Big Deals

Think back to when you were a child…what was your main concern? Scrapped knees from accidents on roller skates or a bike were no fun. I busted through the front door of my house many times screaming in pain. Bloody knees were tragedies to me.

One bike accident literally knocked me out cold at the age of 10. My neighborhood friends stood in awe as I demonstrated how fast I could peddle. It was dusk with streetlights only beginning to warm up for the night. I was headed towards the familiar sidewalk on the busy traffic side of my block. It would be the grand finale to whip on the sidewalk and come to a sketching halt in order to leave permanent skid marks as a monument to all.

I misjudged the indention and hit the curb instead. My bike instantly stopped while my body soared in the air like a rocket. My friends screamed when I landed for they thought I was dead. But I wasn’t and came to when the cutest teenage boy on our block scooped me up to take me home to my parents.

Not much blood but was left with a swollen wrist. Two weeks later we went to the doctor to have an X-ray for the wrist that didn’t stop swelling. The ball of my wrist had actually come out of the socket and was now healing in that position. The doctor asked me how much I liked Mickey Mouse while he took my arm and re-broke my wrist in his office. No Novocain. That was a very big deal to me.

Life moves on to bigger deals, doesn’t it? Pain and suffering can intensify in other ways besides physical. I forgot to mention last week that the temperature of the flame used to refine gold is 2,400 degrees. So, how about the heat in your heart for peace, understanding, love, acceptance, and more? The process Jesus uses to bring us to the simplicity of His sweet love is a process through the trials of this life.

“…We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4

Have you thanked God for your sufferings? They can be very productive.

Hot Stuff

“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

Who in the Leaping Butterfly blog world has experienced a hot flash? I have, had, and still having! Tell me…why does it take years to get through this process? As if the emotional heat isn’t hot enough at this stage it can easily be combined with unexpected buckets of ‘Gatorade’ from head to toe.

But things could be worse—I could be a piece of gold. I’ve heard of a process called the refinement of gold, but had never seen it until today; thanks to all our friends at YouTube.com. I encourage you to take a look too.

In a nutshell, the scrap metal is placed in a crucible for a torch melt. Once the metal has melted into a liquid consistency it is slowly poured into a bowl of cold water. Because the metal drains in droplets, it will form into cornflake-type pieces. Later, the pieces are mixed with Nitric Acid. Soon they form together at the bottom of the bowl as a yellow sponge type substance. The next step is to melt the metal again to remove all traces of water, acid, and alloys. Alloys are a less valuable metal that could be mixed with the purest of gold. It would reduce the quality of greater worth should this final step be left out.

Ever felt like you’re having a meltdown? I have and knock on wood…I’ve gone five whole minutes without one.  But, meltdowns can refine us as long as we surrender to the work of our refiner’s hands. Otherwise, the Refiner may have to turn up the heat to rid us of the alloys in our lives.

“Metal is refined and purified in a furnace; the Lord purifies and tests the heart.” Proverbs 17:3

Thank you, Lord, for my meltdowns. Melt and mold me into whatever you wish, Father. I desire for my heart to be pure, brilliant, and a glorious reflection of You.

Strike A Pose

Lands alive! I just completed the editing, downloading, and adding captions process to over 2,380 pictures taken last week in Cozumel, Mexico. You see…this was no ordinary trip. It was a family wedding/vacation.

The problem? Nearly every picture was perfect. Constant questions echoed in my mind as I sorted through each one: what to keep, what to delete, what ones are similar, who has their eyes closed or burns a hole in the page with red-eye, and the infamous…does this picture make me look fat.

Oh, easy to take a picture, but a struggle with which one says it all. Every picture should tell a recognizable story to the viewer. It’s history in the making!

Photos record our life story, don’t they? I thought about my life today as I worked on my photo project. I began to see the out of focus pictures of my life I would love to toss on a blue flame to destroy all evidence; the ones with my eyes closed or when I look like a red-eyed demon; the ones with a frown from the sun; the ones when I’m obviously looking into another camera lens while everyone else is looking into another; or I’ve turned to fix someone else’s collar; and the ones when I decided to scratch a tickle on the tip of my nose but it looks like something else. My spiritual life has faced the same issues when being ready to snap a moment of my life. I haven’t always been ready.

Snap, snap, snap from the time we’re born until the time we can barely hold our great-grandchildren. Pictures record the process of growth. So it is with our spiritual lives too. What would your album record if the photographer zoomed in on your heart?

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

Delete the undesirable pictures of your life so you can become mature, complete, and lacking nothing. This process will turn your glamour shots into glory shots!

Can It

Have you ever canned vegetables? How about jelly, honey, pickles or salsa? The ‘daughters’ in my family mentioned they want to resurrect the art of canning again. With shopping organic we are contemplating what might be needed to get started. The possibilities to co-op, exchange jars along with recipes are endless. Sound fun?

However, canning is a process. If not followed carefully you could meet an undesirable dinner guest; Mr. Bacteria. Vegetables and fruits must be fresh. Cleaning the jars with soap and water is a necessity. Then you are to place them in a hot bath for about 15 minutes. Remove jars with a safe lifter then allow them to air dry on a clean cloth. Do the same procedure for the lids.

There are countless recipes for canning. Pick one that best suits your taste and follow the instructions. There is the cold pack method and the warm. Most require a good amount of salt for preservation (please don’t tell my dietician daughter-in-law how much sodium you use). When done, place the food in jars leaving an ample amount of space at the top to create a tight seal. Screw the lids on each jar, place jars back into the water bath and boil according to directions. The lids will pop up to indicate the proper safe seal.

It’s a process, isn’t it? Take a look at YouTube.com ‘How To’s’ on canning and you’ll be set! You might find yourself getting hooked on canning!

As we begin our 4^th of our 5^th transformation series I would like to move us from the question: Will it be easy or painful? to the new question: Will it be a process? The answer is, “Yes!” Our impatient society tells us, “We want it and we want it NOW!” As you can see—without a process you could be facing yucky spiritual bacteria.

“Thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

Have you thanked the Lord for your process? It could leave you smelling much sweeter.

Playing Hooky

What went through your mind as you listened to your teacher take toll on the first day of school? My first thought is a racing heart as I waited for the letter M to come along. Would she pronounce my name correctly? Would the other kids laugh? But when I heard the familiar name I threw my little hand straight up into the air to state I was there and proud of it. We love to hear our names, don’t we? We feel as if we belong.

However, when the third month of school rolled around I sat, with hands laid flat on my desk, and said in a tired tone, “present”. School was great, but every day? That was another story. When would summer ever appear on the calendar again? I would watch the big black and white clock barely tick off the minutes and say to myself, “I didn’t come here to work!”

I missed home and would often fake a cold so I could watch “I Love Lucy”, “Dick Van Dyke”, and “Andy of Mayberry” with my mother. I didn’t always want to be present…I preferred to be absent. I wasn’t one of those who had to have a certificate with 100% attendance. We’re like that, aren’t we? If it doesn’t feel good…we don’t want to do it anymore.

Thank goodness God is unlike us. We are made in His image…not the other way around. If He says He will do something…you better believe He will. Several times in His Word, He says, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.”

Leave means; to depart from. Forsake means; to abandon, to give up or renounce. The opposite would be—to stay, continue, defend, care, maintain, adopt, be loyal, support, keep and hold. That…is our God.

Psalm 46:1b says, “…God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Do you ever stop to thank Him for being “ever-present” in your life? What a joy and privilege to know that He is with us at all times, even when we’re not that pleasant to be around.

I challenge you to pray this prayer, “Father, show me You are present in my life.”