truth

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?

Do You Ever Wonder?

/ The WheatandTares

Do you ever wonder why we’re really here? Why were we created here on the planet called Earth? For what were were we made…or for Whom?

I do. 

Do you ever wonder why we have feelings, emotions that grip us like fire or make us cold as ice? Why do we smile? Why do we cry and why are we even confused sometimes?

I do. 

Have you ever wondered what it was really like before you came? …Not just a century ago or even two. I’m talking before the beginning of time. Before any human was in existence. 

Christians believe there is a God, a Supreme Being who cast the stars and planets into orbit, who formed the mountains with His hands, who breathes life into man and caused him to walk and have his being. 

Atheists believe there was and is nothing, that we just are and will one day be no more…no beginning. No end. No purpose. No reason. 

Scientists believe there was nothing and then all is a sudden, “Bang!” There was a tiny life form, and all things were created from it. Some believe there is something controlling the times; others believe it just is what it is. 

What about you? Have you ever wondered? Have you ever searched with your heart to find? What if there is nothing? What if there is something? What if there is Someone? 

Out of all the theories, estimations and stories, I have but one thing I can believe. I have only one source from which I can find wisdom. 

There is a God in heaven. He is Supreme. He is Mighty. He was, and is and is to come. He is the Master Artist, the Master Creator, and He gave me breath in my lungs and a heart to keep beating. 

It is easier for me to believe there is Someone higher, mightier and much smarter than me than to believe there is simply nothing and will never be. It is easier for me to believe there is Someone above to can see all, do all and be all. It is easier for me to believe He loves me, died for me and is, one day soon, coming back to take me to His Heavenly home. 

“Why,?” You might ask. I believe, because He lives within me, and I can’t live a day without Him. He give me joy, peace and strength. He covers me with His grace that is sufficient in my times of need. 

“How do (I) know?” You might ask. I know, because I just know. I know, because I’ve met Him. I’ve met Him there in the quiet place of my soul. I know, because I’ve been away from Him, at times, and I’ve felt the void of not being near Him. I know, because, sometimes, you just know that you know, and no one can ever convince you otherwise. 

Do you? 

If you don’t, just give Him a chance. I challenge you, “Just tey (Him) on for size.” I promise you, He will not disappoint. He will be beyond your wildest dreams. 

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” Proverbs 8:17

Give It Up!

/ The WheatandTares

Sometimes, we just have to give it up! Now, I’m not talking about your faith or your salvation. I’m not talking about your marriage or that commitment you made that has gotten difficult to continue, but you know you must. No, I’m speaking of matters of the heart here. Those emotions that we should have laid down a long time ago. I’m talking about those thoughts and feelings that keep bubbling up when you least expect it, and they keep wrecking your peace, your joy and your future. 
You’ve been holding onto the past, your pain, your anger, and even your fears for so long that the holding on has become a ritual. It has become a routine, a part of you, as if it’s your right arm or hand. We all do it from time to time. We hold that thing close and cater to it, pamper it and even excuse it, until it become a part of us. Then, when we are confronted with Truth, with the need of letting it go, we buck and baulk like we’re being asked to cut off a vital organ! The Word says, in John 8:32, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Truth comes to set us free from the bondage and strongholds that keep us bound and held back from a better life. Truth brings healing and freedom. So, how can we do that when that pain, or that emotion, has become a part of us?? We simply obey. We have to obey Him when He urges us to let go. 

We need to be so in love with Jesus that it doesn’t matter WHAT He asks of us, we are ready and willing to obey. We can’t obey Him simply because of our own goodness. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” We don’t just have a “good heart” …even though that is definitely propagated here in South! (I hear moms and grandmothers say all the time, “I know they’re a rascal, and they cheat, lie and do drugs, but they’ve got a good heart!”…yeah, right!) 

We can’t obey simply because we work harder at it. It’s not a matter of works. If we only work to obey Christ out of our “dutifulness,” then, we’ve turned the cross into a bloodless stick. He didn’t die for us simply for us to do better. He died for us so we could love Him, to have a relationship with Him, and, ultimately, to restore us to our heavenly home. Hebrews 7:25 says it like this, “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” He died for us so that we might be reconciled to Him!

If we continue to hold onto these wounds, these pains, these sins of our past and refuse to let them go and allow Him to heal us, we will continually miss His best for our lives! We need to realize when He asks us to let go of something, it is not to harm us or to bring us pain and agony. It is to bring us healing and freedom in Him. It is to bring about HIS best for our lives! …and we need to realize it wouldn’t hurt so much to let go had we not let it grow attached in the first place!! (Ha!)

