Lessons Learned

The Pursuant

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Reading Jonah 2, it becomes clear to me that God is a God of pursuant love. His love is not stagnant. He doesn’t just “sit around” and wait on us to seek Him. He places things all around us to turn our hearts toward Him. He allows things to happen in our lives that would cause us to look to Him once again.

He pursues us with His love. He longs for us to be with Him. He yearns to have a conversation with us, a moment of communion, a friendship. He sent His Holy Spirit to be with us when He ascended to heaven that He might draw our hearts back to Him when we stray from Him.

It makes me wonder, how much do we pursue Him in this way? Do we only think about Him when it comes church time and prayer time over the meal? Do we only think of Him when we are in trouble and in distress, because, after all, He is a ‘God of answers’ and a ‘God of help?’

He longs for so much more from us. He pursues us, because He wants our hearts as well as our hands. He can catch our hands so easily. It’s easy to catch your child’s hand when they’re young, when they need help after a tumble, and when you need to stop them from running in the street.

However, it’s harder to catch the heart of your teen when they desperately long for independence and have so many new avenues to find that freedom. It’s even harder to win the heart of your grown child if you didn’t quite master the task in their younger years, and now they’ve grown beyond their need for what you have to offer. You have to get more creative, and they have to be willing to come back to you. They, also, have to realize time spent with you is more valuable than they once imagined it might be.

I believe we have this same tendency toward our Heavenly Father. When we first get saved, He is all we think about, all we talk about. We pursue a relationship with Him. Yet, as life moves forward, the responsibilities pull on us, and the priorities of this world knock down our door, we set Him aside for brighter, easier days. We forget about that relationship we once had when we daily communed with Him. We set Him to the side as we pursue the approval of man and the kind words of a friend. We, now, wait till we are in distress to call on His name.

But oh, the sweetness of walking with Him day by day. Oh the joy we miss when we put Him aside. What countless burdens we carry when we do not share them with Him. What needless turmoil we invite when we don’t allow Him in.

He’s still there where you left Him. Seek Him out today. You will find Him. He promised that when you seek Him with all your heart, you will find Him.

 

YouVersion

 

Fight To Win

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

A-Soldier-of-the-Cross-full

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We, as Christians, are often called “soldiers of the cross;” yet, I wonder sometimes in today’s society, if we know what that really means. We get so caught up in fighting with our children to obey or fighting with our spouse to see things our way or even fighting with our fellow man to follow our opinions and our judgements that I think we might have forgotten where the real battlefield lies and what the real spoils and consequences are.
Just last week, I read a blog by a straight, conservative, preacher’s wife, someone who could be a lot like me, who spent a whole article telling me why she didn’t care about the new bathroom policies at Target, and how “I” (or those who disagree) am not necessarily showing love by boycotting them. I read comments by Christians who hated her for it and atheists who praised her for it. Can I tell you BOTH are wrong?? The one party is killing their own and the other isn’t challenged to change. 

I read other articles in which Christians were ‘killing each other’ with their words and demanding their way to be the right way, while I turn the page in The Voice of Martyrs to read of the pastor’s family who pray for their little church meeting secretly in their war-torn village. I hear of the Body of Christ “fighting and clawing” at each other over this opinion or that, this politician, that official, this viewpoint or that, all the while, reading again in The Voice of the Martyrs, of the pastor who has been arrested for his belief in God and the workers in foreign lands who are desperately sharing the Gospel with the lost, even as it costs them their very lives.

Can I tell you, our battle is NOT against flesh and blood, and it will not be won by our seeking after man’s approval, worldly possessions, or cultural agreement? Ephesians 6:12 tells us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” 1 Peter 5:8 reminds us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

We cannot fight these enemies with just our opinions and judgement calls, nor with our monetary means, nor by simply being tolerant and kind when they demand us to be. We cannot fight them with the conventional words or actions of man’s wisdom. God’s kingdom doesn’t work this way! Just as David didn’t win the battle with Goliath by following the instruction of Saul (he told him to wear the king’s armor), we cannot win this battle for the next generation by following the instruction of this world!

We must stop focusing on tearing each other down, or even tearing down the sinner in his sin, and focus on the REAL battle. We must return to our prayer closets and get on our knees in prayer! We must return to our days of fasting and our meals of His daily bread. We must redress with God’s Armor and join forces with our fellow brothers and sisters to win this battle! It is up to us to pick up our shields of faith, swing out swords of truth and win for the King of kings and the Lord of Lords! It is time for the Redeemed of the Lord to say so! It is time to let GOD be the victor!!

