Brett built a fire in the fireplace this afternoon.  It was so cozy sitting in front of the fire with Brett in our big double chair.  Even kitty appeared to enjoy the ambiance and changed her personality from generally hateful to an unusually sweet kitty who volunteered to sit on my lap while I was trying to type.

I told Brett that from here on out we need to always have a house with a real fireplace in it.  I told him we could sit in front of the fire year round that way.  He wasn’t as excited as I was to sit in front of the fire in July, but he did agree we should always have a fireplace.

Just like I always desire a fire in my fireplace, I should always desire the presence of the fire of the Holy Spirit in my life.  I think the problem we sometimes have with actually wanting the Holy Spirit in our lives all the time is that we would be convicted to do good at the most inconvenient times.  Those times you want to get even, the Holy Spirit would do His best to convince you not to hurt others like you were hurt.  The times you are tempted to gossip about someone else’s poor choices, the Holy Spirit would intervene in your thoughts and try to help you change your thought patterns.

If you stop to listen, the Holy Spirit will invite you to live a life of purity and holiness all throughout your day.  You may think He is asking you to do the impossible, but if your heart hears His voice, He will provide you with the power to choose to do right.