Fiery Thoughts !

This has been a weekend of "fiery thoughts" for me! I guess that sounds strange, huh? Here's how it went:

On Saturday after we visited the bus route for our church we made a trip to WalMart for a few things. As we passed one of the display TV sets they were playing a DVD of "Facing the Giants" which made me remember that the movie "Fireproof" had been released on DVD by now. I quickly made my way over to the New Releases rack and found it. Bought it. Brought it home and we watched it Saturday night. It's such a great movie! I can't wait to share it with others!

Of course as we watched all the scenes of the fires in the movie I was reminded of the line over and over...."You never leave your partner behind"! Fire is a scary thing. As it should be! It can take everything from you in a matter of minutes. But fire is also a necessary thing. We heat our home with a wood heater and without a fire burning in it we would be freezing cold in the winter!

Yesterday we had a special day at church and had a huge pot-luck dinner after the morning service. Ya'll should have seen all the different and delicious foods we had lined up on the counters. I tried to be good and just have small portions so am hoping I didn't make too big a dent in my diet! After dinner we had our evening service starting at 2:00 p.m. That way we didn't have to come back for our regular service at 5:00.

As we were driving home late yesterday afternoon I noticed a slight haze in the air as we got within a few miles of home. We live near some national forest property and every year they do "controlled burns" so that we are not so likely to have "uncontrolled" forest fires later in the summer or fall when it might be hot and dry. The fires were out but the smoke still lingered in the air.

Perhaps the smell of the smoke triggered it but by the time we got home, hubby had decided it would be a good evening for him to burn off his garden. Seems that the burning of the old dry stalks and grass in the garden is good for the ground. So after he changed into some old clothes he headed outside to set the garden on fire.

Just as it's good for the forest and for our garden to get burned off, sometimes we as Christians have to go through trials that feel like fire. It may be physical. It may be mental or emotional. It may be spiritual. Whatever it is, God can help us come through it and be better than we were before.

"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 honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" 1 Peter 1: 7

It took quite a while for all of it to burn and in the meantime darkness fell. I kept looking out the kitchen window to check and see if he was about done so I would know when to warm up the homemade soup I had cooked on Friday night. As I peeked out after it had become dark, the scene took on a whole different look. The fire was really all I could see. Everything else was dark. I thought about how bleak and dark the world around us seems at times. Especially lately. And when those thoughts come to me I usually remember a saying hubby borrowed from a friend years ago...."It's getting gloriously dark!" While looking at the fire I thought about the scripture that says Christians are the light of the world. As the world around us gets increasingly darker, may we shine increasingly brighter so that those around us can come to salvation because of our testimony of our Great God!

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven." Matthew 5: 16

I pray God will bless you greatly as your candle burns brighter than ever!

Marilyn