I believe God is stirring His people back to this. I believe He is rising up an army who are not fighting as the world is fighting. They are fighting this battle in private prayer and with public words of truth. It may not be a popular stand, and it may not win you approval ratings with the crowd, but the lives of our children are at stake, and the lives of those who can be won for the kingdom are weighing in the balance.

We must fight this battle God’s way, and we must fight to WIN!

 

Spur Them To Love

/ 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

/ 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!

/ 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 quoteWe 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! 🙂

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Daily Prompt:  Dream

Just A Phase

/ 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.”

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

Daily Prompt:  Phase

Map It Out

/ 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!

Let It Shine

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

  

Sometimes, you’ve just got to let the lighthouse shine…” – Joey Grizzle

My husband said this other night as we were visiting a closed, but working, lighthouse. It caused me to start thinking…

Tha lighthouse shines with no prodding or propping. I wonder how often do we just let the lighthouse shine? (The lighthouse being our testimony for Christ.) Do we actually let it shine before all men that they might find our Savior? 

Do we let it shine while we are being tested? What about when life is chaotic and hard? What about when we just woke up on the wrong side of the bed?

Of course, some will take this little blurb as a declaration that we must simply “let our light shine,” never speaking to anyone about our faith, lest they get offended. What about those who aren’t highly observant, but who would listen for hours? What about those who are about to hit a danger zone and desperately need rescuing?  Don’t they need more than just a light shining? Sometimes, words need to be spoken before they will listen. That’s a post for another day, but please don’t mistake my words as an encouragement for silence in our witness, and don’t misinterpret this as God’s light isn’t big enough. I just think, sometimes, we need to shine our ligh and speak up! 

This world is in desperate need of His light. It will shine in those lives that have become so dark and overwhelming that they see past the tunnel of their own pain. It will show them to a better way. 

Just as a lighthouse guides the ships past the jagged rocks that would shatter the vessel, Christ shines to guide men past the pains of their past to a brighter future.  

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Through The Years

/ The WheatandTares / 9 Comments

 
   This week, my husband and I are celebrating 20 years together. We actually dated for 3 1/2 years before we married; so, I could say, we’re actually celebrating 23 1/2 years of being together and 20 years of marriage. I can now say, I’ve been with him over half of my life!
IMG_0852(Look at those two youngins! Who in the world is that anyway?! Oh. My. Goodness!! lol.)

I can honestly tell you, I love him more today than the first day I met him and even more than the day I married him! Some people could scoff at that statement, and some might wonder how that could possibly be true; so, as a way of celebrating today, I’d like to tell you a few things I’ve learned along the way and a little bit of how this can become true for you…

*This is, by NO means, a complete list, nor is it a perfect list. There are so many more things for me to learn, and I shall until the day I die…

#1 – If you want your marriage to last, you must first love God before you love your spouse. I don’t love my husband, because I am, somehow, a strong person, or because I’m “just that good.” I love my husband, because I love God first, and He makes up the difference for my humanness.

#2 – A great marriage takes a thousand little miracles to make it work right. (Thus, another reason, you need to love God first! 😉 )

#3 – You’ve got to give a lot and take a little to make a great marriage. It takes both of you giving, learning and growing together.

#4 – A great marriage consists of two people who never gave up on each other, no matter how hard it gets at times.

#5 – A great marriage consists of a sacred and hot marriage bed. Ok, yeah, there ya go. I said it. It’s hard for me to publicly talk a lot about this, cuz I don’t believe everyone needs to know my business; however, if you’re going to have a great marriage, this has got to be true, and No, it’s not “all about sex” either. If you’re on either extreme of that spectrum, you’re gonna have troubles. 

#6 – If you want your marriage to last, you’ve got to date each other. Life can just run over you until all you see is bills, children, school, work and more bills. You’ve got to remember how and why you got in this thing to begin with. Flirt, go out, have fun and remember the man/woman you fell in love with!

#7 – A great marriage takes a lot of grace and forgiveness even when you don’t want to.

#8 – Your spouse must come before your kids, your job and your family (parents, etc.) If you are always putting other things above the needs of your spouse, don’t be surprised when she/he does the same, and then, one day, you both ask yourself, “Why am I married to this person I no longer know?”

