I’ll Grow Old with You

May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 5 Comments

In light of this being our anniversary week, I hope you will forgive me for not posting something yesterday, and I hope you might indulge me today as I repost something I blogged a little while back for my sweetheart (as you will see by the “info” given). We celebrate 19 years this week, and I am more in love today than I’ve ever been! 😉

We sat in the empty house, the boys away for the evening. He sat at the computer playing chess. I sat in a chair opposite him, reading on my Kindle. He said, “Ya know, this is what old people do. This (silence) is what it sounds like to get old. … What are we gonna do when little bit goes off to college?” I said to him, “Cry…..Cry a lot.”
This started me thinking…

We’ve been together for over 22 years now…8,079 days of my life.

We’ve been married for 18 1/2 of those…over half of my lifetime.

We’ve lived in 2 states and, together, visited 10.

We’ve worked at 5 churches and gone to 2 colleges.

We have 2 sons, numerous “spiritual kids” and no daughters or grandkids.

We are both Southern born and bred, in 2 (technically 3) different states,

and we’re both very proud of it!

I love you more today than that first day I met you,

and even more than the day I said, “I do.”

Yet, I love you less today than I will love you tomorrow or even this time next year.

In a world where the rings come off too quickly, and the marriage vows become negotiable, I have decided our love is here to stay, and even if you wanted, you couldn’t get rid of me without a fight.

This love we have was birthed in wonder and refined in distance and time. All those years we said, “hello” each day, but only held hands once a week, deepened our commitments rather than making them shallow. This love we share has stood the test of time, and even though, I know that test will be retaken again and again during this lifetime, I believe we will remain true. For I don’t belong to you, and you don’t belong to me. We belong to the One who holds this thing together. He is the only One who will see us through.

So, I gladly look to tomorrow and cherish our yesterdays. I hold onto the present and love like it’s only the beginning. I treasure our times together and laugh at our silly mishaps. I glance over your failings and pray you’ll do the same as we reach together, hand over hand, to move beyond what could destroy and stretch our hearts toward the One who would restructure what could have been lost.

Love is not a feeling. It cannot be bought or borrowed or even stolen. Love is a choice that we each choose to uphold and to protect. Love is a choice that we can choose to embrace when we look past our own selfish ways and desires. Love must be cultivated, cherished and cared for. Love must be allowed to bloom.

Blooms do not happen instantaneously. Growth does not happen overnight. Love takes years of tenacity in trials, forgiveness of flaws, blindness to annoyances, perseverance with the little things that really matter. Love doesn’t fail when it is the love from the One who created love. Love lasts forever when it is the love of the Father.

So, today, I say, ‘YES.’

Yes, I will choose to love. Yes, I will choose to forgive.

Yes, I will choose to laugh. Yes, I will choose to cherish.

Yes, I will choose to live. Yes, I will choose to treasure.

Yes, I will choose embrace. Yes, I will choose to uphold.

Yes, I will choose to cultivate, nurture and protect this love.

Yes, I will choose you for life, for love, for laughter.

…Yes… I’ll grow old with you.

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

Wednesday’s Ode #14

May 13, 2015May 12, 2015 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

I absolutely love the North Georgia mountains! There are so many things to see and enjoy there! My husband and I love to take “road trip dates” and drive through the small mountain towns, stopping to peruse through an Antique shop or two, or taking a refreshing hike to see a waterfall, or even finding an old gravel State Forest road and attempting to get lost in the Cohutta Wilderness Area. We’ve had so many memorable trips and adventures. A few of our favorite drives and “pit stops” are the Richard B. Russell Parkway, Popcorn Overlook, Minnehaha Falls, Highway 197 and the Mark of the Potter, and Highway 60 between Dahlonega and Blue Ridge.

