Tunnel Light

June 8, 2015June 8, 2015 / The WheatandTares

I wonder if the closer you get to the end, the more light that you will see?

Do you feel you’re in a tunnel today? Keep walking. Keep pushing. Keep going. You can make. You will make it. I have faith in you.

Most importantly, God has faith in you, and He is cheering you on. You are His. He created you, and He loves you, no matter who you are, where you’ve been or where you are right now. Trust Him, and just believe.

Romans 8:31, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The Facade

June 1, 2015September 29, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

There She Goes

You know the one

She’s got her recipes plastered on Pinterest…all her beautiful cakes and dishes…Her creative parties and house decor…All those perfectly clean rooms and floors…

You know, supermom.

She’s got her status posted everyday of how wonderful life is, how precious her little angels are.

She adores her husband and he adores her.

She wrote just last night of how he brought her flowers for no particular reason.

Her ring is a true rock and her clothes always looks perfect and that hair…

Geez, does she go to the salon everyday?!

She’s not just supermom; she’s super wife!…Super-woman!!

She’s got to have it all and have it all together!

Or so you would think…

Yet, you didn’t see her last night snap at her husband and go to bed angry.

You weren’t there last week when she screamed at the kiddos when they spilt the milk.

You didn’t even know she ran back in the house this morning, make up streaming, baby spit up in her hair, Cherrios crushed down her new blouse, the car out of gas….because some Fridays just really start as Mondays.

You don’t realize she stresses out before every group event, because she’s really an introvert and worries about being accepted.

You don’t recognize the tears that brim as she smiles and slightly turns away so you can’t see.

You just don’t see her under the facade…

She awoke again terrified in the night …another nightmare…

She went straight to the babies’ rooms, scared that he had found her after all these years.

She’s suffered such abuse, such neglect, she wonders if anyone could ever truly care.

She wanders through this life simply surviving breath by breath, minute by tiny minute.

You never see her there, in the dark, all alone.

It’s all a facade.

It’s all a fancy charade to obtain a moment of sanity.

She dances with the emotions and she paints on the portraits.

All the while, she keeps the pain, the agony, the death, hiding there inside.

It’s time to coax her from the shadows, to give her hope for what might be.

It’s time to let go of our perceived perfection and love her for who she is, to help her dream of who she can one day become.

We must show her the hope she can have in Him.

We have to reach her, to be His hands extended, or she’ll forever be lost in her pain.

We’ve got to see past the facade to show her He died that she might live.

We must take off our own masks to let His love pour in; then, she may know His love and mercy that will sustain her, give her life and fill her with her with perfect peace.

Reposted for
Daily Prompt: Facade

I Watch You Grow

May 14, 2015August 8, 2015 / The WheatandTares

With this being the end of the school year and many are graduating this week and the coming weekends, I thought I might repost a poem I posted last November…

I watch you grow from day to day

Each new morning it seems you’ve found a new way

To touch my heart and to make me smile

Even if it is just to sit with you awhile

You have my eyes and your daddy’s squeal

Every passing hour brings another thrill

To make me gasp, hope, laugh or wonder

Even as the minutes go by, of you, I grow ever fonder

You have such joy, such energy and life

Lord, help me to never fill your days with strife

I thank my God above for blessing me with you

I pray I teach you His ways in all that I do

I watch you grow from day to day

A man of God to become, I pray you may

Follow His voice and never ever turn back

A life of promise, you’ll encounter with nothing to lack

I love you, son. You are one of the very joys of my life! ❤

Penned – MG – 6/30/03

Fallen and Uprooted

May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

You have fallen

You have been uprooted

Now your branches remain lifeless

Your leaves are withered and brown

All because your roots did not remain

You allowed the cares to pluck the life and hope from your veins

Yours is not the only life that is suffering

The small saplings that were beneath your nest

Their tender sprouts are now withered and splintered

Seemingly beyond repair, beyond any hope

The winter is coming, how will they ever survive

Your shelter is no longer useful, exposing them to the bitterness

But God…

He is the Author and Finisher of all life

He is the Beginning and the End

He is the hope beyond all hope

He can bring life where we only see death

He is coming, walking near your demise

Will you turn toward His gaze?

Will you call to Him not shielding the pain?

He is loving, true and kind

He will mend and heal, repair and bind

He can make all things new if you will but send them

Come yourself to realign

God is…

Author, Finisher, Alpha, Omega

Beginning and the End

Rose of Sharon, Lily of the Valley

Prince of Peace, King of Kings

Lamb of God, Lord of Everything

Will you come?

