1722) Here in Maine, my husband spends a lot of time cutting firewood. For those of you not familiar with the routine, there are many steps between a tree and stacked by the woodstove.

First, he must cut a tree, limb it, cut it into smaller pieces, split it, move it, stack it and then bring a week’s supply into the mudroom. These things take time, but the payoff is good, especially with the price of oil and electricity these days.

Sometimes, when I see our woodpiles, I think of Proverbs 26:20, which says, For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisper, quarreling ceases.

Simply stated, this verse tells us you can stop quarreling (and disagreements, tempers, and gossip) if you refrain from feeding it. If you think about it, feeding into the latest “trash” keeps it going. If you don’t feed it, it starves and goes out.

As we put the winter months in our review mirror, it’s prudent to think about fire and what feeds it.