Here I am ~

One of the faithful blessings of the Lord

during my "angst against God" days

was introducing me to profoundly Godly women.

These women have become such amazing

sources of encouragement to me, and feed my soul.

This morning, I woke up to an email from

my dear friend, Lissa.

She has been sharing what has been going on 

in her life and walk with the Lord and

shared with me this verse, 

stating she thought of me when she read it:

1 Peter 1:3-7

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

A Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice,[a] though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

She has been very busy lately that when I told

her about my new blog, it took her a few days for it to register with her.

This morning, she woke up and the Lord brought

this verse to mind and she was very excited to share it with me.

I think she was keyed in on this:

7 so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

This is the purpose of this blog.

To share my refining moments through the fires of life.

As this states in verse 3:

By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

I was made anew in 5th grade when I accepted the Lord

into my heart as my personal Lord & Savior.

However, since then, I've only been taking baby steps

toward any growth and maturity in my

relationship and understanding of this heavenly gift of Grace.

So, when I hit the most major trial in my life: infertility 

{discovered after our first baby, around age 26};

I had 5th grade-faith questions, expecting mature-faith answers.

He was answering me!  But I wasn't able to understand.

Like trying to reason with an infant, talking to them like an adult

will NEVER get them to stop crying.

And that infant was me.

So, here I am.  Refined by the fires of infertility.

Not completely refined - but in a way where

I long and seek for MORE.
More growth, maturity and depth with the Lord.

Knowing that what fires and trials of life come

I will be brought through the other side

a more mature woman of the Lord

with a deeper grasp on the His character.

Bring it on, fire...I'm ready to be refined.