Jars of Clay, A Sanctuary

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Jars of Clay, A Sanctuary

If you’ve been strong for everyone else but feel lost inside — you’re not alone. Hi there! My name is Monique Phillip, and I am the owner of Jars of Clay, LLC.

We help women heal from deep emotional wounds, reclaim their identity, and feel safe in their own skin again through compassionate & effective trauma therapy via telehealth. I’m a culturally responsive Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado, and specialize in Trauma Model Therapy and Crisis Intervention. I provide a therapeutic approach that is warm, empathic, and non-judgmental. My style is collaborative and solution–focused. I tend to artfully weave elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, as well as experiential and existential approaches into treatment. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. I’ve been in the behavioral health field for over a decade, and previously worked with women of all ages in residential treatment, on probation and within the homeless community who all struggled with mental health, substance use and criminogenic issues. It has truly been the most challenging and fulfilling work I’ve ever done. Stirring up hope and helping women realize their inner power is a great passion of mine, which is what inspired me to open this practice.

03/17/2026

NEW BLOG POST OUT! Not every season calls for hustle. Sometimes the purpose is in the pause. 🌿

Read my latest thoughts on Substack — link in bio.

03/10/2026

I understand the feeling of being trapped by a web of the fear of being rejected, having anxiety over somebody's unrealistic expectations, or codependency that causes you to abandon yourself.

You're thinking, “I don’t know how much longer I can do this” or “How did I get here?”

Maybe you’re just a shell of yourself inside what used to be a great relationship.

Let me say this with my full chest - You DO NOT have to keep doing the same thing over and over again!

Trauma from your past does not have to define your future. You are not STUCK with it!

It can be hard to turn your attention to yourself, but self-awareness is so powerful.

Control over yourself will always trump the manipulation of others.

You can learn how to tolerate what you are feeling, rather than giving that power to someone else.

Challenge yourself to heal and grow, so you can truly give someone real love, instead of desperation.

Psalm 147:3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” God’s restoration is available for every emotional wound, and you can learn to carry it into your relationships.

If you wanna learn more, paste this link into your browser for information on my Ultimate Relationship Reconnection Bundle.

https://gems-from-clay-jars.mn.co/landing/plans/1954520

Let me walk you out of this trap!

03/03/2026

To the woman who is always the strong one…

The one who figures it out.
Holds it together.
Carries it courageously.

You can stop living braced for impact all the time.

There is a softening that has been happening in me for some time now — not weakness or quitting — but a holy unraveling of the pressure to have the answers, the backup plan, the steady face for everyone else.

And it feels like exhale.

My newest blog post is live on Substack. It’s tender. It’s honest. It’s for the woman who is tired of being the pillar and is ready to be held by God instead.

Gems from a Clay Jar is reader-supported. You can subscribe for free, or become a paid subscriber to support this work and walk deeper with me.

Come read.
Link in bio. 🤍

02/24/2026

That rollercoaster of connection can be addictive.

When they’re cold, patience turns into desperation. You see that they are caught up with more “important” things.

You try to distract yourself for a while, but end up checking their phone, trying to make yourself more attractive, or maybe cooking an elaborate dinner waiting for a look or a comment that shows you they’ve noticed.

When they’re hot, all of the neurons fire up in your brain. All of the emotional intensity you’ve been holding while being ignored finally gets to be unleashed.

You feel alive again! It’s so gratifying, and maybe for quick second, you think you’ve finally cracked the code to being seen.

Whether it’s good or negative attention, you don’t care. It’s the connection you’ve been waiting for.
And then in flash, just as quickly as it came . . . it’s gone.

You’re alone . . . again.

You realize there is nothing you can do to change it and you feel bad about yourself for it.

You don’t even realize that it’s not normal. That cycle is rooted in your old wounds and the unmet needs you’ve had for years.

It’s not real passion. It’s a game of immaturity that is playing you into accepting pieces.

That is not the type of relationship God ever planned for you. You deserve love that doesn’t leave you spinning in confusion — love that’s steady and life-giving.

“Don’t stir up nor awaken love until the appropriate time.” (Song of Solomon 2:7)

Rather than chasing someone by trying to do all the things to make them whole, make sure that you are fully healed, so that you can see everything clearly, making wise decisions, rather than loving out of fear and getting caught up in the game.

Wanna talk more about it? Join our free relationship forums over in the Gems in Clay Jars Community.

Copy & paste the link - https://gems-from-clay-jars.mn.co/plans/1954509

02/17/2026

New Blog Post Alert: I’ve spent more time in God’s wilderness than I’d like to admit.

That place where you feel lonely, stuck, and like you’re doing everything “right”… but nothing is moving. Where you can’t strategize your way out. Where you realize you have absolutely no control.

Lately, I’ve been re-reading Exodus, and I am always reminded of phases of life that are so much like the story of the Israelites.

The stubbornness. The detours. The feeling of being backed into a corner. The daily dependence. The battles that somehow strengthen you instead of destroy you.

So I wrote about it. If you’re in a wilderness period of life—or you’ve ever wondered why God allows the long road—this one is for you.

Link in the bio!

02/04/2026

Life has been LOUD lately.

Not just busy… loud.
Mentally loud. Spiritually loud. Emotionally loud.

The kind of loud that makes you want to throw your phone into a lake and live off cornbread and well water. 😩😂

And I realized something…
I’m craving “no man’s land.”
Quiet. Simple. Slower.

Not because I’m running from life…
but because I’m tired of living like chaos is normal.

The world be worldin’… and I’m choosing to enter His rest anyway. 🤍

If you’ve been feeling that same rebellion rising in you… you’re definitely not alone.

📖 I wrote more about it on the blog — link in bio. Go read.

