Lessons Learned

Once Again

/ The WheatandTares

Once Again

Your face reminds me of the pain

Your smile retains the brokenness

Your voice prods the gash deep in my soul.

Just when I think I’ve grown past, I hear your laughter within

Just when I feel I’ve moved beyond, I see your hand holding on

Just when I believe I’ve overcome, I touch a memory in the forgotten mind

I wish I could just stay angry forever

I long to see the payment for your crime

I yearn for the day when justice divides

Yet, He draws me back to unconditional love

He reminds me of His unyielding mercy

He calls to my heart to gracefully forgive

Not for your sake, but rather, for mine

Once Again

Penned – MG – 11/14/19

This is quite an old song, but it so eloquently describes the wounded heart. ❤️

https://youtu.be/E5rfLcGZumE

Beyond the Grief

/ The WheatandTares

Is there ever a day when you’re beyond the grief?

When they say his name, you don’t smile with the sadness, because your arms long to hold him one more time?

When they bring up her picture, you don’t grimace in pain, because your soul still weeps for the loss?

When does the grief end?

Is there ever a moment when you’ve grown past the grief?

When you see the black and whites and don’t wipe away the tears that flow so easily?

When you hear a common melody and don’t want to run away from the familiar song?

When does the grief end?

Our hearts were not made for this separation.

Our souls were not fashioned to say goodbye.

The void inside was made for eternity.

There, our losses never ask why.

Penned – MG – 11/12/19

What Is A Good Neighbor?

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

What does it mean to be a good neighbor?

Is it simply smiling as you drive by the house?

Is it raising your hand with a wave as you pass them in the street corner?

Is it picking up a valuable and returning it to their doorstep?

Is it holding open the door as he wobbled in on the cane?

Is it helping her take one more step with her feeble pace?

Is it embracing them as they weep their loss?

Could it be a statement of confrontation to avoid disaster?

Could it be a moment of disagreement to detour from harm?

Could it be a jolt of volume to shut the door to Hell?

Could it a kind word to the multitude as you pass by?

Could it be a loaf of bread to the starving?

Could it be fresh water to the parched?

Could it be all of these and more?

Do you shut yourself out; so, your eyes don’t have to feel?

Do you close the door; so, your ears don’t have to hear?

Do you shield your expression; so, your heart doesn’t have to feel?

Who will be a good neighbor within your home?

Who will be a good neighbor in your city?

Who will be a good neighbor to your world?

It only takes one.

Will it be you?

Penned – MG – 11/7/19

Seventy Times Seven

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

You slice me with your words

You cut me with you stare

You pierce my heart with your lies

You clench my lungs but never hear my cries

You stir deceit among my friends

You create havoc among my loves

You sever my relationships with your slander

You sear my kinships with a cruel banter

Every year, I draw near to repentance

Every hour, I crawl back to mercy

Every minute, I search to find grace

Every second, I seek forgiveness to erase

Penned – MG – 11/5/19

Wayward Heart

/ The WheatandTares

Oh, you wayward heart

You jump and dance while the sun is shining

You twirl in the breeze, smiling as it rustles the leaves

You flitter like a butterfly, no cares, no worries

Yet as the clouds roll in, you seem to pause

Looking with trepidation, you begin to shake

Your skip turns to a run as you shutter with fear

You scurry for shelter, no courage, no resolve

As the lightening strikes and the thunder explodes

You cower and quake even in the eye of the storm

You forsake any promise, any proclamation of hope

Oh, wayward heart, how quickly you have forgotten

Penned – MG – 11/2/19

Live Life BOLD

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Sometimes, I think we get so consumed with the agendas we keep and the responsibilities placed upon us that we forget who we are. We step into the whirlwind of calendars, appointments, wishes and desires, and we forget our purpose, our progress and our potential. We simply lay down who we were meant to be and pick up all the expectations of someone else.

STOP IT! LET IT GO! REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think so. In this modern culture, Christians are relegated to being these hyper, over-the-top, radical, nonsense-speaking idiots simply because we do not want to conform to the liberal mindset of the world. Just because the louder voices among us hate who we are doesn’t mean we should listen to them. Just because those voices threaten to disagree or spew ridicule doesn’t mean we should lay down every bit of goodness and righteousness simply because they can’t see.

Who gave them that kind of authority? Who released their judgement as right and true? Unfortunately, WE DID. We’ve got to STOP!

We were never called to be like this world. We were never destined to yield our beliefs and our standards to the crowd who disagrees. They oppose our very being, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t exist.

We need to stop listening to the lies of hatred and start reading again. We need to shut off the news and the media and get back to our prayer closets and our houses of worship. We’ve stayed in the mainstream so long, we’ve forgotten who we’re called to be. We’ve sought after man’s approval for far too long, and we’ve neglected Whose affirmation matters most: His. We need to return to our first live and forsake our worldly adorations.

Does that mean we become hermits, shut off from the world, never listening, never speaking, never approaching the differences around us? NO. Does that mean we become relics, hovering over our Bibles, never engaging in intellectual conversations, never debating our faith, never communicating the gospel to those who dispute our every move? NO. Does that mean we become hate-filled and ridiculously unapproachable, “preachy,” and “religious minded.” NO.

