tribute

Thank You For Your Time

/ The WheatandTares

Valiant men and women signed on the dotted line to fight for the freedom we have. Strong and ready young men and women gave up the comforts of home, the easy living, the enjoyments of friends and family to lend us their courage to fight, to serve, to do the hard things to make this country what it is today.

So, we pause in this hour to say Thank You.

Our thanks could never be enough, but it’s all we have to give. So, we give it sincerely, and we mean it deeply, more than words can adequately express

Thank you for all that have served and who are now serving.

God bless you, each and every one.

❤️🇺🇸❤️

Happy Veterans Day!

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

3 John 1:2

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Thanks, again, WP!

/ The WheatandTares / 14 Comments

Well, this congrats popped up in my WP notifications today, and it made me smile. Just about a week ago, I was writing here to say thanks for the nine year anniversary on WP.

Today, I’m writing to say, Thanks for being my 1,000 readers. I’m not foolish enough to believe that all one thousand of those followers read my blog everyday, but it’s nice to know each one has dropped by from time to time. It’s a nice feeling of appreciation.

So, if you’re reading this, just know that thanks goes to YOU. If you’re dropping by, and maybe your blog is way beyond this point, thanks for the inspiration. And if you’re here just at the beginning of your WP journey, here’s my gratitude and encouragement to say, Keep Going! If I can do it, you can! You’ve got this. 😉

Thanks, again, WP community. You make a girl feel good to know maybe someone is out there listening (and reading)… 💞

Never forget

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

Thank you for your time.

Thank you for your effort.

Thank you for your sleepless nights and endless days.

Thank you for your nightmare and your gut wrenching heartache.

We will not forget your sacrifice.

We will not forget your pain.

We will not forget all that you gave;

So, we could live free.

I’m sorry it cost you so much.

And I am eternally grateful.

We will never forget.

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8

Remembering

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

What did you remember?

What did you see?

All those years ago, when my existence wasn’t even a thought.

What did you recollect?

What did you hear?

All those sleepless nights, when the bottle became your friend.

What did you reminisce?

What did you feel?

All those days of overcast, those memories of horror, those years of agony…

What demons did you try to forget?

I wish I could have reached you.

I’m so sorry for your pain.

And I’m eternally grateful for your sacrifice.

Remembering Memorial Day 2022

Penned – MG – 5/30/22

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

John 15:13

Lost Soul

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

You were just a lost soul no one could hold

Traveled the world wide but never stayed close to home

Restless, renegade, rogue

That’s the life you tried to embrace

You were just a wandering soul no one could understand

Followed the stars and searched the land but never stayed too long

Rugged, ravaged, relentless

That’s the life that chased your dreams

You were just a weary soul no one could confine

Drifted beyond the horizon but never stayed in port

Regrets, remembrances, recollections

That’s the life that you left behind

You were a broken soul only One could redeem

Sailed close to water’s edge but never stayed the anchor

Reconstruction, renewal, redemption

That’s the life He has waiting for you

Penned – 8/6/2021 – MG

RIP JLH 8/5/21

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

Memories and the emotions they bring can be so difficult to put into words, but sometimes, a song will do…

A Call to Arms, Peacefully

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

We are to bring peace to this crazy world.

Peace, love, hope, and joy

How can you bring peace when you’re full of anxiety?

How did you bring Hope when you’re hopeless?

How can you bring courage when you’re fearful?

We are His ambassadors!

We are to bring His message to this fallen world.

Have we forgotten our place?

Have we forgotten our calling?

Rise up! Take your place!

This place is a disaster because the church is a disaster.

We have just as much divorce, drugs, anxiety, etc., as the world has.

This should not be.

He called us out to be separate, a royal priesthood, set a part for His will and His way.

We’ve spent too much time trying to fit in, to conform to the norm.

Rise up! Stand your ground!

Our fight is not against flesh and blood.

We have forgotten our enemy while he has lulled us to sleep.

We have grown lazy in our opinions and agendas, forgetting Whose opinion matters most.

We’ve got to return to our calling.

We’ve got to return to the mountain.

Don’t shutter because He’s mighty.

Praise because He’s holy.

Worship because He’s gracious.

Shout because He is merciful and just.

We serve a King not a people.

We are an army to storm the gates of hell not lie in the puddles of our own ambitions and desires.

Rise up! Take your place in the kingdom of God!

This world is desperate for a Savior.

Can you hear Him calling?

Can you hear their cries?

How can you ignore it?

Why do you walk away?

If you do not fight now, you will lose the very things you clinched so tightly.

They are like sand sifting through your hand.

We are Ambassadors of Christ.

Grasp the things of His kingdom.

Seek Him first.

Chase Him, church.

Arise, oh daughters and sons! Arise!

Take your place and reap the harvest!

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

What is Hate? What is Love?

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

If a man dying underneath the blended knee of a cop doesn’t make you heartbroken, we need to re-evaluate.

If a cop dying underneath the violent barrel of a another man’s gun doesn’t make you cry, we need to re-evaluate.

If a man dying underneath the treacherous hands of another’s man’s hands doesn’t make you sad, we need to re-evaluate.

If a man’s reputation dying beneath the slanderous words of another man doesn’t make you somber, we need to re-evaluate.

