Wednesday’s Ode #23

July 15, 2015July 11, 2015 / The WheatandTares

I love coffee mugs! Yes, I collect them, and I have a ton! I probably have way too many these days, but I am always wanting to have one as a souvenir from the different places we visit.

I’ve been collecting these since I was in middle school or high school; so, the collection is rather large. I keep many of them packed away, hoping one day to have the space to display them all. I have one from Colorado and the Smoky Mountains, and one from Panama City, Chicago and Myrtle Beach. I even have one from the Bahamas.

I have some from the Kim Anderson collection and several from Walt Disney World. I have some from places I’ve worked and restaurants I. Which I’ve eaten. I’ve even got one or two from certain causes I support.

A few of my all time favorites are a Brasstown Valley mug my husband gave me and a Smoky Mtn one my boys have given me. I also really like a handmade pottery one I picked up in Ellijay, Ga. I drink hot tea from it quite often.

As many as I have, I really should stop getting so many, but I suppose now, it could be chalked up as a “hobby.” I don’t pick up “just any ol’ kind” these days; I do try to be a little more selective. I just wonder, maybe one day when I’m long gone, if my great grands might sit around the table, drinking cups of coffee and hot chocolate, reminiscing about all of granny’s old coffee mugs, all the things she loved and all the places she’d been. 😊

Thankful for friends

March 10, 2015March 7, 2015 / The WheatandTares

I am currently working on my list of “Gifts of a Thousand” in following the example given by the book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. You can read and find out more here. Making a list of 1,000 things of which you’re thankful is not such an easy task. Sometimes, I feel I am making great progress; then, at other times, I wonder if my heart is even grateful.

The other night, I was at a restaurant with about 30 ladies from our church, enjoying a Girls Night Out, and this time of fellowship, coupled with thoughts of those who couldn’t be there that evening, inspired quite a few notes on my ‘thankful list.’ I thought it might be fun to share a little of this list with you today, and maybe it could even inspire you to start making your own ‘grateful’ list…

205. Watching someone be surprised when their meal is paid for
206. Hearing nice, decent men tell a group of ladies, “Have a nice evening, ladies!”
207. One waiter serve 30 women their meals both joyfully and graciously
208. A young mother smile through tears; even though, the doctor has said, “no more babies.”
209. A young wife testify, “The name of the Lord is great!” even after two miscarriages and no promise of a single child
210. An recent widow enjoying time out with friends even while she’s still grieving
211. An elderly widow enjoying time with the girls even though she has a tough time hearing while in big crowds
212. An ethnic friend sharing about challenges she’s facing, trusting God is in control
213. A mom to young girls, whose past could offend, but whose faith in God and surrender to His ways will change the greatest scoffer
214. A young grandmother, new to the event, comes on her own just to meet new friends
215. Young college girls being tight friends through thick and thin
216. A seasoned mom/grandmother whose words of wisdom is a cherished treasure
217. A grandmother whose grown children have gone through various tragedies and trials, yet her faith in God cannot be shaken
218. A vibrant grandmother whose young son lost his fight with cancer, yet through her grief, she’s learned to laugh again
219. A mother to three youngsters, all under the age of five, lead women with grace, compassion and poise
220. A grandmother who has a mother in a nursing home, just lost her daughter-in-law to organ rejection and is less than a year removed from her husband having a heart attack, share exciting news of an upcoming cruise
221. A mom of two teenagers who longed to ‘get with the girls’ and couldn’t due to illness, but sends a text of love and “I’ll miss you!”
222. A mom of three youth, who still grieves the loss of her momma, yet has learned to smile again in spite of the pain

These are the women, and many more, who make up my life. Some of them have been friends for years, some I had just met that night, but I still call myself blessed to be surrounded by them. They are women of strength, women of tears and women of God. They are each a piece of this wonderful tapestry called life, and for each of them, I am eternally grateful. 🙂

Purpose in the Mundane

December 22, 2014December 29, 2014 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

The other day, I was sweeping the hardwoods…I hate to sweep, but it’s something that must be done, or crumbs and filth will build up, and then we’ll have nastiness, filth, and even bugs. I hate bugs in the house. I hate bugs in the house more than I hate sweeping! …So, I was sweeping and thinking of all the stuff I needed to do around the house. The end tables needed dusting, the carpet needed vacuuming, the blinds needed wiping, the sheets needed washing and changing, etc.

