hope

Joy and Gratitude

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

2015/01/img_9402.png Is the height of my [abundant] joy dependent upon the depths of my [grateful] thanks?
– Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts*

As I read this book, and ponder this thought, I am challenged to live beyond my current state of stagnant being. I have more to give. I have more to experience. I have more to live.

Too often, we miss the abundance of joy, because we fail to recognize our lack of gratitude that is blinding us to His truths. When we humbly appreciate His grace, when we kindly receive His mercy, these are the moments we truly live. We are freed from the weight of expectation. The cage of our own ideals is broken and crushed. We are able to take flight and fully live.

Grace. Thanksgiving. Joy. The true meaning of life. The true life to living.
Joy in the moment. Life in the minute of giving thanks… These are all wrapped up in heartfelt conversations with Him.

This is why I have begun my own personal list of one thousand gifts. I need this like I need air to breathe. This will be my eucharisteo, my praise, my joy. This will be my message of gratitude to my Creator and my God.

I began 2 days ago, and I am just shy of reaching 100. Will you join me this year? This list to 1,000 may take a little while to pen down, especially if we do it right. Will you join me in reading her book; so, you can further understand this incredible concept and, with me, become challenged to live fully right there in the place you have found yourself to be?? Will you join me in penning your One Thousand Gifts?

“The only real fall of man is his noneucharistic life in a noneucharistic world” -Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy*

*Both quotes from One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, by Ann Voskamp. Find her book and more info. here.

**I do not personally know this author, not have I been asked to promote her book in any way. I have simply been inspired by her words, and my hope is others will read this and be inspired as well. 🙂

Ever Striving

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

We work. We strive.
We sweat. We strain.
For what gain?
We toil for all these earthly things.
We forsake the precious for the temporal.
Eternity waits; yet, we strive.

We push. We pull.
We twist. We bend.
For what end?
We scrape to grasp the material.
We lose hold of the treasure for the momentary.
Eternity groans; yet, we strive.

When will we see?
These are as things shouldn’t be.
We abandon the truth for a lie.
We sell our souls only for what money can buy.
The sacred forgotten. The value has been lost.
We can’t even see it’s our very lives that it costs.

Penned -MG – 1/23/15

The Battle Rages

/ The WheatandTares

There is a war down deep within.
It is a battlefield of purity and sin.
A struggle for what can be and what forever has been.
The one we feed the most is the one who will always win.

Everyday, this battle rages.
It has continued throughout the ages.
Through sin it has promised, death, its only wages.
Proven again and again throughout history’s pages.

A flesh-filled life gives in to every whim
It holds you in its grasp as your light slowly dims.
The lamp of salvation burns, the wick is always trim.
Hope fills the void, joy overflows the life that once was grim.

A life of peace, to you, He longs to bring.
Hope, love and joy in abundance, He has these things.
He takes away the pain. He heals those life stings.
Your name is called, throughout eternity it rings.

Away from heartache and brokenness it is you He tries to lure.
To the end, he wants to take you if, faithfully, you’ll endure.
Every ill thought and lifeless promise, he longs to allure.
Your precious heart, when freely given, always, He makes pure.

Choices to choose come like a tidal wave.
The easy and popular, the flesh always craves
To choose long-lasting peace, your heart must be brave.
It is your soul He wants, for eternity, to save.

Penned – MG – 1/23/15

Draw Nigh To Him

/ The WheatandTares

Life is so very, very seared;

Be sure not to let it pass you on by.

Jesus promised that He would always be near,

But first, unto Him, you must draw nigh.

His love for you is very, very deep;

Sometimes, it can almost seem intoxicating.

Yet, He is such a gentleman, merciful and meek;

His love is never made to be suffocating.

This world is so very, very impure;

It will always turn your ’round and ’round.

He longs to give you a hope and a future;

He wants to free you from these chains you are bound.

His time is so very, very uncertain;

We cannot know the hour or the day.

Turn to Him before they draw a curtain;

Surrender your heart or be eternally swayed.

