Separating the Heart From the Chaff

 Many of us have heard the parable of the wheat and the tares; they look alike when the plants are small but as they grow, the difference becomes more evident. The chaff, is part of the wheat plant, and it must be sifted for the grain to be used.

I have been pondering this intensely lately, wheat and chaff. When we think of wheat, we think of the wheat hearts that are used to make flour, the excess that surrounds that wheat heart is the husk and the stems, basically, chaff is the inedible parts of a grain-producing plant. And this is what is taking up a lot of my thought process... at some point the wheat and chaff MUST be separated. I believe that we are beginning to see this on the national stage at this time, but it is important to take a look at ourselves and make sure that the chaff in our own lives and walk with the Lord is sifted and allow our heart to be what remains.

The winnowing process requires thrashing the wheat and involves throwing the mixture into the air so that the wind blows away the lighter chaff, while the heavier grains fall back down for recovery. In the natural the chaff gets blown away... think about it, it's not heavy enough to stay put, even a light breeze can blow it away. The wheat heart can withstand stronger wind, because it's solid. It is the good part that can be used. In the spiritual, the chaff is what gets in the way of our walk with the Lord and what I want to see in my life is to have that chaff blown away, I want what GOD wants in my life... not the distractions.

Much like the difference between having a life built on sand, as opposed to one that is ANCHORED on the Rock, Christ Jesus. There is a difference. Like the chaff, sand will sift and move, but a rock stands firm.

So I guess where my mind sits, is for those who call themselves Christians. Are you wheat or chaff? The last few years have certainly been 'breezy' so to speak, and the question is, are you closer to the Lord in your walk, or have you been blown out a ways? This is something that we all have to think about. In a time that many churches closed up, and then stayed that way, we saw many around us have their faith challenged in a way that none of us ever expected. It has became a time where the 'habit' of church on Sunday was thrown seriously out of alignment. In many ways, the tossing of the wheat began.

As you look back over the last few years you can view it another way; In our spiritual life, when the rubber hit the road what happened? Did it spin like a bleach burn out? (All show no go.) Did it spin out of control and off the track? Did it fishtail a bit but then get back on course? Or was the driver in control enough to grip instantly and keep going forward, and maybe even gain position.

Each person must look at their own walk with the Lord, for we will ALL (Christian or not) answer to Him for what we do. Do we press in, and see what the Lord tells us to do, or do we let men tell us what is "right". Many of the things that the media says are right are diametrically opposed to the Word of God. The world has a different standard than the church. The Lord is the final say in my life, I choose to follow what HE tells me over the media.

Call me old fashioned, square, too churchy, whatever, I really don't care about what people think, as long as they can tell that my first priority is what God thinks of me. Yes, I want to be a wheat heart!

When Life Takes a Pause Moment

I actually started this post in March and forgot to post, some things have been changed, but really the heart of things is still where I'm at.

I've been sitting here pondering a lot of things over the last couple months... hasn't everybody?

Decisions I've made, if I had known 4 months ago what was going to happen, would I have made the same choices about things. Maybe I would have, and maybe I wouldn't. It's hard to look back and guess. The reality, we only can make decisions on what we know, right now.

Right now, we can chose to cower, and live in fear. Or we can chose to trust God, and walk in faith, using wisdom in the days ahead. This has meant, stepping back in our life and doing our part to flatten the curve. This required what we thought would be a 2 week hold on our lives becoming 2 months before we could even begin to get back to 'normal life.' 

I was among the unemployed due to the virus and it's restrictions and my little home based business works about 90% with restaurants so it went almost silent also. I was lucky, I was able to get unemployment, but I will be honest, I am very happy to be back at work, even though it is very different.

We all faced a lot of time on our hands, separation from those we care about, and loneliness, especially, for those, that like me, are in a house with no other human beings to talk to, it has been incredibly hard. And for me, the anniversary of Glenn's passing really amplified the quiet of my house. It physically hurt, I'm not gonna lie. All people need the human touch, that's the way God designed us. 

