Refined

Three months ago, the landscape was barren. Fire had swallowed up dry prairie grasses like a voracious high school football team at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

But some 90 days later, the green grasses are dotted with prairie flowers in yellows and blues amid shoots of green.

What looked dead has new life. 

Not all the signs of the fire are gone. There are still blackened remnants, if you look closely at the base of the new green growth.

On March 27, we intended to burn CRP grass. The burn started out fine, but the fire jumped a fire break, and we ended up unintentionally burning an additional 80 acres of land belonging to other property owners.

A few days after our unintended excitement, Randy planted a mixture of Forbes grasses in the sooty field as the CRP contract requires. Only a few short weeks later, green growth was already emerging.
Now that is the very picture of perseverance, isn't it? Here is how the landscape looked on April 10, only a couple weeks after the fire.

And below is the transformation by June 16.

Maybe we humans aren't so different. We all have "fires" in our lives. We have times where the landscape feels as desolate as that blackened earth. We are lonely. We face health problems. We're concerned about our kids or our jobs or our community. The fires are different for all of us. But we all have them. We can get hot under the collar. We can feel like we're walking through flames.We can feel that all-consuming heat and wind surround us in a way where it's even hard to breathe.

But God can use those times to draw us ever closer to Him.

"I will bring them into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.' "

Zechariah 13: 9

The verse in Zechariah says we are to call upon God's name in those times. And when we do, we'll be refined.

Fires get mighty hot. I guarantee you I didn't much like the helpless feeling I had on that March evening, as we felt the heat and heard the whoosh of the flames as fire gobbled up everything in its path.

And I don't much like the "fires" that come into my personal life either. But God promises to be there - guiding me and directing me and making sure there is new green growth on the other side.

I think, too, of the potter and the clay. Pottery can't be used until it's fired.

Pottery is made by forming a clay body into objects of a required shape and heating them to high temperatures in a kiln to induce reactions that lead to permanent changes, including increasing their strength and hardening and setting their shape.

From Wikipedia

Trials by fire can have that same effect on us as followers of Jesus. Trials can make us stronger and set our shape as His followers. Or the fire of life's trials can cause us to crack and make us useless for His plan.

The words of James make more sense in the context of the Potter's process.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

James 1:2-3, NIV

There is no joy in the trial. When we are in a trial, God wants us to emerge strengthened and beautiful and useful. The lump of clay that is me and the lump of clay that is you has infinite potential because we have an infinite God that is patient and good. I pray that through the fires of life, we will allow Him to shape us in His image.

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After fire crews responded to our out-of-control fire, I took treats to the four different volunteer units who helped us, including this new recipe, Peanut Butter Cup Fluffernut Blondies.

Or, if you're looking for a cookie with a patriotic flair for 4th of July, try this chocolate brownie which I dressed up with as much bling as a fireworks-filled sky by topping with chocolate icing and star-shaped sprinkles.

When the Wind Blows

When a day is still, I don't notice flags. Do you?

But when a strong wind buffets a flag, it immediately draws your eyes to it. We watch its ripple and hear the snap of canvas as the wind tosses it to and fro.

Racers start their engines and put their foot on the gas when the flag man waves the green flag. At a race, do we pay attention to the checkered flag until it's waved wildly to signal the end of a race? We're probably not looking for the flag that's just sitting idly in the flag man's hands.

I guess it's human nature to float along when things are going well for us. Believe me, I much prefer calm seas in life. I am a list maker who likes things to go a certain way. My Type A personality is much happier when my life is ticking along in a predictable pattern.

However, I broke my toe in a farming accident last month. Believe you me, that wasn't on my to-do list. I had just recommitted to watching what I eat and trying to lose the pounds that have crept back on during the winter.

Even though I wasn't as careful with my eating as I should have been, I was still exercising six days a week. And suddenly, a doctor was telling me that it is going to take 6 weeks to heal my toe. Walking my 4 miles a day is not an option at the moment.

That is not in my plan, Lord! But, I look around me, and I realize that a broken toe is not that big a deal in the scheme of things in life. It is a minor inconvenience. Others have much bigger obstacles to navigate than a stupid broken toe.

I've been enjoying the song, "Blessings," by Laura Story. I've heard it on K-LOVE numerous times, but the words are really sinking home with me these days:

What if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if the trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Definitely something to think about, right?

I read a Guideposts devotional not long ago. It was based on Matthew 8: 23-27:

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The devotional said:

The test of our Christian commitment is not our ability to lounge at the tiller of our lives while events are sailing along smoothly. Rather the test is our response when the tempests blow. Jesus' disciples had spent many hours in boats. When they recognized the dangers presented by the elements, they turned to Jesus, and He did not fail them.

The capacity for knowing God enlarges as we are brought by Him into circumstances which oblige us to exercise faith; so, when difficulties beset our path, let us thank God that He is taking trouble with us, and lean hard upon Him.

Are you experiencing calm seas right now? Or is life buffeting you with as much force as a stiff Kansas wind?

No matter your circumstances in life - trial or celebration - Christ can be your banner. God is with us and has the power to calm the storm. Pick up the banner of Christ! He will carry you through.

As you listen to Laura Story's song, scroll down and check out some fun ideas for Flag Day June 14 or for your 4th of July celebration! Enjoy!

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June 14 is Flag Day. Try these fun recipes from Family Fun.

For a healthy finale to your Flag Day celebration, serve this red, white, and blue treat.

Star-Spangled Dessert
Recipe and photo
from Family Fun magazine

Ingredients

• Strawberries
• Whipped cream cheese

• Sugar (optional)
• Blueberries

Instructions

1. Clean and hull five strawberries, then add dollops of whipped cream cheese to the top of each one. Sprinkle sugar on the cream cheese (optional), then top each strawberry with a blueberry and arrange them as shown.

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Patriotic Drink

Recipe and photo
from Family Fun (www.familyfun.go.com/recipes)

With a steady hand and some colorful drinks, you can create a tasty, multi-layered concoction. The secret is in selecting liquids with varying amounts of sugar, since those that contain more (such as soda) are denser than those with less (such as diet drinks). And that makes it possible to actually stack one on top of another (for a little while, anyway -- then they'll start to blend). Here's how to serve up a thirst quencher with two, three, or even more layers. This recipe is for a red, white, and blue version for your patriotic celebrations.

Ingredients

• Ice cubes
• Cranberry juice

• Wild Berry flavor Gatorade Fierce
• Diet 7-Up

Instructions

1. Fill a clear glass with ice cubes. Pour the drink with the most sugar (check the nutrition label) into the glass. For our red, white, and blue recipe, start with the cranberry juice.



2. Very slowly add a beverage that contains less sugar -- in this case, Wild Berry flavor Gatorade Fierce. Be careful to pour it onto an ice cube -- not directly into the other drink -- to keep them from mixing.



3. Use the same technique to add a layer of Diet 7-Up

There are lots of other fun patriotic recipes on the Family Fun website. Have fun searching through the ideas and pick one that will suit your family.

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Kim's County Line Photo

Or, if you're feeling ambitious, what's more all-American than a blueberry pie? Click here to see step-by-step photos, a recipe and instructions for creating your own pie.