The Test of the Fire

The Test of the Fire

While writing this blog, I found it closely parallels a blog I wrote awhile back. But bear with me. It’s worth it. =)

I was recently reading an article about the construction of the World Trade Center memorial building. The article was explaining that engineers had created a new type of cement with a new formulation to make it practically indestructible. One article quoted it to being able to withstand a load of 14,000 feet per square inch…which means absolutely nothing to my mathematically challenged mind. What did make sense however was this explanation:

             “If you could set this cylinder and put a platform on it, you can accommodate 1,000 Americans standing on this cylinder, you know, normal people 175 pounds in weight; 1,000 people can be supported by this four-inch-diameter cylinder.”  (Cas Bognacki http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/july-dec11/skyscrapers_09-06.html)

That brings an altogether new meaning to “practically indestructible!” The test of the fire showed that the current architectural design of the former towers was not able to withstand the combined pressure, heat, etc.

So how on Earth could this little bit of info be relevant to my life if I’m not an architect or cement scientist? =D There is relevance, I promise.

You see, there comes a time in everyone’s lives where they are put through the test of the fire.

The Bible story of the three Hebrew boys comes to mind. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were cast into the fire…literally. Only to find that the God they stood for BEFORE the fire, was the God that was with them IN the fire, and also the God that delivered them FROM the fire!

Now, back to the fire. Copper is one metal that can be put through a fire refining process. Repeated refining using fire can produce copper that is nearly 99% pure. Could it be that the fire, that trial or test of a lifetime, is burning all the impurities out of your life? Things, attitudes, desires and maybe even people that just aren’t suitable for God’s plan for your life.

So, metals can be put through the fire to make them stronger. Now, a question: What do you use to start a fire? Do you throw a pile of copper or tin out back and douse it with gasoline? No…you use wood. Wood is different from metal..in that when wood is put through the fire, it’s destroyed. The properties of wood do not allow it to stand the test of the fire. While wood is often used in building houses, because of its high tolerance to fire, metal is usually a better building choice for large structures.

Just as architects determine the building materials they will use depending on the structure they want to build, you have the ability to choose the decisions and actions you take depending on what you want to be for God. You determine how you react to situations. You determine if you attend church, read the Bible, pray, and all in all just live for HIM.

Your choice to be “wood” or “metal” in life determines the capacity in which God can use you. Anyone can be a house. Can you stand to be a monument in His kingdom?

1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ..

My husband.

I almost wrote this blog/letter first, but decided to do it second, upon realizing without my parents I wouldn’t have a husband!

Nathan, Its hard to believe we’ve already been married almost two years. It seems like its flown by…although time does tend to fly when you’re having fun.

My first impression of you still makes me giggle…not that I was wrong..but that I ended up doing what I said I didn’t want to! I married you! I remember when you started to become my best friend. It was at the worst and darkest time in my life that God sent you to me. You were the strength for me when I had none. You never judged me or condemned me. I remember specific times when I hurt soo bad, and you were always just a phone call away.  Calling you with bad news, and you were just there for me. One time you told me that God had possibly sent you to me for just that time. Of course, I didn’t want to accept that, but I knew that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life with someone who couldn’t have stood with me in my darkest times. You always managed to brighten my day with a sweet text or call, or surprise flowers. I remember my 17th birthday, possibly one of the worst days of my life, when you came to church that night, then had the WHOLE restaurant in Bourbon St sing to me. I remember nights of sleeping with my phone in my hand, on vibrate and the loudest ring, so no matter how late in the night you called I would wake up to answer.

Then at some point, I fell in love with you. I don’t remember an exact moment, but I remember when you played a joke on me and told me yall were moving to another state. I realized my feelings had gotten a whole lot stronger a whole lot quicker than I had planned.

Darlyn and I, in one of our deeeeep discussions about the future, were talking about marriage. I told her how I had realized that eventually she and I were gonna get married, and WE were gonna have to make that choice of who to marry..and that special someone wouldnt waltz into our lives with a sign on their forehead saying, “GOD SENT ME FOR YOU TO MARRY!” I told you this at our wedding and I want to tell you again. Well, you could have worn that sign. There’s no one in the world I’d rather spend my life with. No one I wanted to share waking up each morning with, and going to sleep each night with you by my side. No one else I wanted to share all the joys of life, the ups and downs, good times and bad. When I vowed those vows on our wedding day, I meant them. Rich, poor, sickness, health. Forever.

I remember that smile you had when you told me you loved me for the first time…and how you were scared to death to ask me to marry you.

You complete me. I never knew someone could make me feel so happy with myself, and with life in general. I love all our talks, all our dates, and all our “heated” Biblical discussions. (wine vs grape juice. nuff said.) I still hate when we are singing a song and the artist changes the words on us…and how we congratulate each other on big word usage.

