Today I made some caramelized pecans. They’re really quite easy. You just put a half cup of sugar in a pan, turn on the fire, and keep stirring until the sugar completely melts and is a beautiful caramel brown color. Then you turn pecans in it one at a time and put them on a pan to cool. I can usually get about twenty pecans before the sugar gets too hard, and then we eat the rest of the sugar.
David knows I like to talk about the science of sugar (a friend and I teach candy classes at my home about once or twice a month). He climbed up on a stool to watch and made a comment about the sugar, so I obliged him by talking about sugar.
Sugar is a solid, and most solids turn to liquid when we heat them enough. As we watched the sugar start to melt at the edges of the pan, I told him that even metals melt when I heat them up. Since he knows a bit about rocks and minerals, I explained that when we heat gold, for example, all the extra minerals can be separated from the pure gold.
And then I was able to share what God says about the pressures of life. God uses these things to show us where we need to make changes, where we need to be more like Christ, where we need to repent. Sometimes when we do right, things don’t turn out as we would like, but God is always glorified, and that’s what is most important.
I needed that talk, too. 🙂
Malachi 3:2-3
For [God] is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
And Job 23:10 says But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
I just want to thank you so much for this blog. I am a new mom of an 8-month old girl, and I thought I was going crazy when she was first born. I have been praying for wisdom about raising her, and reading your thoughts, ideas, prayers have been so wonderful for me. They reminded me about what is truly important. Thanks again.
Monica– Thanks for your encouragement. The Lord has been working on my heart, and I’m glad that it was encouraging to you. My greatest desire is that those who read my blog will be challenged to search God’s Word for wisdom.
well, just that has happened. I have been reading the scriptures more now, and your ideas encourage me to rely on Him for everything, even small things. Off to read the Word now.
Hurray! And you’ve reminded me of my priorities, so thank you for commenting and sending ME back to the Word. 🙂