By Kara Hallstrom
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. -- Isaiah 64:8.
This past year I have been fascinated with the numerous Hebrew names for God. Yatsar (yaw-tsar), in particular, is one that has caught my attention immensely. It is the name for God meaning to fashion, to frame, the potter. It is a potter’s term that means to take shape by squeezing. Just like an expert potter can remodel and reshape a piece of clay into an elegantly formed pot that is ideal for a specific use, so can our Master Potter reshape us into beautiful vessels that our Yatsar can use in our world.
The reason why this name for God resonates with me is because during this season of post grad life, I have been praying one prayer in particular:
God, form me into the daughter you intended me to be. Allow me to give you full control over all areas of my life in order to totally surrender to you. Be the potter of my heart and tend the clay of my soul. Remove unnecessary components in my heart and remove anything from my life that is not honoring you. Lord, give me the strength, wisdom, and protection as I go through this changing season. Amen.
During this year as a Capital Fellow, I have slowly started to identify the things in my heart that need reshaping. One thing in particular that has been stretching and bending me in this transitional season is this: I am not in control of my life. This is one thing that I have always been aware of, but I am horrible at accepting. I have realized how our loving Father is one who is more committed to our character than He is to our comfort. Even though it is an uncomfortable season of not knowing what is next, I know that His hands are what is molding the intricate details of my life.
“Total surrender demands that we place ourselves in the Potter’s hands with no agenda, no pre-set conditions—giving Him permission to bend us, break us, and change us. As we give up control to Him, like a Master Craftsman He begins to work patiently and lovingly, with a specific plan and one-of-a-kind design in mind. He works through circumstances as well as people, through joy and pain, victory and defeat. He filters every part of our circumstances through His plan, to create in us a life of worth and meaning and purpose” - Mary Southerland
Pictures from the Week
How our Sunday School class makes us smile each week!
The best commute buddies
It is starting to look like Spring in DC :)
Forever grateful for the Islers! (& all host families)
Know a Potential Capital Fellow?
UPDATE: The Capital Fellows class for 2023-24 is basically full at this point! We are awaiting one final decision . Praise God! What does this mean? It means we are now in the early, early recruiting of the 2024-25 class. If you know current university juniors, please let them know about the Capital Fellows program. We will begin accepting applications for the 2024-25 class on September 1st.
If you know a college student that should consider joining the Capital Fellows program, please encourage them to get in touch with us. The easiest way to express interest in the program is our Contact Us Form.
About Capital Fellows. Capital Fellows is an advanced leadership and discipleship program for recent college graduates. Through graduate courses, a paid internship, one-on-one mentoring and many leadership and community service opportunities, fellows develop and apply their gifts in real-world situations while learning to integrate a Christian worldview into all areas of life. Capital Fellows is a unique opportunity to live and work in the Washington DC area and to be an active member of a supportive community that seeks to serve the city with the love of Christ. It is also a unique opportunity to get hands-on experience in the workplace while deeply exploring God’s design for us as workers and contributors to human flourishing.
Pray for the Capital Fellows
Thank you for praying for the Capital Fellows each week!
In the spring semester, each fellow is asked to write a paper on a topic that they are personally sorting and that has been the subject of debate in the church. These papers can be hard to write because they are not just intellectual exercises, but a matters of the heart. Please pray for the fellows as they work through the questions, doubts, and debates of these topics. May God bless them with a deep sense of his closeness as they step into topics that are hard and possibly confusing. Perhaps the most amazing part of this work is not the papers and topics themselves, but that God invites us to ask our questions, to wonder about things, and to seek wisdom in his Word.
Want to pray for the Capital Fellows in an ongoing way? Download this handy prayer guide for your phone or tablet.
About The Fellows Initiative
Capital Fellows is part of a network of similar programs across the country. This network is called The Fellows Initiative. There are 34 Fellows programs in TFI, roughly 3,000 alumni living around the world, and more Fellows programs on the way.
If you know a church in the US or Canada that would benefit from joining TFI by launching a new Fellows program. Please contact TFI by visiting their website.
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