hope

The Pain Refines Me

/ The WheatandTares

Yeah, painful people bring a deeper character to my soul. Painful people are like sandpaper on my heart, and God uses them to polish out those rough, fleshly, selfish places I’d like to hide. Painful people should really be seen as a joy when encountered. For when they inflict the pain, it’s the perfect opportunity for our God to do three things: 1. Polish our soul a little more. 2. Fight our battle for us 3. Comfort our hearts in a way we’d not experience without the pain.

Yeah, painful people can be for our good and can bring out the best in us…if we’ll let them.

…now, if I can just remember this and embrace it the next time that pain comes along. Lol. 😉😂

Got Character?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

What do you do when things don’t go your way? Do you pitch a fit, and throw a tantrum, get mad and not speak to anyone?

What do you say when you are falsely accused, maligned or slandered? Do you strike out in revenge, slander right back and fight and claw to bring about your own deserved justice? Do you take the “martyrdom high road,” and manipulate the ones accused with guilt and shame to bring retribution? Or do you recede into nothingness, pretending you don’t care, it doesn’t matter, and you don’t matter anymore?

How do you react when everything falls apart, and it seems the world is closing in around you? Do you cry, scream, become apathetic or create scenarios of denial all around you?

Life brings with it sufferings, unfair events and painful injustices. Sometimes, it will kick you in the teeth and, just for the fun of it, kick you again when you’re down. Sometimes, it just is what it is, and there’s not a blessed thing you can do about it.

What you do in those critical moments will determine your character, integrity and stability in handling far more than that moment for all to see and know for a lifetime. What you say and do in that moment can make an impact for life.

So, I ask you again… what do you do in those crucial moments? What do you say? How do you respond? How do you react?

Where Do You Run?

/ The WheatandTares

When the trials of life settle in like a cold, hard rain, where do you run?

When the pain beats in your chest in rhythm with your own heartbeat, how do you keep breathing?

When all seems lost, and the world feels as if it’s closing in around you, what do you do? Who do you call?

Some run to a friend. Some run to a lover. Others find solace in a bottle or a pill. Still others fight it, deny it or even lash out at all those around like a wounded animal.

Yet, can I tell you there is One who will never fail? Can I tell you there is One who will bring comfort and strength, grace and peace?

His name is Jesus, and He’s reaching out His Hand. He’s calling to you in the rain.

Can you hear Him? Just say His Name.

*I do not own nor possess any pictures in this post. A simple Google search led me to each.*

True POWER

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

Where do you find your power?

Where do you find your strength for living?

Where do you search for might when all seems lost, and you feel you can’t take another step or even another breath?

Ok, so this will be controversial, but I’m not really looking for a debate or a fight. Just gonna share with you what I know to be true in my life.

Some chase after fame, fortune or prestige. Some run after men/women, programs or jobs. Others seek for friends and family to bring them encouragement and stability. Still others try to find their strength, and even their peace, in a bottle, drugs or sex.

I’m here to tell you, all those things will fail you. All those things will, eventually, leave you broken, desolate and hopeless. Only One can bring you all the hope, peace, strength and power you need. His name is Jesus, and He loves you right where you are!

If you don’t know Him, just say His Name. Just ask Him to reveal Himself to you today. He’s pretty good at that. 😉💗

What Do You Do In The Pit?

/ The WheatandTares

The story of Beniah, son of Jehoida, that is found in 2 Samuel, is always a challenging one for me. It’s not like he went looking for that pit, and it doesn’t appear he was expecting to find a lion when he fell in. Yet, when the adversity came against him, he was ready. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t back up, and he didn’t cower in despair. He fought, and he fought valiantly, and only onlybecause of this response, he won!

This is really how we should approach life and adversity that comes our way. We are built internally with a natural “fight or flight” mentality; yet, if we approach every situation with a flight response, we will never learn how to persevere under pressure. We will never learn to excel despite the odds. We will never learn the depth of our strength and ability, because true character is produced through our perseverance in trials.

If Beniah had run in fear that day while in the pit, he would be dead, and his story could never be an inspiration to us today.

Something to think about… 😉

Choose Well

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

I saw this post the other day, and I thought, “This describes exactly how I’m feeling and what I needed to hear today!” It was Christmas Eve morning. I had 2 church services to attend, songs to sing while on praise team, a devotion to share during offering, Christmas gifts to deliver, people to greet and names to remember, smiles to give and necks to hug. All that before 11:30 in the morning, and I’m not exactly a morning person… Really, it was no different than any other Sunday (except the gifts), and I really do love what I do; yet, that morning, I was feeling frazzled, stressed out and insecure.

Honestly, I had stayed up too late the night before, and I was feeling weary. I had been excited about Christmas coming, and I had gotten everything done about 11:00pm; yet, I just kind of piddled until I got sleepy, an hour after midnight, which doesn’t fare too well when you rise at 6:00am on Sunday!

I was, also, going through a bit of an emotional battle, feeling unworthy, insignificant and internally “bluesy.” All of this was adding up to make the day a very sour lemon! Then, I came across this pic that I had just saved the night before, thinking I might use it for a blog one day, (lol!) and it was as if everything came full circle right a that moment. I was reminded of my philosophy for living: Life is what you make it. It’s all in your perspective and the choices you make.

I didn’t need to let my circumstances rule my emotions. I didn’t need to allow my feelings to be my guide, and I could not permit my choice of lack of sleep and struggling thought patterns to dictate how I would worship my God, engage with people, and follow through with the commitments I had made.

