tribute

Wednesday’s Ode #7

/ The WheatandTares

IMG_9826This week, I’d like give my ode to books. I love books, and I love to read! Books can take you to lands unknown. Books can take you to places of which you’ve never even dreamed. Books can give facts, and books can give fiction. Books are wonderful!

I guess you could probably call me a book hoarder. I have always loved books, old ones, new ones, little ones, big ones. I buy them in bookstores, online and in antique stores. I’ll even find many treasures in the Goodwill and thrift stores! These are incredibly cheap, too. I love it!! I find those I can actually sit down and read, and some I just buy for a collection. We’ve decided, when we have a “forever home,” a place where we will someday retire, we must make one room a library. My husband loves books, too; so, we have quite a growing stack.

I just love to read. Reading can take you away to distant lands; it can instill wisdom and grace to your weary soul. Getting immersed in a book can teach you new things and can sharpen your skills. It can expand your mind to imagine and dream. You can ask any teacher or scholar, reading books WILL make you smarter!

My heart’s desire has been to instill this love I have for reading and for books into the hearts of our sons. I have bought books for both of them since they were babies (actually before they were born!), and I buy them even now that they are nine and thirteen. I am grateful they have grown to have a love for books and reading as well.

Our, now thirteen year old, got the complete Sesame Street alphabet board books on his one year birthday. He sat in the floor, amidst all those toys, looking through and ‘reading’ each individual book. There were 29 in the series! He now still enjoys some reading. However, school requires quite a bit of textbook reading; so, he has a limited interest, at best. He is reading the Hunger Games series; so, at least the desire is there a little! 😉 Our nine year old loves to read about all kinds of things, but he especially loves his Action Bible, The Hobbit, the Magic Treehouse series, and How I Survived series. My husband is an avid reader. He favorites are The Lord of the Rings trilogy, all Louis L’Amour westerns and most John Grisham novels.

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My reading spans from fiction to non, self-help to leadership and mentoring, biographies and autobiographies, and so on. On my nightstand (actually within my Kindle) right now, I have two books in which I am immersed, and about twenty-five, or quite a bit more, which are waiting “in the wing.” These days, I put most of the books on my Kindle; so, I can take them wherever I go. I absolutely love that Kindle! Oh, but that ode can be given on another day!

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How about you? Do you love books? Do you love to read? What is on your bedside table right now? What are some wonderful books you have found lately? Which is your favorite?

Wednesday’s Ode #6

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Today, I would like to give my tribute to America. Yes, the land of the free and the home of the brave. I love my home, America.

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There are many in this world who would scoff at those words, many who would sneer at my homeland, believing they would be better off without it. Yet, for those who long for freedom, those held under tight regimental control, where do their hearts long to go? Where do their dreams take them when they think of freedom? Yes, it is AMERICA! This land was chosen to be a place where “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”* This is the land of the free and the brave. This country was founded on freedom, on liberty and on the pursuit of happiness. For those who live in this land and get angry at these words, I truly wonder why they still live here! Why stay in a country that you so clearly hate? However, I digress. This post today is not meant to be a rant. It is meant to be a tribute; so, let me pay honor where honor is due! 😉

I LOVE this land of freedom! I can worship freely. I can go where I please. I can do as I please (within the laws of reason). I can choose to pursue whatever course in life I’d like. I can be whomever I choose to be. If I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, a construction worker, a CEO, a fireman, a retail salesperson, or even a fast food worker, I can be any of these. If I want to pursue a life long dream of singing or a momentary whim of sailing across the ocean, I can do it. The only things that will stop me is my own limitations of dreaming and my own will power to pursue those dreams. This is the beauty of freedom.

Yes, I know we’ve got our problems. I’m not blind. I know there’s people who don’t appreciate this land nor the people who work hard to make it what it is, but that’s not my point today. Sometimes, you’ve got to step out of the darkness to truly see the light again. Often, we must re-shift our focus when there’s so much turmoil and remember the reason we got in this to begin with. This country was founded for freedom. This country was founded on hard work and pride in a nation of diversity and respect for the pursuit of a dream. These are the things upon which this country was built. Let’s get back to the main thing! Sometimes, I wonder if we’ve forgotten the goodness and wonder in the dream of a better future, because we’ve gotten so entangled in the futuristic dream someone else said we should have… (another thought for another day!)

