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On Top of the World

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Even when you’re living on top of the world, you might have to pause and take a moment to look around.

You might need to take a minute to catch your breath.

You might need to wait just a second to ponder and take it all in.

Even when you’re living in the moment of your greatest successes and doing all the things you dreamed, you might need to deliberate a juncture.

You might need to suspend the occasion to contemplate the point in time.

You might need to interrupt life to reflect and meditate on the given adventure.

Even if, or maybe especially, when you’re on top of the world…

I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.

Psalm 77:11-12

What’s the Rush?

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

What is the rush?

We run to get dressed. We hustle to get the kids ready for school. We hurry to get to work. We scurry to get our jobs done.

We dash to get the kids home, to eat, to practice, to do homework and off to bed. We bustle to get ourselves to sleep to start the new day all over again.

We rush, rush, rush like a hamster on a wheel.

Even our breaks and our vacations seem to fill up with more scheduling and more doing.

But why the rush? What is so important?

Our breathing, our health, our expressions of love?

Our legacies, our memories, our impressions of care?

What is really vital? Our advancements or our investments?

What really makes a difference? Our successes or our impacts?

Can we take a breath and inhale a little peace and exhale a little gratitude?

Can we take a pause and look around us and reach to the ones coming behind?

Slow down a minute and really see who is watching you.

Stop seeking the approval of those who won’t matter tomorrow.

Seek the One who will be there for eternity.

Encompass those who await your calm.

Envelope those who need your adoration.

Take a rest and make a memory for life.

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

The work of righteousness will be peace,
and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places, though hail comes down on the forest, and the city is brought low in humiliation.

Isaiah 32:17-19

Friday Afternoon Serenade

/ The WheatandTares / 6 Comments

I read a beautifully written piece the other day by a fellow blogging friend, Modern Serenade, and as I was standing on my back porch this afternoon I thought I’d take his idea and write about my own Friday afternoon serenade.

An airplane flew overhead as the neighbor’s air conditioning unit seemed to kick into overdrive. The wind begin rustling through the trees, and the crickets began their evening rhythms. The dogs across the ridge must have seen a stranger or a critter run by, because they started up in a bit of a panic only to subside after a few minutes. Maybe it was a squirrel that crossed their paths, but his squawking was a bit delayed as he gave a good fussing to some young creature or fellow walking by. The wind rustled through the trees again, as if to attempt to quiet his tirade. I believe it worked. Then, the dogs barked a few times again, and our cats came swirling around my feet with a meow or two just to get some attention. A mosquito buzzed by my ear and landed on my hand as I swatted him. “Smack!” That will be his last bite today; unfortunately, he got me twice. I hear a car driving through the culdesac, probably a neighbor coming home from a long day’s work. The wind rustles a bit stronger through the trees, it seems to be telling the weary soul, “Welcome Home.” My son just joined the chorus as I hear the bass through the subwoofers booming a bit through the walls of the house.

Whish-bark-meow-buzz-smack-vroom”

Another mosquito says goodbye to this life, and I grab the bug repellent; so, I might enjoy a few more moments of the evening serenade before turning in. Even the spray adds a swishing noise to the symphony. The temperatures tonight are quite delightful. … There goes the wind and the crickets again.

“Whish-boom-smack-swish-which-chirp-chirp-bark-boom”

Ahh, there’s the little bird to join in while another plane travels overhead to it’s unknown destination, and finally, the cicadas have come to add their part to the harmony. I was wondering what was taking them so long.

“Whish-boom-chirp-chirp-bark-vroom-whish-tweet-tweet-chirp-chirp-buzz-buzz-cacah”

…a crow couldn’t miss out while he was flying by. 😂

A beautiful symphony given to us by our amazing Creator God. Sitting here, listening and watching just brings a sweet peace to my mind and a gentleness to my heart. It causes me to breathe deeper and smile a little longer. I’m so thankful for my restful place of solitude. It truly brings healing to a weary soul.

I hope you will step outside and listen to the serenade around you, and if it’s just too noisy with human chaos and manmade distractions, take a little drive to a park, an open field, a hiking trail, a lake or a waterfall. Get off the asphalt, and see what you might bring into vision with, not only your eyes, but with your whole being.

Happy listening, and Happy Friday! 😊

Love Me Challenge #17

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

img_1768-3

Silence In nature…

This.

