Facing the Rainy Seasons in Life Part 2

Practice- Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice…

Whose words? If you hang out here regularly at New Vision, you are probably aware that we just finished up several months of studying the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus preached to the people. The last part of this chapter is the ending of that sermon. The words that are being referred to here are the words of Jesus, telling us how to live and how to treat others. Now he is telling us to put His teachings into practice.

The wise man heard his teachings and put them into practice.

He built his house on the rock and when the rains came, it did not fall. The foolish man who heard the teachings of Jesus and did not put them into practice, built his house on sand, and when the rains come, it fell with a big crash. In James 1:5- If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

We must love the Lord our God with all heart, all our mind, all our soul and with all our strength. We must love others. We must believe in Him and believe He can do what he says he can do. We must trust God. We must ask God for His wisdom and understanding. We must practice what He says and follow His teachings.

Facing the Rainy Seasons in Life Part 1

Zechariah 10:1 Ask the Lord for rain in the Spring time It is the Lord who makes the storm clouds He gives showers of rain to men and Plants of the field to everyone Last year we were in a severe drought. Trees, grass and flowers were not growing as well and some even died due to the lack of rain. We were in danger of running out of water because the lakes were dry. Lake Lanier, which is our main water source, was almost dry. We were on extreme water restrictions and had to be very conservative in using our water. People everywhere we praying for rain. Churches held candlelight services and gathered together corporately to pray for rain in this area. God answered our prayers and sent the rain! We are now being told that our area is out of the drought and only the northern part of Ga remains under a drought warning. This month alone we have had 5 in. of rain. Rain is an important part of growth. Rain supplies us with our water source that we need to live. As we look around this year, you see flowers blooming everywhere, trees are growing, and the grass is growing so fast, we can hardly keep it cut! Now, we hear everyone praying for the rain to stop! I’ve heard people, myself included, say, “I am tired of all this rain!” But we still need the rain! We have been cleared of the drought; however, Lake Lanier is still down by 12 in. We are still under outside water restrictions. Every weekend, as we make our plans, we are praying that it won’t rain. Why? It’s hard to plan events and social gatherings It’s hard to keep up with the yard work! It’s hard to get motivated. Rainy seasons are hard to endure even when we need them. We need rain in order to grow, not just physically but spiritually as well. James 1:2 says, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, I’m sure we have all faced rainy seasons in our lives; however, I’m not so sure that we were jumping up and down for joy when we faced them! WHENEVER you face trials, of many kinds... So we know we are going to face all kinds of trials, or rainy seasons, in our life. Rainy seasons are hard enough, but to consider it pure joy? We are going to learn why and how we can consider these times pure joy. (over the next few days I will be posting these as separate blogs. Please keep in mind, that I was speaking on this in April, so my facts have changed for the actual rainfall percentages! I hope you enjoy the lessons! )

I Have a Job Now!

Okay, so lot's of things have changed in my life recently. I have a job now! That's my new phrase lately! I'm still in shock. I work at Chick Fil A as a grill cook. I love it. The people I work for and work with are great! I'm starting to feel like I'm getting into a routine now and so is my family. It has been a big adjustment for us! The other big thing that has happened in my life, is that my son, Randy, turned 16. WOW! I can remember the day he was born as if it were yesterday. He is a great kid and I'm so proud of him! We threw him a surprise party and our family and friends were all there. It was really nice. He also got a truck. Not a new one, a really old one, but a truck, none the less! We, (the ladies Bible study group) are starting our 4th week on The Frazzled Female by Cindi Wood. This has been a perfect Bible study for me and the ladies are enjoying it as well. It teaches you about time management, organization, and dealing with people and issues! All the things that get us frazzled! If you're busy and on the go, this is a great Bible study for you to do with a group or on your own. One of the scriptures that we read last week was Psalm 27. If you have time, read it. It is awesome and it really spoke to me. I shared it with some of the people at my work and we talked about it all day! We had our fourth ladies event at my church. The theme was April Showers bring May Flowers. We talked about facing the rainy times in our lives. It was a fun event and we had a pretty good turn out. I will begin posting notes from that on Monday. Have a great day!