Heartbeats

Choosing Fear

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

You’ve heard the statement Faith over Fear, or maybe you’ve seen the tshirt, but what does it really mean?

To embrace faith, do you truly let go of fear?

To hold onto strength while pushing away intrepidation?

Or do you simply grasp fear by the throat with one hand and link arms with faith with the other and walk boldly forward through the raging fire and burning flames?

I say truth faith is the latter.

True faith is when the pain takes your breath away, and you have no idea what brings tomorrow or if it will even come, but you square your shoulders and take the step onward.

That’s real faith.

And I’ve seen it in living color…

And it’s all together inspiring and beautiful.

And oh. So very rare.

But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior…

Isaiah 43:1-3

How Big is Your Dream?

/ The WheatandTares

Are you dreaming small or dreaming tall?

What you dream of, you’ll shoot for.

What you reminisce, you’ll reach toward.

What you chase after, you’ll find in one form or another.

So, be careful what you wish for.

Dreams can become reality if only given moment to live.

You’ll either fan the flame or squelch the embers.

The choose is yours.

And today is the telling hour.

What is your dream?

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Mark 9:23-24

Faith Over Fear

/ The WheatandTares

That’s really easier said than done, isn’t it?

Faith over Fear

It’s such a cliche, such a catchy phrase.

It just rolls off your tongue like so much psychobabble.

But what about when you’re standing in the edge of a cliff, and it’s either jump or fall?

What about when you’re hanging on the side of the boat, and it’s either swim or drown?

What about when you’re climbing the side of that mountain, and it’s either step or stumble?

What about then? How easy to do those words come?

What about the moment your spouse wavers?

What about the moment your child is impaired?

What about the moment you falter and fail?

What about these moments of truth?

Where is your faith now?

Faith over Fear is not be the fairyland you once believe.

Faith over Fear is not the jingle jangle of the faint of heart.

Faith over Fear is the moment truth is revealed for all to see.

What will your vision be?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

What are You Seeking?

/ The WheatandTares

Some seek religions.

Some seek fortune and fame.

Some seek education and intellectualism.

Some seek philosophy and a higher power.

What are you seeking?

What you seek, you will find, when you seek it with all your heart.

What you seek, you will find, when you seek it with no bounds.

If it’s religion, you’ll find tradition and law.

If it’s fame and fortune, you’ll find self gratification and temporary pleasures.

If it’s academics, you’ll find knowledge and affluence.

If it’s philosophy, you’ll find a wisdom and deeper meanings.

Yet, in all of these things, you will still find an emptiness, a void, a vast domain within your soul that cannot be filled.

But if you’ll seek a relationship with the One who created it all,

You will be filled.

…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

John 4:13-14

Happy Thanksgiving

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

No matter where you are today or where you’ll be tomorrow,

From our family to yours,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eat well. Be at peace. Embrace hope.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Thanksgiving is an Attitude

/ The WheatandTares

Thanksgiving is not an event to be attended.

It’s not a holiday to be survived.

It’s not a date to be dreaded or anticipated.

Thanksgiving is an attitude of the heart.

It begins with gratefulness and ends with love.

It is consumed with peace and wrapped up in hope.

Thanksgiving can be now, and it can be tomorrow.

As long as you never leave it behind.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

Thankfulness Begins With A Thought

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Gandhi said,

Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.

Although, I don’t follow the teachings of Gandhi, there is truth in those words.

Scripture tells us this in a much simpler form,

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Thanksgiving isn’t a date on the calendar or a time of year, it’s an attitude of the heart that should be lived out every single day.

What are you thinking about today?

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

Proverbs 23:7

Thankfulness in a Cup

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

When you have a grateful heart, it doesn’t take much to make you happy.

It can be a cool summer breeze or the first snowfall is winter.

It can be a bright spring flower or a golden falling leaf.

It can be a newborn baby’s gentle sigh or an elderly loved one’s hand pat.

It doesn’t take much to bring a smile because the heart is settled within and at rest.

Are you grateful today?

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

Isaiah 26:3

Stay Calm

/ The WheatandTares

You see the memes everywhere:

Stay Calm … with some sort of ending.

Sometimes, it’s hard to stay calm when your heart is broken.

Sometimes, it’s hard to stay calm when you’ve been wronged.

Sometimes, it’s hard to stay calm when you’ve been silenced by injustice.

But sometimes, the only way to react with dignity is to react with a calm that doesn’t say I am weak.

But rather, it is a calm that says, no matter what it may look like right now,

I’m on the winning team, and victory is coming.

So, stay calm.

Because peace resides within.

And where there is peace, there is a brighter hope for tomorrow.

Now when these things begin to happen, lookup and lift up your heads, because yourredemption draws near.

Luke 21:28

Embrace the Healing

/ The WheatandTares

When you feel your strength returning and your lungs filling with air, don’t turn back.

When you can see more clearly and hear more accurately, don’t turn back.

When you can think more precisely and plan more purposefully, don’t turn back.

You didn’t mend to unravel.

You didn’t rebuild to deconstruct.

You didn’t heal to destroy.

Don’t regress. Don’t recede. Don’t retreat.

You fought for this.

Now, move forward. And win.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

Galatians 5:1