The Refiner's Touch

Just thought I would share this story that was sent to me. It is SOOOO encouraging!! and gave me chills at the end...

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.


The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in you.

Coming Home to a Sweet Face

This past week at work is what I usually call my "bad work week" and that's simply because of the way my schedule is. I have a really awesome schedule, but on this particular week in the rotation, it just feels like I can't catch a break! That's because I work a 4 day (night) weekend, then I'm only off for 2 days and then have to go right back for 2 days, so sometimes it's tough that week to be able to catch up on sleep, do things I WANT to do etc. Anyways...the point of this blog is not for me to complain, but to say that I am SO thankful for my Father in Heaven who chooses to bless me and give me little "surprises" even when I complain or don't seem very thankful. One of those came in the form of Natalie's nephew, Bennett (I've pretty much adopted him as mine too). Thursday morning I came home and he was here because he had spent the night when Nat. As soon as I walked back down the stairs, he was waiting for me and gave me a HUGE hug. I had so much fun eating breakfast with them and cutting up. This is what I came home to on Thursday morning:

So when I get home from work on Friday, Bennett wasn't here right when I got home, but about an hour or so later, Shelley (Nat's sister) shows up with Bennett AND Brooks! Double the FUN! Let me tell you, we had a chaotic house that morning because Natalie was baking/decorating cakes, Bennett was running around vacuuming (yes, the kid LOVES to vacuum!) etc. Shelley had to run to the store and left us in charge of the boys and it was all great and dandy until Bennett decides he's gonna sneak in Natalie's room, pick up her cell phone and somehow manage to call Chris (Nat's b/f) on speakerphone! When I realized what he was doing, I was trying to get the phone from him before anyone answered (mind you, I'm trying to hold a screaming baby in the midst of this). Chris answers, I'm trying to get the phone to tell him what's going on, (Brooks screaming), I drop the phone ON Brooks (he's still screaming) and am finally able to walk into the loud kitchen where Natalie is busy mixing, baking, decorating etc to hand her the phone. Needless to say, we all walked away without injury, but I sure broke a sweat! haha! It really was fun having the boys for the day and when it ends like this....you can't help but smile :)

God is GOOD!!

"When we expect to be satisfied with the basics, God

will often surprise us with treats."

--James MacDonald

Jesus, Take the Wheel

I found this quote the other day and when I came across it, it really struck me in a weird/neat way. It says,

"An evidence that our will has been broken is that we begin to thank God for that which seemed so bitter, knowing that His will is good and that in His time and in His way, He is able to make the most bitter waters sweet." --Nancy Leigh DeMoss

WOW! When I read that, it made me think about certain things in my life that I have tried to control. When I try to control things, or do things my way, it ALWAYS ends up a disaster! Sometimes we wonder why certain things happen to us or we ask God "Why did you do this to me?" or "why can't I just have THAT?!". We question "why do bad things happen to good people?" Well first of all, we live in a fallen world and are all sinners with a devil that will stop at nothing to keep up from having a relationship with God, so of course there are going to be bad things happening to us all the time. The good news is seeing God's amazing grace IN those situations we seem to be thrown into. This quote to me, describes exactly what God's grace is all about. When we thank Him for being the amazing God that He is during our rough times, He is able to teach us things through our hard times. We learn, we grow and we come out of the valley being a better person, a stronger person and having a stronger relationship with God. Sure, it hurts like heck while we are going through trials, but when God takes that situation and makes it "sweet", that's his amazing grace poured all over you! I guarantee you, that if you look back over the last few years of your life (or longer), you will be able to see so many times how God took that situation and taught you SOMETHING. It may have been something so small, but my theory is, if you go through something and you don't learn anything, what's the point? We don't always understand God and why His timing is SO completely different from ours, BUT we can rest in the fact that He IS God and His ways are always best. They may not always be the easiest, but the best.

"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand all the time."--Oswald Chambers

There have been PLENTY of times that I cannot for the life of me understand why I am made to wait for certain things, or why certain things happen to ME. But what I have to constantly remind myself of is that God is in control and if I let him take the wheel of every situation in my life, He won't steer me wrong...

