitude and our approach to the day.
I certainly didn’t like my kids seeing me complain about Sabbath prep 🤦🏼♀️😱 I definitely don’t want to send the message that His ways are a burden. Yikes And ouch! If it is a delight why oh why am I being cranky and complaining while I am prepping? 🤦🏼♀️😖 That does not negate it being hard at times. Not at all . Sometimes it is straight up hard but I do prefer to not focus on that. Not always very good at it. These are some of the moments we need support and encouragement the most.
So plan ahead. It doesn’t have to be a long list. Even if you are not a planner, a little bit of planning can make the Prep day and Sabbath go so much better.
My friend Heidi suggests planning out your next week on Fridays. That way it is done and your mind can relax and not be going back to on all that you have to plan and do before you plan it out another day. Brain dump before the Sabbath starts. I think that is a great idea.
Bible Study Tips
There are great apps like My-sword for android and E-sword for IOS or computers. If you choose to use them it gives great opportunities to get short bursts or longer sessions of reading, words studies or whatever else want to do on them. We love using them and have for years.
I have bookmarks in my Bible that have different things on them. I have more I want to make. I made a list of the subtitles of all the Psalms for easy reference. One has the Torah portion list on it. Another has a daily reading of Psalms and Proverbs list that is 30 days long. So if consistent with it you can potentially read those two books a dozen times in a year. Wow. Talk about filling your mind with His Word. Sometimes I am better at it than others.
Copy work is another amazing Bible study tool. There are so many options out there to use or you can make your own up. I have a monthly one that I follow from Heidi from Torah Family Living
Torah Sisters Magazine has a beautiful Torah portions coloring book. I love to frame them and set it out.
We are not in competition and the podcast episode link below was named for that very purpose, as you can see in the screen shot of that episode below. I hope you give it a listen and enjoy the content. The app is amazing and the messenger chat section is great! She is lovely.
I also have a coloring book that is the book of Proverbs. it has lines to write notes on sides of pages. Tucked away inside its pages are a lot of beautiful pictures that focuses on Proverbs to color. There are a a lot of full page beautiful coloring sheets in it as well. It also has postcards and bookmarks can cut and use. This really is a nice resource.
There are so many things you can do that is engaging and fills our minds focusing on Him and how to copy our Messiah.
When our kids were little I loved having them sit on my lap or near me and read Biblical things together. Talking about it was fun too! Sometimes had out of the mouths of babes moments lol. Things they ask and say can be so eye opening.
What are some Sabbath prep tips you have?
How about ideas and tips for Bible study?
Comment below and help other sisters in Yeshua discover what works for them and their needs.
I hope to continue getting ideas, tips, strategies, recipes, you name it! So email, message, comment on posts! We are on this walk as Sisters In Yeshua. I love seeing contributions ❤️🔥🤗
You are seen
Encouragement
And remember. No matter what you are facing, you are seen and you are loved!
You are a daughter of the Most High! Hallelujah!
When the days are hard seek Him. Ask and you shall receive.
Not one of us is more valuable than the other.
Remember the Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine for the one.
You matter!
You are not a failure.
You’ve got this sister! He has got you!
Lean into Him!
Until next time!
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