peace

What is Freedom?

/ The WheatandTares

FREEDOM!

What do you think of when you hear the words freedom, liberty, and independence?

What images come to mind when you hear, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”

For our modern culture, these words do not seem to invoke the same images and thoughts that appeared to be more commonplace among Americans in years prior. As a matter of fact, the other day I googled the words “liberty and justice,” and one of the first entries said, “pledging this means accepting the reality that today there is injustice and fairness in the society,” followed by numerous political views stated pertaining to diversity and inclusion.

These ideals have their place, and I’m not going to get tangled in a political war of words and opinions; however, it’s important to remember that our Constitution’s message and the words of freedom contained within it were not created solely in response to the issues our society faces today. We, as a people, had constructed these words and this declaration so many decades past in order to set the foundation for which our nation stands for freedom. We decided to make these words the very cornerstones for how we should live and respond as a nation.

It’s not a reaction. It is a declaration, a belief system, upon which to build a great nation that will sustain the test of time.

And it is a fragile one. It is one that, if not protected, fought for and defended, can be stolen within a blink of an eye. It is to be cherished, valued and upheld, or it will be taken away by those who work harder to defend their own tyrannical desires.

I love the quote by Ronald Reagan in reference to this concern:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

President Ronald Reagan, 40th President of USA

As we celebrate this Independence Day in the great country of America, let us ask ourselves what we are doing to protect our freedoms in this country. Let us ask ourselves if we are fighting to value and cherish those freedoms, or are we conforming to the loudest voices amount us who may hate, demean and devalue this great nation.

Let us forever remember that she may have her issues, her difficulties and her need for improvement, but anyone who hates her, I ask you to go to a third world nation and compare. I ask you to travel to the war torn countries around the world and see if you’d prefer their fate.

I ask you to visit the nations who love her and wish they could be like her. Ask them how you should cherish her…

Happy Independence Day!

And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace.

Jeremiah 29:7

Be Like Joan

/ The WheatandTares

Life is hard.

Surviving can be a struggle.

Take it on like a champ.

You were born for this.

Don’t be afraid.

Don’t hesitate.

Do not fear.

March on.

When you fall, get back up.

When you’re wounded, bandage it.

Shake of the pain and move forward.

You can do this.

You were made for this.

And bonus: when you’ve walked through the fire, and you’ve slain your dragon, there are those following.

And they need your victory.

So, be like Joan. Be not afraid.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Grief .. Part 563

/ The WheatandTares

The journey of grief seems so long, so treacherous, and so methodical.

If you dwell too much on the journey, you’ll wander along the creek side, lost.

Never stopping for a drink.

The water continues to flow along the path, and it is for your refreshing, your renewal.

For the journey is hard, and it’s not meant for eternity.

Stay alert and remain vigilant in the middle of the walk.

Stay revived and maintain the elements to survive.

Grief is like a thief if you’ll allow him to be.

He will steal days, years, even hours and minutes

He will steal joy and peace, prosperity and comfort.

Don’t let him stay too long, or he will even steal your sanity.

You can’t shut him out; for then, he will only come back with gained force.

But don’t open the gate wide to welcome; for he will consume all territory that is lonely.

Fortify the good within and remain watchful.

Maintain the gates with prayer, steadfastness and faith.

Let him walk through, but swing open the back door with a celebration and fanfare.

For he will always peek through the windows and the trellises, but he cannot set up to abide.

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:5

As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?” When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast. Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore, I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar.
Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; All Your waves and billows have gone over me. The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?” Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.

Psalm 42

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”

1 Samuel 16:1

Grief … Part 243

/ The WheatandTares

Grief has so many aspects; sometimes, it’s just hard to keep up.

And when death has hit three years straight, the emotional roller coaster is full of surprises.

Today, it’s just hard.

And heartbreaking.

And enraging.

Hard because there’s so many shattered pieces, and nothing can be mended.

Heartbreaking because there’s so much lost, and nothing can be reconciled.

Enraging because there’s so much stolen, and nothing can be returned.

If perspectives remain only on the loss, the heart becomes sick, and the soul becomes hopeless.

Despair will settle in like a long and bitter cold rain.

