Pure Gold

But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.  ~Job 23:10 (NASB)

Are you going through tough times? Times you'd rather not? THINGS you'd rather not? Stresses and worries got you down? Fear trying to take control of your life?

God knows it all. God has a plan for you. And since God is LOVE, and perfect love casts fear out of our lives, we can know and trust that whatever His reason for this season in your life is will turn out alright if you keep holding on... keep trusting Him... keep allowing Him to work it out for you.

Much easier said than done, I know. I've gone through some things myself, and will continue throughout life to do so. Being a life coach doesn't make me immune to worry or pain, to fear trying to take hold or to mishaps I'd rather not have occur. Being a Christ-follower doesn't either.

Here in the US, and around the world, people are hungry for what God wants to bless us with... hungry for His presence, His love, His grace, His forgiveness. The US certainly needs these things, as do people in each country around the world. We all need these things in order to be blessed, healthy, and to have a holistic and wonderful relationship with Christ.

I realize not all my readers necessarily profess Christ. Not all those seeing these words or hearing them know the Living Love Who is called Jesus Christ. Some don't want to. And I am not here to push... who am I to tell you what to believe?

And yet... the Lord knows the way you and I take... whether we take the path of Christ or not. Whether we take the narrow path or the broad. Whether we take and accept Him as Savior and Lord, or not. For those who are in Christ... those who trust in and on Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives and whose lives show this to be true... there is the promise that we will be refined. We will come forth as gold after walking through the forge and the fire of trials, temptations, and mistakes... after we've learned lessons the hard way and learned lessons by learning from others. After ALL is said and done and we are standing face to face with God, the King of Kings, we will be seen as purest gold.

Notice I said walking THROUGH the forge and the fire...
We may at times be able to walk around them... but sometimes we are called to walk THROUGH them... and this is where a lot of people turn their backs on the Lord, thinking He is gone, that He has left, when in fact He is preparing you for bigger and better things ahead. He is helping you to become more like Him, and helping you to be blessed in the future more than you can even imagine.

He is preparing to help you find reality toward your GOD-sized dreams... the dreams that can only come from Him because they're too huge for you to accomplish and you know that you know that He alone can pull them off. Preparing you to have deeper, wider, greater, Living Love-sized faith... Jesus-sized faith.
When He is done trying us, we will come forth as gold... and along the way, He will bless us if we allow Him to and trust Him to do His part in the process of our growth in life.

Gold can be purified only through fire. There it is softened, made pliable, impurities are removed, purity happens. Only in the fire. ONLY in the fire. He will turn us to gold if we let Him.

We can be purified by Him if we choose... He will not force it upon us, though He will forever guide and lead us... the trust factor will be a determinant to whether or not we allow Him to have His way in and through us.

Not only will He be purifying US, He will use US to help purify others, as well.

Who is God using to purify you? What situation? What circumstance? What will your response be?

God is responsible for us all, but we are all responsible for our own actions. We may think others choose for us, but we ALWAYS have the right to make our own choice, whatever that choice may be. Will you choose to allow God to purify you, and to refine you as pure gold?

Fibro Links

If you or someone you know (like, for example, me) has fibro and you want to learn more... here are some links:

http://www.fibrohelp.net/
http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer
http://www.fmnetnews.com/
http://chronicfatigue.about.com/
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20071217005643&newsLang=en
http://www.fmpartnership.org/
http://www.afsafund.org/
http://www.myfibrosite.com/users/fibroinsiteeducationalstudiesandsupport/emotionalaspectsoftheillness.html
http://www.myfibrosite.com/users/fibroinsiteeducationalstudiesandsupport/FibroFacts.html
http://www.sleepydust.net/fibromyalgia-itching-back-itch.html
http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/fibromyalgia-discussions/introductions-personal-stories/7611-new-need-help-with-fibro
http://www.fms-help.com/
http://www.med-help.net/Fibromyalgia-Doctors.html
http://www.cojoweb.com/fibro_hope.html
http://www.fibrotalk.info/
http://www.fibromyalgiajournal.org/
http://fibrohugs.com/
http://www.fibrofix.com/
http://www.fibrowellness.com/
http://www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com/
http://www.icnr.com/Fibromyalgia.htm
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/ (This last one is for II - Invisible Illnesses - in general)

Love Like There's No Tomorrow...

In order to really love someone you must love him as though he was going to die tomorrow.  ~Arabian Proverb

How do we show the people we love that we love them? Do we passionately appreciate them each day as though it is the last, reminding ourselves it very well may be? Or do we just... accept that they're there, possibly even take advantage of that fact or expect that things will forever be as they are?

To love from the heart, to love passionately, the people in our lives is a calling. To love them as though either YOU or THEY were going to die and this moment, this second might be the last... that this hello or goodbye or I love you might be the last... that is to show them how much they are loved.

People need to know they are loved... whether they are across the table or across many miles or even many countries away, they need to know they are loved.

I try to make it a point in my own life to share with people the appreciation, love, respect, and honor I have for them every time I think of it. I never know whether I will ever see or hear from them again, because I don't know God's plans for their life... or for mine, for that matter... in a deep enough way that I can know that I know I will see them again tomorrow. That I will hear their voice or feel their hug or get a reply on email from them tomorrow... or ever again.

Sometimes it doesn't take a death for this to happen. People drift apart for many reasons... siblings, parents and children, old friends, former roommates... people drift apart. And yes, people die. We all will at some point, like it or not. And only God truly knows the moment He will take each of us... it is a rare thing to know ahead of time the precise moment. I know of only one person who did, and they were correct.

So I challenge you... love the people in your life deeply, and love them as if they will  die tomorrow. Or as if YOU will. Either could be true. God has His eye on all of us and knows what we all need... who we all need... when we will all part ways in whatever means it will happen. HE is the only true permanence in life... and HE is LOVE.

We all need love. It is a human essential.
How are we showing it??