Ok, on a different subject 2 Sundays ago one of my very best friends (and roommate) got baptized! She recently joined our church (First Baptist Church of Opelika) and since she was a member of a Methodist church before, it was time for her to get dunked! I love this sweet girl SO much and don't know what I would do without her in my life (and house)! Her little sister's best friend got baptized on the same night!! Praise the Lord x2!!

Watching their baptism made me think of one of my favorite songs right now. It's called "Washed by the Water" by Needtobreathe. They are AWESOME!! check it out!

Living the Answer

I came across this quote that I found on a magnet (of all places) and thought I would share....I will be writing more later! I am up at 4 am and cannot go back to sleep!! So frustrating!! Ok...so here's the quote...

"I beg you..to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer..."

--Rainer Maria Rilke

Habakkuk...never thought to look there!

Often times I find myself usually reading out of books of the Bible that I know pretty well, you know, the major ones. I am for sure always looking/reading out of the New Testament, but this morning in church, I came across a verse in a small book in the Old Testament and it made me realize, "Maybe I should start reading in the Old Testament more". Reason being because of this verse from Habakkuk. It says,

"Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay." (2:3)

This morning in church, Brother Steve happened to make a reference to Habakkuk. He didn't ask us to turn there, but I did instead and I'm SO glad I did. This is a verse that I definitely needed to hear and God knew that. I know a lot of us may struggle with not really knowing or understanding God's will for our lives or at least in certain situations. Sometimes we don't understand why He puts us where He puts us, but the truth is HE DOES and that should be enough for us. A lot easier said than done, right? This verse is about God's timing and that He works in HIS time, not ours. He is basically saying, "Be patient! I will work out my plans in my perfect timing." Just like that was God's answer WAY back then to Habakkuk, it's the same answer He would give us, today. And this is a verse I know I can cling to; that even though I don't understand why I am in certain situations or He isn't bringing me out of certain situations, I can rest in the fact knowing that He is in control. He sees the big picture and ONLY has my best interest in mind.

When There's A Hole in Your Soul

Over the last week, my daily devotionals have been about having a "hole in your soul". She defines a hole in your soul as a "deep, dark well that resides in the core of your being. And the harder you work to fill it with stuff, the bigger the doggone thing gets!" She talks about how we tend to fill it that "hole" with other THINGS such as clothes, romance, status etc. We think we choose the right things to fill the hole in our soul, but OUR choices end up being sinful choices and cause more harm than good in the long-run. He knows what's best for us.

She also talks about how we can have a hole in our soul because we feel that we've been cheated. Cheated out of a happy childhood, cheated out of a loving relationship, cheated out of the wonder of motherhood, cheated out of good health..the list goes on. We start to blame the people who hurt us or the ones that didn't come to our aid when we needed it..sometimes we even blame God. The question she asks is "Have you let your anger and disappoinment fester into bitterness that is now eating a hole in your soul? Will you let the past define your future? Will you continue to fill your hole with stuff?" Sometimes the only way to find peace is to forgive. Being bitter is not fun and makes life miserable. Joel Osteen once said,

" Forgiveness is a choice, but it is not an option."

All the bitterness you let build up starts to eat a hole in your soul, so let forgiveness work as your antacid. Sometimes our unrealistic expectations of others can eventually cause us to have a hole in our soul. I know this one convicted me the most. I often times have expectations of others or expect certain things out of others and in the end, I'm the only one being let down and it's only hurting me. It's twisted of us to think that when we do a favor for someone that we expect something in return. She defines it as a "loan interest", not an act of kindness. When you don't see a payback within a short amount of time, you begin to wonder why you're the only one sacrificing...but eventually...that sort of thinking turns the good deed that you did, sour. She says, "many times those who most need our kindness are incapable--due to worry, fear, grief, confusion, exhaustion or embarrasment--to respond to it all. I finally figured out that it's not an issue regarding their poor manners. It's more of an issue regarding the condition of my heart."

