Clay Jars

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

New International Version (NIV)

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

How is it that I've never seen this before?? As I was reading this verse this morning I suddenly read it differently than ever before.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

Think about it. Clay jars are not made to take that kind of abuse! They will break if you press them hard on every side. However, it's the treasure that we have inside us that keeps us from being crushed. Only God is able to do this and it highlights HIS all-surpassing power. He gets the glory. Amazing!!

Found the Key to My Weight Loss!

I've been in a terrible habit of NOT grocery shopping. As a result, my hubby would end up going every evening to the grocery store to find something quick for dinner. That food was expensive and not healthy. I finally decided that it was time for me to buckle down and get serious about making sure we have a menu and groceries for the week.

My main issue is trying to come up with meals. Then my friend pointed me to a website that has a ton of wonderful crockpot meals called Mommy's Fabulous Finds. Now I had an arsenal of recipes to choose from to get myself out of this rut. Now to conquer the Issue of getting a weekly grocery list made. I decided to do a web search to see what was available online in the way of recipe databases with an auto grocery list generator. Jackpot!! I found just what I was looking for! 

Plan to Eat was developed and is run by a husband and wife team. It has a widget that allows me to quickly add recipes I find online to my database. I can also manually enter my own recipes. This program has saved me so much time and money. It has enabled me to stick to my resolution of going grocery shopping weekly.

I'm also loosing weight as a result of not eating that expensive, unhealthy convenience food. Avoiding sweets is helping as well. Strength training and running is also having an effect on my weight loss. I'm at the age that it has become harder to loose weight without a LOT of hard work and sweat. It is so encouraging to finally see my weight going down for a change.