This feeds my soul. I love to sit on our back deck just staring out into the woods. I love sitting by the lake, looking over the tranquil waters. I love lying by the seashore listening to the tide returning day and night.

This feeds my soul… the beauty in the sunrise… the glory in the sunset… the brightness of the harvest moon and the first stars that shine. These are nourishments of my soul.

The birds that chirp in the morning light… the deer that leaps over log and rock… the rabbit that scurries across the forest floor… even the black bear that meanders about looking for summer’s first berries.

These.

These bring peace, comfort and calm to my soul.

psalm-23-1-3-large

Fall Into It

/ The WheatandTares

Ahhh, it has finally begun to feel like FALL around here! I love this time of year. It’s the time for cooler weather, beautiful blue skies, crisp, clean breezes and the change of colors on the leaves. Then, they will begin to fall. I’ve not always enjoyed falling, for sometimes, it can cause pain, injury and long recovery times. However, as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to realize, if done right, falling has its advantages. In this season of change, turmoil, and the unknown, I’d like to encourage you to fall just a little…or maybe a lot…

Fall into PEACE

Fall into peace like you’re falling back onto your incredibly soft pillow top or down mattress. You’re about to get the best night’s sleep you’ve had in your life! Perfect peace doesn’t depend on the situation or persons surrounding you. It is a quiet knowing of the soul that says, “Everything’s gonna be alright.” It’s a settling within that is beyond the storm that may rage on the outside. It’s that moment when “all Hades” has broken loose, and you sit back and just breathe, because you know within your heart and soul that no matter what may come, “All is well with my soul.”

Fall into JOY

Fall into joy like you laughed as a child, when you “turned over your tickle box,” and couldn’t stop laughing if you tried. True joy is not only laughter, it’s attitude. It’s a perspective. It’s an outlook on life that looks past the circumstance. When true joy bubbles up, it can’t be contained. It can’t be hidden. True joy changes your mood. It changes the way you see things, the way you see the future and your destiny. The Word of God says Jesus came to give us “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” This kind of joy changes hearts, changes sight and changes lives.

Fall into GRACE

Fall into grace like a refreshing stream or swimming pool on a hot summer day. It’s a gift. It’s totally free. We can’t earn it. We can’t work for it. We can’t do anything to get more or less of it. It allows us to breathe freely, and it helps us to continue breathing when we’ve lost a loved one, and we feel there’s no more air left to take in. It helps us stay on the straight and narrow when hell is knocking at our door, and it gives us strength to stand when we feel the enemy has busted down that door and is about to overwhelm. Grace gives a way of escape, tenacity for the journey, and  a rest for our weary souls. 

Fall into LOVE

Fall into love like you fell into a piles of autumn leaves as a child, or maybe, those snowbanks to make snow angels. Either way, you wanted nothing more than to keep falling over and over, and there was no fear of pain or injury. You wanted nothing less than to get right back up and fall again. That is just how our love should be, falling deeper and deeper with each new day…with God…with our family…with our spouse…with our children…with LIFE!

Do yourself a favor this autumn, fall a little deeper into PEACE, JOY, GRACE and LOVE. You’ll be amazed at where you’ll land.

 

*Originally shared here (and the next 3 days), just “tweaked” a little. 😉

 

How’s It Growing?

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

 

bamboo

jurassicworld.com

 

A Chinese bamboo seed stays hidden in the ground for 4 years. It shows NO amount of growth on the surface for that entire amount of time. Then, in the fifth year, something amazing happens. In just six weeks, that same bamboo tree grows to a staggering ninety feet tall. It has even been measured to grow 48 inches in a single 24hour period.

Many have equated this type of growth with the rate of success in one’s life, but I would like to equate this to the process God, sometimes, does within our souls. There are times when we simply can’t see the change we so long to see. We work and toil, worry and sweat, striving to obey in what He has directed us, and we wonder if the growth will ever be what He has promised it will be.

be-still

quotesgram.com

 

Sometimes, we won’t see the immediate results that we so long to see, but if we will remain focused and diligent in what He has called us to do, we will surely see His promise fulfilled in His timing. Sometimes, He is working things out of our own heart and mind to get us ready for that growth. I have found that when I have to “wait on Him,” He is working on my character to help me be prepared for what He is bringing forth.

