Songs From the Fire

Photo: "Campfire Pleasures" by Dee Kamp

Songs From the Fire

Have you sat around a crackling, snapping campfire or in front of a fireplace and found yourself listening to the fire hiss and sing? The wood used for a good long-lasting fire is a big chunk of wood we call “the back log.” The rest is kindling which will burn up hot and quickly disappear.

When the back log catches fire it often begins to make a multitude of melodic sounds. When the snapping and crackling of the fire slows down, there is a whistling, squeaking, even a flute like sound coming from the back log.

Often the room grows quiet and everyone seems drawn to listen to its music, the songs of the forest fill the room. The log sings from the memories of the song birds in spring, the hoot of the owl at night, the flute like sound of the tree frog chirping after the rain. The tree’s songs are recalled from its memory of when the high winds blew strumming through its branches and the sound of the hissing snow and sleet in a harsh winter storm.

But the people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs

 at the holy festivals. You will be filled with joy,

as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrims to Jerusalem,

the mountain of the Lord—to the Rock

 of Israel (Isaiah 30:29 NLT).

It’s a writer’s fancy to hear songs of the forest singing from a sizzling log in the fire. But it is a bit of a parable of our lives. Each of us has collected many songs from our own lives over the years.

Some of the best songs remembered are the ones resulting from the times we were “in the fire” of life’s trials. Some people may never learn to sing until the flames kindle a memory deep within them.

When struggles come and go, we know God strengthens us to endure them. Let us then let the flames of our passion release the captured songs in our heart. These songs and melodies have been stored away to sing praises to our God for all He has done for us. It’s the songs from the fire that are most effective, most remembered, and most beautifully sung.

“Songs from the Fire” by Dee Kamp from Strength for Today, Hope for Tomorrow

A Few More Sleeps

 A Few Sleeps To Go

From the moment I would open the door of the motor home and begin to load it for a camping trip our chocolate Labrador dog named Rosie would leap inside and sit in her favorite spot eager and ready to go.

“Silly girl,” I’d say to this attentive and smart dog, “we aren’t going anywhere for days. You have few more sleeps before we go.”

Dogs and kids have something in common when it comes to the concept of time. They don’t have a clue.  But as adults we too have trouble with time. Not ours, but God’s.

“For everything there is a season a time for every activity under heaven.

 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

He has planted eternity in the human heart,

 but even so, people cannot see

 the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:1,11 NLT

It really means nothing to a child of a certain age when you say, “We’re going to go camping in two weeks.” You could count on them asking you every single day until you left if this is the day. And then, of course, it was, “Are we there yet!”

Children don’t understand what preparation and planning is involved and all it takes to get ready. To them its jump in and go. A child doesn’t realize you are looking out for their best interest, and time to go can often involve the timing of things and other people too.

It’s the same for God when we send up our requests to Him. There is much more involved than we can see, understand or imagine for our prayers to be answered. How good it is to know God sees beyond our earth bound timing. God never rushes time, wastes time or ever misses a date.

 Even though we have no idea what God’s timing is, we can be certain of this, God loves us and whatever He does is good for us and we will be blessed.

Did Rosie understand my explanation of a few sleeps? She’s just a dog right? Well we could never figure this out, but once we told her it would take a few sleeps before we go, she would hop out of the motor home and go back into the house. Then somehow she knew the exact day we were leaving and would get back in the motor home convinced it was time to go. 

Kids and dogs depend on us to be wise for good times and good timing. How great it is that we can depend on God for His perfect timing too— it may just take a few more sleeps.

“A Few More Sleeps” by Dee Kamp Grace Every Morning Ministries© July 17, 2013

A Bountiful Bouquet

 Pink and yellow roses by Dee Kamp

A Bountiful Bouquet

I stood in line at the florist shop prepared to buy a bouquet of roses for a fellow staff member at work. Everyone had pitched in knowing how much she loved roses so it made it easy for me to place the order on my lunch hour. The friendly woman at the counter asked me a question I thought was a bit unusual and had never considered before.

“What color roses do you want?”

“No one said what color,” I said. “They told me she loves them all!  Does it really matter?”

“Each color of the rose has a special significance, and meaning. Would you like to see the list? Wise choices always matter,” she said in a matter that seemed to mean more than colors of roses.

“For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.

Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.”

Proverbs 2:10-11 NLT

As the list of meanings for each rose was read to me I suddenly thought how they reflected the beautiful character of Jesus and God’s promises to us.

Red rose means— sincere love and passion. God’s sincere love and passion for us is revealed when He sent His Son to shed His blood and die for our sins.  

Yellow rose means— friendship, joy, gladness, freedom and the promise of a new beginning. Jesus is our friend and our new beginning, a new life of freedom in Him alone.  

White rose means —spiritual love, purity, a rose of confession and a reminder of heaven sent. Jesus is heaven sent, the Rose of Sharon, pure and holy leaving with us His Holy Spirit to comfort, teach and guide us.

Lavender rose means— love at first sight. A reminder of how God has loved us from the beginning of time. And at first sight of us, we were God’s delight and delightedly loved.  

Today we all can choose the most heavenly fragrant bouquet of flowers called faith, hope and love when we choose to follow Jesus. We are promised a bountiful bouquet, fresh and new every day, sent special delivery to our heart from the heart of God.

“A Bountiful Bouquet” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© July 15, 2013

A Smile or Two

 "Smiling Dog" by Dee Kamp

A Smile or Two 

 I once had an employee who worked at our little country store years ago that would often complain about her day. She told how hard it was with all the cranky customers she had to deal with. That’s when one day I asked her to look up the customer count for her shift.

 Puzzled, but doing as I asked, she answered, “Over one hundred while I was out on the cash register and not cooking in the back.”

 “And how many of those were friendly, even gave you a good laugh or made you smile today?”

 “Most of them and one guy made me laugh out loud! Only one old geezer growled at me,” she said and started to laugh about it.

“What joy for the nation whose God is the LORD,

whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.

The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race.

From his throne he observes all who live on the earth.

 He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.” Psalm 33:13-15 NLT

It’s just our human nature to focus on what went wrong in our day and forget to look at what was pretty good after all.  But how thankful we can be when we look back on our days and remember there was at least one something or someone that made us smile. 

 What a joy to realize there is nothing too difficult for God and He can bring a smile when we least expect one. How good it is to remember everyone needs one and we should pass one on whenever we can.

 No matter what’s going on in our life today, God knows all about it. And He will send us something or someone to make us smile. All we need to do is keep our eyes open and remember who is watching over us every hour of the day, every step of the way.

Let us count the smiles,

Not who or what makes us grumble today

For God is certain

To bring a smile or two our way

"A Smile or Two" by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries, July 12, 2013