No Smell of Smoke

I have a new and healthy respect for fire. Let me tell you why. Yesterday, Brad and I asked some friends over for dinner. I stuck a brisket in the oven that morning to be ready for dinner. I followed all the directions for the oven bag that you are to put it in. Well, almost. When it was about time for our friends to arrive I realized that I needed to put rolls in the oven. So, I turned up the heat a little (ever had God turn up the heat a little in your life?) and started to take the brisket out to the oven. Well, the brisket was heavy and I couldn't hold it steady and juices began to drip out in the oven which then started a fire inside the oven. I dropped the brisket and ignited more of a fire. Thank the Lord, I mean really, I thank the Lord that Brad was right there and smart enough to think to use the sprayer from the sink (it was already on because I had left the water running – which, this time, Brad didn't mind!). He got the fire out but not before all the smoke alarms in the house were going off and the neighbors were coming out to check on us. We had the privilege of telling them, all is well, Kasey is just cooking. They all seemed to understand and went back into their houses.

After we had all calmed down and I had lectured the boys on fire safety and what to do if they ever heard that sound again. RUN! They missed all the excitement; they were downstairs playing video games. Kids! Even a fire doesn't really interest them anymore.

Ok, then I had another bright idea, the first being me in the kitchen, now I thought to use my self clean feature on the stove. Why clean up that mess when the stove will do it for you. Our pretty new stove has an automatic lock on the stove, for safety reasons, I am sure. I proceeded to clean the stove. Brad looks up and screams "fire," again, I thought?? Now, our wonderful safety feature on the stove would not let us open the door to put out the fire. I wonder how safe that really is. We finally had to turn off the whole oven so that we could put out the second fire in one night in our house. Whew! Aren't you glad I didn't ask you over for dinner? We ended up at On the Boarder for dinner. Impressive, I know.

Thankfully, I have good friends who are neighbors and they came over immediately to help. She came armed with her air purifiers and Febreeze to help with the smell. It was so smoky in the house my eyes were burning and Brad was coughing over and over again. I am going through Daniel in our Bible study and I couldn't help but think of the Daniel's three friends who were thrown in the fiery furnace. You know the one that the king ordered them to turn up 7 times hotter. The same fire where the mysterious person appeared and they were not burnt. Coming as close to the fire as I just did – I just can't imagine it. Fire is consuming and if it isn't stopped, it will burn everything in sight. Listen to this verse in Daniel 3:27b "They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." It is God and only God who could make that happen. I can still smell smoke in my house.

How is it with us when we are put through the fire? Do we stink? Do we sound off the smoke alarms with our bitterness and resentment towards the fire? Or do we withstand the fire and not smell? God, at times, heats up the fire in our lives, or allows things to happen that heat up the fire and it is hot. God will be with you in the fire. He will stand with you so that you can through and be a pleasing aroma to those around you. Don't set off the smoke alarms – let those around you see that God is in the fire with you and He is protecting you. He is all you need!