We love all the little towns of North Georgia like Dahlonega, Clarkesville, Hiawassee, Ellijay, Young Harris, Clayton and Helen. We try to go apple pickin’ in Ellijay in September (just not on the Apple Festival weekends, because we’d like to avoid the crowds!) and pumpkin searching at some of the local farms later in the fall. (We don’t usually go to the more commercialized ones, because it’s just too busy. 😉 )

We love the Mark of the Potter on Highway 197, which is an old grist mill that still has water running through the basement. It is now a potter shop, and I can absolutely spend hours in there…and it’s not a really big shop! Our boys love to go there, because the river runs behind the mill, and they provide a fish feeder for a $.25 handful of feed. The trout are huge! My husband loves to go there, as well, to peruse through the shop, but he loves most to stand on the back deck and look at the waterfall and Soquee River. It is simply a “must see” when you’re in the area. We, also, love to go to the little town of Dahlonega. The downtown square is something to experience. There is an old General Store that still serves 5-cent cup of coffee and has a pianola, or a player piano, which you can sit in the rocking chairs and listen to for another $.25. There are little shops all around the square where you can purchase homemade fudge, chocolates, ice cream, woodworking, potter, artwork and more. There are restaurants all around the square as well. It is a delightful little town. They have many festivals and events throughout the year; so, if you want to join in the fun, or you’d rather avoid the traffic, like us, you’ll want to check the calendar.

In Young Harris, Georgia, one of our very favorites restaurants is located. It is called Brothers (at Willow Ranch), and it could be best described as a locally owned Longhorns Steakhouse. Oh, my goodness! It is soooo good! Of course, they have steak, chicken, beef brisket, burgers, and they also have pasta, fish and all kinds of veggies and desserts. Every meal is served with yummy yeast rolls and honey butter, or regular, if that’s what you prefer, and they have the best sweet tea (aside from my house, as my boys say!) Have I made you hungry yet?? Another great thing about this restaurant is as you enter and leave, the mountains surround you to one side; so, the view is spectacular! Also, if you’d like a little resort living, the Brasstown Valley Resort is located right across the highway, and that place is awesome, especially at Christmas time!

Another little town we love is Ellijay. This town has special meaning for Joey and I, because for two and a half years of our dating, we lived two states apart and would meet in Ellijay every Saturday just to spend the day together. It was about an hour’s drive for both of us, and we would meet just as soon as I got off work on Saturday mornings, and we’d stay till we had to say our very last goodbyes on Saturday evenings before I would be late for my curfew! There are so many antique shops, restaurants and, now, retail shops in the area, it is a great “day trip for two.” As I mentioned before, they have the Apple Festival in the fall, and along the way to Ellijay, there are a few places to find pumpkins, too. If you’d like to take a nice hike, or simply drive to see a beautiful waterfall, Amicalola Falls is not too far from the downtown, and if you need a Walmart, Longhorns or a few other more “modern” conveniences, they’ve got that, too. We absolutely love Ellijay!

The North Georgia Mountains are a great place to come for a vacation, a short visit, or just a day trip to get away. It definitely won’t be the place you’ll find big citylights and the hustle-and-bustle of that city life, but if you’d prefer to kick back and breathe a little fresh air, this is the place to be!

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

Power of Reflected Light

May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 / The WheatandTares

The lighthouse has such a powerful light which shines across the sea; however, it’s actually not because of a particularly bright light bulb. Rather, it is because of the mirrors in place which cause the reflected light to shine brightly into darkness.

Just as a lighthouse is not bright simply because of a powerful light, a person cannot truly be strong simply because of his or her own strength, and a church cannot be strong simply because of a good program, a popular song service or even a great man behind the pulpit. When founded in Christ, the only true strength is when we reflect the praise we receive upon those with whom we are joined to minist, and reach those who are lost.

When the church body, the leadership, and the pastor are constantly reflecting upon each other all the light that is brought upon them, and especially when they are reflecting that light upon Jesus, the strength of that is enforced and brightened beyond imagination. We, as Christians, have too often, gotten into competitive relays with each other, always trying to better ourselves for the sake of gaining numbers, or taking them from another body of believers, rather than, bettering ourselves for the sake of our Christian walk and lifting Him up so that He might draw them to Himself. We’ve worked too hard to soak up the spotlight which has been show upon us rather than reflected that light upon those around us and upon Christ. Let us each learn a lesson from the beautiful lighthouse!

The power of reflected praise: Any praise you get should be reflected onto someone else! The church grows stronger by the power of reflected light!

*note: I did not take this picture, nor do I own this picture. Simply taken from google search. 😉

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?

One Moment

May 4, 2015April 27, 2015 / The WheatandTares

One moment with the King…

What would YOU do to have just one moment with a king? I wonder if it might be like the first date you ever went on? Do you remember how long it took to get ready? How many outfits you tried on? How many days in advance you started planning?

