War. What Is It Good For?

March 1, 2022 / 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!”

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?

February 15, 2022February 15, 2022 / 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

Living in the Overflow

February 10, 2022February 12, 2022 / 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

Stillness

February 1, 2022 / The WheatandTares

Stillness

http://empress2inspire.blog/2022/01/30/stillness/
— Read on empress2inspire.blog/2022/01/30/stillness/

Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Parenting 101 – Balance

January 28, 2022January 28, 2022 / The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Joey and I have talked about this from time to time, and as I began to blog this morning, I ran across this thought in one of my notepads.

Thought I’d share it for a parent out there who needs to hear it…

There is a great balance in the weight of parenting. It truly takes both parents to survive.

You’ve got to find your niche. Find your balance. One of you will be good at one thing; the other will be better gifted at others.

Here’s a simple illustration:

One of our sons had a project to be done. It was started late, of course. I helped till midnight. I’m a night owl and pretty detailed. I stayed engaged till the job was done, and for this reason, I was very knowledgable of what was needed for the completion. This isn’t bragging; it’s just the facts as we both could see it.

The next morning, Joey dealt with a cell phone issue for another son. There was no blow up. No arguments. He just prompted the convo, said what needed to be said, and it was done. And honestly, it all came out much smoother than I would have ever made it to be!

It takes two. As parents, you have to figure out your weak spots and allow the other parent to balance you. Be honest. You’re not the best in all things, and neither is he.

You don’t have to be all things to your child. That’s God’s job. Be who He called you to be. Immerse yourself in His gifting.

I can’t scream this loud enough: Stop fighting to be “supermom/superdad.” You’re not created to be all things for all moments. If I could shout this from the mountain tops or paint a thousand billboards to make this message clear, I certainly would.

This isn’t a competition. You don’t have to be the best, nor do you have to demean your spouse to make you look better! You figure out what you can do and learn from your spouse on the rest. You don’t have to be the only hero.

When you struggle to be the hero, you only become a narcissistic hinderance in your child’s life.

Read up on narcissism. I guarantee you. You don’t want to go there! 😉

Happy parenting!

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Psalm 139:14

Your Potential Extension

January 25, 2022 / The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Potential…

Everyone has potential…

Sometimes, you have to wait on it…

You wait on your potential, wait through your potential and you wait for your potential to arrive. Waiting on your potential to grow and mature can sometimes be exhausting! It can be slow growth with lots of changes and adjustments.

You wait through your potential change and development to arrive at your giftings and abilities.

You wait through your potential shifting to get to your potential extension.

Have you ever met someone who seems to be a “skys the limit” kind of person? It seems they can do anything, be anything they desire, with no limitations?

This is what I’d describe as a potential extension. There is no limit to their potential, because it has extended beyond themselves.

This is where you find yourself awaiting the potential’s arrival or the limit of your potential.

It’s not a “sit down and wait” kind of potential.

It’s not a place of apathy and laziness, “simply growing old and fat,” awaiting your potential.

It’s not a “looking at the clock, awaiting the change to come to you” kind of potential…

It’s a place of pushing, striving and extending your limitations to reach further than you ever have before.

It’s a place of stretching and learning to thrive in your potential as if you have no limitations.

It’s a “how high can I jump and still land on my feet” attitude, a “let me try to fly just once” perspective.

This is your potential extension.

Are you ready for your stretch?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14

The Sound of a Lonely Heart

January 22, 2022January 24, 2022 / The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

Do you hear it?

The steady buh-bump of a heartbeat

It’s almost monotonous as it beats on and on

Sometimes, it will jump ahead and run a race for a bit

Yet, usually it’s just the faithful buh-dump that continues to march along.

All by itself

Do you hear it?

Late at night, you can hear its inner groan

As the sighs are taken and the tears are falling

Sometimes, the moan becomes a wail as eyes burst forth with life

Yet, usually it’s just the haunting sound of the broken beats

Do you hear it?

The silence is deafening, as there are no words to fix the dull aching thuds

Sometimes, the echo of the night is all that can be heard through the suffocating stillness

Yet, usually it’s just the steadfast weeping of a lonely heart.

Penned – MG – 1/19/22

What is Your Prison?

January 21, 2022January 20, 2022 / 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

A Note On Success

December 30, 2021 / 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!