Jeremiah 29:11-14 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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

I don’t know about you, but I want to choose freedom today! I will choose Truth and Liberty this year! It’s time to give it up, to lay down our will and our way, and to seek God’s complete truth for our lives!! Let’s give it up! 🙂

The New Year’s Resolution 

/ The WheatandTares

New Year’s Resolutions. We all make them every year. So many of us start on January 1 with a long list of all the things we need to change. You know the list… Lose weight. Exercise more. Be more organized. Reach out more. Be more kind. Be more diligent. Remember special dates better. Eat better. Just simply, Be better. Too many stores make a lot of money this time of year with all the diet plans, gym memberships, organizational books and storage totes that are bought during this month.

Then, long about March 15, all of that money becomes a waste, and the commitments slowly fade away, as we slip back into our old habits and routines, because it was simply a vocalized pledge with no foundation laid for success. It was a mental note with no accountability or standards set for true inner change…because after all, it’s so much more comfortable to remain where we are than to take the necessary steps for long term resolutions.

When we make commitments simply to make ourselves feel better, or to make us look better to other people, or simply because we think it’s the “right thing to do at the time,” we may never be able to fulfill those lofty promises. I’m sure there are plenty of wise advisors today who can give you great input on how to achieve your New Year’s Resolutions; but if you’ll allow me, I’d like to give you three points which I have found to be true…

1. The new commitment must be based on Truth not just a good feeling or a common thought. Just because it feels good, doesn’t mean it will last, and just because it works for someone else, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. Too often, we set New Year’s Resolutions, because someone else is doing it or  because “it’s the trendy thing to do in January!”

Just as serving Jesus only because “someone else is doing it” isn’t going to get you into heaven, making those New Years Resolutions simply because of someone else isn’t going to turn out so well either. The Word says in John 8:31-32, “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Basing your commitment on truth will set you free from the expectations and the results or failures of others. Truth sets you free to learn and grow as is best for YOU, and it allows you to hear clearly the path you are to take. Truth sets us free from the trends, which come and go as the evening tide, and Truth is the door through which we will find our very best future.

2. We must build a foundation for the change. When a good builder builds a house, he doesn’t throw some walls together, slap a roof on it and call it good. No, he thinks about it, he carefully makes out his plans, and he usually gathers a team to assess the plans. After they have made their suggestions and given their advice, he then makes the necessary adjustments before he carries out those plans. Planning before making those commitments will help you to actually think about that to which you’re committing. Stopping to think allows you to not only realize the veracity of your commitment, but also, the depth of sacrifice you’ll need to make to carry out that commitment.

3. We must set boundaries in place and have strong accountability to sustain the change. When a professional MMA fighter, like Holly Holm, decides she is going to challenge the Ronda Rousy, she doesn’t simply step in the ring and say, “Bring it on.” She has a trainer; sometimes, she has a team of trainers who not only help her to work out and train for the big day, but they also help her study her opponent. They give her advice and pointers on how to be better, and they keep her accountable to her original goals and commitments. They work as a team to accomplish the goal set before her. Having a team around you who can help you, advise you, and even rebuke you at times, enables you to stay consistent to your commitments for a longer period of time. Having someone there to show us when we’re in error helps us to avoid the pitfalls and distractions that, too often, cause us to give up in despair before the goal is ever realized.

So, no matter your commitments and resolutions for this new year, if you can put these three little points into action before making them, you will find, later on in this year, those New Years Resolutions are here to stay!

Happy New Years to you and yours! 😊

Life Speaks

/ The WheatandTares

I saw this picture today, and it really hit home…


I hope that my life and my actions always line up with who I say that I am. It is so disconcerting to me how easily, it seems, some people can speak good words, smile and give a look of love and concern; then, that same person can turn and completely tear another to pieces. I know there are times when we have to “smile and nod,” simply because it’s not the time or place to handle a certain situation, or maybe, you’re in the public eye, and it’s best for your leadership, your reputation and your “good name” to just keep your mouth shut, smile graciously and handle someone with kindness. However, when there is underlying resentment and hatred, you can be guaranteed that will come shining through your actions! I don’t care how masked you think you are!

It is a matter of the heart. I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “If there’s trash on the inside, trash will eventually come out.” Or as the Bible says, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” If there’s junk on the inside, it doesn’t matter how beautiful you paint the face, that junk will eventually come to the surface, and when it does, it’s not going to be pretty!

My prayer is that I can keep a clean heart before God and not try to hide my “ugly” from Him. He sees it anyway; so, why should I try to think otherwise? If I will just spend more time with Him, listening, talking, receiving instruction from Him, being honest with Him about what’s on the inside, and allowing Him to change the ugly, I won’t have to worry about what I do on the outside, because I’ll become more like Him and so much less like me. 😉

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

Heart Questions

/ The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

Why do babies die too soon?Questions-of-the-Heart-300x259

Why do mothers get cancer?

Why do fathers die tragically?

Why do friends hate and kill?

Why do the innocent suffer?

Sometimes, my heart asks the hard questions, the kind of questions that don’t have easy answers to find. Sometimes, my mind scrambles to understand why evil can be so prevalent in a world in which God made and in people whom God created. Sometimes, life just seems unfair, unruly and undesirable.

