life

Happy Valentine’s Day

/ The WheatandTares

In light of Valentine’s Day coming up Sunday, I couldn’t help but reshare a note I wrote last year concerning this day of love…I hope you have a love-filled weekend, wherever and with whomever you find yourself to be. ❤️

The WheatandTares's avatarthe grizzle grist mill

IMG_9457 As I sat in a memorial today to celebrate the homecoming of a life well lived, I thought about love, life, faith and death. I thought about the wife of the deceased who had been married for 53 years. I thought of the precious lady who sat beside me who, just a few short months ago, had said goodbye to her husband after so many years of loving each other. I thought of the young man I would see just a few minutes later, who just lost his wife to an organ transplant failure. Surrounded by so much grief, I wondered how it could possibly be Valentine’s Day today.

So many getting ready for their ‘hot dates’ tonight. Others bragging about all the candy, cards and roses they had received. My husband and myself exchanging our love just a few hours before, yet, waiting to truly celebrate until tomorrow because…

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Questions to Ponder

/ The WheatandTares / 10 Comments

   
 I saw a list of questions today on a delightful blog post here, and as easy as the questions seemed while reading, I began to ponder them for myself, and I realized they’re not as easy as they first appear. I’d like to share them with you now and see if you might want to share your answers as well…

If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (NOT including photos, electronic devices and things stored on then, or people or animals) what would you put there?

I don’t consider myself a real materialistic kind of gal; so, this question took me a little bit of time, because my first thoughts were of my family, all the photos I cherish, and one special book that I treasure. Since, I wasn’t allowed to include people or photos, my list shortened, and since my treasured book will be placed in the ‘happiness’ box below, I was back to square one. I, then, thought of my wedding band, but I could never leave that on a shelf, I would always be wearing it; so, again, I pondered. The next three things I treasure in life would be these: my journals, my camera and my gun. That may seem like a very strange combination, but let me explain…my journals for all of my writings of thoughts, goals, dreams, feelings and agonies of life. Here is where I work out my emotions and seek out the depths of my heart…my camera for all the many photographs I take to try and capture the moment and document the memories forever…my gun for a sense of security and protection, for if this world goes crazy one day, I will protect my family with everything I have and more. 

If you had a box labeled ‘happiness,’ what would you put in it?

This one was pretty easy for me to decide, because I believe true happiness can never come from a thing or even a person. True happiness can only come from within, and it can only be found, and be found everlasting, within the joy of the Lord. The One True God is the only one who can bring us perfect peace in a storm, beauty from ashes and joy through morning. So, my Bible would go inside this box, but it would be opened everyday; so, I might read, listen, learn and commune with my Heavenly Father. 

  
What do you want more of in this life?

There’s really not a whole lot more that I want more of. I feel like I have been blessed so much that I don’t really have a right to ask for anything more. I guess, if I had to choose, I’d say I’d like to, personally, have more discipline and confidence I my life. I get so frustrated with myself when I get lazy and when I back up or hesitate due to a lack of confidence. 

Daily Life List:  What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities that you do each day.

When I read Paardje’s daily life list, I have to admit I was quite jealous of her disciplined routine. I cannot say I am that precise in my daily agenda; even though, I so long to become that way. My daily life list is more like this:

1. 6:30am Wake up call

2. Devotions/Bible reading

3.  New found exercise routine (Mmm, working on the consistency of this one…As of this post, Day 5 in progress)

5. Shower and get ready

6. 3 days a week – Make sure the boys are up and getting ready for school…make sure they have lunches, and take them to school (2 days a week are home days; so, it’s a focus of schoolwork during morning hours)

7. While the boys are in school: 2 days of the weeks, we have a staff meeting and a prayer meeting, both ending around lunch time … And 1 day, I either work at the church or stay home to take care of “home stuff,” depending on the week and what the needs are 

8. Lunch with hubby

9. Pick up boys from school 

10. Run errands or return home and straighten/clean as needed

11. Dinner 

12. Evenings vary but are usually centered around family activities or down time

13. 8pm All video games and devices off…Tv/movies allowed if doing together

14. 9pm Boys to their rooms to read and settle down for bed…All electronics off and put up 

15. 9:30/10pm Lights Out for boys 😴

16. Bedtime varies for me… unfortunately, I am a night owl attempting to go to bed at earlier hours these days. 😁

Bonus Question: What are you grateful for from this last week? – and what are you looking forward to in this coming week?

This last week, I am grateful for the beautiful patches of snow we have had. It wasn’t much to speak of, only a dusting really, but I just love snow so much that even a little white dusting makes me feel like a kid again! 