Can I tell you? He’s not finished until He says He’s finished! Sometimes, we just have to be patient in the waiting. This patience doesn’t mean to simply “kick back, relax, and take it easy,” but it means to be graceful in the commitment of the process. It means to continue putting one foot in front of the other and finish what He told you to start. It means to be just like a farmer who plants those bamboo seeds and waits through the summer heat of four years to see the abundant harvest of fall in that fifth year.

 

philippians_1-6_nkjv_picture

thefellowshipsite.org

 

 

Find Your Rest

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

  
I came across this scripture today, and it really spoke to me. Too often, we can get so busy in life that we drift away from God, and soon, we stop and wonder where He’s gone. Yet, it’s never He who has gone away. It is in our busyness and clutter of life that we fail to find Him. He’s right where we left Him. 

Have you ever stood before a waterfall and felt the pressures just wash away? Have you ever stood on the top of a mountain and it seemed the cares of yesterday were flying away with the wind? Or maybe you’ve sat at the beach at sunset, and it feels as if the coming tide is beating away the worries?

That’s how God does it. When we get alone with Him, especially out in His creation, He reminds us of His love, His strength and His promises. He draws our hearts back to Him, and He speaks to our very soul. He refreshes our mind and renews our fortitude. 

“In repentance and rest is your salvation…” This isn’t a suggestion. This is a promise. Too often in today’s hustle and bustle, we don’t stop, repent, and find rest. We just run, run, run from one appointment to the next, ever finding one more item to check from one checklist to the next. Yet, it is in the repentance and rest that we find our salvation…

It is in the quietness and trust that we find our strength. Everytime that I walk to a waterfall and just stand there, looking up at its beauty, or when I walk in the woods and look among the trees and just breathe the fresh air, I find my strength for whatever I am facing. Everytime. Without fail. He is faithful. His Word is true. 

He gives us the promise. I wonder why we don’t trust it more often than we do?

  

Go With The Flow

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Sometimes, you just have to get in the flow. The flow of traffic, the flow of harmony, the flow of God. Some people work so hard to work against the flow that they never find peace, because they’re always fighting, pinching, clawing their way against the norm that they never can just find rest in the flow.

Now, I’m not saying the flow is always the place to be. If it’s a controversial issue, and you find yourself on the opposing team, fighting for the right, by all means, keep fighting. If it’s a societal push to tolerate things which shouldn’t be tolerated, by all means, don’t remain silence for peace sake. If the innocent are being placed in harm’s way, by all means, stand up and be a voice before all is lost.

Never stand by silently simply for the desire of harmony. Never go with the flow simply for the attempt to bring tolerance. Sometimes, a war must be fought before peace can be found. Sometimes, the storm get stronger before the sunset shines through the clouds.

Yet, there are times, in all of our lives, when we need to be more flexible and go with the flow.

Like this week when I came down with the flu. I haven’t had the flu in years. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had the flu. It started with chills and high fever and put me to bed for three whole days. I tried to fight it, and when my fever broke on Thursday morning, I thought I could conquer the world…only to find myself back in bed a few hours later, because I had jumped too soon.

I realized I was just going to have to go with the flow and rest until this thing passed. It was aggravating. It was boring just laying around when I needed to get things done! I sure didn’t feel good as aches and pains ruled the day, but for the betterment of my health, and for the protection of my family, I just had to go with the flow and let that sickness pass.

I learned during that time that our boys can actually get their lunches together and get out the door on time without my constant reminders. I learned my husband and son can do the dishes and even save my baking stones that can’t go in the dishwasher. I, also, learned my husband can take care of the house and the boys just fine while I lie in bed with a high fever and aches and pains. All of these things, I really knew to be true, but watching them play out in reality sure was reassuring. 😊

Sometimes, when you decide to slow down and go with the flow, you learn to rest. You learn to grow stronger, and you learn the world (and your family) can make it while you get better! 😉

Flow

Wait Upon the Lord

/ The WheatandTares

We all get tired. We all get weary.
What do you do with it?

Do you get Grouchy? Do you get ill (physically or emotionally)? Maybe you just get downright mean and cantankerous? …Maybe unruly with your words or actions?

We’ve all been there. We’ve all had those moments. If you haven’t, keep on living, cuz we’re all human.

It happens.

The Bible says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength….”

What if we realized that whom we serve is not just our spouse, our child, our boss, or even our friends?

