Let me tell you a little about myself. I am of Eastern band Cherokee (Tsalagi) descent. I have always loved the outdoors. Through the years I became very knowledgeable and skilled with survival to the point I can survive with only what nature, or should I say, Creation provides. I have taught survival skills and written books about survival since the early 80s. I have also been a follower of Jesus Christ since 1975. I am a teacher of the Bible and a spiritual guide. I don’t like most organized religions because I believe God wants to have a relationship with us not just our religious practice. He is the Creator of all things and desires to know us, guide us, and walk us through this life.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:1-10
I can tell you from personal experience that the Creator speaks through his creation. The scriptures confirm this.
“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.” Job 12:7
“The wind and the earth are very important to me. When you see the mountains and beach and think, God scooped me out of that and created me from such beauty and then I get to return to dust when he’s finished…Yeah.” —Tim Pressley, my brother. Avid hiker and camper.
“Shall I tell you how to recognize the breath that you breathe? Shall I teach you how to recognize your own heart’s beat? I am the essence of all created things. If you have seen me you have seen the Creator. I am that I am.” —Eli, Book 1 of RAVENQUEST ‘Here Be Dragons’ By Benjamin Raven Pressley
“There is hardly a day that goes by that I do not allow my bare feet to feel the soil beneath my feet. There is just something about my bare feet walking upon the surface of this planet we call Earth. It is like my skin touching the skin of my closest friend as I walk. It is out here in the wild where I feel most alive. It is out here that I can feel the energy of all creation and feel the Creator’s blood as it pumps through every living thing I touch, for he has truly connected all things. His breath is in the wind. His embrace is felt in the warmth of the Great Light as it shines upon us. His heartbeat is one with ours as our feet walk upon the surface of the earth like the beating upon the skin of a drum. I see his smile in the night when the moon is in its final phase. He waves at me from the wings of the eagle and the dove. He sings to me from every babbling brook and the wind in the trees and the crackling of the fire. His blood flows through mine as I feed upon the food he has given from his own hand. And he loves us through that one special one that he sends into our lives. I am one with the Creator and all living things.”— Benjamin Raven Pressley
This world has become so busy and complicated. Bad news assaults us from every media. I believe everyone needs to get away now and then. It can be as simple as a walk on the beach, a hike in the woods, fishing, camping, and any activity that will get you outdoors and disconnect if only for a little while from the screams of civilization…and while you are at it silence or leave behind that little box most are chained to, you know what I mean: that smartphone, and uh, don’t let it outsmart you. Did you know that there have been studies confirming that most sleep problems can be corrected with a week-long camping trip? It’s true! It resets your circadian rhythms. I personally believe, although I have no studies to confirm it, that most children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD just need to learn to slow down. Think about it, they are on smartphones, computers, and video games that are fast, fast, fast, and then they are asked to sit still in a classroom all day with some boring teacher. Parents should balance their children’s activities with activities that inherently teach them to slow down. Get out in nature with children. Make them take a walk or ride a bicycle for a while, anything that will disconnect them from brainwashing electronic devices. Teach them balance.

Pottery making is one of the activities that has spoken volumes to me through the years and in this article I hope to share some of those things with you. We as humans are compared to clay vessels throughout scripture.
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7
“For dust you are and to dust you shall return” Genesis 3:19
In the book of Genesis, we read about how God created the earth including everything on it. He Spoke it into existence with one big exception…When it came to humans it says he lovingly scooped up dust/dirt/clay and formed it into the first human and he breathed his very breath of life into the thing he formed with his own hands. Just like the potter scoops up and digs out just the right clay, God the Creator did for the first man.
“The precious sons of Zion, Weighed against fine gold, How they are regarded as earthen jars, The work of a potter’s hands!” Lamentations 4:2
“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” Isaiah 64:8
Wow! Ponder that for a second. He scooped us up, specially chose just the right clay from just the right place, formed us and then breathed his very life into us! It is not by chance that any of us are here in this time and in this place.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you. When I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalms 139:13-16

Don’t let the depth of these scriptures allude you. We are designed. We are specially made. He formed us as the potter forms the clay. He knit us together stitch by stitch. The past, present and future is all the same to him. He knew exactly who you would be, how you would look, the choices you would make…and yet still he made us. He did not make us in the form of animals but created us in his own image. We are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’, that means he made us with great care. That means that no matter how you or others may view you, God had a plan. He knew Adam and Eve would fail and fall short. He knew you and me would fall short and yet knowing all that he made us anyway. What love! What foresight!
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Psalms 103:13-14

That last scripture is basically saying ‘he knows our limitations’. He knows our weaknesses and capabilities. He is always present to encourage us to go a little farther, endure a little longer, don’t give up the fight. There are times I have wondered why he would create such inferior beings. Think about it. We don’t live long, we are disobedient, we do bad things, we don’t have superpowers…we are just human beings. But perhaps that is the point…I mean if he can show the universe what these small weak beings can do, how we can endure, how we can rejoice even in pain and hardship…then he is glorified even more so. And he didn’t just create us to be weak failures he sent his very own spirit to inhabit us and strengthen us and cause us to do the impossible! That is what is meant when Jesus tells his disciples that they will do greater works than he (John 14:12). Greater works than Jesus? Are you kidding me? He walked on water, he healed the sick, he raised the dead and much more. Yes, that is exactly what he meant. The disciples proved it even after Jesus was resurrected by doing the same miracles Jesus did and more. And that still applies to this day and time. Miracles didn’t cease. It is still happening. The media is so corrupt they aren’t going to report it. Many accept the false doctrine that miracles have ceased and it doesn’t happen in this crowd because they can’t believe it is true.
“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Mark 16:15-20
Everything in this world wants to limit us and place chains on us so we will never realize our full potential. The devil wants to bind us and keep us bound and powerless. So often because we do not know we are deceived or we choose not to believe what God says and it is as if we hold out our own wrists to be chained willingly. Why would anyone choose to be bound by chains? Why would anyone willingly hold out their wrists to receive chains? I’m not speaking of metal shackles on physical wrists; I am speaking of the chains that bind the mind and spirit and enslave the soul. These chains are the illusions that some build around themselves. So many blindly create a world of their own making and then label it as the true world when in reality they are enslaved in a cell of their own making and sadly it is never a cell where they are alone for they usually reside with others that have also been deceived into receiving the chains of the same illusion. Some seem bound to always look down and fall in line with the illusion that there is no freedom when in reality we are meant to be free whatever our state of being. We should walk in the reality that there are no shackles that can truly bind us against our will. Sure, chains will be presented to us and at times even forced upon us but they cannot bind us. They may slow us, they may limit us for a season but chains cannot bind us or stop us beyond what we allow them to. I dare say most chains are but illusions cast upon us anyway, lies that tempt us to believe they have more power than they actually do. Learn from the season of chains but do not allow it to prolong its intrusion upon you any longer than it takes for your eyes to open and for you to turn that which would seek to bind you and blind you back upon itself.
Chains are given to you not to wear yourself but to turn and bind the enemy who dared to offer them to you to begin with! Let the chains that seem to bind you serve only to remind you that they drop powerless behind you and walk in the strength the Creator so desires you to walk in.

Read more about what the Word says about God forming us in Raven’s book He Is The Potter, We Are The Clay