children

Generational Fade

/ The WheatandTares

The natural progression from generation to generation is a proven fact.

What one generation places value in, their children rise to place more value in.

Or they revolt and rebel against that value.

Typically, there’s not a lot of gray area found.

So, if you’re a parent and you place a high value on education, often your children will do the same.

If your parents were hyped about ballgames and competitive sports, more often than not, you will do the same.

If you as a parent struggle to hold down a job throughout their formative years, many times, your children will, too.

If your parents weren’t super committed to God, a relationship with Him may not even be on your radar, or it may be seen as a dismissive once-a-year-whether-I-need-it-or-not event.

It’s truly the way of human nature. If you’re conditioned in one way throughout your childhood years, you’ll walk in those footsteps paved for you.

To walk a different path, you will literally have to fight and claw to be different.

This has been proven for generations. Look at abuse statistics, divorce patterns, and even educational journeys from one generation to the next. It is what it is.

So, if you want your children to be what I would call, “God chasers,” those kind of people who seek Him with all their hearts and work diligently to not only know Him and follow His will for their lives but also who live intentionally to share His love with others, this begins now, with you.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

The Loves of My Life

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Who do you spend the most time with?

I spend the majority of my time with the loves of my life: my husband and our two sons.

We have the most fun together, either all together, individually, or even broken up into pairs.

We love to travel, or hike, or to take a road trip, or take a walk, or go shopping, or find a great restaurant, or maybe just sit for a spell, telling stories, pondering the mysteries of God, comparing notes on the Lord of the Rings, or simply hanging out doing nothing at all.

Just being together is what counts. And although, each of us are so very different from the other, we’ve always been a very tight knit family. But as they grow, those days are coming to change very soon.

And my heart gets a bit sad every time I think about it.

Yet, I know it is meant to be, and I know it’s bittersweet.

It is meant to be because every parent wants their child to always be moving forward in life, never crippled, never wounded, or just stuck in one phase.

It is meant to be because every parent wants to see their children flourish, succeed, and fly like an eagle into their adult life, learning, growing and soaring into his own.

It is exciting because we want them to be strong men, independent, and confident in who they each are called to be. We raised them this way, and they are boldly approaching the goal.

It is exciting because we want to see them explore and experience all the thrills, all the joys, we once did and so much more.

It is bittersweet because I know as these days draw closer, they will fly; they will flourish, and one day, they will find the girl of their dreams. Then, they will begin their own families, their own lives.

It is bittersweet because this mama’s heart will miss them so and long for one more hug, another spontaneous, late night chat, an unexpected trip to the store “just to get a few things” and have some extra individual time together.

It is heartwarming because as you realize they’ve got what it takes to make it, and not just to survive but to thrive, you realize they really did hear you. They really did receive.

It is heartwarming because you know the two of you, husband and wife, now will have a rediscovery of each other. You’ll have opportunities for time renewed that has been shared for decades, and now, it’s just the two of you.

Yes, it is meant to be, and it is bittersweet.

And yet, it is both exciting and heartwarming.

Change is coming, and it’s coming so fast.

It will be upon us before I am truly ready.

So for now, I will be present in the moment.

I will cherish the past and look expectantly toward the future.

But I will continue to savor my overspent time with my loves right here, right now.

And I will continue spending my most valuable moments with the loves of my life.

For this is where I long to be most, second only to being by my Savior’s side. But that story will be saved for another day’s writing…

Right now, I’m going to get back to where I love to spend most of my time…❤️

Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Every life is entitled to breathe.

Every life is entitled to be born.

Every life is entitled to live.

Why would one rejoice when that is stripped away?

Why would one celebrate when that is refused?

There can only be two reasons for this jubilee.

That one is deceived and doesn’t recognize the error of the deception…

Or that one is evil and doesn’t care to take a breathing, striving life…

If one does not realize the mistake, truth can be revealed and transformation can set in.

But if one sees and hears evil and calls it good, if one ignores what is true and demands for pure hell to rule, blessings are stolen and joy is desolate.

For no one can survive under the iron arm of animosity. No one can endure under the heavy hand of antipathy.

When the innocent are lost, barren mothers weep and lifeless graves mourn.

When life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is given a chance, life wins.

