THE GENIUS IN ALL OF US!
Hanging on our livingroom wall are two water colors, beautifully mounted and framed. We also have a black and white painting, beautifully mounted and framed, of a small child half in shadow. These were painted by my son Danny when he was 14, a freshman in highschool. Sitting on my TV is a woven basket that holds some Peacock feathers that my daughter, Jennifer created in art class, also in her freshman year. It originally came with large paper flowers that eventually died by being exposed to the elements for far too long. We cherish the things our children create; they are an extension of ourselves! When Jim was entering kindergarten, his mother made for him a 'sit upon' which he was to use in the hallway, to sit upon during air raid drills. It now hangs on the wall in our office. I probably cherish it more than he does.

Early in my marriage and when my children were small, I too was into crafts and created things out of nothing. You know, that is what create means; to make something out of nothing! Today I am not crafty, my hands don't work like they use to. Jim paints! He has been painting for many years now and even has his own studio at home. He is generous and gives them away on occasion. We have many hanging on our walls and I think they are good enough to sell.

At one point in time, we joined a diet program where one of the key phrases was "To become the person we were created to be." Of course this program was not only to lose weight but to increase in wisdom and stature before God and man. I grew to love saying; "to become the person God has created me to be." We do this by looking at the inside, not the outside!

We find in Genesis 1:32, God said that all He had created was very good! We are part of His creation, therefore we are very good! God created us! We are an extension of Him! There is a little song that says; "He's still working on me." PBPWMGINFWMY was a popular anagram that says; "Please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet." In Jeremiah 18:6 it talks about God being the potter and we are the clay. We should be willing to let God mold us and make us after His will. But too often we question God; "What are you going to make of me Lord?....I don't want to be a cup....I want to be a fine big pitcher....I don't want to be functional....I want to be beautiful....How are you going to do it Lord?....I don't want it to hurt....Can it be overnight?....I don't want gray hair Lord, I want red....Lord I just want hair!"

Who are we, to question God about what He intends to do with us? How can the clay question the potter? If you could watch Thomas Kinkade do a painting, would you make suggestions about how he might do it better? Instead we say; "Wow! Look at that!" How then, can we question the master potter; the master painter; the master artist of all time. How can we question God, about His work of fashioning us into the person He created us to be? Relax, trust in God and let Him do His work....You'll love the results!

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 it says; "You are the temple of the Holy Spirit." Think of it! Think of the temple that Solomon built for God. It was magnificent! You are the magnificent temple of the Holy Spirit! Do you feel like it? If you don't, let Him continue His work in you by being about the Lord's business. It is easy to say, I don't have time or I don't know how to do that. It is easy to not make commitments. Yet we demand that God be real in our lives! Even so, we are afraid to be real in God's life! God will continue to mold us until it is time for us to enter into the heavenly realm. Each time I write one of these devotions I am excited and amazed how God is still interested in my becoming the person He has created me to be. How about You? Are you becoming that person God created you to be? By Jane Ann Crenshaw 9/27/08