reality

Hope Is Free

/ The WheatandTares

Hope is here. It is available to all. It is unconditional, and it costs you absolutely nothing.

The Hope I have is redeeming  it is strengthening. It is unwavering, and it is unifying.

This Hope that I have found isn’t like others propegated by many. It is not gained only by the rich and elite. It does not have to be earned by hard work or good behavior, and it is definitely isn’t obtained by violence to those who do not believe.

This Hope is for any who will ask and believe. It will give you peace amidst the storm. It will sustain you through life’s most difficult journey, and it will even give you Hope for eternity.

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Jesus is the Hope of the world.

He loves you, and He longs to be your Savior. He doesn’t demand your allegiance, but once you give it, you’ll never want to take it back. He doesn’t force you to love Him, but once you do, you will never be the same.

He stands with open arms. He doesn’t require your purity before you believe. He never commands perfection in loyalty. He simply says, “Come. Come as you are.” He will love you. He will cleanse you. He will redeem you and transform you. You will never be the same.

Won’t you come?

Won’t you simply believe?

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To Write or Not To Write

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

If I was asked to speak to young writers (young by either years or experience), this is what I would tell them…

WRITE. BE INSPIRED. BE WHO GOD CREATED YOU TO BE!

Write, Write, Write!

Write when you’re passionate…let that pen bleed. Write when you’re not passionate…push that pen to speak. There will be times, you won’t have much to say. Write anyway. It doesn’t mean you have to share it with the world. Just write it to keep the words flowing. I have heard it said… 

…if you dream of being a writer, then you must begin writing today! 😉 Write when you’re “blocked.” This is when outside sources come in handy. Sources like the daily prompt on WordPress is a great option. Keep journals. Don’t limit yourself; use different mediums. Try drawing, word art, poetry, typing and even word games to prompt your senses. Social media is a great outlet, too; however, be careful here! Remember, whatever you put out in the internet world can stay there forever…and sometimes, it can come back to haunt you (Avoid drama)! 😉 Try writing with different styles, different themes and different methods. Write short stories, fiction, essays, poetry, blogs, songs, etc. Enter contests, writing sessions and other opportunities where your writing can be stretched and subjected to someone outside your sphere of influence. Over time, you will be amazed how strong your writing will become. 

Be Inspired!

Read everything and anything to gain inspiration. The more you read, the more inspired you will become. Find a mentor within your orbit who loves writing even more than you do, someone who can gently critique your writing styles to help you consistently improve. Find a mentor outside your orbit to whom you can look for inspiration, as well as, after whom you can model a portion of your style. If you are a person of faith, it is incredibly important to read your Word and become grounded. There are so many fallacies in this world that if your foundation is not the Word of God, you will find yourself swayed by every wind and doctrine that comes along. Unplug. Get alone at least 30 minutes each day. Unplug from electronics and get out in nature. You will be amazed how inspiring this can be!

Believe In God!

This portion was written specifically for the audience of whom I had prepared; however, it’s great advice for the masses…

God gave you a gift; use it! He wouldn’t give it to you if He wasn’t going to use you, even if it’s for no one else but yourself! 😉 Believe in yourself. God does. Take a minute to read through Psalm 139. YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made, and He has created you for His purpose. Find that purpose as you write about it. Don’t ever let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Too many authors, poets and writers, if they could return from the grave, would tell you there’s treasures in those words they buried while living. 

Believe in others as well as yourself. Be willing to submit your works to others. Remember, iron always sharpens iron. Friction can bring out magnificent beauty in the gold. As well, be encouraging of those around you.  You will find as you lift up another, you will be blessed, too!

Well, I do hope this has been helpful, and I’d love to hear from you! What have you found to be helpful in your writing endeavors? What inspires you? 😊

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In Whom Do You Trust?

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

source: unknown


Walking through life without faith is like standing before a mighty wave, looking at its beauty yet never realizing the peril that rises before you. Traveling this journey without God’s guidance is like gazing at this wall of water believing it will simply recede and never bother you again, because you are human and you can avoid the ocean rushing in. 

No, the tide comes in slowly but surely, and the mood of the sea can change in an instance to leave you broken and desolate. If you are not prepared, and if you do not have the proper lifeboat, you may be swept away, never to return. 

Does redemption save you from all the heartache in the world and make your little orbit perfect? By no means, but it sure does give you peace through the storm, and it pours out strength in the valley. 

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So many taunt and say, “Your cross is just a crutch, something you lean on, because you are weak.” I can declare boldly, and without reservation, “I can’t even walk without holding onto His hand!” I am stronger with Him than I am alone! He is my Redeemer. He is my Joy. He is my Peace. He is my everything. 

If you doubt Him, I challenge you to simply ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Just say His name. Once you give Him a shot, you’ll never be the same. I promise. 

Hope for the Nations

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

This world seems to be losing its mind. It seems there is more deceit, more destruction, more hatred and more death than ever before.

If you consume your days with the news and the happenings of current affairs, it feels overwhelming, almost suffocating. Quite frequently, I have to step back, away from it all, or it’s tempting to just let fear, grief and even anger and disgust overshadow my heart.