I hear Him drawing near

He is gently calling your name

Wednesday’s Ode #13

May 6, 2015April 27, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

I love waterfalls! I absolutely LOVE them!! I love the walks and hikes that take me on a little journey to get there. I love them when they have an abundance of water flowing, and I love when there’s not so much. I love the refreshing feeling I get as I gaze up at them, and I love the tingling of my toes when I’m gazing down the falls.

I love what happens every single time I get near a waterfall…my soul is renewed. It is as if a calm comes over my whole being and the cares of this world are simply washed away like the water going over the falls.

Once again, it reminds me of the Scripture I quoted in last week’s ode: “…and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory.” Ezekiel 43:2, and here’s another that reminds me, “His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.” Rev 1:15

I hear Him calling to my heart every time I’m near the falls. I love those times. …hmmm, I think I need to take a hike and find some rushing waters real soon! 😉

Something Out of Nothing

May 5, 2015May 4, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

Is it possible that something that doesn’t look like anything–can still amount to something? …I’ve known a face in a mirror much like that…Could it be –no one receives the peace of God without giving thanks to God? –Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts

God is a master of this. Creating something out of nothing… The “week” of creation taught us that. There was nothing; He spoke, and there was light…the earth was void and without form; He spoke, and there was earth and sky. There were no humans; He formed them, and man was made from the dust of the earth and woman from man’s rib. He is the master of creating something from nothing.

So, why is it when it comes to ourselves, our lives, our dreams that we allow doubt and discouragement to creep in and hinder us from being whom we’ve dreamt to be? Why do we allow the circumstances in which we find ourselves to convince us of a different path than the one He set before us? If He said it, we should believe it. If He directed it, we should have confidence for it.

I think too often we put too much faith in ourselves, and because we falter, we believe the promise wasn’t for us. Too often, we look to our own strength, our own abilities rather than His strength and His abilities. No wonder we get so weak! We can do nothing without Him. Oh, but when we put our hope and trust in Him, the sky is our limit!!

Let Him in today. Let Him have control of your life. Let Him invest in your hopes and dreams. Just test Him, and see what He can do. He creates beauty out of ashes. He designs masterpieces out of nothing. That’s His specialty, and He loves you! He is God. Why would we expect anything less from Him?

Can’t You See

April 28, 2015April 26, 2015 / The WheatandTares

Every day you bite and claw and push against the hands extended to you

You constantly fight and punch and kick against the love we try to give

When rescue is near you run away

Blaming someone else for your mistake

Will you not turn before it is too late?

Can’t you see the love set before you?

Can’t you see His heart will take away the pain?

Can’t you hear Him calling your name?

You fight back like a caged animal

Shaking, shuttering, scratching, snatching

You constantly battle, waging war against those who would help

Never realizing you are simply fighting against yourself

Can’t you see the grace set before you?

Can’t you see His heart will take away the pain?

Can’t you hear Him calling your name?

There will come a day when it will be finished

Then there will be no more chances

The judgment will be done

But until then…

He will not give up on you

He will not turn away

He will continue to call day after day

Will you ever turn to His way?

Penned – MG – 4/25/15

Not Without Hope

April 27, 2015April 26, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

My heart was heavy today, thinking of all the brokenness in this world. The weight of it resting upon my shoulders like a wet, woolen blanket. Tears filled my eyes as I pondered the wounded, the shattered, and the lost. Heaviness so intense, I could hardly breathe. Air stagnant with heartache, weariness and emptiness. So many wandering in this place. So many without a face.

I drove by this house sitting beside the road. Abandoned, dark, damaged and alone. People driving by, hurrying to their destinations, never stopping to see, never stopping to care. Shoved off to the side, barricade built, weeds and trees rummaging to find a home. Broken down roof, shattered windows, busted doors, all haunted by lost potential.

The broken lives of those lost are a lot like this old house. They take the abuse, receive the ridicule, accept the blame, wondering all the while if anyone cares as they wander aimlessly in the dark. Others are like those who moved this old house. Hard working, simply pragmatic, fighting to succeed at the task. More are like the ones who vandalized it. Kicking, biting, clawing, shattering the dreams of a once well made life.

