L.O.V.E.

Good morning, my friends!

I hope you were blessed this weekend by your family for Valentine's Day! I don't "love' this holiday because of the gifts or romantic expectations, but I love having one day that celebrates the heart behind all we do. For everything we do, as wives and moms, all starts with the heart...whether laundry, cooking, pep talks on the way to school, helping with homework, changing diapers, ironing shirts, running to the bank, buying the groceries, etc...this is all done because we LOVE.

Have you ever thought about that? How every little thing you do is all because of your heart for the people in your home? Today, go about the mundane tasks of mommyhood, wifehood, and livelihood, and do it with a heart of love. Let this be an amazing living experiment and see if you experience anything different. Not in the response of others, but in the state of your own heart and attitude.

Proverbs 17

3 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but the Lord tests the heart.


Today, this verse popped out at me, because I love the wording...fire tests purity, but the Lord tests the heart.

Fire is one of those things in life that can be strangely beautiful and mesmerizing, or threatening and destructive depending on the situation. The warmth and comfort from a fire roaring in your family room fire place has a very different feel from the fire barreling down the canyon behind your home with unpredictable wind speeds and direction. One you cuddle up in front of with the ones you love to feel the warmth on a cold night, and the other you shove everything of value (real or sentimental) and your loved ones in your car and run as fast as you can away from.

The only thing that differentiates the two is the control we have over the fire. In the fire place, bar-be-cue, stove burner, heater pilot light, or backyard fit pit, the fire is beautiful, even necessary for our lives. For it provides warmth and heat enabling us to cook, stay warm, have hot water, dry clothes, even dry hair (okay...I know your hair dryer doesn't have fire, but have you ever lit your hair on fire because it gets too hot?? Let's just say, I've have a few mishaps!!). Fire is good. It is for our good.

The wildfires we have witnessed, especially in Southern California, are just the opposite: wild, out-of-control, unpredictable, life-threatening, willing to eat any fuel in its way indiscriminately, rapid, has no boundaries, and potentially no end. We have no control over these fires, and it's the very opposite: we are controlled by these fires.

But the purpose of the fire is the same: burn what is dead, and strengthen what remains alive.

A forest fire is a necessary event in the cycle of nature created to clear away the dead, allow room for the new growth, even popping open some seeds that are only broken open by extreme heat. Have you ever seen a cut tree ring that has the scar of a fire on it? It looks marred and yet, that new bark grew right over it and the tree continued on in its glory and splendor.

This is was the Lord does with His fire. From the beginning of time, God created the world to withstand and endure fire. It is a natural element with a purpose. And yet, it's destructive, frightening, and hurtful.

Have you ever sung that song, "Refiner's Fire"? When in college, we sang it every Friday in chapel: "Refiner's Fire...my heart's one desire...is to be...holy...set apart for you Lord...it is to be...holy...set apart for you Lord...ready to do Your will." I love it! Because our ONE desire is to BE holy and therefore giving glory to Him. Amazing!

So let's look at a few things that the Lord would love to burn out of our lives and replace with attributes that are from Him:

1. Faithfulness replaces doubt and fear:

Usually we fear and have doubt in what we cannot see. We're convinced that it's the out-of-control fire that we're sure rages in our future that throws us into a tizzy today and wastes today's opportunities of their potential. And yet, we are called to put our faith in Him, not because of what we see, but because of WHO He is!

2 Corinthians 5:7 We live by faith, not by sight.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

2. Trust replaces worry:

We like to know how the story is going to end, don't we? I have friends who will not read a book unless they read the last 5 pages and know how it's going to end. They have to know that their time spent reading will be worth it in the end. Have you ever endured a crazy movie and then nothing is solved at the end, and you walk away hating the movie, especially if I've paid full price for the ticket? ME TOO! But we judge the worth of the story based upon whether it ends how WE want it to end.

Sometimes we treat the Lord the same way. We'll follow if we are guaranteed that the outcome is easy, comfortable, and we come out better. But sometimes it's not that way...but it's still for our good, our growth, His glory.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.


Hebrews 10:21-24 ...and since we have a great priest over the house of God,22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

3. Wisdom replaces foolishness:

I love this, because it all begins with our thoughts. Refining our thoughts, our motives, our interpretation of reality through HIS filter breeds wisdom. How amazing is it that we're not destined to remain clueless and foolish? How amazing is it that we can LEARN and GROW? Can you imagine if we never grew? A world full of mental toddlers would be disastrous!

Proverbs 1:2-6 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding,

3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;

4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—

5 A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel—

6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace‑loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

4. Repentance replaces sin:

Repentance and forsaking is when we are set free from our sin. Set free when we CHOOSE to let go of that sin that is rotting the inners of our soul. Whatever you are harboring, whatever you are holding on to, whatever you are hiding...let it go. He will free you.

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

2 Corinthians 7:9-11 (Paul writes...) yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.11 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
5. Forgiveness replaces guilt:

I think women can be their own worst enemies. Forgiving ourselves of the mistakes in the past is so so hard. But after repentance, forgiveness is the last step that allows you to move on. For to grow, you have to move on. A tree doesn't hold onto the scar as a badge of courage, for the new bark grows around it. The new bark might look different and not be perfect, but it allows the tree to forgive the past, learn from it, and then eventually forget it. We have to let things go.

Ladies, we are NOT perfect. We will never be perfect...for it's not even in our DNA. (And if we were, then we would NOT need the Lord. We'd be able to save ourselves, right?) So, stop holding yourself to perfection, and hold yourself to the Lord. What a concept, huh? I have to digest that one too!

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another**, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. **(including yourself)

6. Endurance replaces weakness:

I lack so much endurance, it's really not even funny. I always start out strong, but then wane as time goes by. Let's safely assume I'm the hare, not the turtle.

But enduring the fire requires endurance. For we are made weak through trials and tribulations, but it is through His strength that we are able to endure WITH endurance. And He hangs in there with us because He loves us with all His heart.

1 Corinthians 13:7-8a It (love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.



Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.



7. Patience replaces anger and frustration:

What's the first thing to fly out the window when you're angry? And why are you angry in the first place? My bet would be you lose your patience...and you lose it because something has not gone as you have planned. I only know because I live this daily!

Be still...take a deep breath, blow out slowly, eyes closed, say a quick prayer, and reorient your mind to Him, and start over. For when we experience trials, do you ever realize that you'd love to run through them instead of waiting patiently for the Lord to work you through it? I know! I love to push things through, but we I do, I injure people along the way! I'm learning!

Psalm 46:10a “Be still, and know that I am God;"

James 1:2-6 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;

Fires, trials, tribulations are NOT fun; they are not comfortable, easy, nor desired. But they are meant to refine, to purify, to restart, to freshen, to prune, to clear out, to clean our hearts, and to ultimately be prepared for the purpose He has us on earth to do.

Ladies, His fire is just part of the journey. And our hearts, carrying that scar will heal, will look back and know its there, but also be a testimony of the strength of the Lord that carried us through times that we may want to forget. It is all for our good and His glory.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lots of LOVE, girls. LOVE LOVE LOVE like you've never LOVED before. For HE IS LOVE! And isn't that amazing?

Have a lovely weekend! (I'm off to San Francisco for a business meeting tomorrow morning! Pray for safe travels, for Cliff's sanity with the kids, and that I stay awake in probably the most boring meetings of my life! HEWE!)