All of sudden, JMan said, “Mom, come here quick!” I walked into the office, a little begrudgingly, because I had so much to do, and he was simply calling me over to the computer. He said, “Look at the house I’ve built!” Then, he proceeded to show me the house, with all its rooms, and a “treasure chest” in one of them. He said, “Mom, look what this is,” and he proceeded to show me a “Bible” that he had created himself, complete with the whole chapter of Matthew 4, or least most of it, all of which he had typed from memory.

I stood amazed as he showed me his masterpiece, and it was as if I had an epiphany that very moment: We, as adults, should be more like our children who have a heart after God. If my nine year old son can create a place for the Almighty right there within the walls of the house he created in his computerized building game, why can I not create a place for Him right there in the middle of my mundane routine of cleaning house? That’s what I should do, and I am well aware of this fact; yet, too often, I find myself heavily burdened by the cares of this world and over-consumed by all the “thankless jobs” and mundane rituals which fill my everyday that I tend to often forget for Whom I’m doing this!

Oh sure, I remember when I’m doing my morning devotions and when I’m tucking my sweet boys in for the night. I remember when I’m using an object lesson to teach those same young men this very principle. I remember when everything is going my way, and the sun is shining bright in the sky, but, oh, how quickly I forget when our boys don’t want to follow the rules, when my husband and I can’t seem to see eye to eye, and the clock just seems to be running faster than before. How quickly my memory fades when the sun won’t shine, the rain won’t stop, and it seems my prayers won’t reach beyond the brass ceiling above my head.

Those are the moments when I tend to forget to grasp that beautiful wonder of a child. Those are the moments the simple and, often, the most important things, seem to fade to gray as the expectations and demands of this life scream ever louder in a war for my complete attention. Those are the moments when I desperately need to remember this sweet moment of truth: God is wherever we are, and He just wants to be a part of whatever we are doing, even if it is simply creating a “Bible,” complete with Matthew 4, inside a treasure chest, within a beautiful “block” house being created by a 9 yr old, and even if it is simply sweeping the hardwood floors and keeping a clean house for my husband and boys to enjoy…and eventually mess up again! (Ha! Ha!)

Lord, help me to find You in everything I put my hands to do. Help me to see You in the simplest of things. Help me to find Your purpose for me even in the mundane.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

“Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14

It’s Tradition, Again

December 20, 2014 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

The other night, my youngest and I continued a tradition that hasn’t really been an annual, very consistent, tradition; however, I’ll call it a tradition, nonetheless. We made sugar cookies together…complete with the rolling out of dough, cookie cutter figures, making our own icing (for the very first time!), and sprinkles and nonpareils. It was messy, but it was, oh, so fun!!

We had the movie, Home Alone 2, playing in the background as we floured the countertop and rolling pin, flattened the dough and prepared it for the cookie cutters. We pressed the cutters into the dough, making snowmen, Christmas holly, stars, and trains. We baked them, painted them and let them dry. We ate a few and stood back to admire our handiwork. He did an awesome job! …Mine looked more like a four year old’s creation (no offense to the four year olds out there! Haha).

Never letting him know, I, personally, was very disappointed that my “creations” didn’t turn out much better than they did, and it really turned into quite a bit of work detail to finish the extra dozen after he was just simply “done” and didn’t care to finish! However, to see the joy on my little boy’s face when he had decorated his “big bear” and to realize that memory would be sealed in each of our hearts forever, it was all worth it! 🙂

I’m so glad I took the time tonight to make a memory. There were so many other needs and responsibilities pulling for my attention, but that little nine year old won’t always be pulling for my attention. These days are so fleeting. I’m so glad I ignored the other things that were screaming my name. I’m so glad I made the moment last just one more time.