Yet, the Psalmist reminds us, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) Through all the turmoil and amidst all the evil, we need not fear. We need not be consumed with worry for our God is with us!

 

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He has promised to remain, and He gives us hope in Romans, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” We have nothing and no one to fear.

For we have something this world does not possess, and it is the very thing this world so desperately needs: HOPE! Hope for change. Hope for peace.  Hope for light in the darkness.  This Hope can only come through Jesus Christ.

Jesus said “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). We must give this light, this Hope to this world. We must be this Light in tangible, human flesh to all those around us. If we call ourselves Christians, it is our calling. It is our purpose. It should be our passion and our desire to reach them for Him! Let’s give HOPE away today…

http://dailyverses.net/john/8/12

 

Will You Fan The Flame?

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

I was reminded the other day of an analogy I shared with youth camp workers many years ago, and I thought I’d reshare it with you today…

In every situation, you hold in your hands water and gasoline. The one you choose will determine the outcome of the given situation.

For instance, if you find yourself in the middle of a gossip situation, and you’re wondering what you should do, you have a choice. You can pour gasoline on the flames to fuel the stories, or you can pour water to put them out.

If your child comes running to you in fear, whether it be a dramatized fantasy or a realistic paranoia, what you do in that next moment matters. Sometimes, it will determine the growth of courage or a lasting lifetime fear. Do you throw the gasoline or water?

If your co-worker is infuriated with your boss because of a legitimate injustice being served, what do you do? You hold water and gasoline within your power.

If your friend is in desperate need of a life change. Maybe you know Christ, but you’ve been a little intimidated by their rejection of this saving grace. You know what peace you have found in your moments of fear, of anger and of brokenness; yet, you’ve hesitated to share your story. You hold water and gasoline within your grasp. Which will you choose??

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

The Quiet

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments


Sometimes, you just need to get alone in the quiet. Steal away to feel the calm of the breeze and the song of flight.

Be still.

Listen.

Breathe.

Can you hear Him calling you beyond the trees?

He can heal you. He can restore you. He can make you whole.

He will love you. He will strengthen you. He will set you free.

I promise, you’ll feel better than you came. You’ll leave a little lighter, and you’ll long for a soon return.

 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!” 

Psalm 46:10

Looks Can Be Deceiving

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

Have you ever been deceived simply by the look of something (or someone)? I know I have. You can scroll on social media for this truth to be revealed in a matter of seconds.

I thought of this reality as I took a picture of part of my lunch the other day…

 Look at it. It looks like such an incredibly healthy lunch. Life coaches all over would be so proud of me eating zucchini, cucumbers, carrots with hummus and a huge bowl full of fruit! Let me tell you, it was delicious, but what I’m going to tell you next might be surprising… I didn’t eat all of what’s pictured here, and I, also, ate a piece of pizza and a handful of fried pickles!

Sorry, only two were left when I thought to grab my camera!

Now, I really didn’t write all this to debate the merits of healthy foods or even brag on what I had for lunch. I am sharing all this to emphasize a point: Looks can be deceiving, and in this modern age, where technology reigns supreme, those looks can become downright atrocious!

The Word tells us to guard our hearts, for everything we do flows from it. (Prov. 4:23) We must keep it honest. We must keep our minds pure. We must maintain a standard of integrity even when we think no one is looking.

Let’s get real. Everything you see posted on Facebook, Instagram and every other social medium, isn’t always the truth. Sometimes, people will post falsehoods to help themselves feel better, to outshine someone else, or to simply draw better attention than they would have otherwise, but what is it worth in the end? Nothing! It only leads to heartache, loneliness, anger and despair.

So, be truthful with one another. Be real. Don’t put forth a bunch of junk. For those who long for a real relationship with you deserve the truth, and even more so, your own soul deserves it. If all we have portrayed is fallacies and deception, the long term consequences are so much worse than the short term truths ever would have been. Your heart needs truth to reign supreme for your life to uphold dignity, grace and integrity.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:23-27

When It Rains, It Pours

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Sometimes, when it rained, it pours…

Yesterday, I talked to a gentleman whose mom passed away last week. Just a few days prior to this news, his wife was in a diabetic coma and had to have a stint put in so her heart could work properly. The same week, the family received a call concerning her mother, who had fallen and broken a hip. She lives in a different country, and his wife is in no condition to travel to see her.

Just got off the phone with someone whose parents are no longer able to go out on their own. They think her father may have had a mini stroke, and both her parents seem to be growing more feeble as the days progress. This same lady has an aunt who has to be taken to every appointment she has, and she’s the designated driver…seems she has several appointments each week.

Another friend is facing the grief of a divorce while another is living in a marriage she hates. An old friend is traveling back and forth to the Children’s Hopsital almost every day. Her teenage daughter has been diagnosed with cancer, and they’re giving her high doses of chemo. One more is weeping for her child whom she will never know, because she miscarried the only child she may ever have.

