Malachi 3:3

My mom sent this story to me in an email and I really like it. I hope I'm not violating any copyright laws by posting it on my blog. I hope not because I feel like this story is worth sharing.

Malachi 3:3: '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 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 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

How Do You Like Them Apples?

I made these cake pops last week for Jace's teacher for Teacher Appreciation Week.

I used the rest of the dough to make some heart shaped treats.

They were easier to make than I thought they would be and I had a lot of fun with it. And...since one batch of them makes a lot, some went to my mom on Mother's Day, and the rest were given to neighbors.

(If you want to know more about cake pops, check out this site.)

Happy Mother's Day!

I have had a great Mother's Day and I hope any moms reading this, especially my own mom, have a wonderful Mother's Day as well.

I was totally spoiled by my kids and Casey this morning. They all picked presents for me and it was so fun to see the kids' excitement as I opened them. Casey also left me a present before he left for work this morning. It was like my own personal Christmas morning with presents laid out for me during the the night.

I have been lucky enough to have many great role mothers of motherhood around me in my life. My mom is such a selfless example of motherhood and I hope that I can emulate her kindness and selflessness with my own kids. I also have many wonderful friends, family and neighbors who are mothers. I love the aspects of motherhood they are shining examples of and hope to be like them in many ways as well.

One of my friends shared an online article with me about motherhood. (You can read the article here.) I love the importance it places on truly being present for your kids, and playing an active role in their lives. This is one of my favorite quotes from the article.

"But Being There isn’t about money or even about staying home full-time. It’s about an emotional and spiritual shift, of succumbing to Being Where You Are When You Are, and Being There as much as possible. Its about crouching on the floor and getting delirious over the praying mantis your son just caught instead of perusing a fax or filling the dishwasher while he is yelling for your attention and you distractedly say over your shoulder: “Oh , honey, isn’t that a pretty bug.” It’s about being attuned enough to notice when your kid’s eyes shine so you can make your eyes shine back.”

I especially love the that last line and hope to apply that to my life more often. There are so many attributes you could list that make up a great mom, but I think sometimes it's the little things that are the most important. Savoring those simple moments with my children is one of my favorite things about being a mom. And I'm honored to be a mom on this Mother's Day and always.

I don't know why...

...but I found this so funny. I accidentally had my finger on the "f" key instead of the "g" key while typing www.google.com the other day and accidentally typed www.foofle.com. It goes to the same place, so now I foofle stuff all the time and it makes me laugh every time. It's my new favorite site.

I know I've been away from blogging for a while and maybe you were expecting (or hoping for) a better comeback post than that but that's really all for now. I plan to write some posts with a little more substance over the next couple of days though, so stay tuned...

In the meantime, I'll be foofleing all kinds of information on the web.