So, even if the sugar cookie making is not a tradition like the others we have, which are more consistent through the years, I believe we will keep this one each year, or every other year, or maybe just when we “spontaneously” want to keep it. Spontaneity and tradition can go hand in hand, sometimes! The memories that are etched on our hearts at that moment may even last longer, sometimes, than those traditions which we tend to do more out of routine and expectancy.

So, make a point to keep those traditions, create some new ones, and strive for those spontaneous “together-moments” whether you do them bi-annually, or simply, when you think of it from one child to the next! You’ll love the memories you’ll gather, the fun times that will be had, and one day, your children will thank you!

MAKE a new tradition, or keep an old tradition…again!
JUST MAKE A MEMORY!! 🙂

It’s Tradition

December 13, 2014December 13, 2014 / The WheatandTares

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. 🙂

Friends FOREVER

October 21, 2014 / The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

You have been with me always

Through laughter and in sorrow.

You were with me yesterday,

And I know you’ll be here tomorrow.

We’ve had a lot of good times,

Which we could never hide,

But the hard trials were the real times,

Our friendship never died.

You depend on me,

And I’ll depend on you.

When it’s raining outside,

I know I can lean on you.

Now that we’re getting older,

Let us never give up,

All these precious memories

In this golden cup.

SCARRED

October 11, 2014October 13, 2014 / The WheatandTares

I stand here in shock, not knowing what to do;

I cannot believe the feelings I’ve caught here from you.

Memories from the past overwhelm my weary mind,

But now, in chains, these memories they do bind.

My hands to you, we were reaching for the stars.

My dreams, our friendship, now you have scarred.

The distance you’ve placed, this I do not understand.

Between us, our sisterhood, is it now banned?

The anger, the jealousy, I pray it does not last.

So many questions I’m left with, only not to ask.

This brokenness and pain, I wish I did not feel.

They all say it takes way too much time to heal.

As I stand here with this bleeding heart,

I pray that one day we have a brand new start.

God can cleanse, forgive and always can mend,

But it takes you and me with this friendship to tend.

Penned – MG – 7/7/99

Bigger Than Life

October 6, 2014October 6, 2016 / The WheatandTares

I experienced one of the greatest losses of my life 12 years ago today. You see, my grandfather was bigger than life. When he walked in a room, he owned that room. He had the personality of a John Wayne, never meeting a stranger and never afraid to “get up on that horse,” no matter how many fears he had inside. In fact, as a child, I was convinced he couldn’t possibly have any fears!

He was born in a small, no name kind of town, a son born into poverty and of low education. When he was 15, he was told by a banker he was worthless and didn’t deserve the money he was seeking. He told the man that one day he would prove him wrong, and he did just that. He began his own HVAC company, became a county commissioner, retired from his business when I was just a little girl, and went back to buy out that banker, only to find the man had already lost his place. He believed in hard work and the common decency among men. He could spin the biggest tale, keeping you entertained for hours; yet, when it came to business, he believed in integrity, fairness and an honest wage for honest work.

He stood at six feet four inches tall, wore Stetson hats and alligator boots (or the nicest, toughest boots found in the store that day), and he struck up conversation with every person he encountered on the park bench while waiting for his wife to finish shopping. He could wrestle and kill a six-foot rattler, and he’d do the same to a six-foot man if he threatened a child (which actually happened once!). He loved his wife, his two girls, and his four grands (and their spouses), even if his gruffness hid that love most of the time. He believed in taking care of what you have and working hard for what you want. One of his famous lines was, “Take care of your equipment, and your equipment will take care of you!”

He was like a Daddy to me. My mom was single for most of my childhood, and he just kind of filled in that gap. He made sure I was clothed, fed and had just about all I wanted or needed in life. He’d pick me up after school in his old Ford Ranchero, and we’d stop by the Stuckeys gas station to get some candy…that was back when you could get a piece of candy for a dime and a coke for fifty cents; so, I always loaded up with the $3-5 he gave me!
He taught me how to fish and how to clean them; although, he always handled the knives. He bought me my first car, and even though, he had the money to pay cash for it, he set me up with monthly payments; so, I could learn how to pay bills and manage a checkbook properly. He always had a bear hug waiting and would never let me leave without a little cash in my pocket. He loved me something fierce, and I loved him right back the same.

