Love Me Challenge #5

February 5, 2017February 5, 2017 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

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Dear Younger Me,

When you pick up this letter to read, depending upon your age, you may be a little girl full of so many hopes and dreams, it’s hard to see anything beyond the daydreams. You may be a young teen, so confused in the chaos and so hurting there in the silence that you think no one is listening or even cares. You may be a young lady who is desperately trying to find her own way in love, life and desires that you hesitate to slow down and listen too much to someone who seems a little beyond all the excitement of the present. You may even be a newlywed or young mother just trying to live up to all your personal expectations and those perceived expectations of others, never believing you could come close to meeting them.

Wherever you are when you receive this letter, my prayer is you will listen and listen big to these three words and sentences: YOU ARE ENOUGH, YOU ARE NOT TOO MUCH, and GOD LOVES YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN EVER IMAGINE!! If you can somehow bury these words deep within your soul and truly grasp the depth of their meaning, you will not struggle with the feelings of inadequacy, inferiority and insignificance that you would otherwise. If you can somehow rise above your own fears and doubts and pick up your sword of the Spirit and slash those accusing words of your enemy and fight this good fight of faith, you will not lose your courageous, warrior-like stance he so desperately desires to destroy.

Learn now to lean heavily on God’s Word for your confidence in this life. Learn now to trust Him above all else and above everyone else in this life. Learn now that life may not always end up the way you thought it would, or even as you believed it should, but with God by your side, it will turn out exactly as He knew it would and exactly as He has equipped you to live through it!

So, stand up tall and fight like a girl! God is with you! He always has been, and He always will be! He will carry you through every storm you will face. He will cover you as every lighting bolt flashes, and He will guide you right through into the sunshine. He will bring you beauty for ashes and oil for mourning. He will bring you laughter for the tears and a beautiful joy in the morning. Always be real and authentic, never seeking the approval of man above the approval of the One who gave His life for you and never ever allow the persuasion of friends or the deep desire to belong to draw you away from whom He has called you to be.

He will provide for you all your heart’s desire, and one day, as you learn to trust Him with your whole heart, He will place a man at your side who loves Him above all else (yes, even above you, little one), and because of this love that He has for His Heavenly Father, he will fall in love with you more and more everyday. This man will treat you like a queen, and you will often wonder what in the world you ever did to deserve such a wonderful life. Always remember to return the loving kindness…treat him like the king that he is. Speak to that king within and always help him pursue his dreams, even when they seem way out of the ordinary. God created him in His image as He did you. He created you for each other to make each of you better than you ever would have been alone. You will balance each other in your polar-opposite tendencies, and you will create a beautiful tapestry of passion, purpose and pursuit of His promises to display His unconditional love for others to see.

Oh, and one more thing, when you are blessed with those two wonderfully, energetic, full-of-life little boys, remember the strong independence of one and the strong demand of your love from the other both mean the very same thing: they desperately need your love and guidance to become the men God has destined them both to be. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be real. You don’t have to “have all your ducks in a row,” you just have to love big and always be a mom full of integrity, grace and authenticity. They will always be very much like their daddy, anyway, and be able to see the truth of a person’s character; so, no need for anything less than the genuine “you.” 😉 Cherish every moment you have with them, because one day way too soon, you will turn around and realize they are about to be living lives of their own. Don’t hold on too tightly but never let go too easily, and always, always, always point them in the way of the cross. For He must become their ultimate goal and one true guide.

You can do this thing! I have faith in you! There will be many ups and downs, but this one thing remains true, your favorite Scripture: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.” When you trust in Him, He leads, He guides and from your humble life, He ultimately gets all the glory that is due His marvelous name! 🙂 Keep being the beautiful, God given gift that you are to the world around you! He created you for His specific purpose, now go out and be YOU, Mia! 😉 ❤

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My rendition:

Live fully Laugh deeply Love freely

Love Me Challenge #4

February 4, 2017 / The WheatandTares

Today’s challenge is “someone who loves me”… with Valentines Day coming up, I automatically think of my husband; however, my mind is also drawn to One who loves me more than I could ever love Him. That would be my God, my Savior and my King.

I am always amazed at how much His love is not just eternal for me, but it is also unconditional. I want to love Him more, and I find myself not being able to equal that challenge time and again, not cause of His expectations but rather my own. His love simply amazes me time and time again. I wrote a little more about it here in case you are curious. 😊

A Wood In Progress

February 4, 2017January 30, 2017 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

When wood is raw and freshly cut, it is still rough and splinter-prone. If you rub your hand across it, you may pull away filled with a little pain from a piece of wood merging with your tender fingers. It is hard to grasp and difficult to display, but it can be used for very practical things, such as saw horses, firewood and boarding up holes or drafty windows.

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To be a bit more useful, a woodsman will begin to sand that raw wood. (Sanding, Planing and Scraping are all methods of smoothing wood. Each depends on the type of wood and the desired results from the smoothing. For simplicity, I will only refer to sanding.) The first sandpaper applied is very coarse, and it will shave away much of the roughness and splinted wood. As the plank become smoother, more refined pieces of sandpaper are used to cause more and more fine-tuned sanding. Once, the piece is smoothed to the creator’s liking, he or she will run his hands over the fine, smooth piece of wood.

