The Beauty of Scripture

September 30, 2016September 30, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

I have been nominated to a challenge, 3 Quotes for 3 Days. So, I will begin with my 3 quotes and then I will give more details…

Day 1 – 3 Quotes

I couldn’t begin this challenge in any other way than to share the three Scriptures that I probably hold dearest to my heart. There are so many that guide my life, and many can change throughout the seasons we experience; however, these three are probably what I would call my “heart staples.” I hope they bless you as much as they do me. 😉

About this challenge:

I haven’t done one of these challenges in a REALLY long time, but I was nominated by Joanna Lynn at Dipping Into the Heart for the 3 Quotes, 3 Days challenge. Stop by and check out her site. Her story is inspirational. I accepted the challenge because it sounds like fun, and I enjoy sharing others’ blogs for you to see. 🙂 For the challenge, I am to nominate three people a day to the challenge and a quote (or three) a day. Here are my nominees:

Day 1 Nominees:

From Food Stamps To a Future
HeartandSoul974
Faith Walking Hebrews 11:1

These are amazing blogs written by amazing people. Stop by and check out their blogs.

Let me leave you the rules of the challenge:

Three quotes for three days.
Three nominees each day (no repetition).
Thank the person who nominated you.
Inform the nominees.

Thank you to Joanna for nominating me for this challenge. It has stretched me to really consider my quote “favorites,” as well as, be reminded of how to do these challenges! 😉

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

Questions to Ponder

February 11, 2016February 11, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 10 Comments

I saw a list of questions today on a delightful blog post here, and as easy as the questions seemed while reading, I began to ponder them for myself, and I realized they’re not as easy as they first appear. I’d like to share them with you now and see if you might want to share your answers as well…

If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (NOT including photos, electronic devices and things stored on then, or people or animals) what would you put there?

I don’t consider myself a real materialistic kind of gal; so, this question took me a little bit of time, because my first thoughts were of my family, all the photos I cherish, and one special book that I treasure. Since, I wasn’t allowed to include people or photos, my list shortened, and since my treasured book will be placed in the ‘happiness’ box below, I was back to square one. I, then, thought of my wedding band, but I could never leave that on a shelf, I would always be wearing it; so, again, I pondered. The next three things I treasure in life would be these: my journals, my camera and my gun. That may seem like a very strange combination, but let me explain…my journals for all of my writings of thoughts, goals, dreams, feelings and agonies of life. Here is where I work out my emotions and seek out the depths of my heart…my camera for all the many photographs I take to try and capture the moment and document the memories forever…my gun for a sense of security and protection, for if this world goes crazy one day, I will protect my family with everything I have and more.

If you had a box labeled ‘happiness,’ what would you put in it?

This one was pretty easy for me to decide, because I believe true happiness can never come from a thing or even a person. True happiness can only come from within, and it can only be found, and be found everlasting, within the joy of the Lord. The One True God is the only one who can bring us perfect peace in a storm, beauty from ashes and joy through morning. So, my Bible would go inside this box, but it would be opened everyday; so, I might read, listen, learn and commune with my Heavenly Father.

What do you want more of in this life?

There’s really not a whole lot more that I want more of. I feel like I have been blessed so much that I don’t really have a right to ask for anything more. I guess, if I had to choose, I’d say I’d like to, personally, have more discipline and confidence I my life. I get so frustrated with myself when I get lazy and when I back up or hesitate due to a lack of confidence.

Daily Life List: What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities that you do each day.

When I read Paardje’s daily life list, I have to admit I was quite jealous of her disciplined routine. I cannot say I am that precise in my daily agenda; even though, I so long to become that way. My daily life list is more like this:

1. 6:30am Wake up call

2. Devotions/Bible reading

3. New found exercise routine (Mmm, working on the consistency of this one…As of this post, Day 5 in progress)

5. Shower and get ready

6. 3 days a week – Make sure the boys are up and getting ready for school…make sure they have lunches, and take them to school (2 days a week are home days; so, it’s a focus of schoolwork during morning hours)

7. While the boys are in school: 2 days of the weeks, we have a staff meeting and a prayer meeting, both ending around lunch time … And 1 day, I either work at the church or stay home to take care of “home stuff,” depending on the week and what the needs are

8. Lunch with hubby

9. Pick up boys from school

10. Run errands or return home and straighten/clean as needed

11. Dinner

12. Evenings vary but are usually centered around family activities or down time

13. 8pm All video games and devices off…Tv/movies allowed if doing together

14. 9pm Boys to their rooms to read and settle down for bed…All electronics off and put up

15. 9:30/10pm Lights Out for boys 😴

16. Bedtime varies for me… unfortunately, I am a night owl attempting to go to bed at earlier hours these days. 😁

Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from this last week? – and what are you looking forward to in this coming week?

