Pottery & The Potter

 Hello world!

Today I started throwing on the wheel after not throwing for years. I had two attempts; the second much better than the first. By the second throw, my hands were covered in mud and my arms were getting a work out. 

To throw, you exercise your core and arms. You're steadying your arms by supporting them against your knees and applying pressure with both hands. The left is pressing on the side while the right hand is pressing on the top of the clay. You're bending over the wheel as you're pressing on the clay to form the base. Once the base is formed, you form a hole in the centre with both thumbs. Then, you pull the borders of the pot or vase or bowl up, and apply even pressure from both the inside and outside of the clay as you pull up, being careful to maintain a medium speed on the wheel. When you throw, through the whole process you should maintain a fast-to-medium speed. Do not go too slow. It's also important to keep the clay wet as well.   

And as I was bending over the wheel, my hands covered in wet clay, I was thinking about the process, what the clay felt like as it formed under my fingers, and how God calls himself a potter, and us the clay.  Jeremiah 18:1-6, "The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 'Go down to the potter's shop, and I will speak to you there.' So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the LORD gave me this message: 'O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand'." And, Isaiah 64:8 says, "And yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand". 

I love this so much. God took the time and labor to create each one of us. 

Merciful God

"I will say to the prisoners, 'Come out in freedom', and to those in darkness, "Come into the light'. They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare. They will neither hunger nor thirst. The searing sun will not reach them anymore. For the LORD in his mercy will lead them; and he will lead them beside cool waters. And I will make my mountains into level paths for them. The highways will be raised above the valleys. See, my people will return from far away, from the lands to the north to the west, and from as far south as Egypt." ~ Isaiah 49:9-12

"Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back  when we have been separated from him." ~ 2 Samuel 14:14 

In a Philosophy class........

 In a Philosophy class, all conversations will point to God. I like when God is mentioned in the class- because then I get to talk about Him and it's like talking about an old friend that I loved, and still loved, the company of.

Current Fixation: Astronauts

 When I was younger, I considered being an astronaut, but that was before I realized how much math was involved. So I'm not going to be an astronaut in the future, but I have a fascination with them. So as I drink a C drink with Wall E playing in the background, I'll tell you why......

I think one of the things that gives our human species our humanity is the ability and pull toward the unknown- exploring the world above or below us. I think NASA's missions are interesting: Friendship 7, Apollo 13, and the Moon Landing, among many others. (Missions that can be classified under Human Spaceflight.) The spaceships look cool and mechanical. I like the idea of the astronauts orbiting back around and getting to go back home.     

In the beginning...

 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth....." Genesis 1:1

God is the God of creativity. He is the God who creates. Right from the start we get an idea of who God-all-powerful, death defeating, world changing, loving, just, merciful, Judge of the world, Yahweh, eternal, and forever enthroned above- is. We are his people and bear His image, thus we have a desire to create as well. Humans like to create things (some good, some bad.) Think about it- paintings, writing, Minecraft worlds, movies, TV scripts, crocheting, singing, dancing..... God created the whole world and every single little thing in it. Flowers. Stars!! Dirt. Grass. Water. Weather. Trees. Monkeys!! Dogs!! There's no end to it all- everything in the ocean (from bacteria to whales) and everything in the sky.

Next time you want to create something- do it!! CREATE!! MAKE THINGS!! CREATE THINGS UNIQUELY TO YOURSELF. (Because God creates too.)