The Iron Diva: Nu Thang: The Weekly Digest

Since the Simple Woman's Daybook is no longer a thing, I thought I'd find a way to include things that don't quite fit with my other blog series. I will include some of the old prompts while including some new ones. I'm also eliminating (or at least changing) some of the prompts. For example, "Titters from the Twitter (and other places)" will now be called "Now That's Funny Right There." The former seems like a dorky name since I'm not on Twitter (or X, or whatever) anymore.

Looking out the window....

The warm beauty of the sunshine streaming through the "big window" (my sliding glass door that doesn't go anywhere...unless you want to die) contradicts the chill in the air inside my apartment. Both my electricity and gas are out due to high winds in the area. The power company thought a preemptive shutdown would minimize the danger of wildfires in the area. The electricity I understand, but the gas? Really?

A cool experience...

I did a nerd run to Belmar Library during spring break. On the entry wall were these gorgeous art quilts. I do not know the artist, but I enjoyed seeing the display. These were just the pieces that were at my eye level. There were several more displayed

Favorite quote(s) of the week...

No man can hope to be felt who cannot make himself understood. If we give our people refined truth, pure Scriptural doctrine, and all so worded as to have no needless obscurity about it, we shall be true shepherds of the sheep, and the profiting of our people will soon be apparent. - Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students.

I'm thinking about...

Our last sermon series at church. Pastor Robert Gelinas just finished a series called "The Potter's House" based on Jeremiah 18:1-4. The entire series was excellent and I highly recommend it. However, I'm personally struggling with the final sermon. Each message showed how the steps of creating pottery are analogous to our spiritual journey. In the final message on finishing, Pastor Gelinas mentioned that occasionally a pot will crack after its final firing. He tried to encourage us by saying that the "cracks" of life are OK and God can still use cracked pots.

Here's where I'm struggling. First, let me give a caveat: I'm not questioning my Pastor's teaching; I'm questioning how I supposed to apply the teaching. Previously, we heard a series called "Better Than Before." It also used pottery as an analogy. In this case, it was Kintsugi pottery--broken vessels repaired with lacquer mixed with gold. The cracks in this pottery are repaired in a manner that makes the container stronger. The repair is akin to how God's "repairs" make us stronger than before.

So, the confusion lies in whether the goal is for me to let the "cracks" show, or pray in hopes that they will be repaired to make me a more acceptable vessel. What marred parts of my life are dangerous cracks, and which are mere beauty marks that make me unique? While it sounds simple, this conundrum has been gnawing at me for a while.

What I read this week...