But hope remains.

The only Hope that can be grasped.

Eternity is not bound in this day and time.

Destiny is not restrained by this hour and by the ticking of the clock.

Mortality is not for the Everlasting One nor for those who serve Him.

So, look up not down.

Look forward not behind.

The minutes are coming faster and soon will end and then,

True life will just begin again.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

1 Corinthians 15:51-55

Funny Friday

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Keep Hoppin’ Those Boulders

/ The WheatandTares

Grief is like the boulder hopping moments of life.

To succeed in getting to the sunset, you’ve got to keep moving.

To achieve the goal of the setting horizon, you’ve got to keep taking the jump.

To get past the hardest points, one foot must stay in front of the other.

Even if you slip. Even if you stumble.

Keep going forward. Keep going beyond.

You’ll get there.

Eventually.

And you’ll be so glad you did.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalm 37:23-24

Let Your Heart Grieve A While Longer

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, things just don’t turn out as they should.

Sometimes, dreams are stolen, hearts are broken, and everyone is left desolate.

Sometimes, life just sucks, and there’s not a lot of change you can bring.

Don’t shut off the pain.

Don’t hurry up the emotion.

And certainly, don’t act as if it never happened.

Just grieve a while longer.

Just let the tears roll down into a river.

Walk out to the shoreline and breathe a little deeper.

Step out on that mountain and sigh a little louder.

There are no rules that should confine.

There are no restrictions that should bind.

There are no expectations that should be resigned.

Just let the grief roll on until it’s run its course.

Just let the pain push through until its done.

Let your heart grieve a little while longer until it heals.

Let your soul exhale a little wider until it can stand.

And when the healing comes and the strength returns, stand tall and begin to run again.

And it will come.

Someday soon.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.

Jeremiah 17:14

For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.” ’

Jeremiah 30:17

Find Your Tribe

/ The WheatandTares

It has been said that you are the average of your five closest friends…

So, whose mission are you on?

And what’s your average?

Not everyone you meet is going to stay with you on the journey.

And not everyone you want to stay will do so.

Some may not be able to handle your load.

Others may not be able to carry their own.

And still others just aren’t going the same way you are.

Don’t grow angry with them and don’t hold it against them.

And by no means, beg them to stay.

Just gently, say goodbye and let them go their way.

They weren’t meant to travel along.

For if you demand they come along or stay too long,

They will hurt you, or you will wound them,

Or others will become damaged in the process.

Just let go.

Release them to be free.

You will be amazed at the freedom you will find.

Even if you have to shed tears as you move forward.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross,scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Fools give full vent to their rage,
but the wise bring calm in the end.

Proverbs 29:11

Your Gaze

/ The WheatandTares

Your gaze is hard to follow.

Your glare burns me from within.

Your intensity builds the fire into an inferno.

I cannot escape or refuse. I cannot run away or hide.

I shift in the uncomfortable silence,

Hoping you’ll say something to ease the pain.

You look me eye to eye, I glance away, not knowing what to say.

You begin to speak, and I cringe, terrified you’ll find me lacking and left wanting.

And suddenly, I hear Your voice gently call my name.

All fear is forgotten.

All doubt is erased.

As I lean into Your grace.

5/13/26 – MG

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:40

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

1 John 3:1-3

A Box Full of Boxes

/ The WheatandTares

Memories are like boxes sometimes.

You can close the lid and toss them into the bin, believing they’re done.

But as you pick up that larger box to throw them all away,

Those little suckers will come tumbling out like a waterfall.

When you bend over to pick up one, three more flip to the floor.

When you place those back on top, a whole passel come plummeting out,

As if they’ve got to make a nose-dive to the base level.

Almost like dominoes, they come cascading down the path.

Will they relent? Will they end?

They come back with every holiday and trend.

They push their way into every crevice, every crack,

Reaching for a new freedom, seeking shelter from what has been.

Will they be cast down? Will they bend?

I place them in the dark, into the new room

Waiting to surprise a new, non-alerted bloke

Waiting in earnest anticipation to capture another one’s journey bouncing down memory lane.

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create…

Isaiah 65:17-18