truth

Choose a Path…

/ The WheatandTares / 4 Comments

I came across a new blog the other night, Shades of Today, and the blogger’s post prompted me to send a comment her way, and as I thought about it more, I thought it might be a good topic for me to share here as well…

http://www.paulkern.me/choose-your-path-wisely/ : Source

Sometimes, it’s so hard to know the path in life to take, especially when it feels as if it may be a real “key” to unlocking your destiny. In my life, I have found four things that help the choosing to be a little easier: perspective, diligence, hope and faith.
My perspective can make or break my situation. If I’m all ‘doom and gloom,’ always believing “the grass is greener on the other side,” I’ll forever be searching for the fantasy I’ve created in my own mind. Sometimes, you can miss the very best opportunity sitting right beside you, because you’ve always got your head in the clouds and can’t see a blessing when it’s there. Those with wanderlust can get caught in this vicious cycle. Other times, you may miss the opportunity, because you’re too focused on the here and now, and you’re never dreaming of a bigger, brighter tomorrow. You can get stuck in a rut, because you’re never looking beyond today’s job and tomorrow’s paycheck. Anyone from a small town who now lives with the regrets of a missed college experience or job opportunities can give me an “Amen” on this one.

My diligence in the here and now can both boost my perspective of the current situation and boost the opportunities that may open up in the near future. If I am diligent in doing what I am involved with today, someone who has an opportunity may see my diligence and desire my assistance on their team, as well as, sometimes, diligence can help me to accomplish things which teach me to be ready for my “next step” in life.

It is imperative to hold onto hope in all things and in all circumstances. For, if I don’t have a dream, a hope for a better tomorrow, how can I ever set goals to get there? If I don’t have hope, how can I finish what I’ve started today, and if I don’t hold onto hope, where will my joy in the little things be found?

Finally, I have realized, for my life, I have to have faith in Someone who is bigger, better and so much smarter than me. Some will call my faith in God a mere crutch, and, yes, I have found, I can’t even walk without Him holding my hand. He guides me, helps me, comforts me and loves me. He is the Creator of the universe; yet, He loves me. He is the King of all Kings; yet, He knows my name. He is one with God Almighty; yet, He chose to die for me and be raised from the dead to give me hope and a future! The Word makes it clear to me that He has good plans for my life. Jeremiah 29:11, says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” That’s a pretty great promise to which to hold! So, to have faith in a God who not only loves me but One who also is looking out for me and planning a good life for me, is definitely a great thing to obtain. How can I possibly live without Him?!

I have found having these four elements active in my life help me every time I am faced with a new challenge, a new dream and/or a new path to choose in life. When they are in balance, and I’m not leaving one out or leaning solely on one while neglecting the others, it is so much easier to find the path and walk in it. I have, also, found these four elements join together to bring perfect harmony and balance to my heart and soul on a daily basis.

Maybe they can be of help to you… 😊

The Evidence Is In Your Hands

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

Our true character comes out in the way we pray.

Whenever the insistence is on the point that God answers prayer, we are off the track. The meaning of prayer is that we get hold of God, not of the answer.

We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; The Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

Prayer is simple, prayer is supernatural, and to anyone not related to our Lord Jesus Christ, prayer is apt to look stupid. – Oswald Chambers**

I picked up a new little perennial calendar with prayer quotes from Oswald Chambers, and I find myself challenged in my prayers more often than not. He has such a blunt way of stating things, and his words seem to pierce my heart even on subjects with which I am very familiar.

“Our true character comes out in the way we pray.” This is so very true. I heard a pastor preached this past weekend on this same subject. Pastor Rhonda Holland was speaking at a ladies conference, and she gave the illustration of the women who went to the tomb after Jesus died. She referenced Luke 24:1, when Mary Magdelene, Mary the mother of James and Salome went to the tomb and carried spices to anoint the body of Jesus. She said, “Now, why do you carry spices to a tomb? Jesus had told them He would rise in three days. They had believed in Him when He walked the Earth. They had even followed Him to the cross. Yet, on that third day, the evidence of what they believed was in their hands.” The only reason you bring spices to a tomb is to anoint a dead body! The evidence of what they truly believed they would find in that tomb was carried in their hands!! If they had actually believed Jesus was going to be risen when they got there, they wouldn’t have needed the spices. They would have, instead, carried tambourines for singing and shouting!

Often times, we claim we believe God’s Word to be true. We say we believe Jeremiah 29:11, that promises God has good plans for our life, plans to prosper and not to harm us. We claim to believe Romans 8:28, which tells us He works all things for our good. We even boldly declare the promise found in Romans 8:37 that we are more than conquerors through Christ; yet, the evidence of what we truly believe within the depths of our hearts can be seen and heard in our prayers when the storm really hits too close to home. We cry. We fear. We doubt, and we question Him. We wail and travail, fearing the worst is yet to come!

