DESCRIPTION:
Here is my Mom Nancy and I performing at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. We had both been battling cancer for about a year by then, she against melanoma and myself against lymphoma. As you can tell, I came out okay, but she would pass away a few months after we recorded this song, on October 30, 2003. Her faith made her strong and cheerful throughout her life, and I know she is alive in the spirit today. I upload it today because, a bit older and a bit wiser, I can finally understand the power of that faith. I now know what it means to sing, "No matter what I may lose, I choose the Refiner's fire." I should also mention that my Dad Jim did the recording and editing here. He too passed away from pancreatic cancer on January 3, 2008. I post this video in honor and remembrance of them and their love, which I am now certain lives forever. Thank you for listening. Here are the full lyrics to the song:

There burns a fire with sacred heart
White hot with holy flame
And all who dare pass through its blaze
Will not emerge the same
Some as bronze, and some as silver
Some as gold, then with great skill
All are hammered by their sufferings
On the anvil of His will

The Refiner's fire
Has now become my souls desire
Purged and cleansed and purified
That the Lord be glorified
He is consuming my soul
Refining me, making me whole
No matter what I may lose
I choose the Refiner's fire

I'm learning now to trust His touch
To crave the fire's embrace
For though my past with sin was etched
His mercies did erase
Each time His purging cleanses deeper
I'm not sure that I'll survive
Yet the strength in growing weaker
Keeps my hungry soul alive

The Refiner's fire
Has now become my souls desire
Purged and cleansed and purified
That the Lord be glorified
He is consuming my soul
Refining me, making me whole
No matter what I may lose
I choose the Refiner's fire