reality

War. What Is It Good For?

/ The WheatandTares

There’s an old song that proclaims this adage for some, “War. What is it good for?” And the singer answers himself to say, “Absolutely nothing!”

*I do not own nor possess this pic.*

As we have a war raging on the other side of the world, this song came to mind, and it caused me pause…

Pause, to think.

Pause, to wonder.

Pause, to ponder.

War is always devastating. It is always mind boggling. It is always consumed with questions and concerns. It is always heartbreaking and oh. So. Overwhelming.

Overwhelming enough to bring panic.

Overwhelming enough to bring depression.

Overwhelming enough to bring paralysis.

War often can bring a surprise along with it. Although, we wish it came so differently, it can bring a sense of togetherness, a bonding that would never happen in any other scenario. Whether they be broken, fearful, wounded or strong, it’s a gathering of souls.

Souls that need protection.

Souls that need encouragement.

Souls that need reckoning.

Souls that need redemption.

War, in a crazy kind of way, can bring about resilience never realized until that moment. War can bring about courage that is fortified in the midnight hours. It can bring about a needed change to rebellious hearts.

Hearts that beat as one.

Hearts that beat with anger.

Hearts that beat with fear.

Hearts that beat with love.

Love can rage war on evil like nothing else ever can. Love can bring light to the darkness. Love can bring hope to the hopeless. Love can bring resistance and a halt to evil that would try to prevail.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have thegift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

What Is Love?

/ The WheatandTares

February…

It’s the month of love. Valentine’s Day is either loved or hated, depending on who you are…

So, what is this “love” everyone talks about?

Is it really real? Or is it just a fantasy?

Can it actually last? Or is it just a fairytale?

Love is everything they claim it is, and yet, it’s none of that and so much more…

Love is new birth and discovery. Love is exploration and the bloom of a flower.

Love is friendship and honesty. Love is mystery and the patient waiting for an unveiling.

Love is finding each other in the brokenness and surviving the tragedy by sheer determination.

Love is grieving and remembering, laughing and forgetting, holding on and letting go.

Love is acknowledging truth while having eyes half closed and speaking clarity while not saying a word.

Love is a 1,000 tiny miracles that bring two hearts together despite the chaos, the doubt and the criticism of the outside world.

Love is best described by the One who created it, implanted it, and destined it to be…

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:5-8a

Grief

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Grief sucks.

That is all.

… … … … …

No. That is not all.

Here’s an open message to whomever needs it:

Don’t just leave your relationships hanging through this life.

Show up.

Be present.

Be engaged in their lives.

If they’re the jerk, then have the ability to speak truth when needed.

If they’re toxic, then have the guts to remove yourself when needed before you follow suit.

If you’re the unimaginable fool, then have the courage to admit it and make it right.

And for goodness sake, if it’s truly mental issues that keep you from them (or them from you), then get help for all involved, and do it now.

The distance isn’t worth it.

The void isn’t fair.

The heart wrenched cries are undeserving.

The questions when you’re (they’re) gone are too complicated to add to this process of grief.

The pain that is left in the wake of this kind of ignorance, in the dawn of sorrow, can be beyond capability.

And if you’re the one experiencing the anguish of brokenness:

Don’t allow that heartache to consume you to the point of disengagement.

Keep breathing.

Keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Get up in the morning.

Even if you must crawl.

I know it’s hard. I know it’s beyond hard.

And I know no grief is the same.

No one can tell you the “perfect way” to grieve; it is a different theater of actors for all.

But you can grieve right…

Grieve in truth.

Grieve in love.

Grieve in reality.

And grieve with HOPE.

Hope is the only reason to even walk through the pain.

Hope will carry you though this life and allow your heart to beat and your lungs to exhale even when you’d rather fall into the grave.

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8

Living in the Overflow

/ The WheatandTares

We all live in the overflow…

But which overflow you choose is vital to your vitality and peace.