All of this is just within my little orbit of the world. I don’t even want to think about the daily news or the paper headlines which come out every 24 hours or less. If I continue to focus on all of this brokenness, I will become overwhelmed, drowning in a puddle of tears and hopelessness.

Sometimes, when it rains, it really does pour, and if we are wise, we will let the clouds roll on…

For when it rains, the water replenishes the dry places. The rains bring new life where there were parched and dying lands. The rains drown the fires and can even put out the smoke.

When the storms come, and the rain pours down from the skies that don’t seem to relent, just hold on. Don’t lose hope. Maybe, you even need to seek out the Hope you never had.

For after the rains stop, and the clouds roll back, that’s the only time for the rainbow to shine…

How Do You Pray?

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Wow. Read this in my devotion today and thought I’d share. I hope it’s as meaningful to you as it was for me…

The English word, prayer, means to ask for or beg … But the Hebrew word for prayer – tefillah – means to “self evaluate”. So to the Jews of the Bible, prayer was not a time when they asked God for things … it was a time when they examined themselves. They would use prayer as a way to compare their actions, behavior and attitude against God’s holiness.” – Dave Adamson, Instagram.com/aussiedave 

What kind of prayer life would we have if we self evaluated more and begged less? Our prayers are, so often, filled with a long checklist of things we need, problems we wish were solved, and various changes or resolutions we want. Yes, we need to place our petitions before the Lord, I get it. The Bible does say, bring your petitions, but I believe we miss this point of self evaluation sometimes. I think that’s why the acronym PRAY is often taught to us in Sunday School when we are young. 

P = Praise – praise Him for He is good and He is God. 

R = Repent – this is where self evaluation comes in. Clean up time. 

A = Ask – here’s the supplication or petitioning part. 

Y = You – focus turns back on ourselves once again. Might be a reason He created this word, “pray” and it’s Hebrew translation. 😉

Lord, help us to be more aware. Help us to be more honest, with You and with ourselves. Help us to self evaluate in our prayer life.  Help us to be more like You and so much less like ourselves. 💗

  

His Delight

/ The WheatandTares
Over my lifetime, I’ve heard so many people talk about how God is our Father…that He’s really like our “Daddy.” He’s the one who delights in us. He’s the one who thinks we are precious; we are the apple of His eye; we are simply like a treasured child in His sight. He loves us that much.
…I am precious in my Daddy’s sight…
This analogy is great… unless you never had a Dad who delighted in who you were as a child. This is a wonderful illustration for those of understanding; however, for those of us who grew up without a dad present, without a father who showered us with hugs and smiles, without a Daddy who daily convinced us of His love, this picture of a loving Father just doesn’t quite make sense. It doesn’t quite bring the measure of comfort and peace that those who propagate it may wish to convey.
So, how do we translate this kind of love to those with whom a father’s love is foreign? How do we paint a picture of “Daddy’s little girl” or “Dad’s little buddy” to that one whose own father was abusive, neglective or even absent all together? How in the world do we portray this image of a wonderfully, loving father who enjoys seeing His children happy and full of life? The only way I have found to communicate it is by learning about it myself and sharing my life experiences with those whom I encounter.
…He delights in me…
Sometimes, it’s revealed to me by a surprise, tangible blessing like what happened last year on two different occassions: I was on a mad-dash Easter dress hunt the night before Easter. At the very  last minute, I decided I was just going to drop by a store and see if I could find something new. As I was pulling into the parking lot, I had a little prayer conversation with God. I said, “It sure would be nice if I could just walk right in and just a cute pink jacket to go with my pants. I know, I don’t have to have it, and I’m okay with not. I can always wear that old suit I have. I just don’t feel comfortable in it, but it’s really ok, not a big deal.” I went in, looked at one rack, went to next, and there it was. Right size. Right fit. Perfect. Two weeks later, we were at a ladies retreat, and they had a white jacket on display that I just loved! I thought it was so cute. At the end of the retreat, I mentioned this to the lady who owned it, and she handed it right to me. She said, “You enjoy it!”
…I am His precious child…
Sometimes, His delight is shown to me by what others share with me. A widowed friend of mine told me one day, “I am spoiled. I asked Him to help me see Him, and He has. I see the little things He does all around me, the little blessings He does for me everyday, and I feel treasured by my Father. I am cherished by Him.” Another friend was recovering from major surgery. Someone brought her a quilt the very day she returned home, and the person didn’t even know she had had surgery. The quilt was made with scriptures on every square. She said she felt blanketed in The Word while she recovered, and it was a reminder her of God’s love for her. She said, “It was as if in that moment, I could feel Him saying “I love you, you’re my precious child.”
…I am the apple of His eye…
Sometimes, I am simply reassured of His delight in His love for me in nontangible ways…a prayer unanswered, a wound healed, a moment of protection, a feeling of peace through the storm, or a simple reminder of His faithfulness even when I am not. He loves us, and He delights in us, His children. No matter what type of earthly father you may have had during this lifetime, you can be certain that your Heavenly Father loves you more than you could ever imagine! You ARE the apple of His eye. You are His delight!
 
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 “In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.
The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.”
Deuteronomuy32:10-12