If a man’s wellbeing dying beneath the murderous actions of another man’s hate doesn’t grieve your heart, we need to re-evaluate.

It is not the color of one exalted above the other.

Racism does not come in only one dark shade or another.

It can be as black as a shadow that has never seen light or as white as sunlight that has never known darkness.

If you only proclaim it comes from one group or another, we need to re-evaluate.

May we all remember, media spews only their personal biases, and our reposts only refuel their cause.

May truth be revealed to our hearts as we each turn back to HIS ways rather than our own.

May justice reign as we call it out from ALL sides, rather than just one.

May mercy prevail as we seek His heart instead than our own.

May we all re-evaluate our hearts, our thoughts, our actions.

And may we return to His cause and not “theirs” … whomever you choose “theirs” to be.
(*note: grammatical errors of “you/we” are not accidental)

Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:

A proud look,

A lying tongue,

Hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that are swift in running to evil,

A false witness who speaks lies,

And one who sows discord among brethren.”

(Not so) Whimsical Wednesday

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

Listened to this song for the first time today. Don’t know why I haven’t ever heard it before, but it speaks a message today. On this 18th anniversary of a horrific day in our history, I will remember. I will cherish, and I will never forget.

It’s not about a political party. It’s not about a race, a religion, or a heritage. It’s not even about a personal opinion or thought.

This was a day that radicalism thought it could rule. This was a day when hatred filled hearts surmised they could win. This was a day when evil consumed souls believed they had the upper hand and could bring down a powerful, mighty nation.

9/11 will forever be a day of remembered terrror, heartbreak and death. Yet, 9/12 will forever be a day remembered of a nation uniting to bring rescue, support, encouragement and comfort. The two days shall ever be etched in the memory blanks of my legacy.

This is a realization of what purpose can expose. This is a revelation of what a common bond can bring. This is a testament of what unity can do.

For evil and for good.

Never forget these days in your retelling of truth and of history. Share the brokenness, revel in the heroics and cherish the patriotism. Never forget, a people bound together in one cause, one focus, one goal can accomplish the unthinkable.

America, never forget.

Fight For These

/ The WheatandTares

Red, White and Blue

There is nothing new

Diversity, Poverty, Equality

The war has always been these

You claim I don’t care

I claim you come to scare

Selfishness, greed and self-centeredness

Our pride is the only thing we caress

This nation was founded on freedom

The lives that died were someone’s son

Will we really trample on their graves today

Simply to gain ground for our own way

Red, White and Blue

To her foundation we shall remain true

Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness

Fight for these and nothing less

Penned – MG – 5/27/18.

*I do not possess nor own either of these pictures. Found through simple google search.

Good Friday or Bad?

/ The WheatandTares

Today, many of us celebrate what we call, Good Friday. The day Christ died on the cross with the promise of rising in three days. The day the earth shook, the sun darkened, the veil was torn, and the believers were scattered with their dreams of majesty shattered. The day the Holy Lamb of God was beaten, bruised, pierced by those who hated Him and forsaken by the very Father God who claimed to love Him.

So, if all this bad happened on this day, how can we call it Good Friday? How can we join together to celebrate such a horrific, gruesome, unimaginable death? How can anything good be taken from such a terrible day that is forever written in the annals of time?

If you don’t know Him, I can understand why you’d wonder. If you’ve never realized His love for you, I can believe your confusion and doubt. If you’ve only heard of Him in storybooks and seen Him portrayed as “just a man” in cults and Hollywood box office hits, I can comprehend your skepticism, ridicule and even rejection.

But for me, I know Him on a personal level…

He was there before I even took a breath. He was there when I was in my mother’s womb, and her guidance counselor tried to convince her to “get rid of the dilemma,” because, after all, she was just 16. He was there when I was born six weeks (8 wks to today’s standards) too early and fought for life for those 10 days in that tiny incubator.

He was there when I was six months old, and my alcoholic parents split up. He was there when my four year old self waited by the door with packed bags for a father who never showed up. He was there when my twelve year old self received a “new daddy” who took us away from a comfortable, small town to a great big city with so many unknowns.

He was there when I met the man of my dreams and said, “I do.” He was there when our first child never grew in the womb, and we buried him under those great big oaks at my childhood home. He was there when our firstborn aspirated meconium, and we were told by a young nurse that it could be fatal. He was there when our second son fell off the changing table onto a tile floor while being babysat. He was there when I lost my precious grandfather to cancer, the man who had protected me, loved me and cherished me, the man who been my “Daddy” for so many years. He was there through all of the grief and sorrow.

The stories could go on and on with so much more detail, but I won’t bore you with my life story. I can just say, with 100% confidence, He was there. In my darkest days and in my happiest hours, in my finest moments and in those times that I wish to never be repeated, He was there.

He has always been there.

So, I call it Good Friday, because I know He was there hanging on the cross pouring out His blood for me for redemption. I call it Good Friday, because I know He rose just a few days later with the promise of victory, and heaven and eternity for my soul if I just believe. I call it Good Friday, because I am a witness to all that has come from His sacrifice, His love and His grace just in my own life.

I call it Good Friday, because often times, out of the bad, the horrific, the most unimaginable things comes such beauty and goodness and promise that you can’t call it anything but GOOD!

Watch and listen…

https://youtu.be/Is6weMrenls