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June 2025

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The Refiner’s Fire

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”
25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire
Psalm 66:10
10 For you, God, tested us;  you refined us like silver.
Zechariah 13:9
9 This third I will put into the fire;
  I will refine them like silver and test them like gold.
They will call on my name and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
Isaiah 48:10
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
  I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Proverbs 17:3
3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
Isaiah 43:2
2 When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
 they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,  you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Have you ever wondered why life can be so hard at times?  Maybe you feel like you have had more than your fair share of trials and tribulations. Some of you may feel like life just keeps on dealing you a bad hand.
 Well today I am here to encourage you.  When we go through trials it is for purpose.  God uses trials and difficult circumstances to refine us and to grow our faith in His ability to get us through any and everything that life throws our way.  He also uses the trials we go through to encourage those who are watching our journey.
Trials are difficult because, we don’t want the pressure and uncertainties that come with them.  You may ask what uncertainties? The main one is how long? We don’t want to be uncomfortable or to suffer any longer than we have to.  We want to get out of the refiner’s fire as quickly as possible.
God is our personal refiner.  A refiner is a person that removes unwanted impurities to improve the quality of that which he is working on, and to make it more suitable for use.
Guess what? When God keeps us in the fire of trials and frustration, He is making us more suitable for His use and for His kingdom purposes.
The good news is that we never enter the fire alone. He goes before us  and He is in the fire with us.  He is our fourth man in the fire. (Daniel 3:24-26)
We are not consumed by the fiery flames of trials and tribulations.  At the perfect time He will remove us from the fire and our likeness will be more like His and at that moment we will look back and see that it will have been worth it all. To be more like God should always be our goal.
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Faith

Chemo Day

Chemo Day

Psalm 25:5
Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Hello Sweet Friends

Today is my chemo day.
As I am sitting here I started to think about all of the things that God has taught me while I have been on this incredible journey. If it’s ok I would like share just a few of them with you.

1.  God is in control. I may make plans, but it is truly God who orders my steps.
Proverbs 16:9
We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
2. The Lord is my Shepherd and I am a sheep in His pasture. He has led me and guided me each step of the way. He is faithful.
Psalm 100:3
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.[a] We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
3. God is my protector.  He has protected me and placed me in the hands of the best physicians for this disease that I am fighting. I truly trust His judgement for my life. He makes no mistakes.
2nd Thessalonians 3:3
3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.[a]
4.  When I go through my storms and trials, God goes before me.  He has people in place to support me and help me through the difficult times.
Deuteronomy 31:8 
8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
5. I should never take my family and friends for granted. They love me and they will be there for me when no one else will. I am so thankful for my support group.
6. Each and every day of life is a divine gift from God.  Don’t even think about wasting it.  So many didn’t get to see this day.
Psalm 90:12
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
7. Living my life with gratitude has helped me to see God in everything that I have gone through. Gratitude shuts the door to complaining. I could have it so much worse. I must remain grateful.
1st Thessalonians 5:18
18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
8. God has blessed me to extend my ministry about His kingdom to doctor’s offices, Oncology Centers, hospitals, and even family and friends. In my most difficult time, God has used me in my weakness to experience and reflect His strength working through me. He has given me an opportunity to share Him with so many.  My pain has purpose, but I have to stay close to Him for my purpose to continue to be revealed to me.  Also there are facets of His character that I would not have ever seen or experienced had I not been on this journey.
9. I can be smart and do as my doctors suggest, but I don’t have to accept the diagnosis  as my final outcome.  I choose to  not only to have faith that God can heal me but that I am already healed.
God said by His stripes I am healed and I choose to believe I am healed.
Isaiah 53:5 
But He was wounded[a] for our transgressions, He was [b]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes[c] we are healed.
10.  I must work and live my life each day with excitement and positive energy.  I refuse to allow negative thoughts or negative people to cloud my judgement or cause me to doubt what God has already told me to be true.
11.  I must continue to set goals and run the race that He has set before me. Because the battle is His and what a sweet victory it will be when my goals are achieved and more women’s lives are enriched.
12. I must be transparent with my story. If not who will grow from my testimony and my experience?  And when I stand to tell my story trust me, God and only God will receive All of the glory.
Romans 11:36
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
13.  God has given me the strength for each new day. Thank you Lord! Only God could carry me through the unimaginable.
2nd Corinthians 12:9 
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
14. God is a Master Encourager.  He has gently whispered to me many times during this journey “Don’t be afraid”.  Oh how soothing and comforting those words have been to me.
Genesis 15:1
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,[a]   your very great reward.[b]”
15.  God’s timing is perfect.  I have seen it over and over through my journey.  He is always right on time.
Isaiah 30:18 
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;  blessed are all those who wait for him.
16.  He holds me in the very palm of His hands.  He carries me through the storm. He’s got me.  He will never leave or forsake me. Praise God!
Isaiah 41:10
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
17.  Prayer works! God hears every single prayer. I have learned to give Him time to respond. His delay is not my denial.  Prayer changes things, most importantly it has changed me.  Thank you Lord!
James 5:13-15
13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
18. I am so grateful for the days years ago that I worked my business even when I didn’t feel like it.  I am thankful for every sacrifice I made years ago and for every woman that said yes. and even those who said no. I grateful for the times that God gently whispered keep going. I am thankful that He encouraged me to push through.  I am thankful that I obeyed. Who knew back then that my life’s journey would go this direction? I certainly didn’t.  He was preparing me for the unseen.
Ladies work while you are healthy, strong and able. We don’t know what’s around the next curve.  Most importantly
He has blessed me with an amazing group of women who have been there for me and cheered me on.  I am truly blessed!
19. To have a wonderful Church Family is everything!  Oh how I have been showered with prayers, Get Well cards, gift cards and food. I absolutely love my Church Family.
20. I trust God!  I pray that when you encounter your trials that you will remember just how much God loves you, and that God is Always good whether you are on the mountain top or in the valley. His character is not changed by our circumstances Trust Him no matter what it looks like. Just know He has not forgotten you. He is faithful!

Love you and immensely grateful for you,
Marico❤️

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Relationships

The Blessing Of Being With Family

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2   a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3   a time to kill and a time to heal,
  a time to tear down and a time to build,
4   a time to weep and a time to laugh,
  a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
  a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6   a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7   a time to tear and a time to mend,
  a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8  a time to love and a time to hate,
 a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God.

The past two weekends I have traveled out of town to be with family.  One event was a Graduation celebration for my grand niece, and the other was with one hundred and fifty family members from all over the country. Both weekends were filled with fun food and lots of laughter, and we even attended Church together last Sunday.
What I realized at both events is how special time with family is.  Our lives get so busy with work, chores and other commitments, that if we are not careful, over time we can easily start to grow further and further away from our family.
I work a lot, and I always have something on my calendar, but what I realized these last two weekends is that I need to stop more often and just enjoy life.  I truly enjoyed being around my family and friends,  I saw cousins, aunts nieces, nephews and uncles that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I became acquainted with new little cousins that I had never met before.  What a blessing it was just to take a moment and breathe, and to do something fun with those that I love most.
In God’s Word we are told to number our days. In other words, pay attention. Life is going by.  Take time to find joy in each and every day.  Also God’s Word tells us that there is a time for everything.  When your family has set a time to gather, make a plan to be there.  Don’t assume that there will be a next time.  Make a plan today to do something fun with those that you love most.  It may require some adjustments to your schedule but I promise it will be worth it.  I think that when it’s over and everyone is going their separate ways you will be glad and grateful that you not only invested time in your family but also in yourself.
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