I LOVE this land of beauty! There is an “old” song, sung by Lee Greenwood, that perfectly sums up my love for the beautiful land called America. He says, “From the lakes of Minnesota, To the hills of Tennessee, Across the plains of Texas, From sea to shining  sea, From Detroit down to Houston, And New York to L.A., Where’s pride in every American heart, And it’s time we stand and say, God Bless the USA!” The beauty of this land is as diverse as the people who live here. If you long for snow, just travel north long enough, and you’ll find it. If the beach is more your style, just travel South, you’ll find it. Maybe green rolling “hills” (this term is relative to what you call a hill or a mountain) and Shenandoah Valleys are more your speed, or maybe you prefer peaks as high as the clouds, and tree as big as a house or maybe it’s beautiful plains that stretch for as far as the eye can see. Well, we’ve got it all, just find a map and start your travels! America is where it’s at! No matter, if you’re looking for the city and the night life or the ranch and the country life. It’s all here in this great big land of opportunity!

So, today, I call myself BLESSED to be an American, and I consider myself blessed to be living here in this wonderful land of the free! These are just a few reasons I love this wonderful place! There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Who’s with me?? 🙂

*Declaration of Independence (found here)

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Wednesday’s Ode #5

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

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Today, I’d like to give tribute to sweets. I LOVE sweets! I love cheesecake (of almost any kind!) and key lime pie and apple pie. I love cookies, brownies and just about anything covered in caramel. I love sweets!
In actuality, however, it’s not like I eat them in excess, really. Well, I have to amend that, because I’m sure that is completely relative to whose perspective we’re talking about. From the perspective of someone who doesn’t eat many sweets and someone who may be very health conscious, I am probably considered a sweets fanatic. However, to someone who eats sweets all day long or someone who can sit down and eat a whole box of Girl Scout cookies, I may be thought of a lite or moderate sweets person. Either way, I definitely like my fair share of the confections!
Some of my favorites would be warm apple pie, lemon meringue, key lime pie and almost anything cheesecake. I love to have dessert in the middle of the day or even sneak a little cookie at breakfast. *Shhh….. I promise, I don’t do this very often, and I definitely don’t want my boys to follow in my footsteps, but I have to be honest that my self control isn’t very strong when it comes to the sweet stuff. It doesn’t have to be a whole piece of pie, and it doesn’t have to be a half dozen cookies; sometimes, just a little chocolate after-dinner mint will do! …well, maybe two. 😉

All these wonderful treats go just wonderfully with one of my other “loves” that I talked about here…

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Wednesday’s Ode #3

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

For those of you who may have missed my post concerning this new weekly feature, this is the third “Wednesday’s Ode.” You can read more about it here. I hope you enjoy these! 😉

I may be a small town, Southern girl, but I LOVE the warm clothes that I get to wear in the fall, winter and early Spring! As soon as we get the drop in temperatures, I’m pulling out my boots, sweaters snd turtlenecks! I just love being all warm, cozy and bundled up!

IMG_9623 I look forward to the beautiful fall leaves in all their splendor of color and the breathtaking snow covered mountains. Even if it doesn’t snow much at our home, my husband and I are very prone to packing up the boys and heading north to get snowed in, or at least, to find some snow in which to play!

I may have lived my childhood along the beaches of north Florida, but I have grown to absolutely LOVE the mountains and cooler temperatures! I know, for all of you beach lovers out there, that probably comes as a shock. Please, don’t get me wrong. I still love the beach, and we get back home as often as we’re able; however, if I had to choose between warmer weather and bathing suits or cooler seasons and my warm clothes, I’d definitely choose the latter.

