If we were having coffee 5/28/16…

May 29, 2016May 29, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

If we were having coffee, I’d ask you to join me in the living room, because we’re having our deck redone, and there’s wood and nails everywhere. I’d open the blinds and let us look out into the backyard full green leaves and trees with the evening sun beaming gently through the branches. It’s been a gorgeous day today.

How has your week been? Has it been hot your way? If you got kids at home, are they out for the summer? What are your summer plans? Are you writing anything new? Does summer inspire you or kind of wear you out? …

Honestly, I spent the first several days of this week longing for a repeat of our week in Daytona last week. It’s been a week full of getting ready for the last day of school, looking toward summer and thinking about summer vacation. It’s been a little busy, but it’s been a good week.

Something fun happened for our oldest on Friday. He went “on the road” with a local Christian rapper. That was really neat, and he had a lot of fun. He had to work his tail off, but it was great experience for him. That is the dream he has; so, it really gave him an idea of what it might be like one day. He’s looking forward to the next time he hets to go.

That same day, our youngest was invited to someone’s house; so, we, in turn, got a free, kid-less Friday. That was fun. We went on a spontaneous little date. I love spending time with my man!

Well, I guess, we’ll call it a wrap tonight. I’ve got loads of laundry to get done, and I know you don’t care to see all that. I hope you have an awesome week ahead! Try to stay cool, and I look forward to catching up again next week! 😊

Thank, Diana at Parttimemonster.com for hosting this wonderful #coffeeshare. It’s always a delight.

Answer to Friday’s Angle #67

May 28, 2016May 13, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

How did you do yesterday?

If you guessed a wooden post, or more specifically, a wooden pier post, you got it! 😊

Friday’s New Angle #67

May 27, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

Guess what today is…FRIDAY! 🎉That means it’s time for another new angle!! 😊

Remember, the answer will be posted here, this same time, tomorrow!

Spur Them To Love

May 26, 2016May 26, 2016 / The WheatandTares

What do we do to spur others on toward love and good deeds? Are our words full of truth that brings them toward God or turns them away? Are our words full of conviction or condemnation, love or hate?

What are our words saying about our fellow man? What do they say about sinners? What do we say about fellow believers? What do they say about God??

Sometimes, as Christians, we can be so bent toward our own opinions and standards that we push “outsiders” away rather than draw them in toward God. We speak our view so forceful and with so much anger that they wonder if there’s any love for them in the message we give. However, more often these days, we can be so passive that we allow them to feel completely comfortable in their sin that they feel no need for a different way or a different outlook. This, I believe, is also to what this Scripture is speaking.

As of late, I hear fellow Christians “biting” at one another claiming the others don’t show enough grace to the sinner, the message is too hard, that they need to be “nicer…more accommodating…more tolerant.” No, actually the message of Christ has never been too accommodating nor too tolerant. They ended up killing Him for the message He brought! No, the truth doesn’t have allowance for sin, but rather the messenger has to show love will telling the truth. When Jesus spoke to the adulterous woman, he didn’t condemn her of her sin, but His words were convicting, for He said, “Go and sin no more.” He showed her love while telling her the truth. The woman at the well was not congratulated for the numerous marriages she had had nor the current shack-up relationship she was currently in. Christ showed her love while telling her of her need for change.

What are we telling the world that is spurring them toward love and good deeds? We must show love while maintaining a message of truth and holiness to spur them toward the same thing. We cannot expect them to do what we are not. We must show them Christ in all we say and all we do. Does this mean we must tolerate sin and condone wickedness? For grace’s sake, NO!

God’s message brings about conviction. It brings about repentance. It brings about change. We must share this message with the world. This is the message that spurs others toward love and good deeds. This is the message that challenges hearts to repent and lives to change. We must be conscientious of our purpose. Their lives depend upon it. Their eternity depends upon it.

What are we saying to our fellow Christians that is spurring them toward love and good deeds? We must show love to our fellow brothers and sisters, for this is how we show the world we love God! If we are biting, scratching and killing each other, why in the world would the want to be a part of what we have?? Love one another, for this shows the world the love of God… We’ve just been convinced in today’s culture that love is synonymous with agreement, but I digress. That’s another blog for another day… 😉

Find Your Rest

May 25, 2016May 23, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

I came across this scripture today, and it really spoke to me. Too often, we can get so busy in life that we drift away from God, and soon, we stop and wonder where He’s gone. Yet, it’s never He who has gone away. It is in our busyness and clutter of life that we fail to find Him. He’s right where we left Him.