#9 – A great marriage consists of trust, honesty and loyalty. If you don’t trust your spouse, how can they ever have the freedom to be honest with you? If you aren’t honest with him/her, how can he/she want to be loyal to you? The three work together like a well oiled machine, or they work against each other for a broken down mess.

#10 – A great marriage consists of authenticity and vulnerablility. You’ve got to be authentic with each other. Why would you play games with the one you love? You’ve, also, got to be able to be vulnerable with each other. Why would you want to be with someone with whom you can’t share your whole heart?

#11 – If you want your marriage to last, there’s got to be lots of prayer and encouragement for and to your spouse. Your spouse not only needs your prayers and encouragement, in the spiritual sense, but he/she needs to hear these words spoken and written throughout the years.

#12 – A great marriage consists of a mom and dad who love each other so much that the kids know dad would choose mom over them in a heartbeat, and she would do the same. This doesn’t mean they don’t love the kids, but it does mean they won’t be divided by the kids.

#13 – You’ve got to learn from each other as parents. There are some things at which she will naturally be good and some things at which he will naturally be good. Some things, neither of you will be good at, and you’ll have to learn together. Learn well, and have grace for each other when it’s not how you would do it.

#14 – A great marriage consists of great perspective. If you’re not seeing eye to eye, try changing perspectives. You’ll be surprised what you might see. 

#15 – A great marriage consists of two people who work together to make a good home.

#16 – If you want a marriage that lasts, you’ve got to be faithful. This doesn’t mean that infidelity always leads to divorce, but WOW, it does mean unfaithfulness sure makes the journey together (and the restoration) all that more difficult.

#17 – A great marriage consists of two people working hard to savor the moments and appreciate the little things that make their spouse who he/she is.

#18 – Your confidence in who you are and who your spouse is can make or break a good marriage. You’ve got to love yourself before you can truly love someone else, and you’ve got to believe in your spouse before you can begin to truly see who he/she is.

#19 – A great marriage consists of loving the past for what it is, having hope for what the future brings and living fully right here in the present.

#20 – A great marriage doesn’t consist of two perfect people making a perfect life together. A great marriage consists of two imperfect people living an imperfect life, while serving a perfect God who draws out a perfected love for Him, and in turn, creates a daily perfecting love for each other.

I am so thankful for my husband, this wonderful man God gave me to marry 20 years ago. I love him more with each new day, and I am more amazed with each passing year just how much I don’t deserve this blessing I’ve been given! He is my love, my best friend, my confidante, and my cheerleader. He protects me, and he encourages me to be more than I thought I could be. I could go on and on about my love for him, but I will stope here and simply say, I could not imagine asking for more! ❤

What Do You See?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

  Sometimes, your vision is everything… 
In 2 Kings 6:17, Elijah prayed this for his servant: “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he might see.” 

What do you see when you look at people? What do you see when you are in the middle of chaos? What do you see when you are surrounded by those who have less than you or, maybe, who have more? What do you look at? What do you envision? 

What you see makes up who you are. It will determine if you live as a victim or as a victor. If you always see negative, you will tend to be a negative person. If you see hopelessness and despair, you will be a fearful person and you will have a tendency to either run away from problems or avoid anything that might appear as a challenge. Yet, if you see hope and strength, you will have a tendency to be a fighter, a person who doesn’t give up too easily. If you see love and prosperity, you will tend to seek out those with whom you have camaraderie and with whom you can succeed. Depending on what you look at, you will see trouble or triumph.  

What you see will determine where you end up in life. If you don’t see success, you’ll never achieve it. If you don’t see possibilities, you’ll never see a promotion. If you don’t see faith and integrity in others, you’ll never learn to trust and open up to another person. You can look at people all day every day, but if you don’t see them, you’ll never be able to reach them, and you’ll never be able to learn from them.  

So, I’d like to leave you with a few questions to ponder… 

When you look at yourself, do you see all your faults and failures, or do you see a child of the King?  

When you look at your children, do you just see your little ones and the responsibilities they bring, or do you see a king or a queen?  

When you look at this world, do you see sin or a sinner who needs Jesus? 

When you look at the cross, do you see a burden hard to carry, or do you see the story of a promise desperately needing to be shared?

What do you see?