I just love my sweaters, boots, turtlenecks, sweatshirts, hats and gloves! It’s like walking outside fully clothed in a warm and cozy electric blanket, and I love the comfort in it. You can just layer up and walk around in the cold air, and if you’re layered with the right stuff, those frigid temperatures aren’t so frigid anymore…and that’s truth coming from a VERY cold natured gal! 😉

So, this is why I chose to tribute warm clothes today. I just love ’em! Matter of fact, I think I’ll go change out of these pjs and get some on right now! 😉
…hmmm, now which ones to choose…

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Wednesday’s Ode #1

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

For those of you who may have missed my post on Monday, this will be the first of my upcoming weekly features…”Wednesday’s Ode.” You can more about it here. I hope you enjoy these! 😉

As I was in the shower one morning, contemplating Wednesday’s Ode, I had a realization…I LOVE hot water!!
Refreshing, relaxing, invigorating, cleansing, soothing, smoothing. It
cleans bodies, dishes and clothes, sometimes, the dirtiest, smelliest, hardest things from which to remove muck and mire. It doesn’t seem to mind what the object of its affection might be on a given day.

It heats bottles for newborns, boils oatmeal for children and tea for fine old ladies; it even adds to the stew for burly men. It provides steam in locker rooms and adds to medicated steam in nursery rooms. It is poured in and heated through hot water bottles and hot water heaters all over the world. It seems to be no respecter of persons.

Have you ever been without it? It’s amazing what you miss when the source is no where to be found. It was the Bahamas. In the heat of summer. We were on a youth missions trip, and it definitely was not the resort side of the island! It was hot, and it was miserable, but in the early mornings of getting up, we still longed for a nice, hot shower…Nope! It was like the ice water challenge!! I will say this, the girls definitely didn’t take as long to get ready that week! Haha.

There was another moment in time when reality settled in about how wonderful hot water can be. I was on the coast of the Fl panhandle, after Hurricane Ivan of ’04 hit. There was water all around us in the bay and the ocean beyond, but not one drop of clean water to drink and definitely no hot water. You have to have hot water to sterilize anything that’s been swirled around with salt water, sewage tanks and brackish water…and all the mud and grime. No cleaning. No drinking, and definitely no eating anything that had to be boiled. That week, I sure did learn that military rationed dry food pkts (MRE) are actual edible. There are so many wonderful things about hot water! I just love it!
So, yeah, hot water is a wonderful thing!
Sometimes, it just makes me want to sing!
It even makes me feel full of power!
Especially when I’m in the shower!
🙂 haha!!

Goodbye, Pa”T”

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

~ Saying goodbye to my grandfather … He was like a father to me … I miss him still. ~

So many memories fill my mind.

So many days, so many years, my tears make me blind.

Oh, Pa”T”, how I will miss you.

My heart is now breaking in two.

So many future things make me wonder and dream.

So many joys, so many sorrows, you are with still, it seems.

Oh, Pa”T”, how I will look forward to the other side.

My heart rejoices and, in Christ, it abides.

It’s as if I can see you at those pearly gates.

For all your loved ones and friends, you eagerly await.

I can see you waving and shining a grin.

I can see your new body is not at all like it’s been.

Oh, I cannot wait to see your lovely face.

Oh, what strong arms you’ll once again have to embrace.

We’ll dance and we’ll sing for many days on end.

No more counted days to us will be lent.

So many memories fill my weary soul.

So many days, so many years, the tears, they overflow.

Oh, Pa”T”, how we will miss you.

But now, you are made brand new.

So many future scenes make me smile and sigh.

So many joys, so many sorrows, you’re only a temporary goodbye.

Oh, Pa”T”, how I eagerly search for heaven now.

My heart leaps for the time when together before our King we shall bow.

Penned – MG – 10/6/02 … the day we said Goodbye …

I Love You, Pa”T”

/ The WheatandTares

~ A tribute to my grandfather who passed away 10/6/02. He was like a Daddy to me. ~

You have been my one and only Pa”T”

You were also my first and oldest Daddy

You’ve given me much sound advice

And lots of instructions that were very precise.

When it was just my mother and me,

You watched out for us and helped to see

That I was taken the best care of

And always given an abundance of love.

Your support and encouragement

Has forever to me been sent.

Your concern and adoration,

You’ve never given in moderation.

I remember all those very special times

To the candy store we’d go, spending every dime,

To school you’d drive me in that old Ford Ranchero.

That ride will be more cherished than any ol’ Camaro.

I want to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart.

But there aren’t enough words. I cannot even start.

If only I could tell you that is all I want to do.

Since, I cannot say it all, I’ll just simply say, “I love you.”

Penned – MG – 9/18/02