This coming week, Sunday, is Valentine’s Day. My husband always says I’m a “sucker for love;” so, naturally, VDay is always a fun day for us! 😊❤️

I do hope you’ve enjoyed my little “heart and soul adventure,” and I do hope you’ll send me a few responses on some of your own answers. Or, maybe like me, it will inspire you to write up your own blog with your answers to these pondering questions. Please, be sure to link my blog; so, I can venture over to read! I’d love to learn more about you and what makes you who you are! 😊  I hope you have a great day today!!

Fly

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

flyquote.jpgToo often, I believe we focus so much on falling, failing and floundering that we can’t focus on freedom, finishing and flying. We get so wrapped up in the regrets of yesterday that we miss the “flight lesson” that is taking place in our lives today. If we are ever to succeed at flying, we must focus on the here and now and stop looking back. We must look forward, set our goals and take the risk. We must take the chance that just maybe we will jmp off that cliff, our sails will catch the wind and we will fly to heights unknown. 

The Word says, “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) It doesn’t say a few things. It doesn’t say only the things that we are good at or the things we might have perfected. NO. It says we can do ALL things through Christ! That means whatever He calls us to, we can succeed! 

Does it mean we will succeed the first time around? No, it doesn’t say that. Does it say we will never fail, never fall, never flounder at our first attempt? No, it doesn’t say that either. What it says is WE CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST. That means, when “we let go and we let God,” we can do more than we ever imagined!! We can find freedom from past failures. We can finish those things we set aside because our of fears, and we can fly beyond what our hearts ever imagined!!

Is there a dream there in your heart? Is there something that you long to achieve? Put it in God’s hands. Let Him direct your path, and when He brings you to that mountain top to learn to fly, even if you falter, you can rest assured He will be there to catch you and teach you to fly one more time!

cliffhanger pic

**Note: I do not own, nor do I possess these photos. Simple google search brought me to these:

https://www.artesenciel.fashion/blogpost1 and www.rtbookreviews.com

Woman

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

I have read this before, but it struck a chord with me today as I reread it. … Woman, don’t forget your worth. Cherish it. Wear it with confidence, but, also, wear it with all humility and grace. 😉

Kriti Sharma's avatarMy small column of expression

When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day…

An angel came by and asked.“ Why spend so much time on her ?”.

The lord answered. “ Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her…

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Juh- …What?? … SAY YOUR NAME

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

Say Your Name  THE DAILY PROMPT by THE DAILY POST 2/8/16

Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

My name is quite an interesting one… My “real” name is JAMIA, but I go by the nickname MIA.

Now, before I tell you how to pronounce these five little letters put into a sequence, I’d like to tell you how many different ways I heard it pronounced throughout my childhood days… “Jay-me-uh,” “Jay-me” (like Jamie), “Jay-muh,” “Juh-may-uh,” “Juh-may-e,” “Juh-my-uh,” “Jam-me-uh,” “Jam-me-ay,” and “Jam-uh.”  There were kids who teased me by calling me, “Jamaica,” and in fourth and fifth grade, I had a so-called friend (I was mad at him then, but we’re now Facebook friends. ha!) who teased me by calling me, “Aunt Jemima.” In fourth grade, I was classmates with a girl named Jamilla (pronounced “Juh-mill-uh”), and many teachers started out the year simply copying her pronunciation for my name; even though, it’s spelled totally different! Then, when I was in seventh grade, after my mom remarried, one of my stepfather’s aunts called me up to her church pulpit by calling me “Jeremiah!” I even had quite a few friends who would come back from a conversation from another friend or relative, where my name had been mentioned, and they would ask what color my skin tone was, assuming I must be of a more ethic origin rather than my white Caucasian self! haha.

Have you taken a guess at how to pronounce this interesting arrangement of letters yet? Well, I’ll keep you in suspense no longer… My name is pronounced, “Juh-me-uh,” as if you took the very common name, “Mia,” and put “Juh” at the beginning of it. It is avery unique name; however, as a very shy and easily intimidated teen, I so wished my parents had named me differently!

Needless to say, when I got to college, I made the decision I didn’t want to continue my life having to explain how to pronounce this jumble of letters every single time I was introduced or called upon; so, I simply chose to go by “Mia.” This was even before the days of the now-famous soccer player, Mia Hamm; so, there were still a few mispronunciations from time to time, but it worked pretty well for me in my new college life.

To this day, I have never ever (can I say N-E-V-E-R??) heard of anyone having this same name.  Just last year, I ran into a girl whose name was spelled very similar: Jamea. However, she pronounced it, “Jay-me-uh.” I have met a few Mias, and a couple of Jamillas or Jaymillas, depending on how they spell it, and plenty of Jamies and James’. I think it would be very interesting to ever be introduced to an actual “Jamia,” especially if the spelling and pronunciation were the same.