What if we were to actually believe He was going to do what He said He was going to do? What if we really claimed the promises He gives to us in His Word? What if we actually prayed as if we knew His promises were right and true?

Remember, if those three women had come to the tomb truly believing Christ had risen, they would not have carried those spices for embalming His body. They would have come rejoicing, praising His name, dancing in celebration of what had already come to pass and expecting that stone to be rolled away! 😉

 What is the evidence you hold in your hands?

 

**See more at: http://prayer-coach.com/2011/06/10/prayer-quotes-oswald-chambers/ and http://www.christianquotes.info/top-quotes/18-powerful-quotes-from-oswald-chambers/

 

 

 

To Reach Them

/ The WheatandTares

We never know someone’s struggle. We never know their pain until we come in close, until they let us in past the protective shield they’ve constructed. Just as a wounded animal responds with growling and even a bite, sometimes, those most wounded will respond with the most hatred and venom. Just as a child whose grown up way too fast will grit their teeth and bare the scars and brokenness without a tear to shed, those most crippled often respond with a cold stare and clenched jaw. 

 

source: flickr.com

 We must reach to Him for the love they need. We must be His arms extended to show them grace and mercy. We can’t assume we know how they feel or even what they’ve been through, but He knows. 

Oh, but the one who is broken and almost barren inside and, yet, is somehow able to respond to the love shown. That one to whom grace is freely given and the ice around her heart is finally shattered. Oh, the joy that will overflow! 

We must first reach Him to reach them. We must first love Him to love them. Our acts of kindness, our showing of mercy will never last if it is only from our own mind, our own hands. Some will never respond, and that’s okay. It’s not a reflection of you. It is only a rejection of Him. 

Just keep loving Him and reaching to them. Those who reject, just move on past, but keep on praying. God will have His way. God will reach their hearts. 

Sometimes, you’re just to plant the seed. Sometimes, you get to pour the water. Regardless of your position, He’s always the One who brings the increase. You just keep obeying His call, and He will take care of the rest. 

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-19

Don’t Settle For The Mud

/ The WheatandTares

Proverbs 21:2, “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”

Have you ever fooled yourself? You know, you’re walking along in life, everything is good, and the sun is shining. Then all of a sudden, you stumble a bit, you trip up, and you end up in a mud hole! After you get up, dust yourself off, you look around to see if anyone saw you, and you pretend nothing ever happened…only to realize later, you’ve been walking around all day with mud on your face! 

source: flicker.com

 
Sometimes, this can happen in our Christian lives, and we wonder how in the world we got where we are. It may be a relationship of which we realize we never should have been a part of from the beginning. It may be a job situation where our faith is being compromised on a daily basis, and we realize we’ve let it go way too far, or it may even be an addiction that you thought you could control in moderation only to find out you’re in way over your head, and you’re about to drown, if you don’t get some help fast. 

So, how can these things happen, when we call ourselves a Christian, when we go to church, say the right things and truly believe we are doing what we should? Well, let’s look at the latter part of that verse, “but the Lord weighs the heart.” The heart is where it all counts. The heart is the scale God uses to determine where we are in relation to Him. If your heart isn’t totally surrendered to Him, you will constantly find yourself in one mess after another, not because you “weren’t thinking,” but rather, because your heart misguided you. 

You see, our hearts will lie to us. Our hearts will deceive us into thinking what we are doing is a good thing, maybe even a noble thing. It will convince us that our motives and intentions are pure and right; so, how in the world could we ever go wrong? 

The answer to that can be summed up in this verse from Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” If you’ll take time to read the verses right before and right after this verse (17:5-13), I believe it can really shed light on this subject for you. 

The only way our hearts can no longer deceive us is if we allow someone greater than us to consume our hearts. If we allow Him, the One who created our hearts, to direct our heart, then we are no longer trying to decipher good from bad within our hearts, He is.

 I, for one, am very thankful to surrender my heart to Him and allow Him to guide and direct my heart and my life. I’ve tried it the other way, and I constantly kept walking into those mud holes, getting up and proceeding to walk around (unknowingly) all day with mud on my face! No thank you! I’ll take His divine guidance any day over my common sense and blind direction! 😉

Just A Light For This Step

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

http://www.f3ashley.com/christian-encouragement/one-step-at-a-time/ : source

“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

We may not always be able see far down the path. In fact, many times, we won’t be able to see more than one or two steps in front of us. Think about it. 

How often do you know what is going to happen in a certain situation or a certain conversation? We can imagine. We can assume. We can even theorize, but we can never truly know, because we are not God. We are not fortune tellers. We are not even wizards who might conjure up an image of what’s to come. 

We simply are who we are, and He is who He is.

