Between the Rains

Last night I was at the weekly video session for my the Bible study I've been doing. After a rough week, I felt like Beth Moore was speaking right to me. The session centered on James 5:7.

"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for autumn and spring rains."

Cultural and historical studies tell us that the people in Israel depended on the seasonal rains that came. Without the rain, crops didn't grow and people didn't eat. With that in mind, Beth Moore asks us to think about the times in our lives when we're between the rains.

According to Douglas Moo, a Biblical commentator, "Every reference to early and later rains in the Old Testament occurs in a context affirming the faithfulness of the Lord."

So, James is reminding us that we just have to be patient and wait on the Lord to bring the next rain in our life. James is reminding us that our God is reliable and constant, we just have to be patient.

Portales during a DRY lightning storm

I don't think I'd be going out on a limb to say that I've been in between rains during this season of my life. So, in the middle of crazy days I was so thankful for a reminder that God is faithful and that even though this season of life is stressful and hard that the rains will come again.

"As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; 

he will come to us like the winter rains, 

like the spring rains that water the Earth."

Hosea 6:3

Space for Grace

One of the ladies at the church the hubs and I have been attending invited me to an inter-denominational Bible Study being hosted by another local church. When I heard it was a Beth Moore Bible Study, I jumped at the chance! If you haven't had the opportunity to go through a Beth Moore study, I would definitely recommend it. God has really given her a gift for teaching.

Her newest study that we're doing is:

One of my favorite parts of the first session was Beth Moore talking about how we all need to make space for grace. She uses Paul for an example. ] In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." Paul had regret for his past and his past actions. In the passage in 1 Corinthians, the Greek word that is translated into, "without effect" means something along the lines of empty, useless, or hollow. Instead of letting his regret consume him, he let God into that space that his past wrongs took up so that space would not be hollow, but full of grace.

That's pretty encouraging to me to know that when we have regrets, things we've done wrong, and just those moments we wish hadn't happened that we can not only ask God's forgiveness, but we can give it all to him and let him fill those parts of heart with grace instead of leaving them hollow.

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have a grace shaped space in my heart than a hollow one.

How Many Times Can I Go on Hiatus and Come Back (sitcoms do it all the time)?

Well, it has been many, many, many, many, and many more days since I have posted. I'd like to blame my inactivity on work, but that is only part of it. The fact is that my life got busy and between my new job and all my old commitments, I got a little overwhelmed and climbed into a hole that was filled with instant netflix and lots of books. After almost finishing MI-5 (I'm saving a few episodes because I don't want it to end), constantly adding books to my goodreads account (check out my sidebar to see what I'm reading), and forgetting to ever work out, I have crawled out of my hole and reemerged into civilization. I am so sorry for my absence to those who have missed me. I'm back for good this time (until my next accidental hiatus).

Here is a quick run down of what I have and have not been doing:

#1 - We went an awesome air show hosted at our base. Our favorite event of the day was the Fat Albert demonstration.

Part of a short field take off

#2 - I did not run at all because I was so tired from work. However, I am back on the work out wagon and have my next 5k scheduled for this coming Saturday.

#3 - One of the horses shut me in the feed room last week.

The guilty party who will remain nameless

#4 - I registered for Pi Beta Phi convention!!!!!! So excited!!!!

#5 - I slacked on my siesta verses, but have caught myself back up: since my last entry here are my verses:
*3/1 (I'm not sure if I posted this one): But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Micah 7:7
*3/15: And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 
Hebrews 12: 1b & 2a
*4/1: Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58
*4/15: Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18
*5/1: Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!
Psalm 27:14
To check out Beth Moore's awesome blog, including the Siesta verses, go here. I have been using her verses as my own because they are awesome!! I have to say that my own Siesta verse partner has been doing much better than me, so props to my awesome Mom!!


#6 - I drank lots of coffee (wait, I always do this).


#7 - My exercise buddy Allie did the most amazing thing ever, which is to run her first half marathon! I think this is sooo cool. I'm so proud of her and her friend Cortney and I wish I could have been in Cincinnati to cheer them on! To read all about the Flying Pig Half Marathon that Allie did, go here.

#8 - Mack got shaved for the summer heat. This was semi traumatic for him. He hopes we'll go somewhere  cold next so he never has to get shaved again. Check out his before and after pics:

Last day of shag!

He's so pouty since the haircut. If he was standing, you'd see no belly or butt feathering and way less hair everywhere else. The goose was his toy for being good at the groomer. He picked it at Petsmart.

#9 - I cooked some. Be on the look out for recipes. For example, go here to check out my newest clam recipe. I have never cooked clams before, so this was a new experience.

Delicious!

#10 - I made sweet wall decorations for my soon to be nephew.

I only took a pic on my phone. Sorry it's fuzzy!

#11 - I made a giant wall countdown chain to countdown the days till pilot training is over. Here is what it looked like when I made it and what it looks like tonight. Tonight it is at 66 days left!

Sooo many links!

There's not many left - Oh my!

All in all, life has been crazy but good. Hopefully I'll be back in another day or so to share lots of pictures, fun times, and food. I also hope to be sharing how much I've been working out. haha!