This last week, I am grateful for the beautiful patches of snow we have had. It wasn’t much to speak of, only a dusting really, but I just love snow so much that even a little white dusting makes me feel like a kid again!

This coming week, Sunday, is Valentine’s Day. My husband always says I’m a “sucker for love;” so, naturally, VDay is always a fun day for us! 😊❤️

I do hope you’ve enjoyed my little “heart and soul adventure,” and I do hope you’ll send me a few responses on some of your own answers. Or, maybe like me, it will inspire you to write up your own blog with your answers to these pondering questions. Please, be sure to link my blog; so, I can venture over to read! I’d love to learn more about you and what makes you who you are! 😊 I hope you have a great day today!!

Juh- …What?? … SAY YOUR NAME

February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

Say Your Name THE DAILY PROMPT by THE DAILY POST 2/8/16

Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

My name is quite an interesting one… My “real” name is JAMIA, but I go by the nickname MIA.

Now, before I tell you how to pronounce these five little letters put into a sequence, I’d like to tell you how many different ways I heard it pronounced throughout my childhood days… “Jay-me-uh,” “Jay-me” (like Jamie), “Jay-muh,” “Juh-may-uh,” “Juh-may-e,” “Juh-my-uh,” “Jam-me-uh,” “Jam-me-ay,” and “Jam-uh.” There were kids who teased me by calling me, “Jamaica,” and in fourth and fifth grade, I had a so-called friend (I was mad at him then, but we’re now Facebook friends. ha!) who teased me by calling me, “Aunt Jemima.” In fourth grade, I was classmates with a girl named Jamilla (pronounced “Juh-mill-uh”), and many teachers started out the year simply copying her pronunciation for my name; even though, it’s spelled totally different! Then, when I was in seventh grade, after my mom remarried, one of my stepfather’s aunts called me up to her church pulpit by calling me “Jeremiah!” I even had quite a few friends who would come back from a conversation from another friend or relative, where my name had been mentioned, and they would ask what color my skin tone was, assuming I must be of a more ethic origin rather than my white Caucasian self! haha.

Have you taken a guess at how to pronounce this interesting arrangement of letters yet? Well, I’ll keep you in suspense no longer… My name is pronounced, “Juh-me-uh,” as if you took the very common name, “Mia,” and put “Juh” at the beginning of it. It is avery unique name; however, as a very shy and easily intimidated teen, I so wished my parents had named me differently!

Needless to say, when I got to college, I made the decision I didn’t want to continue my life having to explain how to pronounce this jumble of letters every single time I was introduced or called upon; so, I simply chose to go by “Mia.” This was even before the days of the now-famous soccer player, Mia Hamm; so, there were still a few mispronunciations from time to time, but it worked pretty well for me in my new college life.

To this day, I have never ever (can I say N-E-V-E-R??) heard of anyone having this same name. Just last year, I ran into a girl whose name was spelled very similar: Jamea. However, she pronounced it, “Jay-me-uh.” I have met a few Mias, and a couple of Jamillas or Jaymillas, depending on how they spell it, and plenty of Jamies and James’. I think it would be very interesting to ever be introduced to an actual “Jamia,” especially if the spelling and pronunciation were the same.

You may, now, be wondering how in the world I received such a name. Well, that’s another very interesting part of this story… Now, my biological dad’s name is Jamie; however, this is not where my name was derived. My aunt and uncle created my name, because of their love for Mia Farrow, in that year of 1971, and they wanted to have a little girl with the first letter “J.” For, their names were Jim, Norma Jean, and they had two little boys named Jarrod and Jeremy. They never were able to have that little girl for whom they so longed, and late in the following year, my mother got pregnant with me. With her name being Terri, the name “T… Jamia” just seemed to fit. (I’d like to leave my full name anonymous for now. 😉 )

