hope

Bluesy Christmas

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

By the time you read this, the big day will be over, and will have moved on. We will be readying for the next as they new year is barreling toward us.

But I’m gonna post it just the same. I didn’t want to share during the festive season. I didn’t want to bring any gloom or despair. Yet, maybe some one needs to hear we all can have a bluesy Christmas sometimes…

Today was Christmas Eve Eve, meaning the day before Christmas Eve, and I’ve honestly struggled throughout the day to be cheerful. If I’m being honest, the struggle hasn’t been just today, but it seemed to be most prevalent through these past few hours.

We had our family gathering, and so many had returned. It was so great to see, and really fun to watch the littles jump and squeal with delights of grandeur and thrill.

Yet, I felt so out of sorts.

I didn’t mope. I didn’t whine, shed tears, or even frown. My sole remained solid. We chatted, laughed, and engaged.

No one knew. Not one even guessed. But the heaviness over my heart was so hard to turn around.

And I’m searching deep to find the reason why.

Nobody died. The bills aren’t overwhelming, and the kids aren’t sick. Our family is doing fine, and our marriage is at its all time best…even the in-laws are amazing and sublime.

Yeah. Don’t squint your eyes at me. It really is the truth!

So, why am I so down? What’s making my heart blue? I’m reaching down in the depths and crying out for the Father to reveal what’s true.

It’s like walking through a mountain park on a crisp, cool, fall afternoon. The sun is shining down beautifully. The leaves rustle in the wind, and the birds are chirping, getting ready to head to warmer lands.

And all of a sudden, your boot sloshes in the mud puddle that caught you unaware.

It’s not at all a tragedy. It’s not really even a shame. It’s simply a muddy bootleg, but it’s disappointing all the same.

And try as you may, it puts a little damper on the moment. Now, you can choose to let it ruin your day, or you can choose to shake it off and simply keep on skipping through that field. Yet, you do look back at that splash dirt and grime, wondering where it came from and what its purpose was lying so your fate was sealed.

That’s a pretty good picture of my heart today. I will choose joy, and I will choose peace, even if I have to fight to obtain it. But I’m still exploring the edges of my soul, hunting for that foul stain that is seeking to bring forth the rains.

And then all of a sudden, the name reappears, and the memories present themselves like a flood. That old wound which I thought I’d forgotten. That lost emotion which I try to keep hidden, even from myself, crashes in with a loud thud.

Some things are lost forever which can never be recovered. Some connections can not be reconciled. Some relationships are better left where they were placed and never riled.

But the pain in a little girl’s heart sometimes just creeps back and is secretly worn like an old cellar door left unlatched in the night to catch the wind in the middle of a storm.

Grief appears unannounced. Grief comes in all shapes and sizes. It might be a loved one lost; it might be a broken heart that can’t find amends. It may be a concord that has been shattered.

Grief has no time limit, and it has no bounds.

But I will choose joy. I will choose peace. And He will help to bring healing, as I bring it and lay it down again and again.

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11

Merry Christmas to You in 2022!

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

No matter where you are or where you’ve come from,

No matter your lifestyle, your home life, or your family dynamics,

No matter your persuasion, your religion or your traditions,

We pray you have a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:13-14

Milk and Cookies, Coffee and Cake

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

No matter your persuasion, no matter your choice,

Get ready to celebrate. Get ready to share some joy.

Even in the hardest moments, even in the deepest grief,

Someone needs your smile. Someone longs for your love, even if it’s brief.

No matter your tradition, no matter your religion,

Get ready to shower love. Get ready to share some cheer.

Even in the hustle and bustle, even in the busiest season,

Someone desires your embrace. Someone yearns to hear the true reason.

So, pour a glass of milk and set out the cookies.

Brew up the cocoa and drain a hot cup of Joe.

Share the purpose of peace and show them how to cope.

Share the story of Christmas and show them The Hope.

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:10-11

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:20-23

Christmas Spirit

/ The WheatandTares

Are you ready? Are you prepared?

Two days and a little more, it will be upon you.

Less than 72 hours, the event will appear.

Some declare they’re equipped and arranged…

Ever since Turkey Day!

Others say it’s too soon. It’s too fast…

It can’t be here right now!

For me, I’m ready; I suppose.

Yet, if I am truthful, this one has been a little strange.

Not because I don’t want it, and not because another gift has to be made.

My heart has just felt a pause.

I want to savor and cherish, yet I feel the moments slipping like sand.

I want to ponder and reflect, and I feel the hours melting like wax.

I sense the whirlwind of activities attempting to steal away the peace and joy as I cling.

So, I will sit and soak despite the noise.

I will breathe deep and exhale slow.

Grab a cup of coffee or mocha with me, and step back to enjoy.

But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

Be still, and know that I am God…

Psalm 46:10

Burn that Bridge, Again

/ The WheatandTares

I’ve heard it said, “Be careful the bridges you burn. You might need that passage again one day.”

At times, this can be so very true, for I believe some people simply don’t know who their friends are.

At other times, I want to scream across the chasm of experience and life, “Burn it! Set a bonfire and run away!”

You may be reading this and think, “Ohhhh, here we go. She’s got unforgiveness. She’s got a bitter root.”

But I have to disagree.

I’ve got wisdom. I’ve got experience. And I’ve got a brain.

Sometimes, there are bridges that need to be lit with a blow torch and never again embarked.

Granted, I’m not telling you to burn every passage you desire, and I’m no saying every disagreement in life should end in an explosion.

But I’ve watched too many sit still in the middle of abuse.

I’ve listened to too many stories of the narcissistic control.

I’ve witnessed too many who remain in the toxic fumes of dysfunction and lose hope.

This is when I want to cry out to send help.