What if we realized whom we are serving is the Creator of the Universe, the One who spun the moon and stars into orbit?

What if we realized whom we serve breathed breath into our lungs and put a heartbeat in our chest?

How would we serve then? How would we speak in that moment? How would we react when things don’t go just as we planned?

He’s the King of Kings. He’s the Lord of Lords. He is God Almighty.

I venture to guess our eyes would be brighter…our smiles would be wider…our words would be kinder, and our actions would be much more gracious.

The Bible goes further to say, “…they shall mount up with wings of eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint.”

That means we’ll make it, if we can just wait on (or serve) HIM!

The Bible also says, “Do everything as unto the Lord.” …it says EVERYTHING! That’s a hard demand at times…

Like when our husband didn’t notice the laundry folded for the umpteen time but only fussed about that one shirt that didn’t get washed…or the wife who only noticed the trash wasn’t taken out but failed to notice the lawn got mowed and driveway got swept and the car was washed after a long days work…

Or maybe it’s in the middle of the night when one baby is wailing from an earache and the other just got sick in his bed…

Wait on the Lord

Maybe it’s when the boss is being unfair about a deadline and your co-workers are gossiping and cutting you down…

Maybe it’s when your teacher doesn’t seem to like you and your best friend just doesn’t seem to care…

Wait on the Lord…

Maybe it’s when your body is wracked with pain and the Drs can’t seem to figure out what in the world is wrong with you…

Maybe it’s when you’ve had to stand beside a graveside and say goodbye. They weren’t supposed to die so soon. There’s so many things left unsaid…left undone…

Let me read that while Scripture again a little differently…
“(YOU) that wait upon the Lord SHALL renew (your) strength. (You) SHALL mount up with wings like an eagle. (You) SHALL Run and not grow weary. (You) SHALL walk and not faint.”

…as the old song goes, “…teach me Lord to wait.”

Wednesday’s Ode #15

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

  
I love the Great Smoky Mountains and Cades Cove! The beauty of these places cannot be compared to any other. The Smoky Mountains National Park has a gorgeous landscape, and I love driving through it during each season to see the beauty of the land. 

This is one place where you truly can experience every season. In the Spring, there is an assortment of greens sprinkled across the hills. The birds, deer and smaller wildlife are bright with life and, seemingly, excited that winter is now passed. The summers can get hot, yet, not as hot as other places. The days are comfortably warm with the evenings still becoming a bit cool, especially in the higher elevations. 

Fall is probably my most favorite time, as the colors can almost be found nowhere else. No matter where you go in The Smokies during the fall, the foliage is just simply gorgeous. This is proven by the plethora of tourists who make yearly visits to the mountains during the month of October. That is probably the only thing I don’t really appreciate about fall months in The Smokies. 

  
The wildlife is definitely something to see in the Smoky Mountains National Park. You can just take a drive or a nice hike, and it is possible to see deer, bear and even elk. Upon driving into the park from Cherokee, NC, you will often see elk in a pasture off the side of the road. If you drive into Cades Cove, especially at dusk, you will see herd of deer, and many times, you will have to wait in a line of traffic because of a “bear jam.” If you are in search of some wildlife, The Smokies are a fun adventure!

There are so many hikes to take that I would not be able to mention them all. I will mention a few of my personal favorites, Abrahm’s Falls, Ramsey Cascades, the Chimneys, Gregory’s Bald, Newfoundland Gap, Clingman’s Dome and the Cat Stairs. If you’re looking for an overnight hiking trip, you can hike to Mount LeConte and take a snooze break at the LeConte Lodge. This is definitely not your five-star hotel. You will not find your high speed internet, modern accommodations or the swimming pool, but it is a warm meal, hot shower and bedding for the weary travelers. To show you how remote this inn is, the food and supplies needed for this inn are not transported there by car. They are packed in on llamas!! I, personally, have never stayed there, but my dad says it’s a pretty neat experience, and it’s definitely a warm welcome after s long day’s hike. 

  
If you visit the East Coast and the  Appalachain Mountain Range areas, The Smoky Mountain National Park is a must to place on your itenarary. You can stay close in Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge or Townsend, and many cabins and other accommodations have “mountain view” rooms. There’s plenty of other things to do in the area, as well, but that might be another blog for another day. If you have never been to The Smokies, I encourage you to make the trip. It will be well worth it!