2nd Cup of Coffee for 10/3-7/2026: CHISELED BY TRIAL

2nd Cup of Coffee for 10/7/26~CHISELED BY TRIAL

Posted by D. Dean Boone, 10/3-7/2026

A writer’s life is rarely dull. Much more so if he’s a serious morning person. I am both.

I have carried on a torrid love affair with books from the first time my mother brought me my first Little Golden Book at the tender age of 3.

Me, not the book. It was new. I’d no idea how precious it was, since in 1955 the price of that first book came out of her grocery money. It was also golden in more ways than just the title, for I was hooked on words from that point on.

That attachment led to a love of writing. Mother saw both my love for words read and written early, so she made sure my questing mind was liberally filled with Holy Scripture. She and my dad made certain I was attending worship early on. They both read widely, my quiet father by far the lover of Western lore and history. But their quiet devotional lives always took precedence.

My parents, Roscoe and Ida Jane, knew there was one other love that showed itself early on in my life: music. My family had always had a piano, around which we’d gather and sing. Harmonizing became second nature. The Boone home soon became known for singin’ around the piano.

Seventy-some years later, those two forces became a powerful duet, helping to shape my life and make God, Bibles, and sacred music the guardrails I’d need.

And writing. It became the primary outlet by which I could reveal parts of my introverted personality.

An old hymn awakened me yesterday morning. That didn’t puzzle me, for I’d been reading in Proverbs 11. Whenever I sense the Holy Spirit directing my devotions, I tend to refer to original languages and several trusted Bible translations. That’s what I was doing yesterday morning as I opened one of my all-time fav Bibles, the Amplified Bible.

That’s when it hit my spirit. I was reading Proverbs 11:2: “When pride comes boiling up with an arrogant attitude of self-importance, then come dishonor and shame, but with the humble, the teachable who have been chiseled by trial and who have learned to walk humbly with God, there is wisdom and soundness of mind.”

Everything in me seemed to slow down as that phrase grabbed ahold of me.

CHISELED BY TRIAL...

Chiseled by

• Stubborn attitudes

• Stubborn habits

• Moral and ethical dilemmas

• Sense of superiority

• Spiritual smugness

• Mild self-control

• Unwillingness to listen to criticism

• Spiritual immaturity

• Arrogance

•

•

I left a couple of spaces. Right about now you’re compiling your own list. Yes – whether you intended to or not.

It would be easy to keep writing but I believe it best to leave the theme by itself for you to explore.

The hymn? GOD LEADS US ALONG. It’s public domain, by G.A. Young in 1903. It’ll mean more to you if you pull it up and read the verses as you listen. If you have an old hymnal, you’ll likely find it there.

Then the message of a Gaither piece, THROUGH, began running through my mind. Pull it up and listen to it as well. “When I saw what lay before me, I cried, “Lord what will You do?” I thought He would just remove it, but He gently led me through…” Songwriters: Gloria Gaither/William Gaither/Michael Sykes Through lyrics © Mal ‘n’ Al Music, Hanna Street Music, Michael Sykes Productions Inc (Mal ‘n’ Al Music)

Now, hang on because here’s where it got personal…

“Okay, wait---YOU LED ME THROUGH THIS---THIS---?”

Ralph – that’s my GA – stood quietly, arms akimbo, silently nodding. I opened my mouth to, ah, discuss the matter with him. Then I glanced up and noticed Mike and Gabe both standing behind him... and behind them, Light diamond-sparkling all around, was the Holy Spirit, eyebrows slightly raised.

“Got it. You led me through… every time, every event, every…”

I dropped my eyes, then hung my head, prepared for—

“Daniel?”

I looked up. “Yes, Lord?”

“Would you have learned any other way? You certainly tried, didn’t you?”

I thought about it. Probably – highly likely – not.

“Right. Probably not.”

Uh, woops. God, Mike, Gabe, Ralph – the whole crew hears thoughts and reads impressions, too.

I sat back down in my mind, showing at least as much respect as I was showing my fit of pique. After all, every one of them stuck with me while I was experiencing each "THROUGH".

You see, 2nd Cup friend, this journey with God is not a club membership or having your name on the rolls of the biggest, baddest church in the city. It’s a One-on-one personal relationship with Jesus who gave His very human blood to save us all. Our part of that is to admit our sinfulness, accept Him as Lord, and begin living for Him as best we’re able in this world.

Yeah. In other words, going THROUGH life with Jesus as your guide.

You see, I love those to whom I write, whether I know them or not. I prayerfully seek God’s counsel while writing; I’d want another caring writer to offer me the same courtesy. In this case, I’m thinking it best to leave this challenge with you.

If you---

What’s that? GA? Oh, Ralph’s my Guardian Angel; my second one, actually. The first is in rehab.

Mike and Gabe are two of God’s Archangels: Michael and Gabriel. Those two DEFINE “awesome”. I wrote a little about them a few years back.

So anyway, if you feel led, please let me know if this has given you some encouragement or insight for this time in your life.

CHISELED BY TRIAL… Proverbs 11:2, AMP.

And, no – I don’t know if the Holy Spirit has eyebrows or not.

© d. dean boone, 10/4-7/2026