Fight Right

April 27, 2018April 27, 2018 / The WheatandTares

Too often, we fight the wrong enemy. We fight with the wrong weapons, and then, we wonder why we’re struggling and losing the battle we’ve engaged.

Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,[a] against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Wage war with the right enemy, or you will constantly be “spinning your wheels” in conflict but never achieving a resolution. Face your foe with the right weapons, or you will constantly be losing ground and be receiving wound after wound, never winning the victory.

Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

No matter the battle, No matter the giant, with God by your side, YOU CAN WIN!!

Romans 8:31, “If God be for us, then who can be against us?”

Scars

April 25, 2018 / The WheatandTares

Your scars may be many. They may be deep, and they may be unforgettable. Yet, consider them scars of honor. Consider yourself blessed to be in company with Jesus.

His scars are many. His wounds were deep, and how He attained each one is unforgettable. He died for you. He died for me. All because of His love for us. ❤️

Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.”

Tuesday’s Treats #117

April 24, 2018 / The WheatandTares / 5 Comments

Michie Tavern (aka The Ordinary at Michie Tavern)

Location: Charlottesville, VA

This is the most intriguing restaurant I’ve been to in a long while! If you are looking for an experience, as well as, good, home-cooked, country food, you won’t want to miss this!

From the original log cabin entrance looking upon the beautiful roaring fire and hearth to the colonial dressed wait staff to the tin cups and plates on which you eat, you will immediate feel as if you have just stepped back in time. This place was incredible!

The food is incredible with choices of Southern fried chicken, hickory smoked pulled pork, and marinated baked chicken, black eyed peas, green beans, mashed potatoes, stewed tomatoes, baby beets (not really my fave), Cole slaw, biscuits and cornbread. This is all-you-can-eat; so, don’t be shy to ask for a little more. You’re gonna want to! The beverages of choice are good ol’ Southern Sweet tea, old fashion Root beer, coffee, old fashion Nehi orange soda and several others. Don’t miss dessert with homemade peach cobbler, Cookie sundaes and and root beer or orange dream floats (see pic above).

Upon entering, it will appear the seating capacity is small; however, don’t be fooled. There’s plenty of seating to the left of the buffet line, and they even have a covered patio if you prefer a little fresh air. Once you fill yourself full, don’t miss the gift shop just outside the Tavern, and the short museum tour upstairs is worth the few extra bucks. (Self guided, too. Those are my favorites. 😉) The gift shop is full of unique, colonial and Virginia-specific items. I could spend hours in there, as well as, in the General Store locates across the parking lot. It’s located in the old grist mill.

I love stuff like this, and I hope you will, too. I always feel like I walk away from an experience like this with a little deeper richness to my life, and I hope my character has deepened as well. Hope you will enjoy!

PS. Don’t be thrown off when you go to their website to find more information. I’m not sure if they are working on it, or if they simply chose the simple approach. You might feel as if you’ve clicked on the wrong link; however, I assure you, it’s the right one. Just click on the pics at the top for more pictures, and click on Dining to get to other options and the Menu. (Or just click on the links I’ve given you here! Lol!)

Fight for Your Life

April 24, 2018April 27, 2018 / The WheatandTares

Sometimes, life is gonna come and kick you in the teeth. It’s gonna hurt. It’s going to be beyond painful. It’s gonna feel like you could die! No, I’m not trying to speak doomsday, and I’m really not trying to be negative. If you haven’t encountered a battle in your life, just keep on living. It’ll come. That’s just life.

Yet, we Christians weren’t called to just lie down and take it! We were not designed to cower in fear and run in retreat when the fire gets hotter! We were never destined to lay down our weapons and walk away from the battle He told us to win!

So, RISE UP! Reforge your sword! Pick up your shield, and walk toward that battle! Reclaim that ground that was lost! Fight for your life and WIN!!

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Ephesians 5:13, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Ephesians 5:10-11, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

When the Struggle Comes

April 19, 2018January 1, 2019 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

What do you do with struggle? What do you do with change? How do you handle life when it just doesn’t work out the way you planned, or when it throws you a curveball or a great big surprise?

Do you stop in your tracks? Do you back up? Do you turn around and retreat? Or do you throw a fit and let everyone know it’s not as you expected? Or do you press onward, keeping the end goal in sight, never wavering or giving up?

What do you do? What is your reaction? I would love to hear from you, my friends.

It’s an interesting journey when change comes. Everyone reacts differently, and no one can prepare you for many of those surprises along the way, and some tragedies will knock you to your knees, and you’ll wonder if you’ll ever be able to stand again.

How you handle change, and how you react in the struggle and in the tragedies of life will often determine whether you’re a leader or whether you’re a quitter. Your response in the hardest moments of life will determine who you lead and who you turn away. It may sound like a harsh judgment, but it’s true.