You may, now, be wondering how in the world I received such a name. Well, that’s another very interesting part of this story…  Now, my biological dad’s name is Jamie; however, this is not where my name was derived. My aunt and uncle created my name, because of their love for Mia Farrow, in that year of 1971, and they wanted to have a little girl with the first letter “J.” For, their names were Jim, Norma Jean, and they had two little boys named Jarrod and Jeremy. They never were able to have that little girl for whom they so longed, and late in the following year, my mother got pregnant with me. With her name being Terri, the name “T… Jamia” just seemed to fit. (I’d like to leave my full name anonymous for now. 😉 )

As an adult, I am, now, very thankful for my name, and I do love the uniqueness of it. I still go by Mia, but I use the full name and pronunciation as a “cool thing you might not know about me” point when playing ice breaker names, or when I’m wanting to share with a new friend. People seem to always be surprised or impressed by it, and I have to forewarn my church members when my family is around, because my family easily switches back and forth between both names. I wouldn’t change this part about me, and I, sometimes, wish I had just kept to the originality of Jamia; however, the only thing I do wish I could do is go back to those early years and tell that sweet, timid little girl that her unique name made her who she is, to never be sad or embarrassed when someone didn’t correctly pronounce it, and to always hold her head up high with admiration for the name with which God blessed her! … Hind sight is always 20/20, I suppose. It has all created me into the person I am today, and I am a better woman for it. 😉

Thanks, Daily Post, for creating this Daily Prompt. This has been fun, and I hope you, as a reader, have enjoyed my little story.

(Ja)Mia

 

 

His Design

/ The WheatandTares / 8 Comments

I look at the sunset and see the masterpiece that He creates and, again, in the sunrise.  Not one of them is the same. Each one of them unique and, then, I look across the land and sea the same unique, nonconformity, nothing the same. Every woman, every man, none of them like the other, each one unique in its own way not one of them then same.

His imagination is beyond what I can do. His creativity is beyond what I can dream, and yet, He thinks of me. He designed my life just as He does the sunset: unique, unimaginable, unfathomable, not like anyone else… All because He loves me. All because I’m His child.

This love, this grace, this perfect design is not just for my life alone.  It’s for everyone who calls on His name, because each one of us is His chosen child whom He longs to gather to Himself to love and change, to bless and redeem. All because He loves us. He designed us. He calls us His own. He longs for us to come to Him.

Will you come to Him today?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

“As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:11-12

The Crossroads

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

I think I have been relearning a lesson lately…

When we are seeking for inner change, and we are faced with our moment of exponential growth, we are faced with two choices. What we choose in that moment will determine if we move forward or start moving backwards, and sometimes, our choice will determine our ultimate success or failure. There is a crossroads set before us, and the road we choose will make all the difference.

Have you ever been there?

crossroads-660x400When we are seeking to be better, whether it be in weight training, ballet, education, acting, playing golf or even eating and health issues, there will always come a time, many times, actually, when the learning and the growth becomes almost painful to continue. It feels as if the choice to continue will surely be the death of our current state of being, and in actuality, it is kind of a death. It is at that moment when we must realize that our choice to “bow out” or to turn back to the more comfortable places will actually be detrimental to our overall growth, and in some cases, it can mean death to the dream or goal we have set.

When I, personally, come to this crossroad, this fork in the road, I am reminded of the poem written by Robert Frost many many years ago, “The Road Not Taken.*” This is one of my all time favorites, and I’ve referred to it often in my life experiences. He says, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.*” No matter which road you choose, each path leads you forward to a new place, or you can attempt to turn back from whence you came, and you may cripple the person you are to become. Just as a child, once grown, can never truly return to the little boy he once was, I cannot return to my former self without losing the strength, faith and understanding I have come to find in walking through these crossroads.

So, I choose to walk forward, to take this crossroad set before me, no matter the challenge it presents or the obstacles I may face tomorrow. The crossroad signifies a demarkation from what and who I was to what and whom I will become. I will keep moving forward, keep exploring and continuing to discover this new world, these new experiences and this new me to find who it is I am to become and to whom I will leave it all when my day has come.

 

*Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken, https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/road-not-taken

Photo: I do not possess nor do I own this photo. Simply found on Google Images from http://www.thebusinesswomanmedia.com/how-to-create-career-clarity-at-a-crossroad

Feeling a Little “Blah?”

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Do you ever just wake up some days and feel, “blah?” You think about it and realize you had a good night sleep. You didn’t have a fight with your spouse. Your kids are actually following rules and doing the things they need to do, and the clouds aren’t even gray or threatening a rain shower. Yet, you just can’t seem to get past the gray skies within your heart, and your brain is getting tired trying to figure out why you’re not as chipper as the birds flying above.

Sometimes, we just have days when we feel a little off, where things don’t seem to be as they should within our hearts and minds. On days like this, I have found I have to put forth a little more effort to chase away those gray clouds. I have to move beyond my normal routine and “push back” against those bluesy feelings. If I don’t, I find myself slipping further down as the day prolongs.