We just have to follow Him one step at a time. If we will follow in obedience, we will make it to our destiny, even when we can’t see three steps in front of us. He is a good and loving Father, and when we will put our trust in Him, He is faithful and just to lead us, protect us, change us and love us, despite our fears, failures, doubts or hesitations along the way. 

Can you trust Him today? I promise you, even when things don’t turn out the way you expected, in the end, He will not disappoint. He can see farther. He knows more, and best of all, He knows the innermost depths of our heart, even those things that we might hide from ourselves. He does know best, and He loves us so much, He is willing to give us just what we need when we need it! 

What Are You Hiding?

/ The WheatandTares / 7 Comments

 

source: http://thewell.intervarsity.org/reflections/hide-and-seek-god

 
We all hide something…we paint on makeup to hide blemishes and old age. We put on certain garments to hide weight gains. We avoid a phone call to hide awkwardness. We walk the other way to hide our annoyance with a certain person. We don’t show up in order to hide anger, hurt or confusion. Too often, we hide from the things that will cause us to work a little harder, think a little longer or or even confront a little stronger, because it’s much easier to avoid and hide than it is to put real effort into moving he mountain which is before us. 

On the other hand, there are times you need to hide… 

As the old saying goes, “If the barn needs painting; then, paint it!” There are definitely times when a little makeup helps more than it hurts. (I’m not arguing the merits of “going natural” here.) If you need to prepare your heart before the encounter; then, by ALL means, hide in your prayer closet and get prepared; so, you don’t add more damage to the troubled situation. If you need to avoid the conversation until you can gather your thoughts an words properly; then, do it, but don’t wait too long. 

Yet, when it comes to matters of the heart, and it is a matter of obedience to the task God has set before you, it is better to hide under His wings to receive your true rest and strength and simply obey. When it involves someone who needs a confrontation, needs encouragement or just needs a friend, it’s time to come out from your hiding places and do the right thing! 

Stop hiding for fear of failure, fear or confrontation or fear of rejection. When God calls you, He will equip you. He will give you the courage to obey. He will give you the ability to speak truth. He will give you the ability to forgive and love even when you don’t it’s possible. 

One of the most important things is we must get honest about the hiding! It’s not a hide-and-go-seek game where you can claim to pretend you were just having fun. Your hiding doesn’t simply make those things go away; the hiding only prolongs the pain and frustration of yourself and those involved. 

So, face down your fears. Confront the wrong and follow through with those things which God has placed before you! You can do this! You will be amazed how much better you will feel, how much stronger you will become and how much you will grow when you come out of hiding and seek out those things from which you have been straining to avoid. 😉

Piercing Question

/ The WheatandTares / 13 Comments

The Lord’s questions always reveal the true me to myself.                                                       – Oswald Chambers, His Utmost for My Highest

When God confronts us with a piercing question, one that goes straight to the soul, as He did with Peter in John 21:17, he strips our conscience of every other thought or good deed we might have done. He causes our heart to realize the truth in the answer.

This has happened at least once in my life. It was the summer of 2000. Joey and I had tried to have a baby for 13 months, and after much turmoil, heartache, and almost giving up and going to see a dr about it, the test had finally read positive. We were so excited!! We started planning, preparing and dreaming about this precious little one who would soon enter our lives.

Almost immediately, I got sick. Oh, the morning sickness was awful! As soon as my eyes popped open every morning, I’d run to the restroom. Well, even before my eyes would open, I’d feel that nausea. Yet, I didn’t complain. I knew this precious baby was growing inside of me, and the sickness was all worth it.

Two days before Joey’s birthday, we went to the dr for my first check-up. I was 10 weeks along. The nurse put the little sonogram instrument on my belly, Joey and I held hands as we awaited that precious sound of a heartbeat. The nurse blinked, frowned a little and tried again; then, she decided she’d do a vaginal sonogram. (Not fun. Not. Fun. At. All.) She turned the screen; so, we couldn’t see; then, she stopped and simply said, “You’ll want to get dressed, and the doctor will be in shortly to talk to you.” As soon as she shut the door, I burst into tears. As he held me, Joey said, “Maybe it’s not that bad, babe.” I knew without a shadow of a doubt; there’s was something terribly wrong.

The doctor came in, and after showing us on the screen what he was seeing, he told us the baby never grew after the second day of conception, that this is called a “spontaneous abortion,” or a miscarriage, and that I had been sick, because the placenta didn’t stop growing; therefore, my body still presumed I was pregnant, causing the morning sickness.

We were devastated. I had to have a D&C the following Monday to remove the placenta, and we left for my grandparents home in northwest Florida for a few days, just to regroup and process it all. While there, I prayed a lot, sought God for answers, questioned my faith and why He would answer my prayers only to take away my only dream in life.

You see, I was never bent on having a career, having prestige or even being great at a good job. All I ever wanted to do was be a mom. I just wanted to hold, love and nurture a little one. I just wanted to be the best wife and mother I could be. Now, I questioned if that was actually in God’s plan for me. I questioned if we would ever have any little pitter-pattering feet running through our home.