No one has ever made me feel so special, or so loved. I have no doubt that you believe in me and love me. You know me, and you still love me. Kinda amazing!

I am so blessed to be a part of your life. I love your love for God. I am blessed to be your second love, second to Him. I love your preaching. I love how your face lights up when you get a new preaching thought, and how you’ll randomly call me during the day to tell me about a new revelation of a scripture you got, or of a message you just finished listening to. You’ve grown so much in God in the time we’ve been together. I am so proud of the man you are. I stand behind you in everything you preach. I support you 100%.

Words could never aptly express how I feel about you. I can’t imagine life without you. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of forever showing you just how much I do.

To my parents.

The first of my blog series belongs to my parents. Together, they raised me and instilled truth in me. They taught me the difference between right and wrong, how to act and how not to act. Thank you for the marriage you had. You were the best parents growing up that I could have ever had, and the best example of happiness. Thanks for always having peace in our home. You both always spent time with Andy and I, and I am eternally thankful. I remember one time someone had asked me why I didn’t get to sleep at other people’s houses all the time and do stuff with friends…Mom told me to tell them that my family WAS my friends. And now, more than ever, I know just how true that was.

I NEVER thought I’d say this while I was growing up, but I hope to be the parent to my children just like my mom and dad were to us.

Mom, It’s hard to believe that I’m 22, going on 23 and married, living my own life. I want you to know daily I think of you. It amuses me how much I am like you. When I compliment a restaurant or gas station by saying “They have nice bathrooms” or when I make a face and Nathan tells me I look just like you. Then there’s the times that I look at my living room and am reminded of my bedroom back home…and you telling me that if I couldn’t keep a room clean I couldn’t keep a whole house clean either! Thanks for making us do chores. Even now when I clean my bathroom, I have a mental checklist of what you used to make me do. Clean the floor, mirror, sink, toilet, empty the trash and put all the landry in the bins. I remember you telling us to tell you we loved you before you dropped us off for school, no matter what kind of morning we had. “What if I get in a wreck and die? I don’t want you to live with not telling me you loved me the last chance you got.”  And now, everytime I hang up the phone, or leave the house, I tell Nathan I love him. Remember the morning you hit the truck with the van? And then the morning I ran over the mailbox? =) You were a great mom growing up. I remember the birthday parties, all the little cars and buses you built in the backyard…the sleepovers, and taking care of Sam and Bingo.  Thanks for all the “real life stuff” you taught me. Such as…don’t wear the same outfit to church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night every night for two weeks. Or always wear clean underwear, you might get in a wreck! And the ever present reminder in the mornings, of “This is the day the Lord hath made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it.” Thank you for teaching me to pray. So many phrases and scriptures you quoted while praying when I was little, I find myself using now. Thanks for not ever being bitter towards God or the church, or the pastor.

I’ve watched you go through hell and back and have been amazed. However, it makes it hard for me to sympathize with people who quit church because someone talked about them. Thank you for sticking with it and being faithful to God. You have done your best to be strong for us, and I appreciate it more than you know. I seem to have inherited your quirky sense of humor, that sooo often makes Nathan roll his eyes and say, “I SO married your mother.” I love you. Thank you for all you are. I am blessed to call you Mom.

Dad, The last few years have been rough. And its caused me to lose sight of all the good things you’ve done for me. Thank you for letting me be a daddy’s girl. I’ll never forget how protective you were of me, for as far back as I can remember. I remember the by-the-way lessons we had. The by-the-way of how to live, act, and most importantly how to live for God. I’ve never forgotten the time you told me if I did something wrong and deserved a whipping, I’d get one…but if I lied about it, I’d get two! I loved all of our Biblical discussions, and all of the things you taught me about the Bible. I’m so thankful, now more than ever, for the principles you instilled in me. You instilled things so deep in me, that no one, has been able to take them out of my heart. You were my favorite person to hear testify or teach in church or Sunday School. I still remember the time you taught about footwashing being a renewing of baptism and the time you talked about Thomas’ doubting turning into the revelation of calling Jesus his Lord and God. I remember all the times Bro Townley would have us pray as families. I was always so proud of my family…and I remember feeling your hand on my shoulder..crying..praying for all of us. I remember all the times you were used in tongues and interpretation. I remember you being so anointed. I remember the countless hours we spent doing things at the church. Like the night you installed all the songbook holders on all the pews..and we were there for HOURS! I remember all the Saturdays that you headed up outreach, just us and Sis Donna. Thank you for having a love for souls. I remember Sis Townley singing Battle Hymn of the Republic, truth is marching on, and all the men, you with them, walking around the church holding Bibles high.

