Deliveries

My narrow driveway has seen lots of activity lately, what with all sorts of delivery truck drivers dropping off various supplies for my writing office. The largest delivery is due this week--final printed copies of my book, WILLIWAW WINDS. The pace has already picked up, with scheduled book signings, talks, and conference appearances.

Squeezed into the hubbub of promoting books is the usual list of Fall chores. Yes, it was a colder-than-normal summer but the tomatoes are finally ripening, fast and furiously. Pole beans are late but prolific and delicious. We're enjoying other fresh garden veggies too, and as busy as I am in the office, I still enjoy harvesting the bounty and sharing some of it with others.

My website is up and running now, and I'd love to hear from you! Click onto the Comments page and let me know what you think about the content, my book if you've read it, or anything else you'd like to share with other readers.
http://www.sallybair.com

Have a blessed week.

ETERNAL PERSPECTIVES
by Sally Bair

Jars of Clay

A small hive of bees built a nest high in a cedar tree in my front yard, but some critter knocked it down one night. Chunks of the nest lay on the ground the next morning, with only a few displaced survivors hovering around for awhile.

There isn’t much to a bee’s nest—some honey combs inside a lightweight, fragile shell. But to the bee colony, their nest is a treasure because it holds their only source of energy—honey.

We could compare our physical bodies to that of the beehive. We’re held together with a fragile frame with our sweetness hidden inside. Sometimes our sweetness oozes out in the form of smiles and acts of kindness. Other times it’s well-hidden by the negative emotions we carry.

Those of us who are followers of Christ carry even more sweetness inside—the very presence of Christ, Himself. That’s where our real value lies. When we accept Him into our lives, He takes residence in our fragile shell of a body.

But if we are to be of any value in His kingdom, we first must spiritually die to self. “We are the clay, and You our potter; and … we are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8) We are mere jars of clay, meant to be broken so our sweetness can be spilled out to others like the honey in its comb.

Paul says “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7). He continues by explaining that as Christians, humble and ready to be molded by our Potter, we can expect to be afflicted and persecuted and put to the test for our faith. But we need to focus on Jesus rather than on our circumstances. “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Christianity is not for wimps, my pastor said recently. Paul proves that point in his epistles. He and millions of other believers were—and are—ready to face death for the sake of their Savior who is the greatest treasure of all. We are merely His jars of clay, hopefully ready to be molded into His image.

Lord, though our physical house is as fragile as a beehive, we thank You for offering us eternal life—the greatest treasure of all—through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Your Son, Jesus.