Have you ever stood before a waterfall and felt the pressures just wash away? Have you ever stood on the top of a mountain and it seemed the cares of yesterday were flying away with the wind? Or maybe you’ve sat at the beach at sunset, and it feels as if the coming tide is beating away the worries?

That’s how God does it. When we get alone with Him, especially out in His creation, He reminds us of His love, His strength and His promises. He draws our hearts back to Him, and He speaks to our very soul. He refreshes our mind and renews our fortitude.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation…” This isn’t a suggestion. This is a promise. Too often in today’s hustle and bustle, we don’t stop, repent, and find rest. We just run, run, run from one appointment to the next, ever finding one more item to check from one checklist to the next. Yet, it is in the repentance and rest that we find our salvation…

It is in the quietness and trust that we find our strength. Everytime that I walk to a waterfall and just stand there, looking up at its beauty, or when I walk in the woods and look among the trees and just breathe the fresh air, I find my strength for whatever I am facing. Everytime. Without fail. He is faithful. His Word is true.

He gives us the promise. I wonder why we don’t trust it more often than we do?

Dream BIG!

May 25, 2016May 25, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

If you’re going to dream, by all means, dream BIG! Go for broke! Don’t settle for second best, for what is just simply good and practical. Dream the big stuff! Dream the impossible! Dream the unfathomable!

Now, does that mean all those dreams will come true? Does this mean you must hold out for that dream until the day you die? Does it mean everything you dream must come to pass in order for you to have a happy, fulfilled life? Can I answer honestly here? NO, NO, and NO! Just because you dream big doesn’t mean each and every one has to become reality, and just because it’s a great big dream that doesn’t come to pass doesn’t mean it’s the end of your happy and meaningful life.

Sometimes, we can get so fixated on a dream that we miss the real stuff that is right before us. I’ve seen parents who are so filled with wanderlust and so focused on the unfulfilled dreams they had growing up that they forsake the very lives of their children for what they thought they would become. They miss out on the beauty, wonder and joy of their children’s love and “big sky thinking,” because of their own selfish grasp on the “should’ve/could’ve/would’ve” regrets of yesterday. That’s not the kind of dreaming I’m encouraging here. I’m talking about the kind of dreaming that pushes the limits while also drawing others in to join you!

dr seuss quote We should dream big simply because it makes us a better person. Dreaming makes us more interesting to those around us and makes us see beyond the reality of today, which sometimes, is a very difficult one to face. There are a few keys to dreaming big: (1) it is to not just dream for yourself, but to dream for those around you, and to allow them to dream big, to imagine the impossible for themselves; (2) to realize it IS a dream, one that may or may not one day be fulfilled, but its purpose is to stretch your imagination to see beyond the practical sensibilities of your present state, to give you the fortitude to reach beyond to where you can be; and (3) to realize the dreaming isn’t always for the realization of the dream, but for the possibilities, the growth and the learning in the process. Unrealized big dreams, sometimes, are more fun to imagine than the actuality once they arrive. Think of Peter Pan. He was always dreaming, always scheming, and even though, all his dreams weren’t completely realized, he had such fun while traveling on his journeys! (Yes, I know this is a fictional character, but work with me here! 😉 )

So, dream with me while living this reality in which we live. Dream big for your family, for your children, for your friends. Encourage them to dream big and to seek after those dreams. Most of all, dream big for YOU. You might be surprised at where it takes you! 🙂

Emersonquote2

Daily Prompt: Dream

Just A Phase

May 24, 2016May 24, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

“It’s just a phase.” Some people use this phrase to describe a little tyke who’s going through the terrible twos and needs to learn a little discipline. The little guy is just young, and he has a lot to learn about manners, tempers and self-control. You excuse so many things for him, because, after all, he’s just little. He simply needs a firm, loving hand, a parent who will help him grow up into a wise, spirited, and strong individual.