As an adult, I am, now, very thankful for my name, and I do love the uniqueness of it. I still go by Mia, but I use the full name and pronunciation as a “cool thing you might not know about me” point when playing ice breaker names, or when I’m wanting to share with a new friend. People seem to always be surprised or impressed by it, and I have to forewarn my church members when my family is around, because my family easily switches back and forth between both names. I wouldn’t change this part about me, and I, sometimes, wish I had just kept to the originality of Jamia; however, the only thing I do wish I could do is go back to those early years and tell that sweet, timid little girl that her unique name made her who she is, to never be sad or embarrassed when someone didn’t correctly pronounce it, and to always hold her head up high with admiration for the name with which God blessed her! … Hind sight is always 20/20, I suppose. It has all created me into the person I am today, and I am a better woman for it. 😉

Thanks, Daily Post, for creating this Daily Prompt. This has been fun, and I hope you, as a reader, have enjoyed my little story.

(Ja)Mia

Thank You! 2015 in review

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016 / The WheatandTares

THANK YOU WordPress for this report, and THANK YOU to everyone who has read my blog this past year. Thank you for all of your encouraging notes, likes and comments. Your support means so much! 🙂

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,700 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Blogging 201: Get Read All Over and Auditing

September 16, 2015September 16, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 5 Comments

Today seems to be a short and sweet assignment (“Get Read All Over”)…check out your blog on various devices to see that it is readable and appeals to all possible audiences. I can “Check” this off my list. 😉

So, I suppose, I will address “Day 2: Auditing Your Brand” of the Blogging 201, as I am still in the process of completing this assignment. I have asked a couple of people to look at my blog and “gently critique” it to see what might need some improvements. I’ve received sweet, encouraging, and honest replies from two of the three fellow bloggers I approached (just haven’t heard from the third yet), and I would like to share with you their blogs, as well, to let you see why I chose them. Even though, I don’t personally know either of them, I think we have just kind of “hit it off” as “blogging neighbors.” I think both of them have incredible blogs and really share from their hearts: The Narrow Lens and Minuscule Moments of Inspiration …I do hope you will hop over to their blogs and see what they have to say today. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 🙂

You know, if I were to be honest here, asking someone to take time to “review” my blog is a little intimidating. I really am curious and desirous of the review. I wonder all the time if my blog is intriguing, helpful, encouraging, as well as, “pleasant to the eyes;” however, I have to go through so many thoughts before I work up the courage to ask… “Will they mind my asking?” “Do they really have the time?” “Am I imposing upon them by asking?” “Will they give an honest opinion, or will they be mean, and maybe a little too blunt, or will they just simply be too sweet, not being truthful?” It takes courage and confidence to ask for an honest review, an honest answer, even an honest opinion, and it takes humility and confidence to receive constructive criticism. (yes, I used confidence twice in the same sentence. Sorry, making a subtle point. haha.) I think, sometimes…well, no, often times, we avoid asking for honesty in another’s reply to us. We may be too fearful, too intimidated, too prideful, or even too lazy, because to actually receive criticism, we might have to realize we weren’t as right as we thought we were…we might have to alter the way we’ve always done things…we might have to realize and admit we were wrong. (Ouch!) We might have to actually improve our speaking or writing skills. We may have to sit up straighter, walk a little taller, smile a little brighter. We might have to do things a little different…or a lot. We might actually have to change from who we’ve been.

Now, I know, I’m not implying we should change for every little criticism that comes our way! Goodness, NO! If we did that, we’d just become a wimpy, indecisive person who isn’t stable, proactive or even certain of our own thoughts or actions. (and that can be a thought progressed on another post) However, I do believe, if we desire true growth in our lives, we need a few leaders who can “get in our grill” and tell us how it is. We need someone who thinks differently than we do, who dreams different, who sees things different, someone who can challenge us to look at things from a different angle for our own good. Otherwise, we will live our lives puffed up in pride, never realizing we might actually stink at what we’re doing, or we will exist in our own self pity to the point we never can succeed at anything!

Well, I guess, that was a pretty deep thought for the “Audit Your Brand” assignment, but I hope you enjoyed it. 😉 By the way, if you would like, I’d love for you to take a few minutes to browse through my blog and see what you think. I’d like to receive some feedback from you!