What about that first prom…or maybe your wedding day? How long was that planning? How much did you spend? Ladies, what kind of beauty treatments did you endure? …maybe a message, a wax, a deep facial, a medi and a pedi?

Guys, how ’bout it? Well, most of you probably didn’t splurge on a pedicure (ha!), but what about that first hunting day, a day at the races, a boxing match or maybe that champion golf tournament? Hmmm, I might be getting somewhere now… How much did you spend on that new rifle, those new shoes, or even the fuel in the car to get there? How early did you set your alarm? How long did you go without sleep?

What about you, teens? Maybe you still depend on your parents to buy most things; so, you might feel this little post doesn’t really apply to you…but how much time do you spend texting on your phone, scrolling through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or just simply surfing the Internet? How much money are you saving for that new car, that new outfit or, maybe, that special gift for your new sweetheart?

Think of your time, talents and temporal means…or to put it more simply: your thoughts, your sight, your speech, your actions and your money…how much do you spend on the things of this world? How much time do you lose everyday doing things that aren’t really going to matter 150 years from now?

Sure, we do live in this world, but God said not to be of it! What does that mean for us? Does that mean we can’t “have fun?” Does that mean we can’t use technology, can’t go on a date, can’t play a game on the Internet, can’t have an Instagram account?? I can’t quite tell you what it means for you; sometimes, what’s a conviction for one family, or person, may not be the same for another. You have to work those “not-necessarily-sin” issues out with the Almighty, but I can tell you what’s going to matter for eternity: our relationship with the King of Kings! If you’re not preparing now, you’ll not be ready when the time comes!

Esther prepared for 12 months, of an intense regimen, to have one night with the king. David prepared 15 years to be king. Joseph was in preparation for 13 years to become second in the land to Pharoah. Jesus prepared for 33 years, on Earth, for His moment on the cross. That’s a lot of preparation for one moment in time!

How much are we preparing? How much are we planning? Will we be ready for that encounter with the King of Kings? He is God. He is awesome, and He loves us so very much. He wants to give His best to us, and I wonder, sometimes, if we might miss it, because we’re too busy preparing for other things rather than His return… One moment of decision is all it takes…

Wednesday’s Ode #12

April 29, 2015April 26, 2015 / The WheatandTares

I love the beach! White sands, blue skies, blue green waters…Ahhh. What a beautiful day! It can be summer, winter, spring or fall, I don’t care. Let me go and stick my toes in the coolness of the sands. It is a beautiful place to be.

Now, I have to admit. I am a little picky on my choice of beach. I haven’t been to the Pacific since I was like 18 months old; so, I can’t really say I remember it. However, I’ve been to the Atlantic in several places: Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (Daytona, St. Augustine and Ft. Lauderdale), and I have to say I am simply partial to the Gulf Shores of Northwest Florida. The sands are so white, almost like sugar, and in so many places, you can still find remote areas even in the heat of summer and the peak of tourist season.

I’m sure I’m partial to these beaches, as well, because I grew up in those areas. As a kid, we went to the beach all the time, and I have had more than my share of sunburns, sandy britches and PB&J sandwiches on a blanket (beach picnics), but nonetheless, as a child, I loved splashing in the ocean and get sun-kissed freckles on my nose! As I’ve grown older, I don’t care as much for swimming with the sharks (ha!) and the sand in my bathing suit, but I could sit out by the shore and watch the tide come in for hours. I love to walk barefoot along the shoreline looking for sand dollars and seashells, too. It’s a great pastime. Now that we have boys, it’s so fun to go and watch them swim, boogie board, jump, dive, look for shells and build sand castles. I love to see the beach and the ocean through their eyes of wonder.

What I love most about the beach is the settling within my spirit that occurs every time I sit and listen to the surf. The ebb and flow of the tide calls out to me as if a voice is speaking straight to my heart. This used to amaze me until, years ago, I read these Scriptures:

Psalm 29:3, “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is over many waters,” and Ezekiel 43:2, “And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.”

Then, it all became incredibly clear. That is why my soul is drawn to these locations, whether it be to the ocean or to a waterfall: His voice can be heard by my heart in those places. 🙂 I am so thankful for those times…