Archive for January, 2009

Refining Silver

Published at January 24, 2009 in Inspirational. 0 Comments

I was reading a Psalm tonight and I came across this verse:

For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.  (Psalm 66:10)

I remembered a slightly cheesy but meaningful email forward…It talks about how the struggles and difficult times we go through are part of the process of refining our character to become more like Christ.

Here is the forward..enjoy:)

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And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3a)

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.

Author Unknown

Good Grief

Published at January 22, 2009 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

Last weekend I had the pleasure of volunteering at the (VERY FIRST) M&B Winter Camp in Haliburton.  Overall, it was extremely exhausting but so much fun.  I’m glad I got to be a part of something really…special.

The kids at the camp all shared one thing in common: someone close to them died or was dying.  For most of them, it was a mom or dad.  Some of the loved ones died of cancer, others of brain tumours, and some of accidental death.  The purpose of camp was to give the children a chance to meet others in the same boat, so they don’t feel so alone.  While there were some activities around grief, we got to do “normal” camp activities like tobogganing, cross-country skiing, crafts & games and my favourite…

During the “workshops” on grief, kids could choose and activity to do.  In one station, each child got a teddy bear.  We opened up the stitches on the belly of the bear and inserted pieces of paper with messages to their loved ones.  Then, we sewed the teddies back up.

In another station, kids got to get down and messy making “tear soup”.  Using ingredients like leftover mashed potatoes, spaghetti, chocolate sauce, glitter etc to symbolize ” emories like the good times and the bad times, the silly and the sad times”, kids added the stuff into a huge pot to make the soup.  It was quite a sight and smell.

During the “campfire” (aka indoor fireplace simulation version), kids got to display their talent for dancing, singing, joke telling through performing in front of their peers.  Somehow, I got roped into playing guitar for “Let it be” – Beatles.  But the most special moment for me was when one of the girls in my group sang a duet with a counsellor.

Seated in front of the glowing fireplace, M & R sang M’s parents’ wedding song.  M dedicated it to her dad, who had died.  If I had a top 10 list of the sweetest most touching moments of my life, it would be on that list…It was so beautiful.

Dealing with grief is no easy business.  Luckily with kids, they don’t usually dwell on things like adults do.  They tend to think about something, get distracted, think about it again.  However, a couple of my girls did cry during a grief session…and I didn’t know what to do.  (Thankfully, a more experience counsellor picked up my camper and held her as she cried).

Sometimes we forget what we have until we lose it.  This weekend reminded me of how precious life is, how important family is, and how much God loves and cares for each and every one of his children.

4Better or 4Worse, 4B

Published at January 10, 2009 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments

And so it begins…the start of the end of another chapter in my life.  It’s hard to believe that this is my 4B term..I’m more excited than sad to be finishing though.

It feels good to be back in the ‘loo and to be getting into the routine of school again.  (My perspective may change in about a week’s time)  Although the past 8 months of co-op were a blessing and a great learning experience, I got tired of doing the same thing over and over and really needed more “stimulation”.

Anyways, I’m really thankful for my living situation this term…Although I live farther from campus, I’m living with a full house of 5 other ppl (3 boys and 3 girls – including myself).  I have a pretty big room with 2 big windows upstairs.  My housemates actually talk to me and acknowledge I exist:)  I’m planning to eat and cook with at least 2 of them frequently this term.  As well, my housemate who owns a car has early morning class at the same time as me…so as long as I can wake him up, hopefully I won’t have to take the bus to class on those days.  We’ll see how that goes..

Funny anecdote this week: I totally bombed an interview at the call-centre.  I hate talking in front of ppl I don’t know.  I wish I were more of an eloquent speaker.

I think that I’ll need to sit down and think more carefully about what I want to acheive this term…So far I know that I want to:

- Read the bible everyday & journal consistently (ie at least once a week)
_ Read christian book(s) in conjunction with bible reading
- Attend C4C and join a small group
- Attend prayer meeting at least once per week
- Work out twice a week (I rented a locker at PAC so that shows my determination)
- STOP PULLING MY HAIR
- Spend time caring for other people
- Kick school’s butt (get good grades)
- Join something out of interest sake (outside of fellowship and church)

Things are off to a good start.  Looking back, God has always provided.  Sometimes I didn’t even know I had a need, until it was fulfilled.