Expecting gratitude turns your good deeds sour.

We set ourselves up for a lifetime of dissapointment when we create rules and expectations for OTHERS to live by. We must be willing to give unconditionally. I know this is certainly something I NEED to work on. Of course being a nurse allows me to give without expecting anything in return, but I must admit that sometimes I would like for my patients, my managers, my co-workers to notice the good things I do and acknowledge them, but I have come to realize that those things aren't always going to happen. Sometimes I will get a patient that I do everything in the world for and for whatever reason, they will never show how grateful they are because they either don't know how or think that they deserve to be treated well. I just have to know and get the satisfaction from knowing I've helped someone and that should be enough.

"You have not lived today until you have done something

for someone who cannot pay you back."

--John Bunyan

Our sunday school class has started a study at night called "Love, Sex & Lasting Relationships" by Chip Ingram. We had the first session last sunday (Valentine's Day) and I must say that I was impressed. The speaker gave some really good points and I am extremely excited for the rest of the study. The first session was basically comparing Hollywood's formula (or the world's view) of lasting relationships vs. God's way of how to make a relationship last.

Hollywood's view is this:

1.)FIND the right person.

2.) FALL in love.

3.) FIX your hopes and dreams of future fulfillment on that person.

4.) If FAILURE occurs, repeat steps 1-3.

God's view is this:

1.) BECOME the right person.

2.) WALK in love.

3.) FIX your hope on God and seek to please Him through your relationship.

Let me tell ya, #1 on God's list was INCREDIBLY convicting for me. I never thought about becoming the right person. I'm always praying for God to prepare my husband for me, but I never think to take a look in the mirror and see what all I need to work on. Sure, lately I know God has been working a lot in my heart and revealing a lot of things to me and this is sure one of them. In this time of singleness, I need to grow in my walk with the Lord because it will not only help me to become a better person, but to be able to WALK in love as well. True and unconditional love ONLY comes from the Father above and until we know His love, we won't be able to truly give and receive any kind of love. That's just a little snippet of what our first lesson was about....more to come! Something he said during the talk that really impacted me was this:

"Love is giving the person what they need the most, when they least deserve it."

Snow....FINALLY & Zumba Love!

So...I have to write about the SNOW DAY we just had! I have to be honest and say I really thought the weather man was telling us another lie, but he actually came through this time!! Can I just say...I LOVE SNOW!!! I don't know what it is about it. I guess it's probably because we NEVER have snow, so when we do, it's just a big deal. I'm sure most people who live up north absolutely HATE the snow. I am such a kid when it comes to snow. It was snowing when I walked out of the hospital from work Friday morning and I just couldn't believe it, I was so excited. On the drive home (45 min drive), the snow stopped right before getting into Auburn, so I was a little worried that the Auburn/Opelika area wouldn't actually see the snow. I went to bed and slept for a few hours and when I woke up, I immediately looked out my window and I see TONS of snow and it's coming down really hard! I got all wide-eyed and excited just like a kid on Christmas. I got to play in it, but not nearly as much as I wanted to. Here are some pics from the day.

Needless to say the snow was a success and I hate that it's already gone today. I guess there's always next year right? (Since we only seem to get snow MAYBE once a year).

Today at the Sportsplex there was a Zumba Love Benefit for Haiti Zumbathon.

It started at 1:00 and ended at 3:00. We seriously did Zumba for 2 hours straight and it was SO much fun, but my body is sure feelin' it! It was open to the public and all you had to do was bring certain items or donate money to the relief for Haiti. It was for such a good cause! Jessica, the Zumba instructor at the Sportsplex headed up this event and she taught the class for the entire time along with other instructors from Health Plus. If you don't know what Zumba is, you should definitely check it out!

Before Zumba....

After Zumba.....



Had such a good turnout!


Robyn gettin' down Zumba-style

I will leave you with a quote I just found that I really like.

"You are unrepeatable. There is magic about you that is all your own."

--D.M. Dellinger