Don’t Settle For The Mud

March 14, 2016March 14, 2016 / The WheatandTares

Proverbs 21:2, “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Have you ever fooled yourself? You know, you’re walking along in life, everything is good, and the sun is shining. Then all of a sudden, you stumble a bit, you trip up, and you end up in a mud hole! After you get up, dust yourself off, you look around to see if anyone saw you, and you pretend nothing ever happened…only to realize later, you’ve been walking around all day with mud on your face!

source: flicker.com

Sometimes, this can happen in our Christian lives, and we wonder how in the world we got where we are. It may be a relationship of which we realize we never should have been a part of from the beginning. It may be a job situation where our faith is being compromised on a daily basis, and we realize we’ve let it go way too far, or it may even be an addiction that you thought you could control in moderation only to find out you’re in way over your head, and you’re about to drown, if you don’t get some help fast.

So, how can these things happen, when we call ourselves a Christian, when we go to church, say the right things and truly believe we are doing what we should? Well, let’s look at the latter part of that verse, “but the Lord weighs the heart.” The heart is where it all counts. The heart is the scale God uses to determine where we are in relation to Him. If your heart isn’t totally surrendered to Him, you will constantly find yourself in one mess after another, not because you “weren’t thinking,” but rather, because your heart misguided you.

You see, our hearts will lie to us. Our hearts will deceive us into thinking what we are doing is a good thing, maybe even a noble thing. It will convince us that our motives and intentions are pure and right; so, how in the world could we ever go wrong?

The answer to that can be summed up in this verse from Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” If you’ll take time to read the verses right before and right after this verse (17:5-13), I believe it can really shed light on this subject for you.

The only way our hearts can no longer deceive us is if we allow someone greater than us to consume our hearts. If we allow Him, the One who created our hearts, to direct our heart, then we are no longer trying to decipher good from bad within our hearts, He is.

I, for one, am very thankful to surrender my heart to Him and allow Him to guide and direct my heart and my life. I’ve tried it the other way, and I constantly kept walking into those mud holes, getting up and proceeding to walk around (unknowingly) all day with mud on my face! No thank you! I’ll take His divine guidance any day over my common sense and blind direction! 😉

Answer to Friday’s Angle #56

March 12, 2016March 10, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 5 Comments

How’d it go yesterday? Did you figure it out? 😊

If you guessed the steam on the lid of a pot full of popcorn, you guessed right! 😉 (the pot full of popcorn is an added bonus. Lol.)

Thanks for playing, and I hope you will join us again next week…or even better, I hope you’ll join us this coming Monday for a new post! 😊

Who is Jesus?

March 12, 2016 / The WheatandTares

This is too good not to reshare. 😊

heath:cassidy

who is christ11

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Go With The Flow

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Sometimes, you just have to get in the flow. The flow of traffic, the flow of harmony, the flow of God. Some people work so hard to work against the flow that they never find peace, because they’re always fighting, pinching, clawing their way against the norm that they never can just find rest in the flow.

Now, I’m not saying the flow is always the place to be. If it’s a controversial issue, and you find yourself on the opposing team, fighting for the right, by all means, keep fighting. If it’s a societal push to tolerate things which shouldn’t be tolerated, by all means, don’t remain silence for peace sake. If the innocent are being placed in harm’s way, by all means, stand up and be a voice before all is lost.

Never stand by silently simply for the desire of harmony. Never go with the flow simply for the attempt to bring tolerance. Sometimes, a war must be fought before peace can be found. Sometimes, the storm get stronger before the sunset shines through the clouds.

Yet, there are times, in all of our lives, when we need to be more flexible and go with the flow.

Like this week when I came down with the flu. I haven’t had the flu in years. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had the flu. It started with chills and high fever and put me to bed for three whole days. I tried to fight it, and when my fever broke on Thursday morning, I thought I could conquer the world…only to find myself back in bed a few hours later, because I had jumped too soon.

I realized I was just going to have to go with the flow and rest until this thing passed. It was aggravating. It was boring just laying around when I needed to get things done! I sure didn’t feel good as aches and pains ruled the day, but for the betterment of my health, and for the protection of my family, I just had to go with the flow and let that sickness pass.

I learned during that time that our boys can actually get their lunches together and get out the door on time without my constant reminders. I learned my husband and son can do the dishes and even save my baking stones that can’t go in the dishwasher. I, also, learned my husband can take care of the house and the boys just fine while I lie in bed with a high fever and aches and pains. All of these things, I really knew to be true, but watching them play out in reality sure was reassuring. 😊

Sometimes, when you decide to slow down and go with the flow, you learn to rest. You learn to grow stronger, and you learn the world (and your family) can make it while you get better! 😉

Flow

Friday’s New Angle #56

March 11, 2016March 10, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Here’s another new angle to try… 😊

Remember, the answer will be posted here tomorrow, same time, same “channel!” 😉

Just A Light For This Step

March 10, 2016March 8, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

http://www.f3ashley.com/christian-encouragement/one-step-at-a-time/ : source

“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

We may not always be able see far down the path. In fact, many times, we won’t be able to see more than one or two steps in front of us. Think about it.

How often do you know what is going to happen in a certain situation or a certain conversation? We can imagine. We can assume. We can even theorize, but we can never truly know, because we are not God. We are not fortune tellers. We are not even wizards who might conjure up an image of what’s to come.

We simply are who we are, and He is who He is.

We just have to follow Him one step at a time. If we will follow in obedience, we will make it to our destiny, even when we can’t see three steps in front of us. He is a good and loving Father, and when we will put our trust in Him, He is faithful and just to lead us, protect us, change us and love us, despite our fears, failures, doubts or hesitations along the way.