Can you see them? Can you see yourself? Who are you? Where are you going? Do you feel that all is lost? Do you wonder if there could still be any life inside? I am here to tell you. I am here to help you see, if there is still breath in your being, there is still hope. If there still a beating of your heart, there is still a chance. For your life is never so lost that He cannot see you. You are never so far gone that He cannot hear.

See that foundation? He placed it there in your heart before you were even born. It is that longing you feel to find something of worth, something to adore. It is that deep inner desire to be more than you are today. He placed it there. It is His drawing of your heart to bring you love, hope and life beyond your dreams.

He can rebuild a life broken. He can mend dreams that have been shattered. He can give hope to the hopeless. He can bring life to the lifeless. All can be renewed if you will just let Him in. Let Him see the abandonment, the pain, the desperation. He can change and transform. All you must do is believe.

First Priority vs. Last Resort

April 20, 2015April 18, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

I want to ask you today, do you live your life by first priorities or by the last resort? I mean, we all do it at some point, don’t we? Delay something until the inevitable happens…yeah, you gotta go to that dentist before they have to do surgery or something!

Let me explain a little more of what I mean…

FIRST PRIORITY

– you set out to do it…First

– you have lots of energy and focus for it

– you will forsake other things for this one… Often, all others things for this one

– your failure rate is lowered b/c you have incredible energy, intense concentration, deep passion and determination to

complete the task

– you willingly suffer pain, ridicule, criticism, heartache, even complete loneliness…if that’s what it takes

– you’ll change your hair, your clothes, your house, your town or location

– you’ll rise early, stay up late, not eat, not sleep, just to accomplish the goal.

– many times, you will quickly, or at least determinedly, alter your whole LIFE for this first priority

If you don’t believe me, let’s plug in a few words for that phrase “first priority”… Boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, children, your BFF, sick or dying parent, new friends, new job, new position or title. We will do a lot to accomplish those first priorities.

But what about those last resorts? …those things that we wait and we ponder on …those ideas we “need more information on before we can complete” … (😉 wink) …those people maybe we “put on the back burner” for a little while …

You know, those things we just don’t accomplish or deal with at the onset…

LAST RESTORT

– this option usually isn’t much fun

– this option isn’t always attractive or exciting

– this choice may cost you emotions, energy, even suffering

– this choice may cost you monetary means or pride

– you put this off until there are no more options

– you have tried everything else with no success

– often, getting here is a result of procrastination, fear, laziness or even rebellion

– often, when you get here, you have lost your dream, your purpose, your passion and, sometimes, even your hope

Shall I name a few? Let’s see…

bad habits, weight-loss, doctors’ appointments, that 1500 page textbook reading, annual reports, or maybe it’s people… The in-laws and the outlaws, your boss, that friend that really gets on your nerves but keeps wanting to get together for coffee, …or maybe it’s just…..your mother! Ahh, those last resorts. They are definitely a sore spot, aren’t they?

Now, I’d like each of us to take a minute and examine our hearts to see where God fits in. Is He our first priority, or is He our last resort? Is He at the top of the list or the bottom? Do we give Him our first, our best or our last, our leftovers?

Living a life with habits which lead toward first priorities helps you to have better focus, more energy. It causes you to be more dependable and committed, and it saves you a lot of headache and worry in the end. If you’ll put God at the top of your priority list, you’ll be able to see more clearly and you’ll be able to find strength in what you must accomplish. It doesn’t mean everything will always be perfect, or without struggle, it simply means, you’ll have an internal peace and strength that will help you through those times. You’ll find as you consistently place Him at the top, those last resorts will be less frequently needed. As you consistently look to Him as your highest priority, you will find that many things just seem to “fall into place” a little easier.

Living a life with habits which always leads you to the last resort CAN be done; however, you do more surviving than you do thriving. You do more worrying than you do smiling. You do more crying than you do laughing. The Word says, “The JOY of the Lord is my strength.” Ask yourself, where is your joy today? Where are your concerns? Where are your priorities?

God is a gracious and loving God, and if you choose Him as a last resort, He will still love you. He will still forgive you. He will still help you, and He can still change and transform you! He will never neglect your cry simply because you choose Him last, but choosing Him first, as a first priority, helps YOU live a more full life. It helps you avoid more pitfalls. It helps you to love more deeply, and it helps you to laugh more freely!

Choosing God as your first priority helps YOU more than it does Him! 😉 So, if I can, let me encourage you today to choose God as you FIRST priority; so, you don’t have to seek Him out as your last resort!

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33