Penned – MG – 10/31/03

The reflection

/ The WheatandTares

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What is in a reflection?

A face

A memory

A smile

A tear

All the changes through the years.

The light is changing.

The light is bright.

Let your life shine tonight.

A Season For Tears…A Season For Cheer

/ The WheatandTares

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Yesterday, I was so emotional all day, I felt I had to hold back the tears with all my might. It all began when I read a Facebook status update from a friend and relative who has lost her grandmother and grandfather within almost a month of each other and how she is struggling with the grief while trying to maintain a cheerful home for her children during the holidays. The feelings just washed over me like a tidal wave of how much I miss my own grandfather, even though, he’s been gone for over 12 years now. So much changed within my family after his death, and without him here, it will never be the same. Christmas has never been the same without him.

Several times throughout the day, I thought of him, and I began thinking of so many who have lost a mom, a dad, a child, or another loved one during this past year and even those who have lost someone during the past several years. I, also, thought of so many families I know who are facing divorce, or have already divorced, and even though their significant other hasn’t died physically, their love has died, and that is as painful as the reality of death. Losing a precious family member or friend makes the holidays a little tougher to handle. It makes the cheer and the joy of the season seem a little less festive, and sometimes, it makes it a lot less festive, maybe not even worth celebrating at all. Often, losing a loved one, especially those who filled such a huge part of our heart and our home, makes the Christmas season almost unbearable. Everyone else is cheerful, excited and filled with joy for all the wonderful things that bring the love of Christmas, and our world has just turned a little more gray from the loss of color with which our loved one took away.

If you are one whose world is a little more gray today, there is hope! It’s not a fairy tale, and it’s not a fallacy. It’s not a plastic mask which you wear just to convince your family that you’re okay. It’s, also, not a “snap of the finger and you’re perfect” solution, and it’s not a formula nor is it a potion or a thought. It’s not even an “it.” It’s a person, a Messiah, a Savior and a King.

His name is Jesus. He can comfort your heart and encourage your soul. He can give you peace which surpasses understanding. He can consume your mind with good thoughts, and He can give you a reason to get up one more day. He is HOPE. He is LOVE. He is LIFE, and He can give you all this and more. All you have to do is call on His name, and He will answer. He will wrap you in His arms of love, and He will give you purpose again. All you have to do is just trust Him.

For all of us who have learned to cope with the deep scars of loss, and for those who have yet to experience this heart-wrenching pain, maybe we can be a little kinder to those who are hurting this Christmas season. Maybe we can be a little more attentive to those who may not feel as festive as we expect them to be. Maybe we can share a little more love, a little more encouragement, a little more hope. Those of us who have found this One Hope who helps us survive through the darkest of nights, we must share Him with those around us. We must share this Hope with a hurting and desperate world. We must share why our Christmas is so Merry.

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“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6

 

It’s Tradition

/ The WheatandTares

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Christmas is my most favorite holiday of the year. There are so many reasons for my loving it. I love the warmth and love I feel while surrounded by family. I love the heightened feelings of joy, generosity and kindness that seems to resonate in most everyone’s heart. I love the wonder of a child who is anxiously awaiting Christmas morn. They can hardly go to sleep on Christmas Eve, as they strain to hear sleigh bells and reindeer hoofs upon the roof, and they run to the living room early the next morning to see if, just maybe, a midnight visitor has nibbled on their gift of milk and cookies. I love to see the twinkle in my sons’ eyes when they receive that special gift from their list which they weren’t quite sure if we’d be able to fulfill.

