Preparing...

The weather is changing...last night it dipped into the upper thirties out here in the country and tonight it is suppose to be around the same with a chance of frost. So what was a country girl suppose to do yesterday!? Get prepared to have a morning fire to sit by and drink my coffee....what else?! 

So, the preparations began... the first thing was to get the fireplace tools out and start cleaning out the fireplace. I swept out all the old soot and ash, wiped down the hearth with a wet rag and then dusted it so it was all nice and shiny black. I opened the flue and then swept out that soot.  Then I headed outside to the wood shed to bring up some logs to put on the front porch. Once I filled my wood holder on the porch I gathered sticks to pile up. I sat for a while and broke them into pieces and then it was time to go inside and set up the fire. It was fun layering the sticks and different sizes of logs into the fireplace...at least this is not television series "Survivor"...I have plenty of matches and will be using them! So finally I am finished...all that was left was to wake up this morning, make my way to the coffee maker, and then into the living room to throw a match on my fire and ready to reap the benefits of all my preparation...a hot cup of coffee in front of a roaring fire!

And other than drinking coffee what will I be doing in front of my roaring fire? I will prepare my heart and my soul for today...just as I need to prepare to have a fire in the fireplace, my heart and soul need to prepare for the day ahead, the week and months ahead.  The preparation of my fireplace at the beginning of fall sets me up for warm, cozy, pleasant mornings and evenings in front of a blazing fire. The preparation of my heart and soul opens me up to a better relationship with my Lord. It prepares my heart and soul to better see His will for my life and to seek his direction. "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2. Yes, I need to practice sweeping out the old "soot" (the unpleasant or even sinful habits or nature) and dust myself off so that I can shine. I need to layer Godly traits in my life just like I layer the wood in my fireplace....honesty, commitment, trust, loyalty, forgiveness, self-sacrifice, love, patience, kindness...just to name a few. " Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12. And I need to sit in front of the Lord just as I sit in front of my roaring fire...I /we should let him warm up, comfort us, and speak to us just as the crackling and popping of the fire does. Just like I prepare for the fall season, I need to stay in preparation for all that the Lord wants me to do, where He wants me to go, want He wants me to work on and become.


"Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit."Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks". Luke 12:35-36

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