Can you trust Him today? I promise you, even when things don’t turn out the way you expected, in the end, He will not disappoint. He can see farther. He knows more, and best of all, He knows the innermost depths of our heart, even those things that we might hide from ourselves. He does know best, and He loves us so much, He is willing to give us just what we need when we need it!

Falling Forward…

March 9, 2016March 8, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

Falling makes us wiser. Falling makes us stronger. It makes us more aware of what needs to happen differently the next time. It makes us more conscious of the change that must come, most of the time within, for us to succeed.

Yet, too often, we will resist falling. We run away from failures, and we hide from imperfections and mistakes. We believe everything must be picture perfect the first time around. We believe if there are any mistakes involved in our first try, then we are destined for a lifetime of misery, a lifetime of failure.

Maybe I’m just talking to myself here. Maybe it’s just me who struggles at times with wanting everything to be pristine perfect. Have you been there? Do you ever wrestle with these truths?

Can I tell you? There is HOPE! There is a promise we can hold onto! The Word says, “There is nothing impossible with God.” (Emphasis, mine) That Scripture isn’t there simply as a “feel good” word. He didn’t include it just to taunt you and make you think He was kidding. No, God means what He says, and He keeps the promises He gives us.

So, the next time things don’t go exactly as planned, take a step back and evaluate the situation. Sometimes, you might have needed a little more preparation. Other times, you need a little more practice, and often times, you just need a lot more patience!

There are other factors that may contribute, but these can give you a great start. When you’re struggling to succeed, and you’re tempted to quit, I encourage you to look at a toddler learning to walk, or a teenager learning to drive, or maybe even, a more seasoned folk learning a new trade. Do they always succeed on the very first try? I venture to guess that answer is a big, fat, “NO!” So, why don’t you give yourself a little more breathing room, a lot more grace and take that situation to God, and let Him help you try one more time. 😉

Tuesday’s Treats #6

March 8, 2016March 1, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 8 Comments

Lucky Dill

Location: Palm Harbor, Fl

We went to the Lucky Dill a few years ago while we were staying in Tampa. Palm Harbor is just north of Tampa, almost like a suburb of the city. This is a Big Apple themed restaurant, and it is so cool!

The Lucky Dill fills up quick at lunch; so, get there early. They have a breakfast, lunch and late night menu, as well as, a wide variety of bakery items that are out of this world (see above photo)! Looking back at their website, it appears they have a pretty lively nitelife, complete with a bar and live music, if you’re into that sort of thing. We never went at night; so, I couldn’t really speak to that.

But I can sure speak about their lunch menu and bakery! They have great big subs, great big regular sandwiches, Italian selections, a few seafood items (like fish and chips), salads, burgers and chicken sandwiches, and much more. It was really hard to narrow our choices to only what we could eat in one meal, especially when we went in starving!

We started out with the Ba-Da-Bing Shrimp, which is fried shrimp tossed in some “bad sauce.” It’s got a little kick, but it’s not too bad. Then, we had a burger, the Hot Brisket, the Al Panino Panini and the kids burger (party of 4😉). Everything was delicious!! We were so full, but we still had to get some bakery items to take back to the condo with us!

Oh. My. Word. Just writing about this place gives me a craving to go back! Wish it wasn’t forever away, and we’d head out this week! Haha. We had some friends go there last year for breakfast, and they said it was just as wonderful. If you are ever on vacation near Tampa, or you live in that area, you don’t want to miss a trip to the Lucky Dill! 😉

Check out their menus here.

What Are You Hiding?

March 7, 2016March 7, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

source: http://thewell.intervarsity.org/reflections/hide-and-seek-god

We all hide something…we paint on makeup to hide blemishes and old age. We put on certain garments to hide weight gains. We avoid a phone call to hide awkwardness. We walk the other way to hide our annoyance with a certain person. We don’t show up in order to hide anger, hurt or confusion. Too often, we hide from the things that will cause us to work a little harder, think a little longer or or even confront a little stronger, because it’s much easier to avoid and hide than it is to put real effort into moving he mountain which is before us.

On the other hand, there are times you need to hide…

As the old saying goes, “If the barn needs painting; then, paint it!” There are definitely times when a little makeup helps more than it hurts. (I’m not arguing the merits of “going natural” here.) If you need to prepare your heart before the encounter; then, by ALL means, hide in your prayer closet and get prepared; so, you don’t add more damage to the troubled situation. If you need to avoid the conversation until you can gather your thoughts an words properly; then, do it, but don’t wait too long.

Yet, when it comes to matters of the heart, and it is a matter of obedience to the task God has set before you, it is better to hide under His wings to receive your true rest and strength and simply obey. When it involves someone who needs a confrontation, needs encouragement or just needs a friend, it’s time to come out from your hiding places and do the right thing!

Stop hiding for fear of failure, fear or confrontation or fear of rejection. When God calls you, He will equip you. He will give you the courage to obey. He will give you the ability to speak truth. He will give you the ability to forgive and love even when you don’t it’s possible.

One of the most important things is we must get honest about the hiding! It’s not a hide-and-go-seek game where you can claim to pretend you were just having fun. Your hiding doesn’t simply make those things go away; the hiding only prolongs the pain and frustration of yourself and those involved.

So, face down your fears. Confront the wrong and follow through with those things which God has placed before you! You can do this! You will be amazed how much better you will feel, how much stronger you will become and how much you will grow when you come out of hiding and seek out those things from which you have been straining to avoid. 😉