This is when I want to carry the gasoline and the torch and say, “Light it.”

Yes. There are some bridges in life that must be burned to restore strength, vitality and love.

Draw on foresight, common sense and know-how.

Lean on knowledge, maturity and expertise.

Rely on truth and reality and forsake fantasy and lies.

Then, you will light the match with confidence.

Then, the destruction will leave and peace can come.

Then, Hope will be welcomed to abide.

So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen’s equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

1 Kings 19:19-21

Walk On

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, you’ve just to walk.

When you’re in the middle of those toxins that are choking you, walk.

When you find yourself surrounded by the dunes of hostility and anger, walk.

When all you can see is the fiery darts of bitterness and hatred, walk.

Sometimes, it’s just better to remove yourself than to expect the other to change.

When you realize you’ve landed in the center of their pain, and they refuse to care, walk.

When you recognize you’re not helping, and those receiving refuse to give, walk.

When all you hear is the negative, the criticism, the accusations, walk.

You don’t have to stay to prove you’re right.

You don’t have to remain in the mud to express your love.

You don’t have to maintain the relationship when the abuse and jealousy are the weights.

This is not your punishment nor reward.

This is not your purpose or calling.

This is not your destiny.

Walk on, my friend.

Walk on.

But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 12:48-50

Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate; For the Lord will plead their cause, And plunder the soul of those who plunder them. Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.

Proverbs 22:22-25

Forgiveness is not Reconciliation

/ The WheatandTares

I choose to forgive because unforgiveness keeps me bound to you.

I choose forgiveness because unforgiveness consumes my thoughts and builds a prison of you.

I choose forgiveness because unforgiveness eats away at my peace, my joy and my quiet knowing and turns my focus to you.

I’m trying to forget what you’ve done; so, why would I choose unforgiveness that would just make me remember?

I’m trying to live and love in freedom; so, why would I choose unforgiveness that would bring your bondage and chains?

I’m watching my children thrive while enjoying my own. So, why would I ever go back to choosing your way of reconciliation.

Forgiveness isn’t reconciliation, and reconciliation isn’t always forgiveness.

But knowing the difference…

Oh, that has made all the difference!

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

Mark 11:25

Eternity Echoes

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments
I do not own or possess this pic.
Google search.

What we do matters.

What we say is important.

Who we impact echoes into eternity.

Too many today attempt to play the nonchalant card.

They try to act as if they can do what they want, you can do what you want, and no one pays any rewards or consequences.

It’s just living life.

But oh. How wrong we can be.

If I always do me, and you always do me, all we create is two spheres full of selfishness and self centeredness.

If I’m focused only on me, and you only on you, we become consumed on our own desires, our own requests, our own demands.

And eventually, no one else matters.

Yet, it’s supposed to matter because after all, my expectations are highest priority to me.

And your expectations are highest priority to high, and then, we’re both at an impasse.

Because if it’s all about me, and it’s all absolutely you, then, you don’t matter to me, and I don’t matter to you!

What wretched and lost souls we become, and what wrecked havoc we leave for those behind us.

All kindness, and love and harmony is expected for me (and for you), but it sucks the life out of all those who are impacted because they are seeking the same.

And what about the children racing toward the edge of a knife?

What about those innocent souls who cry out to be loved, nurtured and directed?

Our self consumption depleted their hope for tomorrow because all they can see is our command for the now.

What we do in life does echo in eternity.

It is a repeating anthem across the chasms of time.

What will your reverberations be?

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

Proverbs 13:22

So these nations feared the Lord, yet served their carved images; also their children and their children’s children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day.

2 kings 17:41

Get Busy Livin’ or Get Busy Dyin’

/ The WheatandTares

Robert Herrick wrote a poem that had this verse,

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

And in the movie, Dead Poets Society , Robin Williams implores the students to live life to the fullest, to reach beyond the complacent living that is so tempting and make their lives extraordinary.

I wonder how often we actually wake up and purposefully make our lives extraordinary.

Seriously, this about your day today.

How did you wake up?

What did you do in the first 30 minutes?

What did you do in the last 30 minutes?

What about all of those tiny seconds in between?

Do we work hard to live our lives to make an impact,

Or do we simply impact our lives hard to live for work?

Each one of us have the opportunity to rise above the norm, to stretch beyond the comfort, to strive above to greater heights.

It is up to each of us to choose what influence we will have,

And it is up to us whether we choose to live for dyin’ or die trying to live.

Which will you choose?

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

James 4:14

Callings Will Change You

/ The WheatandTares
I do not own this picture. Art by: Klein

I read something recently that began, “Your calling is going to crush you.”

If I weren’t a Christian, and I’d never heard of a calling, or that statement might intimidate me.

If I weren’t called, that quote might make me wrinkle my forehead and wonder why someone would be liking to be crushed by something they chose.

But that’s where information and revelation alter your perspective.

See, when you have no revelation, you might not understand why I do the things I do.

When you have no revelation, you might not grasp the importance of my choices, if my sacrifices, of my disciplines.

Oh, but when you have a revelation, your eyes are open, your heart is refreshed, your soul longs for one more moment, one more taste of that living water you’ve found.

And you’ll do anything to maintain it.

You’ll do anything to keep it.

You’ll do anything to remain in it.

You’ll lay down desires, and expectations, demands and wishes.

Just for another moment.

It’s like finding a new love, but it’s so much more.

It’s like recognizing a new craving, but it’s beyond that.

It’s like getting a glimpse of paradise, but it’s to a greater extent.

If you’ve never experienced the moment, it will be difficult to explain it.

For it’s not a simple piece of knowledge that can be spoken or read about.

You have to fast it.

You have to feel it.

You have to experience the revelation.

Then, you’ll never be the same.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

John 4.10

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

Psalm 42:1