That is when God confronted me with the question. I remember it so vividly; the moment is forever etched in my mind. I was standing in my grandmother’s sewing room, looking through the glass door that looked out over the bay. I was praying, and God said, “Will you love Me even if you never have a child?” I just started weeping, and I knew, without a shadow of doubt, the answer within my heart: “Yes, Lord. I will always love You, even if You never give me the dream. How can I live without You?”

When He confronts you with His piercing question, there is no where to hide. There are no pretenses to hold onto. There are no lies to portray. The truth is revealed in your heart at that very moment, and you know it for the rest of your life.

Problem is, too often, we allow our lives to get so cluttered, so busy and so overwhelmed that we don’t allow Him the time to ask us. We don’t get alone with Him and give Him the opportunity to ask. Yes, He is God. I know, He can ask us whenever; yet, I have found, more often than not, He only asks those piercing questions when WE are ready for the answer. You see, He doesn’t need the answer; He already knows the depths of our heart. He knows what we’re going to say. The answer is for our knowledge. The answer is for our revelation of truth.

Get alone with Him. Open your heart and your ears to hear what He has to say. Let Him ask you those piercing questions, and you might just be surprised when the answer is revealed.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

Life’s Many Blessings

/ The WheatandTares / 2 Comments

Don’t discount the bad times with just being bad times. Let Him teach you something, even through the storms of life…

The WheatandTares's avatarthe grizzle grist mill

Do you ever think about how many times God blesses us in a day??

Sometimes, it’s just as simple as receiving a sweet phone call or a little card in the mail.

Sometimes, it’s as precious as getting an extra hug from my teenage son before bedtime.

Other times, it’s getting through the yellow light when I’m running late and really should have slowed down a little more.

Other times, I realize I may have been running late; yet, there was also a wreck that might just have avoided.

Maybe it’s the “surprise” answer to a very long ago prayer.

Yet, what about those times we hold out for that answered prayer that, much later, we realize wasn’t answered for very good reasons?

What about those aches and pains which teach us to rely on Him a little more?

What about those heartwrenching seasons that help us to understand another’s…

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Let Me Be Found True

/ The WheatandTares

Shared this yesterday as a Happy Valentine’s note to God… Hope you enjoy…

The WheatandTares's avatarthe grizzle grist mill

Oh, Lord, how do I love thee?

Let me count not the ways

I speak of You in public grace

Yet, ignore You in the secret place

I praise You when it’s convenient

But neglect You when it’s intimate

I look to You when I remember and when I’m in need

However, forget You when my schedule is in the lead

 

Oh, Father, please forgive me from this wretched sin

Cleanse my heart and mind from within

Let me not be a person of works alone

And have not a single seed yet to be sown

Change me from this life of chaos and pride

Transform my soul to one in which You may abide

I give You my life, my heart and my breath

I surrender my dreams, my future, my death

 

Oh, my King, how do I love thee?

I pray You can count the ways

I…

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Feeling a Little “Blah?”

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Do you ever just wake up some days and feel, “blah?” You think about it and realize you had a good night sleep. You didn’t have a fight with your spouse. Your kids are actually following rules and doing the things they need to do, and the clouds aren’t even gray or threatening a rain shower. Yet, you just can’t seem to get past the gray skies within your heart, and your brain is getting tired trying to figure out why you’re not as chipper as the birds flying above.

Sometimes, we just have days when we feel a little off, where things don’t seem to be as they should within our hearts and minds. On days like this, I have found I have to put forth a little more effort to chase away those gray clouds. I have to move beyond my normal routine and “push back” against those bluesy feelings. If I don’t, I find myself slipping further down as the day prolongs.

On days like this, I am so thankful I have hope for which to live. I am so grateful to be a child of a loving Father who cares even about my “bummed out” moments.  I am so glad I am able to run to Him and find His arms open wide. He is always there awaiting our desire to be with Him. He is always ready and willing to listen and to help us through those tough spots.

He is ready to give us HOPE, LOVE, PEACE and JOY. All we have to do is show up before Him. It’s not a formula we must follow.  It’s not a list of perfection we must check. It’s not even a policy of dos and don’ts to which we must adhere.

It’s a relationship with an Almighty God Who loves us beyond conditions. It’s a moment of truth when He confronts our heart with change, and it’s an overwhelming sense of grace when He shows us His mercy and love, for our sins are completely washed away.

His joy is overflowing and more dependable than sheer happiness.

His peace is surpassing all circumstance and happenstance.

His love is unconditional beyond our sins and failures.

His hope is everlasting past the ages of time.

Won’t you join Him today in this hope? Won’t you release your fear and anger to Him and let Him guide you to a brighter tomorrow?