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Job 33:4

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/family/pregnancy/womb-surgery-saves-triplets-1799928

Whimsical Wednesday

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Well, we celebrated another birthday this month… we have a 15 year old. I can hardly believe it! The years seems to fly right by, even when you’re totally engaged and holding on tight!

I wouldn’t want to go back the younger years, but I sure do miss them sometimes…

Those little hands holding onto my hair.

Those little feet learning to find their place in this world.

Those little smiles that light up the room when you walk in.

And those little squeals of laughter that just sound like liquid gold.

Yes, I hold every one of them tenderly and safely within my heart.

Yet, I look with excited anticipation to the years ahead.

These little boys are quickly growing into the finest of men, and I am so proud to be called their mom.

They make my heart swell with live and adoration. ❤️

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 3:14-15

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

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

Sometimes, You Can See It

/ The WheatandTares / 9 Comments

As a parent of two older teen sons, there are often times, I wonder if we’ve raised them right.

When their attitudes are stinky, and their relationships are floundering. When they’d rather threaten to “punch you in the face” to show brotherly love than express a kind word. When they’d rather goof off and smart off than do what they’re told and help out around the house.

As a parent, you work real hard to train up your children in the way they should go. You work real hard, constantly hoping your words are matching your own deeds, and somehow, that example is being seen by the tiny feet (now big feet) that follow.

As a parent, you spend long hours teaching the hard lessons, conveying life truths and praying, “Dear Lord, help this child to hear and understand what I’m trying to tell him.”

As a parent, you’re continually pleading with God to protect, guide and help, give grace, and most importantly, to love and help them to realize just how much.

And you wonder…

Are they getting it?

Will they hear it?

Much more, will they believe, receive and repeat it?

Then, in one brief moment, one twinkling of an eye, you get a glimpse…

You and your sons are sitting in a restaurant, awaiting your food, and an elderly couple pulls up in the rain. The husband is bent over in stature, trying desperately to help his wife, who is just as feeble, to get to the door and out of the downpour.

All of this has been in your peripheral vision, not completely cognizant of the events, until at the same split second, you hear your 18 year old’s chair loudly scrape the floor, and by the time you turn to see him, he’s already at the door.

He proceeds to hold the door, take the lady’s hand from her husband (so he can go park the car that’s been running on the curb) and he proceeds to walk the little lady to her table and make sure she’s alright.

Wow. He’s gonna be okay. Not just ok, he’s already become an amazing young man, and I just got to see the proof of it.

This momma’s heart is full. ❤️

Embrace Your Grace

/ The WheatandTares

I received this wall art for Christmas, and it made me cry (For those of you who know me, yeah, I know that’s a shocker! 😂) This meant so much to me at this time, because my husband and I had just had a conversation a few weeks ago about this very thing, and I was trying to believe in my heart what my head knows to be true of this statement.

If you don’t know me (which, just read a few past blogs tagged “family,” and you’ll quickly understand), you may not know that my family is my world. That old adage, “God, Family, Country?” …yeah, that just about sums me up. I love my family, and I love spending time with them. It doesn’t really matter what we do. Yet, there are times, when I feel like I need to be a better mom for them. No, honestly, I feel like I need to be “Supermom,” and as much as I counsel other moms that this is a farce, and they should never try to live up to this fantasy, sometimes, I find myself falling into the mind trap as well.

A few weeks ago, that was the problem. I was feeling overwhelmed with a “to do” list and piles of clean laundry to be fold, and a ton of other “musts” to be accomplished. I was feeling down and out, because I “didn’t have time” to fix meals for our family, keep us on a good, healthy schedule, fix the boys’ lunches, keep the house “spit-spot” clean, and follow all the expectations that a “good mother” should follow. I was feeling like I don’t do enough for my little family, and I was unloading on my husband. He listened…and listened…cuz, he’s such a good man.😉

We got through the junk, and we talked about improvements that were actually needed, and then he put his arms around me and just hugged me. He said, “I love you. You’re a great mom to our boys, and I wouldn’t want any other woman as my wife.” Then, he gave me this piece for Christmas. … you see, now, the reason for all the tears? (Yeah, I told you he was great!) 😉

I told you this story to tell you this: if you’re a mom, and you’re struggling today with feeling overwhelmed, insignificant, less than, lonely, etc., there is hope. Don’t allow the “Pinterest Moms” and “Facebook Supermoms” of this world to bring you down with expectations and burdens that you were never meant to carry. Recognize that God wouldn’t have put you in the family you’re in and wouldn’t have made you the mom of the kids you have if He wasn’t going to equip you and help you to be who He’s called you to be!