Often, I wonder why innocent children are taught to carry guns and strap bombs on themselves to kill people of another religion and race. Often, I wonder why this one is healed of sickness and disease and another says goodbye. Often, I wonder why one family can be so blessed and another can be left so desolate.

In all of this questioning, I have found some answers to be true…

We live in a fallen world, and we’re not home (in heaven) yet. This life we live is not perfect, and we become fools when we believe it should be. There are evil men (and women) in our culture today, and their only intent is to wreak havoc wherever they can.

Sometimes, people are in the wrong places at the wrong times. Sometimes, people are doing something they shouldn’t be doing. Sometimes, people aren’t doing what they should.

There are laws of the land which, just simply, must be followed, like “Gravity is real, and if you think you’ll jump from that building and remain unharmed, you’re just wrong.” There are, also, spiritual laws which, again, if you desire a better life, must be followed. Even if you’re not a believer, you can see that ‘reaping what you sow’ comes to pass. As in, “If you think you can spend all that money and not go into debt, and not owe many people in return, you are just fooling yourself!”

There are some things that just “are what they are,” and there’s nothing we can do about it. There’s some things that are just sin, and sin will never bring about good things in the long run. There’s some things from which we must learn lessons in order to grow and mature beyond where we are, and there are some accidents and “freakish happenings” which just happen for no apparent rhyme or reason.

I don’t have answers to all the why’s, how’s, and when’s, and I would never try to presume that I do; however, I can tell you this: I know a God who does know all answers and so much more. I know He is faithful and true. I know He loves us, and I know He cares about every little or big thing we face. I know He is there when we need Him, and He can carry us through the storm when we can’t carry ourselves.

How do I know this, you might ask? I know this, because I believe. I know this, because I believe His Word to be true. I know this because of my personal relationship with Him. I know this because of the changes I have seen, not only in my own life but, also, in the lives of so many with whom I’ve come into contact.  I know this because of the miracles He has done in my life, and not only in my life, but in the lives of my family, my friends and, even, in people I barely know.

I know He is God. He is faithful. He is true, and He loves me and you. Does this mean, somehow, that my life is never, or will never, be touched by pain, grief or aguish. NO! Just because I believe in a loving God does not mean I will never experience something bad. I’ve seen and experienced plenty of things I wished I hadn’t, and I’m sure that I will experience more in my lifetime. That’s just life, living in an imperfect world with imperfect people. Even Jesus, the Son of God, experienced heartache, pain, suffering and, also, death. By no means, am I better than He! Sometimes, life is just not going to be what we expected it to be, but that doesn’t make Him any less of a perfect God, any less of a living God! It just makes us human and living in a human world.

So, will I always have more questions than I have answers, well, I hope so. Questions make us search our hearts, search down in our souls. Questions make us seek for deeper meaning. Questions make us seek for a higher purpose, an understanding beyond our own.

The Bible says…

Luke 11:9-10, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”

*Note: I do not own nor do I possess this picture. Found it by simple Google search. Directed to http://achurchofchrist.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Questions-of-the-Heart-300×259.jpg

People are Just People

/ The WheatandTares / 1 Comment

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Originally posted January 6, 2015… Hope you enjoy…

Okay, I admit it, I’m a people watcher. I like to find a place to sit, on a busy street, and just watch the people go by. Some hurry, some saunter. Some smile, some frown. Some look you straight in the eye, some look away simply to avoid the encounter. They’re all living their lives in the way they choose, but I wonder what that life is like…

Every time I grow impatient and frustrated, I must remember. When I want to rant and rage, I must recall this simple fact: People are just people. I must work to be more like my Father.

People are just people.

Some are so frantic, it’s hard to know they genuinely see. They are so consumed with the deadline. Some are so depressed, it’s difficult to know they sincerely care. They are so consumed with the foreseen doom. Some are so angry, it’s impossible to know they earnestly love. They are so consumed with their own revenge.

People are just people.

Every time I grow impatient and frustrated, I must remember. When I want to rant and rage, I must recall this simple fact: People are just people. I must work to be more like my Father.

People are just people.

Many are so confused, it’s problematic to engage in conversation. They are so consumed with the implications. Many are so fearful, it is wearisome to strengthen an alliance. They are so consumed with the unspoken and unknown. Many are so grieved, it’s toilsome to deepen a friendship. They are so consumed with the sick and the dead.

People are just people.

Every time I grow impatient and frustrated, I must remember. When I want to rant and rage, I must recall this simple fact: People are just people. I must work to be more like my Father.

I must love Him more; so, I might love them purely. I must seek Him more; so, I might speak to them truthfully. I must know Him more; so, I might see them clearly.

After all, people are just people.

“…We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6b


“Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us,[a] to the glory of God.” Romans 15:7