Malachi 3:3

I received this in an email several months ago and just wanted to share it...

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest 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 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 says: "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. If the silver was left 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 easy -- when I see my image in it."

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

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

My Valentines -

I love you, guys!!! :-)

Joke of the Day...

Ever mindful of the congregation, the Baptist preacher and his wife decided to get a new dog, and knew that the dog also had to be a Baptist. They visited kennel after kennel and explained their needs.

Finally, they found a kennel whose owner assured them he had just the dog they wanted. The owner brought the dog to meet the pastor and his wife. "Fetch the Bible," he commanded. The dog bounded to the bookshelf, scrutinized the books, located the Bible, and brought it to the owner. "Now find Psalm 23," he commanded. The dog dropped the Bible to the floor, and showing marvelous dexterity with his paws, leafed through and finding the correct passage, pointed to it with his paw.The pastor and his wife were very impressed and purchased the dog.

That evening, a group of church members came to visit. The pastor and his wife began to show off the dog, having him locate several Bible verses. The visitors were very impressed.

Finally, one man asked, "Can he do regular dog tricks, too?" "I haven't tried yet," the pastor replied. He pointed his finger at the dog. "HEEL!" the pastor commanded. The dog immediately jumped on a chair, placed one paw on the pastor's forehead and began to howl. The pastor looked at his wife in shock and said, "Good Lord! He's Pentecostal!"

Praising God!

I am so amazed at how much God has done inside me over these last few years. The road has been an extremely long and hard one, but I am beginning to see the rewards of staying on that road. I have to admit that there have been many times when I just wanted to give up, but God always reminds me to focus on where I'm going- not where I was or even where I am now. The only time I need to look back is to see how far I've come!

I have also learned that the only thing we can do in any situation is to trust in God. No matter how hard it gets or how much we don't understand, we need to remember that God has already completed it. All we have to do is remain on the path that He's already walked for us. Regardless of what comes our way, God has already taken care of it and it's only a matter of time before we'll be able to see the results with our own eyes.

We serve such an awesome God and I wanted to take time to let Him know that I am very aware that He is such a wonderful God! I am so very thankful for everything He has allowed me to go through and even though it's hurt for a while, I am praising Him for every change that has taken place in me because of these situations.

I also wanted to encourage anyone who is reading this that God is in control of any and every situation that you may be facing right now. It is only a matter of time until you will see what God has been up to with your very own eyes!

Our Pets

OUR PUPPY, BRISCO - He is probably around a year old. He came to live with us back in September. He was the dog that DS had requested prayer for on a regular basis. Just to let everyone know, God answered those prayers and Brisco is doing great!

OUR NEWEST PUPPY, TIANA (Tia). She is the baby of the family and is the sweetest, little girl! She will be 4 months old on Sunday, Feb 11. She was given to me as a Christmas present and she has been a wonderful addition to our family. Thanks to my sister!!! :-)

OUR DWARF RABBITS, THUMPER & ONYX. (Thanks again, sis!!! LOL) Thumper is the white bunny and Onyx is the black one. Thumper used to be Tiffany until we discovered 4 baby bunnies early one morning!!! They were adorable, but sadly they all died within 2 days.

Just thought I'd devote at least one post to our beloved animals. Those who have know us for a while probably remember our first "babies" Jacob and Brittany. Jacob was our German Shepherd and Brittany was an Australian Shepherd / Rott mix. They were our children before DS came along and were with us for a little while afterwards. I'll be sure to write more about them at a later time.

And other animals that we've had over the years have included a basset hound mix puppy, a cat, 2 turtles, a rabbit, a hamster, lots of fish, a mouse and a cricket. :-)

Discipline

I am finding that the only thing harder than becoming disciplined is to remain disciplined!!!