This is my annual Fall photo that still makes me laugh when I see it \u2013 not to mention the memories that go along with it. BTW — I love seeing all your fun, family pumpkin patch photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were out for a family outing to the pumpkin patch in Tulsa. The scarecrow would be a great photo opportunity. What I didn\u2019t see was the big stick holding him up. Of course, my ever-witty daughter who has an eye for details, saw the humor from where the stick held the scarecrow up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staci remarked \u201cHmm\u2026.that\u2019s gotta hurt!\u201d Good news, the scarecrow wasn\u2019t hurting, but what about us? At one time or another, we have all said: \u201cIt hurts so much.\u201d We really were hurting \u2014 physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually or some other way. We share our painful story and someone might say, \u201cOuch!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe you\u2019re saying \u201cOuch!\u201d from the battles going on in your life today. I understand! There are times when I get one issue resolved and then another issue pops up. I\u2019ve come to realize those \u201cissues\u201d are God\u2019s way of giving me \u201cgrowth opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I live in a \u201cglass house\u201d when it comes to my blogs. I am so real that my readers can count on me speaking truth from my side of the \u201cpumpkin patch\u201d! Those growth opportunities keep me knowing that God is still working on me — shaping and molding me to fit the calling He’s given me. They remind me God is interested in my character, not my comfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good news \u2013 God isn\u2019t surprised by our character flaws, but He wants us to be squeaky clean like Malachi 3:3 reveals that the Lord comes to us \u201clike a refiner\u2019s fire and like fullers\u2019 soap\u201d. The fullers\u2019 soap (or alkali) was a strong soap used in the ancient East to whiten clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the refiner\u2019s fire? That is a method of purifying precious metals with intense heat. Impurities rise to the top where they can be skimmed off and discarded. The way a refiner knows that the process of purification is complete is by looking into the open furnace and checking the reflection. He knows the dross has all burnt away when he can see his reflection clearly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearly reflecting the image of our Maker is what we were made to do. Genesis 1:27 tells us God created us in His likeness and image. We were \u201cmarred\u201d by sin when sin came into the world. The purification process removes that sin and restores our ability to reflect the goodness of God Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord is always taking us through the process of becoming holy and wholly set apart for Him. And sometimes that process isn\u2019t \u201ca piece of cake\u201d. It often includes some suffering. Ouch and oh me\u2026.again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a silversmith\u2019s workshop we\u2019d see how the magnificent pieces had to undergo a grueling process in the workroom. There is pounding, turning, and heating before the polishing. For the silversmith to put his name on a piece, the silver must submit to treatment that seems harsh and cruel. But the treatment has great purpose. And the results are stunning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our God is not a cruel God. He allows the heating and shaping, the abrasive rubs and polishing in our lives for a reason. They are purifying and smoothing us so we will reflect Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not easy, but it is worth it as we begin to reflect our Creator with our lives that point hearts toward Him. How grateful I am to know that nothing God allows us to go through is pointless. Even when we hurt, He is working all things for our good and His glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver.\u201d (Psalm 66:10)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is my annual Fall photo that still makes me laugh when I see it \u2013 not to mention the memories that go along with it. BTW — I love seeing all your fun, family pumpkin patch photos. We were out for a family outing to the pumpkin patch in Tulsa. The scarecrow would be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25122,25123,25125,25124],"tags":[1210,25116,25115,1769,830,25112,25118,7381,25114,25111,4027,25121,7117,25120,25117,25119,7118,2021,10829,25113],"class_list":["post-17020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ouch","category-refiners-fire","category-reflect-god","category-silversmith","tag-blog","tag-character-flaws","tag-character-not-comfort","tag-christian","tag-created-in-his-image","tag-fall-photo","tag-fullers-soap","tag-glass-house","tag-growth-opportunities","tag-ouch","tag-photo-opt","tag-psalm-6610","tag-pumpkin-patch","tag-refined-like-silver","tag-refiners-fire","tag-reflecting-gods-image","tag-scarecrow","tag-silver","tag-squeaky-clean","tag-tried-and-tested"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17020"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17023,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17020\/revisions\/17023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}