Monday Musings

Saturday’s Musings of Treats and Whimsical Fun Days

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

Well, this week was so jam packed, I didn’t even get a chance to sit down and write. The last 10-14 days have kind of been like this, but this week, I didn’t have the extra to add words to the page.

So, today, I thought I might conglomerate them all as one. 😂 I thought the title turned out quite original (lol); now, let’s see how the blog will end up. Maybe great. Maybe a little less than good. But it really doesn’t matter. You can at least say I tried!

A few weeks ago, I threw a little dessert together that I thought I’d share. It’s pretty simple, and you can pick up most items at your local grocery store, and you can adapt it to your personal preferences.

I started with a simple lemon pound cake. I just happened to have Sara Lee’s lemon loaf. I added a couple of scoops of key lime gelato (I love Talenti Gelato!) and dropped a handful of strawberries, raspberries and blueberries on top. And then, I drizzled caramel over all this.

Oh, it was so yummy! Truthfully, because it was a cooler day right at the end of September, I was wishing I’d had this “grand thought” back in the summertime; however, that didn’t hinder my enjoyment one bit!

This one thought, of enjoying a “summertime dessert in the fall,” led me to thinking, sometimes, we can miss celebrating a moment we should be celebrating!

We can get so bogged down with past regrets or future ambitions that we aren’t present in the moment we’re living. Yes, we need to deal with the past at times, but we should be able to put it in it’s proper places. And we should be pushing forward toward those goals and dreams we have ahead, or we’ll never get beyond where we are.

Yet, if we are seeking so hard after those things ahead, or we become overwhelmed by the sorrows OR joys of the past, we will miss what is right before our very eyes!

So, take a moment today.

Breathe I deeply and exhale slowly.

Let your eyes focus and settle in on those things and those people before you.

Cherish the laughter; embrace the tears.

Walk through the days with purpose and diligence.

It’s not always about where you’ve been or even about where you’re headed.

Sometimes, it’s simply about where you are and who is there with you!

Now, go give yourself a treat today and have a whimsical fun day! 😊

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls & hard work.

Thomas A. Edison

“Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

James 4:14

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

I Loved You From the Start

You were so tiny when into this world you came

My life changed in an instant, never to be the same

You stole the show wherever we’d go

Your laughter was contagious, and you let everybody know

I whispered in your ear, you can reach for the stars

My hopes for you, I never wanted them barred

Your dreams and aspirations were so far apart

I knew I loved you from the very start

You were full of so much love and joy

I was thrill God blessed us with a baby boy

You ran and jumped, climbed and dove

Into every mischief and plaything sent down from above

You grew into a man before my very eyes

As you started stepping out, the devil tried to fill your head with lies

Sometimes you would succumb but other times you would fight

I kept pleading for you to always seek out the Light

I’d sing the song of old, hoping you’d remember

Calling you back home each and every December

Your dreams and aspiration were so far apart

You held them deep within your heart

You reached out strong to find your own way

You always had your own walk, keeping conformity at bay

You’d run headlong until you’d hit a brick wall

We’d be there when you’d ask to help heal from the fall

You’d tumble and struggle, forgetting the One

I’d pray and I’d seek, begging Him to awake my son

You’d come back around, dazed and a bit fogged

Yet,, stand back up, never allowing your soul to get too bogged

I wondered if those prayers ever made a difference

Knowing deep down, He would bring you deliverance

Your dreams and aspirations were so far apart

From them, your demons must depart

One day, it was as if the door opened and swung wide

Not to fame and fortune but to the Father’s side

All the tenacity to succeed changed to purpose and hope

Now His ways are always higher in your vision scope

Look what God has brought within your heart and mind

Your life is full of joy from boyhood not friction from the grind

All your goals and achievements have taken a different road

Now, you’ll reap a harvest for the good that you have sowed

Keep chasing all there is ahead of you

The end is giving glory that He is due

Your dreams and aspiration now aren’t so far apart

And He has so many more for you deep within His heart

Penned – MG – 10/5/20

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares

Am I growing old before my time?

I was always told I’m an old soul…

Am I aging with grace and wisdom?

I’ve always been told my heart’s river runs deep…

Am I deepening my knowledge or my love?

I was told to love wisdom is to understand His loving kindness…

We have a choice in life…

We can assemble all those memories, and we can only see the pain and injustice…

Or we can gather the joys one by one, pick out those moments of serene peace, select those tiny miracles that don’t happen every day…

And relish in the here and now while looking forward to that beautiful ever after…

I think I’ll choose the beauty…

I believe I will grasp the sunshine…

I will strive to always opt for the good…

Never ignoring, but rather, discarding the hatred and violence that threatens to distract my journey…

And I’d suggest for you to do the same…

It is possible…

If you will believe…

“Whoever is wise will observe these things,

And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.”

Psalm 107:43

“Get wisdom! Get understanding!

Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom.

And in all your getting, get understanding.

Exalt her, and she will promote you;

She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.

She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you.”

Proverbs 4:5-9

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

There is so much truth in this statement, it almost hurts to embrace it.

If you’ve never hiked a strenuous trail, this may not be a reality for you.

If you’ve not experienced the deep exhale of stiff action after a treacherous climb, you might not quite understand.