Will you need to re-evaluate your priorities, agendas and goals from time to time? Yes. Do you need to make sure you’re keeping “the main thing the main thing?” Yes. Will you need to step back from failures and mistakes, forgive yourself, ask for forgiveness from others, and start anew? Yes. And will there be needed improvements along the way? Oh. My. Goodness. YES AND AMEN!!

However, if you’re never doing these things, you’ll never grow, and your family will never be challenged to be more. A beautiful garden never becomes truly beautiful unless it has a season of pruning.

Just remember, you have to find your own niche here in this world of “motherhood.” You have to do what’s truly best for you, your husband (if married), and your children. What works amazing for one family might just bring down disaster in another. What would never work for your family might work perfectly for mine.

None of us are clones, and God never intended us to be! Can we learn from each other? Yes. However, every family must seek God to find what is His best and become just that!!

Pinterest

Themomcafe.com

Mother’s Day Can Be Tough

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

pinterest.com
pinterest.com

Motherhood can be so tough sometimes. We constantly feel like we will ever measure up. We don’t have enough time to do all the things we should do, all the things we want to do, all the things we must do. We make mistakes. We carry guilt. We live with regrets.

We compare our lives with the next mom, and we believe we should be better, or we believe we are better; either way it leaves us feeling empty and so much less than. We want more. We want less. We strive to be better, different or just simply unique in this life in which we long to succeed.

Then, Mother’s Day rolls around. All the cards, all the words, all the commercials, the candy, the gifts. Do we deserve all that? Do we want all that? Do even we need all that? For one day out of the year we should be treated like a queen; yet, too often the ashes of our past and our pain cloud the skyline of love and generosity.

Too often, those who have experienced the loss of those tender heartbeats, those tiny hands and feet and those little coos, they are burdened with more tears, more grief, more torn and shattered dreams. Many times, those who have never heard, have yet to see and may never embrace, will see those precious notes of laughter like liquid gold captured in such fleeting moments, be wisped away like sand through their fingertips. They are left on these days feeling so much lower, so broken and bruised, tattered and marred.

Where is the hope? Where is the life? Where is the new birth that is promised with the dawn? Will it ever come? Was it ever meant to be? Is it ever for me? Is it ever for you?

Some will never take comfort in a Higher being. Some will never seek out the faith I have found, but I stand here as a living testimony to His grace, His power, and His promises come true. The ashes will be turned to beauty. The mourning will be turned to gladness and joy. The despair will be turned to praise like the morning sun. One that envelopes and consumes your very being and soul.

How does it come? I do not know. How does it transpire? I cannot comprehend. When does He bring it to pass? I cannot tell. The only answer I have is to confirm the Why? Because He loves you. He loves me, and through that love, all things are possible. ❤

Happy Mother’s Day!

5/14/2017

Where Are They Going?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

It’s our job, as mothers, to train them to be men, to live strong and free in this wild world. It’s our duty to equip them with the tools they need to be a man, a husband, a worker and a leader. 

We work hard to teach, give advice and impart wisdom for those short 18 years we have them within our home. It’s not easy. It’s not without failures. It’s not without mistakes. 

Yet, when we allow God to guide, and we allow Him to love through our tender hearts, they will follow the right path. Even if they stray, His Word will always call them back to the right Way. His love will always whisper within their souls…no matter where their little feet may trod…

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Double Digits

/ The WheatandTares

Reblogging this today in lieu of his birthday week. I so love this little man who is that little anymore! ❤️

The WheatandTares's avatarthe grizzle grist mill

This week, we celebrate my sweet baby boy turning 10! It is so hard to believe. It feels as if it was just yesterday when he was a baby.

He is my sensitive, caring, very observant child. He loves to play, and he loves to cuddle. He is tenderhearted; yet, fierce in competition and intense in convictions. He has a love for life and adventure like his Daddy, and he has a calm, quiet nature like his Momma. He smiles easily and loves to just be at home.

He is eager to please and sensitive to others’ feelings. He has a strong but compassionate nature, and he has a love for God that has only come from Him above. At night, I will often find him, in his bed, having fallen asleep reading The Word. He’s always been very intrigued by what the Bivle has to say, and I simply…

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