02/03/2026

If you focus on being a good steward of what He has already given you, will He not give you more? That includes your health and caring for your body.

Those who are faithful with little will be faithful with much. (Luke 16:10)

You need to be functioning well in order to be effective, productive and "fruitful". Then, you'll be able to not only sustain what He has given you, but grow it. ❤️

01/27/2026

I’ve spent nearly two decades helping women find their voice. This time, I’m sharing mine.

Writing has always been where my heart speaks most clearly, and I wanted to start saying more of all the outrageous and deeply wild things that would be hard for me to say on a social media platform.

Not as just the “professional”.
But as a woman who has lived, healed, questioned, trusted, unraveled, and rebuilt — with God faithfully leading me through my willful disobedience, missteps, and humble submission.

People keep telling me I should write a book (lol). So . . . I created a Substack instead 😜 where I can share what He’s taught me (and is teaching me) about Him, identity, relationships, womanhood, and the deliberate uncovering of who we really are underneath all of the expectations and facades.

✨ I just published my very first post over there! If you’re longing for honest conversation, spiritual curiosity, relationship disentangling and a place that feels grounded and real — I’d love to walk with you and you with me.

Link is in the bio! ❤️

01/20/2026

Replaying conversations, analyzing every shift in tone, searching for meaning in too much silence. You’ve been trying to decode love like it’s a problem you have to solve.

It’s exhausting. And deep down, you know love was never meant to feel like this.

Real… love… feels… safe. It is consistent.

When a connection feels confusing all the time, it isn’t about you not being smart enough to figure out the right things to do. What you’ve really been doing is trying to figure out a way to feel safe in a situation you know isn’t.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 says that obtaining wisdom is protection.

When you feel safe and stable within yourself, it’s so much easier to tell when other people are safe.

True belonging starts in God’s covering — and from there, it reshapes how you attach, trust, and receive love.

You don’t have to figure this out alone. There is a path from the puzzle into peace. Click the link in my bio, if you want to know more.

01/13/2026

If you’ve ever been labeled “clingy” or told that you’re “doing too much”, it’s likely that you have just been looking for the best way to get the connection that every one of us needs.

Somewhere along the way, you’ve learned to hold on tight because love felt uncertain, came with conditions or was way too hard to come by.

So often we’re looking desperately for that close connection with people who are emotionally unavailable and haven’t dealt with their own stuff.

Truth is, you need a better strategy for getting your needs met, rather than being told your needs are a problem.

Real security doesn’t come from someone else’s availability.
It comes from God’s steadiness.
A love that doesn’t shift.

James 4:8 says “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”

Psalm 145:18 says “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

Look at how He loves us! That is the standard, because He is always our ultimate example. Those who truly love you will willingly draw close to you.

You are not too much.
You are worthy of safe, steady, secure love —
and healing begins when you stop shaming the part of you that longs for it.

💛 If this resonates, you’re not alone and if you want to learn more, click the link in my bio.

01/06/2026

It can be really easy to believe that you can actually earn somebody’s love through a constant pursuit of perfection, effort, or sacrifice. I know because I lived it for a long time.

You want so desperately to avoid anything that might bring criticism or abandonment. No matter how much effort you’re putting in, you can’t avoid the inevitable.

You probably have already found out that the hamster wheel of people pleasing will only burn you out and suck your soul empty.

That’s because you’re trying to fix a wound inside someone else that only they can fix. No one can FIX anyone else, and all of that striving is NOT ever going to keep you safe.

What you are actually doing is enabling, blocking true intimacy and keeping yourself exhausted, anxious, and never fully satisfied.

God sees love, covering, resources, empowerment and mercy as gifts, not things to be earned.

Ephesians 2:8 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

I want that every day of my life and I want that for you. If you want to learn how to reset and rest in your relationships, click the link in the bio to get my Ultimate Relationship Reconnection Bundle.

12/16/2025

The constant scanning of tone, energy, and facial expressions.

The way you shrink yourself without realizing it.

The unspoken rule that peace depends on you managing someone else’s emotions.

I remember that tension intimately.

For a long time, you might have called this “being understanding,” “being patient,” or “that's just how they are.”

But walking on eggshells isn’t love — it’s a learned survival response, often rooted in old wounds.

It's not a reflection of how much you are worth or your capacity to love somebody. It's an automatic reaction you learned early that comes with unpredictability.

So now, instead of love feeling like peace, you're hypervigilant all the time.

Love — the kind God designed — does not require being on high alert or being constantly guarded.

It does not demand that you fade into the background or hide yourself to keep the peace.

Learn how to feel safe, have clarity, and gain emotional rest in your relationships with my Relationship Reconnection Bundle.

👉 Check my bio for the link.

Address

7222 Commerce Center Drive #220
Colorado Springs, CO
80919

Website

http://www.jocsanctuary.com/

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Jars of Clay is for Women Like You!!

Hi there! My name is Monique Phillip, and I am the owner of Jars of Clay, LLC. I’m a culturally responsive Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Colorado, and specialize in Trauma Model Therapy and Crisis Intervention. I provide a therapeutic approach that is warm, empathic, and non-judgmental. My style is collaborative and solution–focused. I tend to artfully weave elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, as well as experiential and existential approaches into treatment. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Houston and a Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. I’ve been in the behavioral health field for over 11 years, and previously worked with women of all ages in residential treatment, on probation and within the homeless community who all struggled with mental health, substance use and criminogenic issues. It has truly been the most challenging and fulfilling work I’ve ever done. Stirring up hope and helping women realize their inner power is a great passion of mine, which is what inspired me to open this practice.

I am so excited to see my dream of providing services that focus on the strengthening & empowerment of women finally come to fruition!