You can choose to live in the overflow of anxiety: no peace can be found here, no rest for your weariness, no strengthening for your bones, no joy for your sanity.

But this choice is on the list. It’s your decision to pick it from the bunch.

You can choose to live in the overflow of anger: utter rage will consume you, suspicious and discomfort will be your bed and pillow, every moment filled with drama, every relationship teeters on the edge of fire.

But this choice is on the list. It’s your decision to pluck it from the bundle.

You can choose to live in the overflow of nothingness: no happiness can be found here, no purpose for your apathy, no relief for your depression, no clarity for your fog.

But this choice is on the list. It’s your decision to pull it from the plunder.

You can choose to live in the overflow of sorrow: grief will swallow you, tears will be your blanket, every second enveloped by brokenness, every friendship walking on the knife’s edge of the grave.

But this choice is on the list. It’s your decision to grasp it from the pile.

Or you can choose to live in the overflow of grace: no loneliness can diminish you, no indifference can devalue you, no hatred can murder you, no fear can unravel you.

It is your choice. You have the ability to select from the narrative and create your own story.

The freedom of truth is waiting.

Come and drown in the overflow.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

John 8:36

The Daddy-Daughter Dance

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

February… Oh, how it begins the painful dance of my heart each year.

It’s not that I’m angry. It’s not that I’m hating what I see. It’s just a longing within my once little girl heart that will never be fulfilled.

The beautiful pictures plastered all over social media bring sweet memories never beheld. Precious relationships promising treasured protection and defense for all her days.

His large frame casts a shadow not of harm or destruction but of love and nurture. Her petite form is sheltered, cherished and adored. They stand in parade for all to appreciate and celebrate.

I am thankful for his place in her life. I am grateful for her desire for his strength and fortitude. I truly am.

Yet, my heart breaks time and again for the wee little one standing at the door, her packed bags awaiting his never return. She forms her own dance, spinning, twirling, hoping for his hand; yet, he never extends it.

Someway, somehow, she makes it to the One who holds the key. With tears streaming, hopes shattered and dreams crushed, He takes her into His arms, and swirls her life into a new masquerade where she can smile again and forever more be held where she always wished to be. ❤️

The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Whose Hero Will We Be?

/ The WheatandTares

I’d like to ask our modern culture and our “evolved” Christian believers, “When did we get to the place where Truth cannot be spoken for fear of offenses and sin cannot be confirmed for fear of judgement?”

If we are a follower of Christ, Truth is absolute and irrevocable, and sin is sin, not just “grace-filled” or “judgement-filled.”

When did we get to the point where we care more that we not offend someone than we do about their very souls? When did we get to the point where we work so hard to preach grace that we forsake the reality of sin, hell and an eternal death?

If we read the Bible, from the front cover to the very last page, God is so very clear: the wages of sin is death.

We’ve gotten to the place where we’d rather argue, and too often quite hatefully, with our brothers and sisters in Christ over the possible offenses taken or not taken over an issue rather than the merits of truth.

We’d rather drum up dissension over the intentions of someone’s words rather than seek His Word for His truth on the subject at hand.

We’d rather slash the hearts of our fellow kinsmen, and in turn, wound those who are listening and trying to find their own answers, rather than speak with love AND truth and let the Holy Spirit bring forth His conviction and mercy.

It sounds too much like the arguments of old, when men and women would argue over the color of the pews and the length of the choir robes while their babies were battling issues of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

It smells too much like the wayward youth of decades past who fought so hard for their independence and their owns rights that they forsook the ancient boundaries set before them to show them The Only Way.

It looks too much like the sly dealings of darkness who always brings forth confusion, contention and chaos in order to distract, disengage and devour those who are most vulnerable and afraid.

Wake up, Church. Lift up your eyes.

Look upon the One whom we have pierced! Gaze upon His torn flesh, His stripes, His pierced hands and feet.

He was wounded for OUR transgressions.

He was bruised for OUR iniquities.

It was not for someone else but for you and me.

