We love wood heat. During the recent single digit cold snap with snow on the ground, we kept the wood stove going full blast. We have central heat, but the thermostat is in the back part of the house, so the central heat keeps the back part of the house warm, while the front kitchen, dining, and living areas are warmed by the wood stove in large measure. It has central heat there too, of course, but I closed the vents somewhat to push more heat to the back of the house while the wood stove heats the front part. It works out pretty good. It does not take long to get a fire started with good dry wood. Once we have read the “yours truly” newspaper, it makes a wonderful fire-starter. I discovered the paper tears evenly top to bottom into about the width of a newspaper column. It takes 3 or 4 individual strips, creased for rigidity, held under the kindling, to quickly get a roaring fire started. It makes me appreciate this newspaper that much more. Started and burning, once you get a good bed of hot coals established in prolonged cold weather, no starting is required, just throw another stick or two of wood in the stove and the heat continues. You open up the damper and pull the air supply open all the way, put your wood in, and close the door. If you leave the damper, air supply, and the door cracked open a little, with all the air supply you will have a very hot roaring fire. Once it gets going good, you need to shut the damper a little bit, restrict the air supply a little bit, and close the door all the way. That way it won’t burn up all your wood, just sending the heat up the stovepipe. The damper causes the heat to kick out into the room. When the stove air supply is cut back and the fire has died down, all you have to do is open up the air supply and it will blaze back up again.
The Greek word for Spirit in the Bible, is “pneuma” (like pneumatic in our language), which means “a current of air, that is breath (blast), or a breeze” (Strong’s Concordance). A lot of time we are like a bed of coals in our spiritual life. There is no blazing fire for the Lord. Even if we throw some sticks of wood in the stove (Bible knowledge), without air flow, it will just smolder and die out completely. But when you crack the door open a little bit, and open up the air supply, and open the damper, before long you have a blazing fire again. When the Spirit, the breath of God, is allowed to flow, we blaze. This first part of the year is a good time to commit to opening up and letting the Spirit flow in our lives to the glory of the name of Jesus.