I had a choice to make, and I decided to choose well. I chose to breathe it all in. I chose to slow down, be deliberate and be aware. I chose to have joy, to rejoice in our Savior, and to be thankful in my heart and my head. I chose to savor life and those around me. I chose to smile and allow the wonder and happiness of the moments to not only fill my smile but to fill my soul and my whole being.

It was Christmas Eve, and this one only comes once. More importantly, it was Sunday, and we live in a free country where we can still worship as a congregation. We serve a great God who is worthy of all our praise! I wasn’t going to miss that! It was, also, the day I get to see a lot of people who may or may not be there tomorrow, because after all, none of us are guaranteed the next breathe, and in this crazy world, you never know what might happen!

It was an amazing day, and I am so thankful I made the right choices. 😊

We all have choices to make everyday, every hour, and even minute to minute. What will you choose today?

Fears Have You?

/ The WheatandTares

As this year draws to a close, I wonder, what fears are you battling tonight? What fears have you overcome this year? Maybe there is a fear you are seriously trying to overcome, but you don’t know exactly how to “squash it?” There is Hope, and there is an answer…

Trusting in God doesn’t instantaneously wipe away all fear simply because we believe… yeah, I said that. Now, those of you who believe in Him, please, don’t pick up your rocks to throw, just hear me out…

He is a good God. He is a BIG God, and He is a God who loves us so very much that He sent His son to die for us to save us. He is a God who, when He says in His Word He will do something, you can be 100% sure He will follow through. He’s a God of absolute Truth. He IS Truth; therefore, He simply cannot lie.

So, when He says to fear not, because He is with you, He means it. He’s right there with you. Yet, sometimes, even when we pray, believe and trust in Him, that fear can linger, not because He’s not God anymore but more because, sometimes, our heart has to grow stronger in our belief…because sometimes, we are fighting a fear that has deep roots in our lives, and we have to slay that giant on the battlefield of our faith just as David went out on the battlefield with Goliath and struck him down…because sometimes, we’ve got to lay down that fear with which we’ve walked in agreement since our childhood and stand firm in our faith and believe in His sovereignty and grace regardless of what our feelings might be screaming at us…because sometimes, our faith has been weakened by our lack of preparation, or because our consistency of feeding the flesh rather than the spirit, or because our faith has been beaten and worn due to previous battles, and we just need to rely on Him more than our own strength and ability.

That’s what it all really boils down to: total reliance on Him rather than ourselves. That’s where He wants us. That’s where He does His best work, because that’s where our testimony isn’t how we did some great thing to conquer the fear, it becomes how our Great God did an amazing thing and conquered the fear in us and through us!

So, next time you’re battling a new fear, or you’re trying to conquer an old one, and it just seems that demon is gaining ground, just call on His Name, trust Him and believe; them, watch Him do what He does best! 😉

A Curious Thing

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

Death is such a curious thing.

I want to weep and wail, scream and curse at no one in particular

Yet, I long to let my furry flow.

I want to punch and kick, run and stomp

at no person specific

Yet, I yearn to unload and unwind.

I want to tell every naysayer, “You’ll never know this kind of love.”

I want to tell every well wisher, “You’ll never understand the pain.”

But then,

I look upon Your face

Your whisper draws me closer still

Your eyes coax me to silence

Your hands comfort my tears

You remind me of Your sufficient grace.

You remind me of Your unending mercy.

You fill me with Your peace that surpasses all understanding.

You overwhelm me with Your love that is always without limit.

Where can I go from Your presence?

Where can I flee from Your shadow?

You see every corner of my world.

You fill ever space within my heart.

There will come a day I can breathe again.

There will come an hour I will see.

Until then, I will allow Your Hope to be my anchor.

Until then, I will dream of what could have been and what will be.

Heaven is going to be a beautiful thing.

Penned – MG – 9/19/17

Right Perspective

/ The WheatandTares

It’s all about perspective…

Saying goodbye to your love for a few days or saying goodbye to your husband for a three-year deployment…

Waiting an extra month for the house to be built or rebuilding after total storm devastation…

Trying to forget a petty wrong or trying to forgive decades of abuse and neglect…

Wrangling a passel of kids and feeling exhausted or working the night shift hoping to make it in to see your baby before she leaves for the day…

Worrying about your kiddos passing grade on the next exam or struggling to believe your teen will make it home safely from the inner city hood tonight…

Genuinely missing your best friend who flew over seas or walking the journey of grief for the very first time…

Having overwhelming leg pain that results in bed rest for a day or rolling a lifetime of hours with a wheelchair and cane….

Doctor reports that alter a lifestyle of living or walking the halls of the ICU hoping the life support brings restored vitals and vitality…

We all think it’s so easy, or we all think it’s too hard, until we walk a moment in their shoes…

It’s all about perspective.

*I do not own or possess either of these photos. They came from a simple Google search on perspective. Just thought they emphasized the point.*

Friday’s Friends #30

/ The WheatandTares

Today is FRIDAY!! Whoo-hoo! 🎉 That means it’s time to share a new “friend” with you.

I just found this sweet blog yesterday, and I thought it was perfect timing for today’s weekly event. My apologies for not having it posted at 11:00 this morning. I got distracted by a few things that had to be done, and I’m just getting back on here. 😜

Hanna has a great outlook on faith and hope, and I especially liked one of her more recent posts of how God is helping her to grow and strengthen spiritually, emotionally and mentally. She has a lot of wisdom for a young lady, and she’s learning more day by day. I do hope you’ll visit her site today, and I hope you’ll find encouragement as I did.