… taking a risk here, please, be kind yet truthful! 😉

Blogging 201: Branding and Growth

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

Ok, so in addition to my daily posts, I am going to attempt to keep up with Blogging 201 over next week or so. I know I did this last year; however, I feel like I could always use the extra help and refreshing of ideas. 🙂

Today, we must set three goals for our blog:

1. Increase followers by 20% by January 1, 2016…at 266 today… So, that would mean 318. (Wow, I can’t believe that date is almost a reality!)

2. Publish consistently everyday of the month, except Sundays. (This includes, but is not limited to Weekly posts)

…Since I already have two weekly features in place (Wednesday’s Ode and Friday’s New Angle), I’m not going to add another quite yet. However…

3. Visit fellow bloggers at least one hour weekly, comment and encourage them as I go.

So, here we go! Blogging U has now begun… 🙂

Looking Back…Moving Forward: Growing Pains and Pleasures

February 8, 2015February 9, 2015 / The WheatandTares

**Spoiler Alert: this post is a little lengthier than others, but still about 1000 words….I’m so sorry if you’re looking for a shorter read today. I’m catching up on a week’s worth of “assignments,” or challenges, given by The Daily Post for Blogging 201… Please, feel free to peruse through some of the Poetry or Lessons Learned categories (widgets to the right) to find a little shorter post.**

Well, here I am again trying my hand at Blogging 201… I did this back in October, but I thought, “Hey, what can it hurt to attempt it again and see how much I’ve “grown” in blogging over the past four months?” If you’re curious to read those first notes on blogging, back in October, you can catch up here. This is the weekend, and yes, I’m playing a little catch up, as I didn’t start on Monday, and the week simply got away before I realized Blogging 201 had started again; however, that’s sometimes, just what the weekends are for, right? …to catch up. So, here we go. Hope you have fun reading!

Day 1 of Blogging 201 – Goal Setting

To do a short recap..my goals back in October were: “3 Goals to Accomplish by January 31, 2015”: (1) Consistently post on my blog at least twice weekly. (2)Gain 100 followers by January 31, 2015. (3) Spend one hour each week visiting my followers’ blogs, reading their posts, and commenting on their work, from now until January 31, 2015. Thankfully, I was able to be consistent to blog twice and, sometimes, more than twice a week; however, I did run into a snag here and there when I would go several days without blogging at all; so, I will probably keep this goal on my next list. Thanks to YOU, my nice followers and those who drop by from time to time, I reached the 100 followers long before January 31. That was a sweet moment in time! 🙂 I was pretty consistent with spending an hour each week visiting other bloggers; however, once Christmas time rolled around, and I had the boys home fulltime for a few weeks, I got quite distracted with other priorities. That will return to the goals list, as well, for this quarter.

2015 Goal Setting – This time, I think I’ll set 5 goals to Accomplish by May 31, 2015:

1. Consistently post on my blog three times a week.

2. Gain 20-25% more followers by May 31.

3. Spend at least one hour weekly reading other blogs and sending “encouraging notes” to as many as possible.

4. Create a new weekly feature, for reader’s pleasure and just for fun, by March 1, and post each week through June 1. (feature title to soon be announced!)

5. Create a separate blog for my husband’s posts, thoughts and musings by April 1. …We’ve been thinking about this but have yet to put it into action.

Whew! Okay, that is completed… I don’t know why goal setting, sometimes, can be so difficult for me. I can make a checklist and plan out things to accomplish today, tomorrow and all next week; however, to set long-term goals, I always have in the back of my mind, “What if I fail?” “What if I let someone down?” So, often, I will struggle to push the hesitation and fear aside and keep the determination and focus at the center. When I actually do set the long-term goals, and I set my mind to accomplish them, I always end up with incredible results: I either succeed with “flying colors,” or I realize the areas in which I need to improve, and I’m able to see that a little learning and hard work will help me to succeed again.