On days like this, I am so thankful I have hope for which to live. I am so grateful to be a child of a loving Father who cares even about my “bummed out” moments.  I am so glad I am able to run to Him and find His arms open wide. He is always there awaiting our desire to be with Him. He is always ready and willing to listen and to help us through those tough spots.

He is ready to give us HOPE, LOVE, PEACE and JOY. All we have to do is show up before Him. It’s not a formula we must follow.  It’s not a list of perfection we must check. It’s not even a policy of dos and don’ts to which we must adhere.

It’s a relationship with an Almighty God Who loves us beyond conditions. It’s a moment of truth when He confronts our heart with change, and it’s an overwhelming sense of grace when He shows us His mercy and love, for our sins are completely washed away.

His joy is overflowing and more dependable than sheer happiness.

His peace is surpassing all circumstance and happenstance.

His love is unconditional beyond our sins and failures.

His hope is everlasting past the ages of time.

Won’t you join Him today in this hope? Won’t you release your fear and anger to Him and let Him guide you to a brighter tomorrow?

A letter to My Pregnant Self…

/ The WheatandTares

If I could go back to when I was pregnant with JGrizz, I would tell myself a few things to be remembered…

Decide, now, you will not sleep for the first three months, and then, when you get that first 30 minute nap, it will be absolutely glorious!

Everything you need to know won’t always be found in a book, given by your doctor, or even spoken by your mother. Sometimes, you’ll just have to follow your instincts.

There will be a time, your instincts will be proven wrong. This doesn’t mean you’re a failure, and this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world. It means you’re human. It means you’re normal.

The house can’t always be kept clean. Toys seem to come alive in the night and find their way back to the living room before you awake. Learn to organize on a very small scale…very small…like one toy in one basket…at any given time.

One boy can have the volume of a surround sound system on level 55. Two boys can create a front row rock concert experience at 7:00 am. and, again, at 11:30pm.

When your three year old little boy refuses to come down from the Chic-Fil-A slide, it really does not mean you’re a terrible mom…Really.

That day when you have to literally step over your two and a half year old who is pitching a fit on sidewalk, in the front of the church, it does not mean you have failed at parenting. It means you are being brave and strong.

Enjoy those little scribbles and backward letters and upside down numbers … even when you find them on the bedroom wall. For one day, your child will be getting ready to apply for colleges far away from home.

Cherish those moments your two year old rides his Little Tykes motorized Harley in the backyard, for one day, way too soon, he will be talking about his soon coming birthday when he can get his license or driver’s permit.

There will be days when you just drink that cup of coffee and simply survive…and have one more cup of coffee to just make it till your early bedtime.


Find an outlet for your stress. Make time for you…even if it takes scheduling that night out on the calendar, and daddy has to keep the baby. He can do it. He loves that baby, too.

Make time for you and daddy, too. Dating your man IS important. If you and he don’t love each other, your child may not get to see what a great marriage is all about.

Most of all, make time for God, and this doesn’t have to be hours on end spent in the Upper Room. There will be seasons, especially when those babies are little, when devotions will come in snatches of time…it might be a Scripture today that brings peace to your weary mind, a Bible story tomorrow read from a children’s book that brings strength to your heart, and your favorite pastor’s sermon on Sunday morning which brings conviction and healing to your wounded soul.

God’s not about the rules, regulations and perfection. He wants a relationship. He wants to hear your thoughts. He wants to consume your heart. He loves you, and He wants to help you be the best mom you can be. He wants you to know He loves you and that YOU ARE ENOUGH!

Let me say it again, YOU ARE ENOUGH. This being a mom bit is CRAZY hard, but it is so very worth it!! … Be real. Be you. Find God in the chaos and hang on…Hang onto Him with all you’ve got, and you’ll make it.

“You just be you, and God will take care of the rest.” – Bones, Moms’ Night Out

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  Psalm 139:14

With or Without Hope

/ The WheatandTares

I’ve read several posts lately from those who are grieving and who are lonely. I’ve been there, in that lonely place, struggling to survive the pain…

These posts make my heart sad, not because the bloggers are heartbroken or grief-stricken, but because so many  grieve with no hope. For without hope, we have no purpose in the pain. We have no future beyond the pain. Without hope, it is all just meaningless and worthless. Without hope, life doesn’t seem worth living.

Yet, where there is hope, there is life beyond the pain. There is a purpose through the pain, and there is some semblance of meaning that we can try to grasp. There is something more that is worth holding onto.

It doesn’t mean we will never experience the pain, only that, deep down, we have a knowing that we will live BEYOND the pain, because there is something MORE for which to live.

Hope is a powerful thing. Without it, life is just a survival game.

Hope causes our spirit to fight. Hope causes our mind not to give up. Hope causes our body to push forward behind normal limits.  Hope causes us to thrive.

…Thriving is so much more fun than simply surviving.


“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4