Zechariah 13:9

And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God. Zechariah 13:9

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Spring Coming!

Saturday, 23 February 2008

  • Lets see.....Spring is only 26 days away!  We are very much looking forward to it's arrival!!  It seems when this time of year rolls around, everyone is ready to be able to be outdoors and to see the Spring flowers popping through the earth.  This winter has been exceptionally long for our family, for we seem unable to get rid of this...virus? flu?...whatever it is called.   Sore throats, headaches, head congestion, cough, pink eye, they all desire to hang out with our family, have been visiting since before Christmas.   But, through it all, it makes us realize how we find it so easy to take our health, and our family, for granted in "healthy" times.   So, this day we will be thankful for each other, for having only "colds" and for our bodies which were truly wonderfully created by Our Heavenly Father, the Great Physician!
    We started up our "youth night" again on Tuesday evenings.  Last year we had gone through Dr. Dobson's video series "Living Life on the Edge".  That was geared to preparing the youth for adulthood, but we adults enjoyed it as much as the youth.  This week our subject was "self-confidence".   What does it mean and what is the basis for having healthy self-confidence?  It turned into a very interesting discussion.  We all agreed that the basis for a sound and true self-confidence, or self-esteem, is rooted in who we believe we are in Christ and understanding His unconditional love for us.  Any other self-confidence can be influenced or swayed by the circumstances, peer pressures, or opinions of others.  Jesus is our perfect example of self-confidence!   We watched a video titled "Father's Love Letter".  Very good!
    Blessings to you!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Gold Refining

Sunday, 13 January 2008

Gold Refining

I have been thinking about what it means in Zechariah 13: 9...."And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God".  The dictionary says that refine means "to reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state: to free from dross or alloy, purify".  Looking back over our lives, and present circumstances, we can see how the Lord is in the process of refining us - hard pregnancies, sick children, career decisions, financial struggles, homeschooling difficulties, child discipline, providing understanding to our teens and the list can go on & on.  We have failed many, many times is seeing that the Lord was refining, instead, we viewed it as punishment for something we must have done.  We grumbled, complained, rebelled against the hardships instead of totally yielding ourselves to the One who knows what is best for us.  Just recently in Streams in the Desert Devotional, it talked about being hedged in and quoted James 1: 2-3. (look it up sometime). The devotional went on to say,  "God hedges in His own that He may preserve them, but oftentimes they only see the wrong side of the hedge, and so misunderstand His dealings."  All our trials are known to Him and He is watching to see if we will trust Him wholly through it all.  Lord, forgive us when we have failed so miserably in trusting you, in not allowing ourselves to be refined with joy. 

  • We are a homeschool family. We housechurch with 4 other families.  We enjoy:  growing  a garden, raising grass-fed meats, reading, playing games, fellowshipping with old & new friends and learning more & more of what it means to live in the New Covenant.