I love looking forward to the snow that might fall, and I love to wrap up in layers of cozy attire and walk around in the winter wonderland. I love to sit by the warm fire, drinking hot cocoa, while cuddled up with my sweet boys and my love, watching a Christmas special on TV, even though, we’ve seen it every year for the last 10! I love playing endless Christmas carols on the radio and singing till my voice almost disappears. I love making little goodie bags for the boys’ classes at school or for those in our neighborhood that includes a special little note of God’s love and hope for this broken world. I love picking out an “angel” ornament off the tree in our church foyer and supplying Christmas for a child whom, otherwise, might not have gotten anything underneath his tree. I love going in the stores and seeing all the lights, the decorations and hearing all the cheer. I love saying, “Merry Christmas!” when a sales person is required to say, “Happy Holidays,” and watching their eyes light up, because that is what they’d rather be saying to me. I love making someone smile who is feeling weary, doubtful or fearful and reminding them there is a wonderful reason we celebrate this season, and there is hope for their life. I just love Christmas time!

One of the things I look forward to the most at Christmas is putting up our pre-lit tree and taking part in, once again, the family traditions which we began so many years ago. When I was just a babe, my mom began collecting ornaments for me each year, and we have continued the tradition with our boys. We have a little nativity scene, which is presented with a storybook of, “What God wants for Christmas,” with which we commemorate Christ in the season, and this year, we began an “It’s All About Christmas” jar, in which we write a little note of gratefulness or what the season means to us, and we will read on Christmas Eve to celebrate the day. These are the traditions which cause us to remember the importance and the “reason for the season.” These are the traditions that bring us together as a family and remind us that love is at the center of that reason.

Does your family do something special during this time of year? What are YOUR Christmas traditions? I’d love to hear about them! Please feel free to add them in the comments below. 🙂

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I Wonder

/ The WheatandTares

People come and go.
They walk here. They walk there.
They ride. They run. They jump.
They stop.

Who are these beings?
Where are they going?
What are they thinking?
What have their eyes seen?

These things, I wonder as I walked by.

Will I wonder beyond?

Will I question?

Will I care?

Will I dare to make a bond?

Will I cry when they scream?
What are they doing?
Where are they going?
What does it all mean?

Will I confront their blues?
Will I smile at them?
Will I weep?
Will I share the good news?

Will I ponder better times?
What are they saying?
Why are they lost?
Will I give to them He who is Mine?

Penned – MG – 12/3/14

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
John 14:6

Expectancy

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Expectations.

We all have them.

We all set them.

Sometimes, they’re set too high,

And we grow frustrated and angry, sorrowful and discouraged.

Sometimes, they’re set too low,

And we act shocked, amazed, elated and even indignant.

Expectations.

We all receive them.

We all survive through them.

Sometimes, they make us feel warm, welcomed and embraced.

Sometimes, they leave us weary, battered and confused.

Expectations.

Maybe, if we could learn the difference between grace and judgment,

They would be easier to give.

Maybe, if we realized the perfect balance is found in love and absolute truth,

They could be easier to live.

Penned – MG – 11/24/14

Help Me To See

/ The WheatandTares

I look in the mirror and see my own face.

I tend to neglect the needy to embrace.

I listen intently to hear my own voice.

I seem to ignore the hurting that need to rejoice.

 

I go my own way, busy in my own life,

Forgetting You’ve called me to be a good wife.

I run from here to there, scurrying to get the job done,

Neglecting You’ve told me to raise my young son.

 

I read in Your Word to always put Jesus first,

Believing that I do until I realize my own thirst.

I hear from Your servants, “Never make idols to love,”

Believing that I don’t until I recognize what they’ve become.

 

Change me and my perspective. Make me what You desire.

Draw me out and cleanse me from this filthy mire.

Transform this mind into the intellect You have planned.

Make this heart as malleable as the shifting sand.

 

I need Your touch; I need Your grace.

I long to feel your sweet embrace.

I long to walk beside You, hand in hand.

I thirst for Your righteousness and Your promise land.

 

Be my strength and my ever-present Light.

Be my focus and be my heart’s delight.

Be my reason to face each new day.

Be my guide and show me every step of Your way.

 

Help me to see those around me in need.

Open my ears to hear those who want to be freed,

Cause my hands to reach out to those in sin.

Give me the boldness to tell them how to change from what they’ve been.

 

Penned – MG – 6/29/02