I am thankful that we are blessed by the fact that we live in a day and age where this kind of thing doesn't have to leave us totally cut off though, we can chat with friends, by phone, texting, messaging or one of many forms of video chatting. And though I haven't been able to sit on a pew since March, through livestream I have been able to join with others in watching services, prayer meetings and worship times online, these all bring joy to my heart.

One perspective of this event is to look at this time as a pause, one that allows us to look around and count our blessings. It has given us time to read or listen to the Bible, and spend some time in prayer. We can join worship services electronically, listen and/or watch preaching, live and recorded via the internet. Using this time to grow closer to God. Maybe this virus is really the Lord slowing us down to get that 20/20 vision in our life, and for our life. I am believing that I will come out of this stronger in my walk with Him.

My heart for each of you today, take a moment, and goodness knows even as thing begin to "reopen" for many, there are lots of "moments" available, so use them to rest in the Lord, and if you don't know the Lord, grab a Bible and start with the New Testament, Psalms or Proverbs and start learning about Him. If you don't own one go to blb.org and you can read it online or listen to it, there are a lot of versions, my favorite is NKJV.  Of course you can also ask me about Him or another person you know that has a relationship with the Lord-- most of us are more than happy to share the Good News of Jesus and what He did for us.

A final note here: In January I laid out some goals for myself that I posted in that blog... and I am happy to say that honestly, I am on track, not at the level I want to be, but much further in them than I might have been, had not the pruning of all of life's extra curricular activities happened- so in that case, maybe it was a good thing.

This thing's not easy, and I want to whine as much as the next person, and I have done my share of griping, but I began to consciously try to take those moments and refocus to prayer instead of complaint.- I still have a ways to go here.

I pray we all adjust to the "new" normal with hearts and ears that are ready to hear what the Lord speaks.

Have an amazing day and a Blessed week!

2020 Vision

2020 Vision

It's so hard to believe that the year 2020 has arrived. The new year always brings with it the thoughts of what is ahead. Goals are set, resolutions will be made, and broken, lol. Seriously only 25% of people will still be on track with their resolutions after 30 days, and only 8% will actually stick to them. Ouch!

As I look back at 2019, I'm not disappointed, I made some positive adjustments in my life, though no where near what I wanted... A friend once told me, shoot for the stars, if you only hit the moon you still have gone forward. – to a point, he was right.

Going into 2020 I am NOT setting resolutions, I am setting goals, goals are realistic and incremental. I am desiring to change my vision... not my eyesight, but rather my vision of my life's path. I want to move forward in the vision that God has called me to live, I want His vision for my life to become more clear to me.

This is something that will require much more than making a resolution, it means taking forward steps toward the goal. In doing this, I must remember those incremental steps that will add up to the desired result, a life submitted to the Lord, following His will for my life, not my own.

The amazing thing is that this is something that anyone can do, the trick is, it takes the decision to do the steps, and they aren't hard to do, but yet I have found myself choosing the easier path of not doing them diligently in the past. – However, I have a deep stirring in my soul to press forward in a new way this year. I really want that 20-20 vision!!

The steps I know to make at this time: (You can too, if you choose.)

• More time in prayer – this can start with increasing by a little a day, or just starting, 5 minutes increase is still increase, and as time goes on, add more. If I do just 5 minutes more a day, that's 35 minutes a week, and that nets over 30 more hours a year, minimum. That's a lot more time in the Lord's presence!!
• More time in His word. Same principle as above.
• Studying the word with more purpose.
• Journaling more, my prayers, hopes and visions. Writing these things down allows for focus, and also allows for reflection as time passes.
• Being active in the house of the Lord. – A plant grows better when it is planted. I know, that in my life, the extended family I have acquired in the house of the Lord had been irreplaceable.
  
  

Yes, I want 2020 vision for my life, His perfect vision. Will I walk 100% in God's will this year? Of course I'd like to think so, but I know me, and the battle I have with my will. So, what I will do, is press in and press forward, I will take any forward progress I can make.

I am excited for the year ahead, a new decade, new beginnings!!

My heart for all of you is the same, new beginnings, just start where you are and take it a step at a time.