It was for our own prideful stance. It was for our own arrogant words.

Not a one of us is not guilty. Not a one of us is worthy of the mercy and grace He gives.

It is time for us to stop claiming our own opinions and laments as Gospel. It is time we stop doing what is right in our own eyes.

Lives are at stake.

The innocent lie within the balance.

It is time we all repent.

Moses stood between the children of Israel and God’s burning wrath. Moses stood between the children of Israel and the armies of Pharaoh.

Moses cried out to God for their lives to be saved.

Moses was their hero. God was their Savior.

Whose hero will we be?

…if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

What is Your Prison?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Is it pain? That gut wrenching pain that keeps you up at night…

Is it anxiety? The anxious, breath stealing, clammy-palm, lightheaded kind that overwhelms in a nanosecond…

Is it fear? The kind that breaks you out in a cold sweat in the midnight hours, yet no one is there…

Maybe it’s ambition… the driven force that is like a wrecking ball on a chain…

Maybe it’s arrogance… that blinding air which suffocates the most innocent of life…

Maybe it’s vengeance… the fierce, unrelenting thirst for justice that can never be quenched…

Or could it be suspicion? The overwhelming doubt that holds onto the gate, never seeing the broken latch…

Could it possibly be oblivious joy? The happy go lucky laughter that overrides the wounds or visible scars…

Everyone has a prison that is waiting

It can be a prison of lost hope or broken dreams

It can be a prison of lost love or shattered trust

There are bars that threaten to invade and slam shut around your very soul.

But the doors can swing wide.

The prisoners can go free.

You just have to accept the key.

Penned – MG – 1/19/22

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

To console those who mourn in Zion,

To give them beauty for ashes,

The oil of joy for mourning,

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;

That they may be called trees of righteousness,

The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:1-3

How’s Your Gratitude Gauge?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

I’ve heard it said that gratitude brings a peace of mind.

Gratitude can overlook the reality of pain to see the beauty in healing.

Gratitude can glance past what should bring anger and division and see opportunity for change.

Gratitude can turn a blind eye to hardships of transition and see the wonderful chance for new beginnings.

It’s all in our perspective.

It’s all in how we respond.

Gratitude can bring rest for a weary soul and relief for an entrenched heart.

Gratitude is not simple words of flattery and conceit.

Gratitude is found in actions, in heartfelt reactions, in a lifestyle of humility and honor.

Take a look in the mirror today and see if gratitude is on your lips.

Take a moment to breathe deep before you speak and see if gratitude is threaded through the words.

Take a survey of those around you to see if they recognize gratitude in your life.

And never take for granted the thousand tiny miracles all around you that call for gratitude from all of you.

Penned 1/8/22 – MG

Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples!

1 Chronicles 16:8

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:34

Happy New Year to You!

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Let bygones be bygones, and let the past be in the past.

Let yesterday fade into the vapor that it is.

Let the clock keep ticking forward and the things from behind stay in the background.

It doesn’t mean all things are forgotten, and it doesn’t mean tomorrow is more important that the other day.

But sometimes to make progress, you’re going to have to let a few things rest and allow time to live on.

So, say goodbye and say hello, all in the proper order, and let’s get this party started!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

A Note On Success

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

I saw this posted the other day, and it caused me to pause…

“Cancel telling kids college is the only way to be successful.”

I’d have to somewhat agree a bit, but might I throw a bit of a curveball and some kindling to that line of thought?

Success is an attitude of the heart and mind as well as the actions of the body and emotions.

It’s a lifestyle that begins when you wake up everyday by the thoughts and choices you choose, which in turn, can create successes or failures.

It can last for a lifetime if you think well, choose well and have determined follow through…

So, I guess I’d personally say, “Don’t cancel the thought of “college only”, and don’t cancel the thought of “trade only.””

My suggestion would rather be, the better approach is to decide to be successful by who you are more than what you choose to do, and THEN, what you choose to do, do it well and with purpose and watch successes come more easily!