Everyone will encounter struggle, hardship and tragedies throughout life. If you haven’t yet, well, keep on living and count your blessings for the moment. But talk to an older person, spend some time with someone who has weathered the storms of life. You’ll find that in those darkest moments, character is chiseled and destinies are designed. Friendships are forged and lifetime relationships are created or crumbled. And often, each are determined by the words we chose and the attitudes we allow.

So, I ask you again, what do you do? How do you react? Think about, and choose today what your words and your actions will be. It doesn’t matter that the struggle or tragedy isn’t on you at this moment. Being prepared mentally, emotionally and spiritually is half the battle. If you wait for the moment of crisis, then you wait for knee-jerk reactions of the heart, and no matter how good you believe your heart is, it can never be trusted.

Set your foundations on solid ground. Set your thoughts on higher ways. Then, when those struggle of life gets difficult, and when the tragedies hit that you’d never expect, your heart an mind will be ready. Doesn’t mean it’ll be easy, but it does mean you will survive through it!

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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Testing 1, 2, 3 … Testing…

April 18, 2018April 19, 2018 / The WheatandTares

Ok, so this is going to look weird and sound weird, but I’m testing… testing to see if the reposting to another site is working properly…

Enjoy grumpy cat while I’m testing… 😂🐱

*all pics from google search.

Seriously.

April 18, 2018 / The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Sometimes, I wish expectations weren’t so high for me. Let me explain. My husband has this funny little saying when I ask him how he can get away with saying what he says, because he’s so blunt and to the point, a real truth speaker of sorts. He can say stuff that the rest of us would get into so much trouble if others even realized we thought the thought, much less actually said it! He says it’s because, “People have such low expectations of me, and people expect so much better out of you!” 😂 It’s so very true…so painfully true!

Yet, when I see this picture, the one that I have saved to my photo stream, I wish sometimes that the expectations weren’t set so high for me. Then, I could say what I’m really thinking…

…and no, I have no one particular person in mind right now. 😉

…see, there’s those expectations again! 😂😜

Tuesday’s Treats #116

April 17, 2018April 17, 2018 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

D’Armoyed

Location: Kiev, Ukraine

This place was really cool in atmosphere. It seems to be pretty new, and I couldn’t find a lot of info on line, but it’s well worth the visit.

The waiter knew just a bit of English, but they did have an English menu, and we were eating with Ukrainians; so, ordering was not a problem. The food was delicious, and the presentation was exquisite.

The Borsch, grilled chicken, potatoes with fried mushrooms and the Greek salad were all delicious. Our party also ordered other salads, dumplings, and some type of potato fritters (See pic), and everything was absolutely scrumptious! My favorite was probably the Borsch and the potatoes, but I think I kind of made those items my “food staples of choice” while in Ukraine! Lol. Hat chicken was amazing also, tasted like it came right out of the smoker!

Next time, we visit Kiev, this will be on the places to eat! They don’t have a website, but there is a Facebook page.

The Struggle is Real

April 16, 2018 / The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

Somedays, the confidence in who I have become is almost mesmerizing…to myself. Other days, the struggle is real…so very real. Does anyone else go through this?

Often, I wonder if anyone else actually goes through the struggles of purpose, pertinence, and passion. I walk through life with a limp and wonder if I’m just simply destined to embrace these struggles for eternity, never really getting beyond them, just settling for a toleration, a sort of cease-fire, until the moment of intimidation or fear of rejection creeps back into view. I watch as many of my friends seem to have it all together, or at the least, are so comfortable in their own skin, in their own calling and in their own life choices that they don’t seem to battle the same mind games and moments of hesitation.

Then, I see from whence I’ve come, and I see those who have gone before who are still struggling for this place of significance and value. I see those who have won the battles and those who are still wallowing in their demise. This is the moment my determination and fight, and solidarity with Scripture, comes into clear focus. I realize in this moment, there is no turning back. Retreat is not an option. Failure can not be part of the equation.

Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the goal for this the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

The struggles we face aren’t only given to us for our own learning, our own character-building and our personal faith-strengthening. The victories on the other side of those struggles are not only for us and our own celebrations. These are to be a witness to those coming behind us. These are to become testimonies which help someone else to achieve more than we ever imagined. These are to stand as pillars, mile markers and ancient boundary stones to mark the way for those coming behind, to help them find their way through similar struggles, and to enable them to achieve more victories than we ever thought possible!

So resist that urge to quit! Keep up the struggle for as long as it takes, and win that fight toward your destiny! Clear the path, and strategically change those battle lines to victory, and set those boundaries in place that scream to the world you have won! So then, all who encounter these will know, “There is hope! You can fight and win, too!”