“It’s just a phase.” Some people use this phrase to describe a young woman who’s going through the turbulent teenage years and needs freedom to explore while learning her boundaries within the contents of house rules, school requirements and civil obediences. You don’t quite excuse as many things as you once did, because, after all, she’s a little older, but she still does have so much more to learn. She simply needs a firm, loving guide, a parent who will help her grow into a conscientious, yet tenacious and dauntless individual.

However, when “it’s just a phase,” is used to describe men and women who are well past the age of accountability and who are, now, quite capable of having self-control, who are quite able to follow rules set by any organization, and who are just defiant against any form of authority in their lives, this “phase” is simply beyond ridiculous!

I am so tired of those in our culture today who continually give excuses for people who don’t deserve this faulty alibi. Just because someone grew up in the wrong family, wrong town or on the wrong side of the world, does NOT give them the extenuating circumstances of just “falling into” a crime because “they just can’t help themselves!” You may not be able to choose your heritage, your upbringing or even your environment. You may have really been given the “raw end of the deal,” but that does NOT give you reason to abuse everyone and everything around you! It does NOT excuse you to being a jerk your whole life! Everyone has choices they must make. Everyone has to decide whom they will become. As Forrest Gump says, “I happen to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you.”

ec6752eb95351802485f189158e5d178

“…and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.” 😉

Daily Prompt: Phase

Tuesday’s Treats #17

May 24, 2016December 13, 2016 / The WheatandTares

The Grand Marlin

Location: Pensacola Beach, Fl

Market Freah Fish: Swordfish

The Grand Marlin is a great upscale seafood restaurant located just across the Pensacola Beach Bridge. They have a little more limited menu than some restaurants, but what they have is phenomenal! They have market fresh fish daily, and the price is moderate for market prices.

Shrimp & Grits (sauce on side)

We have had the shrimp and grits, grouper, shrimp, crab cakes, grilled lobster, snapper and swordfish. Everything we have had there is absolutely wonderful! The BBQ Shrimp and he Blue Angel Chips appetizers are so yummy!

Prailine Basket

The last time we went, we were celebrating two birthdays; so, they decorated our dessert plates beautifully. The key lime pie is good; however, it could stand to be a little bigger slice. They have a praline basket that is made in-house, and it is absolutely melt-in-your-mouth goodness!! They serve it with ice cream, fresh seasonal berries and a granola crunch. Oh. My. Word. It is SOOO good!

For more information, check out their website. They may even give the daily market choices there.

Map It Out

May 23, 2016May 23, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Coming home from a trip this week made me think of road maps, road trips and directions. How many of you know, if you don’t have a good road map (or a good GPS these days), you can get lost in a hurry, especially when going through a big city. This can be so frustrating, and depending on where you are, it can be downright dangerous! You might eventually get back on the right path, but oh, the time that can be wasted and the costs that may be paid!

There are, also, different paths that may lead you to the same destination. Some are through busy intersections and congested towns, and others are down country roads with beautiful sceneries of pasture lands and rolling hills. Finding the right one for you can make all the difference in how you feel by the end of the journey, whether you are refreshed and at peace or worn out and frazzled.

Just as you need a good road map for driving through a new city and for getting to a new destination, each of us need a good road map to make it safely through life. You can venture on your life’s journey without one, or you can even appear to be the more “flexible type” who frequently changes your source of guidance from one to another; however, a lot of valuable time can be disappear, the cost can be exorbitant and the loss, sometimes, can be irrevocable. It’s so much better to start out at the beginning with the right one.

God has given us the best “road map” we could ever find to help guide our lives. Some might try to argue that the Bible doesn’t answer every question we will have, and they might even make a list of things it doesn’t specifically talk about. I have to say, they would almost be right; however, I have found that the Word of God gives us principles for every situation, every question, and every dilemma we encounter in this life. The precise answer may not be spelled out, but the principles are crystal clear! He gave us this Word for a purpose, and that purpose is to help guide us through this life, into a deeper relationship with Him, and to our final destination with Him.

We don’t have to search hard, and we don’t have to spend a lot of money to find it. If we will simply open this book, read it and seek His guidance through it, we will find ourselves on a much better path than the one we can search out on our own!