Feed the Spirit - "Til I See My Image"

This came to me via the internet a few years ago and I kept it because it has such a profound message.  I hope you are blessed by it today.

"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 though 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."

Blessings,

 

Moving Forward

We put "Zeus" to the test and loaded up almost 5000 lbs. of floor tile in one trip.  Then Jeff was put to the test laying it down.  It's coming along nicely -- this is the hallway I showed him grinding before.

Kitchen ...

Living Room ...

Swamp cooler, TV antenna and old solar panel have been removed from the roof giving a cleaner, more modern line to the house ...

Stainless steel appliances have been ordered and granite is being ordered on Monday ... we're getting there!

In the meantime my oldest son, Mark, and I did a mini remodeling job on his RV.  The ceiling and walls were covered in a vinyl wallpaper that had become dingy -- actually it wasn't very bright to begin with and looked dated so we went through an extensive prep process and painted bright white ceiling and beautiful blue walls. Mark removed the table/settee since he never used it and it gave a spot for a big flat screen TV and a rocker. We took out the heavy venetian blinds and I made new curtains in a nautical stripe -- his decorating theme is the beach and ocean.

And his cat, Sarena, was glad when her world went back to normal and the mess was gone.

It's a cute and comfy place -- easy to maintain -- and he is enjoying it a lot.

I wonder what our next project will be ...

Blessings,

Go fast ...

As many of you know, my husband and I lived on a 44' sailboat in San Diego for five years.  It was a great boat, just like living in a small (very compact) two bedroom apartment -- a great way to enjoy ocean front property in San Diego!  We sold the boat when we moved to Tucson eight years ago since there isn't a speck of water in Tucson and we didn't have the time to go to San Diego very often to enjoy our boat.

Now we're in Lake Havasu City and there is water and boats -- everywhere there are boats (and RV's, too).  We took a jaunt through the boat show.  These skate boats are gorgeous and the extreme opposite of a sailboat.  Take a peek ...

Beautiful paint jobs -- beautiful to look at but I wouldn't want to be riding at 150 mph plus in any kind of boat!

Here is probably more our style now --

Dreamin' ...

Blessings,

Reflection

This time just prior to Passover is a period of reflection.  (no, we are not Jewish; we are believers who observe the Passover as Jesus did once a year with unleavened bread, wine, and footwashing).  When we look into a mirror or a still pool of water we see our reflection.  It shows us how we look to others.  During this time of year we are to look at our lives and see where we stand in our spiritual walk.

Have I grown in faith and patience?  Did I successfully handle some trials this year that I have not been successful at dealing with in the past?  Do I have a personal and intimate relationship with my Lord?  Do I spend time with Him?  If I don't spend time with Him, I cannot know Him and He cannot know me.  Am I spending time in the Word so that it becomes an intricate part of my life and my thinking?  Do I bring it to mind when there is trouble on the horizon?  Am I compassionate and caring of others and their needs?  Do I help?

When we mature in God's way we should become a reflection of Him to others.  Our lives are to mirror the life of Christ.  We have an awesome calling and opportunity to be a reflecting light to those around us.  What does my reflection show about me?  Food for thought ...

Blessings,

Aliens at Work!

We have about 600 square feet of ceramic tile floors in the house and they need to be removed and replaced.  That's about the dirtiest, yuckiest job you can imagine ... and it takes an great deal of muscle power and stamina as well.  Jeff dove into it full on ... this is just a tiny sample of old tile.  We have removed aboout 3000 lbs. of trash from this house now!  Really giving that big white truck a workout and "Zeus" is just eating it up.

After removing the tile with a 60 lb. tile hammer and cleaning up all the old tile, then the mortar left on the floor has to be ground off.  This is the really dirty yucky part and Jeff gets dressed for the part!

Goggles, knee pads and respirator needed!

This is after just a few seconds of grinding one small area -- I took these pictures in rapid succession because I wasn't going to stay in the area any longer than I could hold my breath!





The dust gets so thick that he can't see to continue so has to stop and wait for it to settle before moving on to the next section.  This young man has a massive work ethic!  We are blessed to have him working with us ... this is more than we could take on by ourselves.

In the meantime my oldest son and I have been working on a mini remodel of his RV -- painting the interior ... pictures of the finished product next week.

Blessings,



Progress

We're moving along -- the kitchen area is taking longer than we expected because we're doing more than we planned to do at the beginning.  Once we took down the ceiling hung cabinets between the kitchen and dining room it became apparent that the box ceiling arrangement in the kitchen should go as well to open everything up and bring it up to date.  So air conditioning vents had to be removed and a myriad of other things as well.  Time consuming for Jeff but we believe well worth it in the end.  We will be fully outfitting the kitchen with all new Frigidaire stainless steel appliances including a refrigerator.  We cannot understand why no one includes the frig to match the other new appliances so we're going to make that something we do that special to our remodels.  In addition, this kitchen now has a special spot for a wine cooler as well.  I may decide I want to move in here when it's done!

Next Jeff will be attacking the tile floors -- and I mean attacking ... I'll show you what I mean.

Make it a great day!

Blessings,