hope

Soul Applications

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Truth is not enough to sustain your life lest you apply it.

Application of truth is the only way our lives become transformed from what they have been.

So, let’s ask ourselves some heartfelt questions today,

How much Truth am I receiving?

How much Truth am I accepting?

(And yes. There is a difference in receiving truth and accepting that truth as truth.)

If I am accepting Truth, am I applying it to my life?

If I’m apply this Truth to my life, is there fruit coming from my life?

Simple as that.

We can hear Truth all day long, but if we fail to receive it, accept it, apply it, and then, produce it, we fall into the age old trap of becoming a fool.

The lack of Truth being applied in someone’s life doesn’t change the Truth.

It only leaves a void of change in the hearer’s life.

And that, my dear friends, leads to a most tragic end.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

John 8:32

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

James 2:14-19

At the Foot of the Cross

/ The WheatandTares

I have no righteousness within me.

I do not deserve mercy and grace. How can this be?

I stand in humble adoration of the One who gave me life.

I kneel in repentance and plead as He washes me of all the strife.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…

Romans 3:23

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1 John 1:9

The Obit

/ The WheatandTares
Google photo

I heard of your passing today and wondered how you’d been.

It’s been so long since I heard your voice, my memory is wearing thin.

You’d left here with a destination, hoping to ease the pain.

But where you went the agony followed, and it never stopped the rain.

I wished you well and bid farewell, for my hands could never hold.

The life you led was a restless one, so many avenues, twisted and untold.

I read in your obit all the war stories and heroism I’d never known.

The star, the medal, the accolades, even the rescue made my heart within me groan.

For this man, I wished I had met while living and breathing and very much alive.

Rather, it was the one who set off to sea on holidays and birthdays who never arrived.

My broken heart is now mended; the scar you can barely see.

Yet, somewhere deep beyond the tears, a hope of what could’ve been still remains to be.

6/4/25 MG

Carry the Buckets

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Be the one who carries the buckets of water toward the flames.

Be the one who carries the light to pave the path.

Be the one who carries the torch to brighten the tunnel.

Be the one who carries the blanket to shield the frozen.

Be the one who carries the keys to unlock the prison doors.

Be the one who carries the swords to join in the battle.

You can be a life changer or a death claimer.

It is your choice.

But first ask yourself which you’d want if the flames were on you.

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

John 15:12-13

Allow for Some Goodbyes

/ The WheatandTares

Change brings adjustments in relationships.

Adjustments bring uncomfortable conflicts.

Conflicts bring choices to remain or walk away.

When you are seeking to better yourself, sometimes, it will irritate those who want to remain the same.

When you are moving beyond the trauma, sometimes, those who enjoyed the drama will want to stay.

When you are healing and pursuing something better, sometimes, those who liked you broken cannot handle the new strength.

And that’s ok.

Keep walking ahead.

Keep healing from the past.

Keep moving forward toward wellness, peace, and joy.

Those who are meant to go with you will arrive.

Those who aren’t will remain where you were.

And that’s ok.

To thrive, sometimes you have to say goodbye to the old you and also to the old them.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

Distance From Stupid

/ The WheatandTares

Distancing yourself from stupid people requires fortitude and repetition.

I’d have to say distancing yourself from dramatic people is even more essential

For often, stupidity and drama seem to go hand in hand, and these seem to multiply when you’re not looking.

But if you’ll take a moment to assess your surrounding and evaluate your relationships, stupidity and dramatic response can be weeded out and set apart.

You just must decide if you want peace or attention and popularity.

If peace is your goal, then the distance is an easier trek than if your desire is to people please.

If peace is your ambition, you will embrace it with vigor and pursue it with passion.

And where peace abides, stupidity and drama are closed out by the gates of solitude and tranquility, and shadowed by an overwhelming shield of calm.

So truly, the decision lies within your making.

What do you seek?

Peace or chaos.

It’s yours to choose.

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

Isiah 26:3

Learn That Lesson

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Sometimes, walking away is the only thing that brings peace.