But if you’ve climbed Brasstown Bald in Georgia for the first time on a hot August afternoon…

If you’ve used your trekking poles to achieve the heights of The Chimney Tops in the Great Smokies…

If you’ve had to take a break as you traveled toward the top of Mount Mitchell in the Blue Ridge…

If you’ve had to slow to catch your breath as you stretched toward the heights of Pike’s Peak in the Rockies…

If you’ve questioned your abilities as you pushed toward the peaks of Mount Rainier in the Cascades…

And if you’ve ever struggled in life to achieve more than the day before… if you’ve stayed up all night and the next day just to get the job done… if you’ve beat your chest through the turmoil, the heartache and depression just to reach the other side of sanity…

Then, you might just understand and appreciate this statement.

Because if you’ve ever climbed the malicious mountain to experience the refreshing breeze and behold the overwhelming landscape of the summit , you’ll fight and claw to encounter the next ascension.

“Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong…”

Psalm 30:7a

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

I love this quote, and I think we all should live by it more than we do. Too often, we wake up everyday mulling over the failures of yesterday, allowing those regrets to overwhelm us to the point it is difficult to take a step forward.

This should not be the norm! Yes, we make mistakes. Yes. Sometimes, those mistakes come with heavy consequences, and yes, we should always learn from those and not repeat them!

However, if you are constantly stepping back into that cell of discouragement, worthlessness and mishaps, you will live your life in the prison of defeat!

Get up! Start anew. Today is a new day. Today, you can have a fresh start!

Begin again… you can do this hard thing called livin’! 😉

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

I wonder how often this is true for us. In this “Me Society” where we live today, it seems so much is about being happy, being satisfied, being fulfilled, even at the cost of someone else’s happiness and satisfaction.

I wonder where we went wrong.

When did it get so important that you’re made happy that it doesn’t matter if, in the process, I am made desolate?

When did it get so determined that your satisfaction could be at the expense of my daily living?

When did it become ok to demand the freedom of one race, one party, one organization or one people group at the detriment of anyone else who might disagree?

Where did we go astray?

Maybe when we began believing the life of a tree was more important than a human.

Maybe when we began determining which life could live and which could die by our own hands.

Maybe when we began believing we could actually give life and take away life by our very own hands and believed we shouldn’t suffer any consequences for the decisions we made.

Evil is evil, and it has been the same since the beginning of time.

The difference today is too many have began calling evil goo and good evil.

And when these things become the norm, no one can escape the fall.

So, where will we go? What will we do? Who will we turn to?

We must go back to the beginning.

We must go back to the moment we went astray.

Return to that place in time and start anew. Repent. Make new choices. Make amends.

It is possible. But we have to see past ourselves to actually make a difference.

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 8 Comments

In 2019, I’d never have guessed I’d have face masks hanging from my shower wall awaiting to dry.

In 2019, I’d never have thought of driving into our favorite North Georgia mountain town to find one great restaurant after another either closed early, have outdoor seating only, take-out only or have such dismal cleaning abilities that you’d not want to eat there.

In 2018, I never once worried about whom I could hug on a Sunday morning or whom I couldn’t, unless she was a visitor and then, I’d give it pause to not seem too much.

In 2018, I never once thought about how many people across the nation were dealing questions of, “Should I go or stay?”

In 2017, we had concerns around the world about sickness, desolation and fear; yet, we faced it together. We faced it with purpose.

In 2017, we glanced through the hour glass of time, wondering what the future might hold; yet, we glanced with hope, with promise for a better tomorrow.

In 2016, we had disagreements and didn’t see eye-to-eye; yet, that was a “normal” with which almost all of us could live. It was ok to disagree. It was ok to be at odds.

Life just went on.

I wonder how much has to change in 2020 to wake us up from our slumber.

I wonder how many have to be lost before we realize “that normal” is no more and “this normal” is here to stay.

We have to quit “glorifying yesterday” in order to live for tomorrow and be present in today.

We have to quit pointing the fingers and finding the blame in order to live determines and strong.

If we are to not simply survive…

If we are to choose to THRIVE, then, it starts with you and me…

It starts today…

And it must start now.

“Almost universally, when people look back on their lives while on their deathbed […] they wish they had spent more time with the people and activities they truly loved and less time worrying about aspects of life that, upon deeper examination, really don’t matter at all that much. Imagining yourself at your own funeral allows you to look back at your life while you still have the chance to make some important changes.” — Richard Carlson, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and It’s All Small Stuff

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

How far will you go to reach the heavens?

How long will you walk the path to hell?

How wide do you stretch your lips to spread evil and deceit?

How deep will you swim to discover the depths of His love?

He is there when you search for Him.

He will find you in the midst of the darkness.

Simply open your eyes to see the light.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You arethere;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,” Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”

Psalm 139:1-12

Monday Musings

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

There’s nothing better than a great big glass of ice cold water after a 3 mile walk in the heat of the evening.

You’re parched. You’re tired. You’re breathless.

Yet, that water is like snow in the desert.

It’s refreshing to the bones.

It’s reviving to the muscles.

It’s rejuvenating to the very soul.

This is just how I have found my God to be.

I’m not talking about finding religion, and I’m not trying to convince you of an ancient tradition.

I’m just referring to a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I’m pointing toward a comfort in times of need, a peace that surpasses all your understanding and a fulfilling joy that words just can’t seem to describe.

You might scoff, and you might even turn the page, but I challenge you to simply try Him.

Just say His name.

Jesus.

He can be refreshing water for your weary mind.

He can be a babbling brook for your exhausted heart.

He can be a living stream for your parched soul.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

John 7:37-38