It simply means, we return to Him, and allow His light to shine once more. It means we remember our purpose, our calling, our destiny. It is not to settle into this world nor the things of it. It means we recollect our history, our heritage and our home, and we seek to live in Him and not of them! It means we go out, take this story He has given us and all we’ve learned of Him and share it, sprinkle it, “seed” it into the ground He places before us. It means we recollect those promises He’s given, we reminisce those moments of victory He has delivered, we relive those miracles He’s brought to our everyday life, and we share them with this world around us.

Stop trying to fit in and follow, and start standing out and LEAD!

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” 1 John 4:4-6

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Tell Somebody

/ The WheatandTares / 11 Comments

I love this little conversation between Pooh and Piglet. It speaks volumes on so many levels. It speaks to both the depressed and the friends of those who may be struggling.

It truly breaks my heart when I hear of a person who remains in depression, or due to that depression, a person who has committed suicide, and in the current cultural push of awareness, we hear so many blogs, posts and notices that we should check on our friends, we should reach out, and we should be there for those suffering. Yes, I wholeheartedly agree, and I believe the awareness should be alive and well. However, what I see happening in this push, and what I wish would also be pushed at the same heightened state, is those who are struggling desperately need to speak up just as much as friends need to be aware!

I love what Pooh says to Piglet, he had a difficult day, but he didn’t really want to talk about it. Too often, it seems the focus of awareness is so pivoted on those left behind, but if we say anything directed toward the one who remained silent, then, we are relegated as being insensitive, cold and even cruel in our approach.

Yet, if I could intervene with this blame (and justification) game, I wish I could. Speaking truth into someone’s life, especially, someone who is in trouble and may even become dangerous to themselves or someone else, is not being cruel and heartless. Sometimes, it can be a lifesaver!

If I am standing in the street, and a Mack truck is flying down the road, and I am just too sad, too depressed or even too blind to see it, please, someone scream, yell, or run over to me and yank me out of that street!! Because sometimes, the best thing for a person is not a coddling and pampering but a spoken word of truth that helps to bring them back to reality.

Press On

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

(UPDATE: For those who tried to read this early today…it sure does help when the picture is readable, huh? *insert eye roll! Sorry about that!!)

I saw this quote the other day, and I just loved it! It says so much!

In life, there are always going to be trials, challenges, and hurdles that we must overcome. If we come to the obstacle in the road, and never go over it, around it, or through it, then, we simply will never grow. If we constantly back away because of fear, intimidation or even laziness, we will never become who we were meant to be.

It doesn’t mean it will be an easy journey. Growing is hard. Changing is difficult. Sometimes, breaking an old habit or making a new one might feel as if it’s going to break us before we “break” it!

However, if you can persevere, if you can push through the hard, the victory will be unbelievable! The success will feel far better than the defeat! So, whatever you are facing today, press through.

Don’t give up! Don’t back down! Don’t turn around! Keep going, and I promise you, when that goal is achieved, you will breathe a sigh of relief, and the victory dance will be so sweet!

The flower is ever changing, growing, pushing through to be more, and when it has broken through the ground, and the bloom has burst forth, it’s beauty is there for all to see. What is more, the fragrance will fill the space and even change the atmosphere.

Press on.

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

Call It What It Is

/ The WheatandTares

*song doesn’t seem to be posting. Not sure if cut/past glitch or what. If problem continues, try clicking here.

Listening to this song just reminds me that, sometimes, you’ve go to “call a spade a spade.” Don’t walk through life looking for others to blame for your own wrong doings, and don’t look for justification for your personal sin; however, when it is clearly someone else who needs to own up to their fault, there is no need for you to walk in guilt and shame for their failure.

Don’t carry that baggage. Let them own it, and let it go.

That’s called truth speaking, and grasping this is called truth living. It seems to be a bit rare in today’s culture, but it really is a great place to be.

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

Now, be free, and have a Happy Monday!😉

(Not so) Whimsical Wednesday

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

Listened to this song for the first time today. Don’t know why I haven’t ever heard it before, but it speaks a message today. On this 18th anniversary of a horrific day in our history, I will remember. I will cherish, and I will never forget.

It’s not about a political party. It’s not about a race, a religion, or a heritage. It’s not even about a personal opinion or thought.

This was a day that radicalism thought it could rule. This was a day when hatred filled hearts surmised they could win. This was a day when evil consumed souls believed they had the upper hand and could bring down a powerful, mighty nation.

9/11 will forever be a day of remembered terrror, heartbreak and death. Yet, 9/12 will forever be a day remembered of a nation uniting to bring rescue, support, encouragement and comfort. The two days shall ever be etched in the memory blanks of my legacy.

This is a realization of what purpose can expose. This is a revelation of what a common bond can bring. This is a testament of what unity can do.

For evil and for good.

Never forget these days in your retelling of truth and of history. Share the brokenness, revel in the heroics and cherish the patriotism. Never forget, a people bound together in one cause, one focus, one goal can accomplish the unthinkable.

America, never forget.