I remember me, Mom and Andy would all get excited when it got close to 6:30 cause you were coming home. I remember the HOURS of math homework..you were always SO patient and you always figured out a way to explain it that I could understand. You always believed in me, and I never doubted that you loved me and were proud of me. Even when Brad’s daughter made a 30 on her ACT test =D I remember you building us a tree house..a super cool two story one. I always thought it was normal for families to spend time together. Now that I’m older I know that isn’t the case. Thanks for all the games of Spades, Skipbo, puttputt, air hockey and ping pong. Thanks for always spending time with us as a family, and not making us feel like an obligation, but a blessing.

I remember the times when guys started coming into the picture. One phrase-Thank you for letting me be pastored. Thank you for always making sure we were 100 % behind the church, pastor and everything that was going on. Thank you for encouraging me to do my best. Thank you for letting me spend time in Belize, twice. And thanks for paying that $900 phone bill! You were the best dad I could have ever had. I love you.

Life is but a vapor.

So many thoughts running through my mind…so I turn to writing to somehow make sense of it all. Several times this week, I’ve been reminded of how fleeting and short life can be.

It’s always amazed me how while people are alive, its almost like some of them are part of the “woodwork”. No great honor, or recognition or such. However, the moment they die, suddenly people are talking about how wonderful they were and all the great things they did. It saddens me to think of all the people who have passed from this life never knowing the impact they made on others.

I once read a story about Albert Nobel, the man who established the Nobel prizes. During his lifetime, he amassed a great fortune by creating explosives. When his brother died, the newspaper ran an obituary for the wrong Nobel brother, granting Albert the unusual opportunity of reading his own obituary. The newspaper acclaimed Albert as a man who made it quicker to kill more people than ever before. Albert realized this was his legacy..and immediately went to work on establishing something else to leave behind. The result was the Nobel Peace prizes, with the majority of people knowing Albert by this, and not by his work in explosives.

So, chances are slim that anyone of us will ever get to read our own obituary. By your actions now, what will you be remembered by? What legacy will you leave behind? The things I want accredited to me at my death must be the things I do daily in my life.

Not only am I aware of what I will leave behind, but I want to let people know what they mean to me while they are still alive. How often, at funerals and wakes, are there regrets of things left unsaid? That person that will never know just how much of an impact you made on their life?

I’m planning to do a series of short letters/blogs to people who have influenced or helped me thru life. I want people to know how much they mean to me, while it will still mean something to them.

I want to challenge those who read this, take time to let those around you know how important they are to you. Don’t let their funeral be the only time you speak of what they meant to you.

And some quotes:

From Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny: “Remember this, if you can: there’s nothing, nothing, nothing more precious than time.”

 Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life~Steve Jobs

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something~Steve Jobs

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me~Steve Jobs

My old English teacher’s favorite quote: All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts..

And the old song “Only one life, how soon it will pass, Only what’s done for Christ will last…”

James 4:14- Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

Dirty Lenses…

I recently got new glasses. I was tired of having problems with my contacts, so I got a back up pair of glasses. Needless to say, glasses require much less time and energy and care than contacts, so I’ve been wearing them all the time here lately.

Today at work, I decided to clean my glasses. Not an unusual or momumental decision. But as I took them off and held them up to the light, I was shocked at just how dirty they were! I haven’t been rolling in the mud or doing manual labor, but somehow they still had managed to get hairspray and fingerprints ALL over them. No biggie. I cleaned them and put them back on.

For the rest of the day, I kept noticing how much clearer everything was! Amazing what a difference clean glasses make!

Reminds me of how often we get so caught up in life, and our vision gets blurry. With my glasses, I didn’t notice how dirty they were because they were so close to my face. Yet, when they were put up to the light, I could see the problems and issues that I couldn’t see prior.

Psalms 119:105 says: “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” If we would take the time to line ourselves up to His word, how much easier life would be! How many problems could be solved if we would only line them up with His Word! Everything we need to know, everything we need to be like Him, all in the light of His word

Instead, we rely on our own strength and allow our vision to become tainted. Hanging around with the wrong people, and not realizing how their “dirty fingerprints” on our vision is affecting how and what we see around us. Or even sometimes the atmospheres we are placed in, not necessarily by choice, can become those small drops of “hairspray on the lenses” that can cause things to look just a little bit different than normal.

David wrote in Psalm 50:10-”Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

I think David understood that sometimes the things of this world can muddy up our vision, and make us see things so different from the way God sees them. It’s so important for us to see people the way God sees them. God doesn’t see a person’s past and what they were, He sees their future, and what they have the potential to become.

So today, I challenge you. Take a moment to clean your mental/emotional glasses. Hold them up to the light of His word. Realign your thoughts with HIS thoughts, your desires with HIS desires.

I promise, it’ll make a WORLD of difference.

Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus

Trusting…

 

This past May Nathan and I were blessed to spend a weekend in Denver, CO with Bro & Sis Haymon and CAC at a youth retreat. Nathan asked me to prepare a devotion for Friday morning..so I did. One of the points I spoke about was learning to trust God. I thought I’d reword and condense it for Facebook so here goes =)

I shared 2 scriptures that have been a continual source of strength and encouragement for me:

Proverbs 4:5-6

5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding

6. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths

Especially through teen years, some of the most important decisions that will impact the rest of a person’s life are made. The decision whether or not to serve God, whom they marry, etc. These two scriptures constantly reminded me that as long as I was trusting in God, and putting HIM first, He alone would plan out my future.

When I first came across the story below, it brought tears to my eyes. I shared it at the retreat and several of the young people mentioned it had touched them.

        

         A family was awakened by their smoke detector in the middle of the night to discover their house was on fire. The father ran upstairs into the bedroom of his children and carried his eighteen month old baby in his arms while dragging his four year old son by the hand.

         They were half way down the staris when the little boy remembered that he had left his teddy bear in the bedroom, so he broke free from his father’s hand and ran back to the bedroom to retrieve it. In the furor and confusion, the father didn’t notice his son wasn’t with him until he got outside, the fire having spread too much to return inside the house.

         The father suddenly heard a cry from the second story, and looked up to see his small son leaning out the window.

         Relieved, the father cried, “Son! Jump!”

         Scared, confused, panic evident in his voice, the little boy responded, “But Dad, there’s too much smoke!  I can’t see you!”

         The father replied, “That’s okay son, jump anyway, because I can see YOU!”

 

One of the most important concepts in living for God is learning to walk by faith and not by sight. How often do we find ourselves in situations that are seemingly hopeless, wondering how will God ever get us through. We HAVE to learn to trust in Him. Trust enough to do what’s right, even though it seems what’s right is the least logical solution. We’ve got a heavenly father, like the father in the story, who is guiding us, and won’t let us fall. When we take a leap of faith through his plans, He will keep us safe.

Trust that as Jeremiah 29:10 states, that no matter what is happening at the moment, God somehow has a plan for our lives that will make everything turn out right.

Also, there’s not a more miserable Christian than the one who is running from God’s plan. The only truly happy life is one living a God-centered life. In HIS presence is fulness of joy!

We must remember, HIS thoughts are not our thoughts. What seems good to us today may destroy our future. That’s why is so incredibly important to completely TRUST in Him, and let Him direct our paths. It’s crucial to trust Him with our future. Learn to trust Him with it, leave it in His hands. He can do more with you than you could ever imagine, if only you’ll learn to trust Him.

A song one of my friends Candace wrote when she was quite young resonates through my mind as I write this post, and years later I find myself singing this simple chorus from time to time.

   “Trust in Him, trust in Him

     In every day, in every way, you must trust in Him

    Trust in Him, trust in Him

    In every day, in every way, you must trust in Him”

Trust, trust, trust!

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in him at all times, ye people…”

God’s Gonna Make a Diamond….Out of ME!

While growing up in my home church, one of the singers sang a song that I loved. The first verse:

 

“It’s only through pressure that a diamond is formed

And that is when it reaches its purest form

So when the pressures come Lord

Please help me to see

That through it all, Your hand will make

A diamond out of me!”

 

In my late teens my parents divorced. I remember those were some of the hardest years, as anyone who has been through a divorce can testify. There seemed just to be an insurmountable amount of PRESSURE! I felt like everything I’d ever known was falling apart, and for all good and evident reasons, it was.

One day while coming home from college, I remember feeling so depressed, hurting, and just alone. I pulled into the driveway and sat in my car and started to cry.

I told God that I just couldn’t take it anymore. The pressure was too great.

And almost like an instant response, that verse came to mind. In the middle of my upset, I just cried, “But God! I can’t take this pressure! Please let me just be a rock! A plain old rock!”

        Looking back now, it sounds almost comical. But the reply was not.

The response:

“But a rock has no value in my kingdom.”

That small statement shook me.

I picked up my head and looked in my driveway, full of gravel, and…rocks. I looked on the road I had taken to get home, and saw more…rocks. Rocks, everywhere. No one running or fighting to pick them up. They were so abundant that they had little to no value.

 

Diamonds, however, are incredibly valuable. From hundreds to thousands of dollars. And notice, diamonds don’t usually just litter the streets, and they definitely aren’t used as pavement =)

 

Three unique things about the process in which diamonds are formed:

1) high temperature    *combined with

2) high pressure         *over a space of

3) anywhere from 1 to 3 BILLION years

 

 

Sounds like your life? High temps, high pressure, and it seems like God’s plan for you is taking forever?

Trust Him.

Don’t rush the process, don’t cave under the stress. He’s got a plan for your life that is bigger than you could ever imagine. He wants to use you to be a diamond in His kingdom, and make you more precious than any ordinary rock.

 

God’s gonna make a diamond out of you!

 

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.