Day 2 of Blogging 201 – Audit Your Brand

Looking over the checklist, I think, maybe, I’ve got this one covered…theme matches blog’s intent…font and color choices are congruent with the “grist mill” theme. My title and tagline compliment one another. My post titles, about page, username/nickname, and widgets all seem to correlate with the blog’s intent, or rather, my brand: this is a grist mill. Every word I type is a tiny grain needing to be “ground,” in order to bring forth a pure thought and a wholesome content upon which others can be encouraged and uplifted, and then, ultimately, that these simple “grains” might bring glory to my God. As far as the visual identity being consistent with the elements of this blog, they seem to support my brand…So, what do you think?? (*Please, do respond! I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! 😉 )

Day 3 of Blogging 201 – Get Read All Over

Mobile-friendly and responsive design? It seems to be…

Day 4 of Blogging 201 – Give ‘Em What They Want

I’m still getting the hang of stats and editorial calendars…Looking over the stats, aside from the home/archive page, and the About Me and Why I am Here pages, the top 3 most viewed posts for 2014 were Beautiful Praise, Life In The Little Things, and Eyes of Mercy. The most likes seem to be on categories “Lessons Learned” and “Poetry,” while the most searches seem to be on tags of “grace” and “eternity.” So, even though, I don’t think I’m ready to tackle the editorial calendar quite yet tonight, this does give me a good idea to know where to start focusing my different blog posts, thoughts and ideas. Over this next week, as I have more time, I will look over these stats more and see what days of the week and which weeks of the year seem to have higher traffic, and this will help me with posting times and consistency.

Day 5 of Blogging 201 – Make the Most of Your Archives

Bring your archives “back to life” … I think I might have done this pretty well by linking to several in this blog, as well as, creating widgets on the right side of my blog which can direct the reader to my archives, as well as, give a running list of “Fresh Grounds” (most recent posts), and “Your Favorite Grains” (reader’s most liked posts)…So, yea, I do believe that one might be covered, too! 😉

Okay, so “Operation: Catch Up” seems to be complete…Now, maybe I can rest tomorrow and get ready for the rest of next week! If you stuck it out for the duration, I hope you enjoyed your reading!

It’s the Little Things

December 4, 2014December 5, 2014 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

It’s the Little Things that Make Me Smile.

I opened my phone app today to check the notifications, and this is what I saw. Thank you so much to everyone who would take the time to drop by here and read my little blog. This has been a fun journey, and you have made it worthwhile. I look forward to many more adventures with you! I am blessed and grateful today. Thanks. 🙂

Goal Setting: Blogging 201

October 23, 2014October 23, 2014 / The WheatandTares

Okay, so I’m starting a little late this week on Blogging 201, but I suppose it’s “better late than never!” 🙂

The questions presented are, “Why Do I Blog?” and “What Goals Do I Have for this Blog?” I suppose the summation of this answer can be found here. I began this blog, because, for years now, I have kept personal journals of random thoughts, endless “stories” about my days, and countless hopes and dreams about the future, as well as, separate journals of poems I have written over the years, and I felt it was maybe time to share these musings with others. I have endured some pain through the years, and I have enjoyed many days of laughter, too. I have learned many lessons through the sorrows and the joy, and I hope to be an inspiration to someone who searches for truth, an encouragement to someone who doubts and maybe even a ray of hope to someone who has lost all hope. … Do I have all the answers? Not by any stretch, but I do know I have found a Truth in whom I can believe, an everlasting Hope of which I can rest assured, and a Solid Rock upon which I can stand. I know that I have learned so much in my short years of living, and I’m still seeking for more…wisdom and moments of true life. I know I have a man with whom I am madly in love (as he is with me); we have two very lively boys with whom, on a daily basis, we cherish incredible adventures, and, regardless of the circumstances that may arise, we try to live in a place of contentment and peace. So, I blog in hopes of sharing these things which I have found to be anchors in my life, and I blog just for the “fun” of sharing with others a little bit about my findings in this adventure called life.

So, in stating all of this, I need to set some goals for this blog in order to reach beyond where I am today. I have heard it said, “A man with a goal is like a ship without a rudder.” (1) and “Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” (2) These quotes are so true, and they are so easily “preached” to others; yet, when I began this blog, I was hesitant to state my goals for fear they would be seen as too lofty or to lowly by others. So, when I saw this as the first assignment of the Blogging 201, honestly, I hesitated to continue. Then, I rebuked my own laziness and decided this was a really good assignment for me, and so, here I am!

3 Goals to Accomplish by January 31, 2015:

1. Consistently post on my blog at least twice weekly.

2. Gain 100 followers by January 31, 2015.

3. Spend one hour each week visiting my followers’ blogs, reading their posts, and commenting on their work, from now until January 31, 2015.

Whew! That’s done. Now, it’s official! I’ve set 3 goals. Now, I must be persistent in reaching them…I feel like giving myself a high-five. Ha ha.

(3)