Sometimes, letting go is the only thing that will ease the pain.

Walking away isn’t always the easy road filled with presumed pride and celebration.

Letting go isn’t always the rebellious act of arrogance and annoyance.

Often, the turning away is the only way for healing to start.

If someone has walked out of your life, honestly assess your heart, and if no wrong can be found, then let them walk.

Sometimes, the walk is more for them than for you.

If someone has let go of you, take a soul check, and if you can truly find no fault, then let it rest.

Sometimes, the release for them will bring strength and reconciliation.

But if a speck on your heart is found, if a blemish within your soul is revealed, then cry your tears and talk to your Maker.

He’s the only One who can mend the wounds and bind what has been broken.

He’s the only One who can restore what had been forever lost.

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Proverbs 22:24-25

Letting Go

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Well, I’ve been taking a bit of a hiatus from writing. I just peeked back at my past notes, and it’s been since December that I posted here. For my friends and followers, my apologies if you wondered where I’d gone or what I was up to. And to those who might not have noticed, that’s ok, too. I’ve just been over here living life in my little corner of the world.

I hope to get back to posting at least weekly, if not more, but I’m maybe not going to make a grand announcement this time of how much. It seems I don’t do a great job when I make the big ol’ declaration and keep up with it for a bit of time, and then, life happens, and I get distracted, or I simply don’t feel like I have anything “brilliant” or worthwhile to share. So I think this time, I’ll just begin small and see where it takes us…

LETTING GO

Sometimes, you’ve got to let go in order to hold onto the things that really matter.

Sometimes, you’ve got to release the pain to embrace the joy.

Sometimes, you’ve got to drop the anger like a hot rock to pick up the love that’s been there waiting for you.

It’s only when you walk away from what you’ve always known that you can finally see what is most important and valuable.

So, remove the chains that have bound you.

Be liberated from your shackles that confine you.

Set your souls free and let your spirit fly!

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

You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

Galatians 5:7

Messages From A Hope Filled Heart…

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Day 20

Share the Load

It’s not always about who wins the game.

Sometimes, we carry too heavy of a load. Sometimes, we carry too heavy of a load alone.

And it’s not Biblical.

Now, I know. We don’t need to be wimpy Christians. I know we need to rely on Christ for all we need. I know we need to be faith filled and encouraging and strong.

Yet, He told us to share the load, too. He told us to be the Body of Christ, each one having a part to play. He also told us when one mourns, we all mourn. When one rejoiced, we all rejoice.

So, don’t carry your load alone.

Share it with someone. Ask for prayer. Ask for help. Ask for a hand to be lended. And let them lift your load.

Don’t steal their blessing when they want to pay. Don’t shut them out when they want to pray. Don’t turn your back when they come to offer comfort and love.

You’ll be surprised as your load is lifted how much more of theirs you’re able to help carry.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ…But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary…And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.

1 Corinthians 12:12, 20-22, 26

Messages From A Hope Filled Heart

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Day 19

Hope is in the season, if you’re willing to see it.

Hope is in the greetings, if you’re willing to hear it.

Hope is in the warmth of home, and fellowship, and love, if you’re willing to receive it.

Yet, I’m often asked, “What If….?”

What if the season is hard because of grief, pain, and trauma?

What if the greetings are anger filled, hate consumed, and altogether damaging?

What if the home is broken, dysfunctional, and chaotic?

The “what ifs” of life make it difficult to have cheap, cliche , easy to deliver answers.

The “what ifs” confuse, complicate, and bring doubt when it just doesn’t fit.

I can’t answer all the what ifs, but I can answer the Who.

I know Who can bring peace that surpasses all understanding and strength to scale the mountain.

I know Who can shut the mouths of lions and bring comfort to the child.

I know Who can speak to the winds to calm and set a fire within the soul to save.

He is the only One who can bring grace to sustain.

He is the only One who can wisdom to abstain.

He is the only One who can bring sight to the blind.

Just try Him today. Say His Name.

He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.
Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Psalm 147:3-6

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

Isaiah 26:3