When he left this world, he took some of its color with him, and my life has never been the same. He sure wasn’t perfect, but he brought a little perfection into my world. They say, “Time heals all pain,” but I have to disagree. Time doesn’t really heal grief, only Jesus can do that. Time just simply helps you learn how to tolerate the pain and be able to “categorize it” within your own heart. It helps you to see more clearly, and if you choose it to, time allows you to help someone else along the same journey.

I’ll miss him until the day I die, and I’ll keep his memories alive for my children to remember what a great legacy we have.

Just Get Up

September 8, 2014September 15, 2014 / The WheatandTares

It was Saturday afternoon, we were leaving for fl the next day, for a 2 week stay, mind you. I had so much to do. I was packing for three of us, and the laundry wasn’t even completed. I had clothes scattered and stacked all around. The suitcases were all open, awaiting their burdens of the traveling needs.
Joey walked in and suggested I take the boys and one of their friends to the pool. Ugh. Are you serious? Do you know how much I have to get done? Do you realize what you are asking of me? I’d have to stop my routine, change my clothes, throw my hair up in a clip, get some towels and suntan lotion and trek off with three rowdy boys to the pool. Really? I am so not wanting to do this!!
But he needed to prepare for his sermon, and the boys really needed an outlet; so, I got up from the floor, with all the clothes surrounding me, changed and off we went. The laundry, the stacks of clothes, the unfinished agendas and the suitcases, all left in chaos in the bedroom upstairs.
The boys splashed and dove, laughed and dunked each other, and I became their hero for the afternoon. They had a blast. They needed this, and as I sat back in the lounge chair, reading on my Kindle, I realized I was having fun, too. I needed this. They needed me to step back from the stress of the “packing moment” and enjoy their silly antics. I needed to step back from the pressures of “Momville” and bask in the moment of making memories with my kids. We had planned to just stay an hour…that hour turned into three. I realized on that day, sometimes, we just have to get up and get moving to remember the direction in which we really need to go.

Memories Lining The Tub

September 2, 2014October 5, 2014 / The WheatandTares

My eight year old LOVES to take a bath! We have a nice sized garden tub, and he will ask to go take a bath just about everyday, especially, when he’s got a new toy! The other day, I walked in there, after he was out, and shot this picture. The whole side of the tub was lined with toys. I’m not talking one or two toys, this is a whole collection of Lego men, Transformer robots, and Hero Factory creations! My first thought was, “Ugh. He didn’t put his toys up!” Then, something stopped me, and as I looked around that tub, I realized in that very moment, “This will all, very soon, be gone.”
Parents of grown children, give me a witness here. The days just fly by too swiftly. One day, you’re holding this tiny little being in your arms, hoping not to break them; then, you turn around, and you’re waving goodbye as they trek out to make their way in the world. Even if you spend as much time as you can, make all the memories possible, grab all the hugs they will allow, the hand of time still keeps ticking. The moments still slip through your fingers like tiny grains of sand.
Oh, what I wouldn’t give, for one more minute, to have those tiny fingers wrap around mine; yet, to go back would mean to give up the adventure of today, watching him create his imaginary Hero Factory armies and see him as he gently cares for the little hermit crabs in their cage and even hearing him say, “Watch this with me, Mom,” as we watch the Superbook series video for the fifty-seventh time this weekend. No, I don’t think I’d like to forsake today only to grasp hold of yesterday, but please, God, help me to not be so worried about the plans of tomorrow that I somehow miss the sweet memories that are right here today. Help me to embrace those moments that can be remembered forever, and let me not miss out on the simple, little things that make those minutes last…I do think I’ll let those little toys line the side of the tub for just a little longer today…yes, maybe I’ll move them on another day.