In the final stages of refining, the carpenter might even smooth the wood with cloths or apply a varnish, fiberglass or stain to finish the handiwork. He may create shelves, cabinets, tables, chairs, or even doors and window frames. In the end, a beautiful work of art is presented for daily use or display.

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This is how our Heavenly Father prepares us as well. When we are first saved, our approach to Christianity, life and even each other can be so rough that, if we aren’t careful, we might leave “splinters” in the lives of those around us. God has to smooth out those rough places. He has to apply pressure, allow challenges and even trials to come to “sand away” those splintery spots. In the end, He creates a beautiful work of art within our lives that might be used by His might hand to bring impact into the lives of someone else.Sometimes, the method might seem strenuous, tedious and even unrelenting, but just trust, He will finish what He has started. Never give up through the process, and when He is finished, know you will never be the same. It will be worth it!

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Love Me Challenge #3

February 4, 2017 / The WheatandTares

Oops, So sorry for a delayed post! This is yesterday’s, and today’s will be post d at 11:00 am today. 😉

There is a “name game” we play, often, in settings with new people. You introduce yourself by using an adjective before your name, one that starts with the same letter as your name, to help people remember your name. I almost always use “Mindful Mia.” I would say that describes me a lot.

I am, probably, too mindful at times. 😂Haha. I am always thinking of my family, our church, what’s going on with others, what’s going on with me, what’s next, what do I need to plan, etc. If you’re not much of a planner and wish to be, you might can think that’s a good thing, but I can tell you, it’s not always. I have had to really get in a routine of “turning down the volume” in my head; so, I can clearly hear the most important voice, God’s. Well, that’s another post for another day which you can go read about. 😉

Yes, I would have to say the one word that describes me the most would be “mindful,” and even though, it can get me into trouble if/when I allow my strength to become my weakness, I wouldn’t change this aspect of myself. For, I know this is the way God created me, and in the good, the bad, and the ugly of it, He is still God if/when I allow Him to be. If I can help it, I will always work to allow Him to be God of my mindfulness; so, He can get all the glory from my life! 😊

Love Me Challenge #2

February 2, 2017February 5, 2017 / The WheatandTares

Oops, So sorry for a delayed post! This is yesterday’s, and today’s will be post d at 11:00 am today. 😉

Love Me Challenge #1

February 1, 2017February 5, 2017 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

I saw this pic a very long time ago and saved it as a draft here on the blog. With today being February 1, I thought I’d share it and encourage us all to take the #LoveMe Challenge. Learning to love ourselves can be the first step to learning to truthfully and authentically loving others…

#1 – Why are you doing #loveme challenge?

It will be fun. It might encourage others to join in. It might be an encouragement and a moment to share love and kindness with another…

Are You A Fan?

January 23, 2017January 22, 2017 / The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

As I was reading this Scripture today, it made me think of being a fan. Not an electric, “cool you off fan,” but a “I am so excited! I am going to scream and holler for my team” kind of fan.

When you’re a true fan, you follow the team. You get excited when they are on the tv screen, playing national championships or in town for a big game. When you go to the game, you shout, you raise your hands, you get excited over the good things they do in order to win the game.

When we’re a fan, no one has to tell us how to get excited, how to cheer or even how to clap when our team scores. Noone has to instruct us, because we love our team. No one has to encourage us to cheer, because we are passionate about who and what we love!

Yet, too often, when we come to the House of God, we allow our mood to dictate how we react. We allow the circumstances of our lives or the people around us to influence how we worship. We my sit through a whole worship set, and even half the sermon, before we allow our face to crack a smile.

Yet, we say we are “fans” of our God. We tell other people we are passionate about the man who saved us. We express to those around us how we love Him, the man who gave His life that we might live. We share with new converts how we must reach out, share the gospel, and tell the world of the good things He has done, because He brings hope to all.

Really??

If you call yourself a Christian, could you ask yourself today, “Am I really a fan?”

CHANGE

January 11, 2017 / The WheatandTares

http://affirmyourlife.blogspot.com/2009/07/change-affirmations.html?m=1

Guess I don’t have a lot to say today, but I’d rather ask you a question about your world…

What are you doing thing this year to bring about good changes in your life?

Are you remaining in your comfort zone?

Are you seeking a new daily challenge?

Are you stretching yourself a little further than before?

Are you embracing a different thought pattern, eating habit or routine?

Are you taking a positive step every day to better yourself?

Do you believe change can actually happen in your life?

Do you welcome it?
*Please, share with me your thoughts! 😊*

All Things New

January 9, 2017January 8, 2017 / The WheatandTares

Watching the snow fall late Friday night, I was reminded of this Scripture in 2 Corinthians 5, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Just as the snow appears to “wash” everything in a beauty of white, Christ’s salvation makes our hearts pure and clean again.

Salvation doesn’t cost us a thing. It is not something we can earn. It is not something that we deserve. Salvation is a gift from our Heavenly Father, and we simply must believe and accept it as our own. Salvation is freely given, and it’s freely received.

When we receive it, we are a new creation in Him. All things are past away. All things are made new. That means our past sins are forgotten and washed away by Him. Never to be remembered again. When we accept Him as our Savior, our Lord, we don’t have to return to those old habits, those old ways and those old lifestyles that brought sorrow, brokenness and eternal death.

We can have a second chance at a whole new outcome.

How about allowing a little bit of that snow to wash over your heart?