The Beginning

It's hard to believe I've been blogging for three years. What started as just trying to find an outlet for all my thoughts soon became a record of all the crazy things God is doing in my life. It became apparent that my blogging had moved beyond recipes and weekend ideas and now centered on what God has been showing me in my daily walk with him. This new blog is the same me, simply a different focus. Over the next few weeks, I will be reposting some things that I wrote throughout the year on my other blog.

First, I wanted to share a little bit about the inspiration for the title of this blog. Over the past few months, I have been reflecting a lot on what it means for God to work through me. One of the biggest struggles I have is trying to do everything on my own. It's a mix of pride, fear, and insecurity. It's something God has been showing me a lot about. It's those times when on my knees fervently asking God to forgive me for once again making something an idol, for pushing him away when I'm frustrated, or simply begging him to move and help me remember the joy of my salvation, that I start to begin to understand what 2 Corinthians 4:7 means:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Jars of clay were cheap, insignificant vessels that were sometimes used to hold valuables but were usually used to hold garbage and human waste.

So why am I calling this blog empty jars? Well, I'm glad you asked.

Those nights when I've been on my knees praying fervently about something, God teaches me something. The most valuable thing I've learned over the last few months is that it's not until I empty myself of

Pride

Selfishness

Insecurity

Fear

that I can truly begin to be used by God. Do you see where I'm going? I'm that jar of clay. On my own, I'm insignificant. I am cheap. When I empty myself of me, I am an empty jar that is waiting to be filled by God. Nothing I do is significant on my own. I'm not writing this blog for validation or to make myself feel better. I want to share the awesome power of God in the context of my life.

I heard it put this way, "when your dream dies, God's dream is able to takeover."