Whoever Has Ears to Hear, Let Them Hear
In Mark 4, Jesus is teaching a large crowd gathered beside the Sea of Galilee. The crowd is so large that Jesus gets into a boat and teaches them from the water while they stand along the shore.
He tells them a parable about a farmer scattering seed. The seed falls on four different kinds of ground:
Then Jesus says:
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
He wasn't merely talking about having functioning ears. Everyone in the crowd could physically hear His words. Jesus was talking about something deeper: Are you really listening? Are you allowing God's Word to take root in you? Are you willing to respond to what He is saying?
Later, when Jesus is alone with His disciples and those around Him, He explains the parable. The seed represents the Word of God, and the different soils represent the different ways people receive that Word.
That makes Mark 4:9 a very personal verse. It causes me to ask myself, Am I really hearing what God is saying to me, or am I simply reading His Word and moving on?
I have read this Scripture many times, but sometimes a verse we've read over and over suddenly makes us stop and think about it a little differently.
Jesus says:
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
The interesting thing about the parable is that the seed itself isn't the problem. The difference is what happens when the seed lands on different kinds of soil.
That makes me think about my own heart.
I can read my Bible every day. I can underline verses, write notes in the margins, listen to sermons and Bible teachers, and spend time studying God's Word — and I do all of that. But am I really hearing it?Am I allowing God's Word to correct me when I need correction?
Am I willing to change when God shows me something that needs to change?
Am I listening when He reminds me to trust Him instead of trying to figure everything out myself?
Am I hearing Him when He tells me to forgive, to be patient, to love someone, to let go of worry, or simply to be still and trust Him?
There is a difference between hearing words and truly listening to them.
I think that is part of what Jesus was getting at when He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
God's Word is speaking. The question isn't whether He has something to say. The question is whether I am willing to stop, listen, and let His Word take root in me.
I've been reading through the Bible this year with The Bible Recap plan on the Bible App, and one thing I continue to realize is that God's Word isn't meant to simply give me information. It is meant to change me. It is meant to shape how I think, how I live, how I treat people, and how I respond to the circumstances of life.
Sometimes God speaks something that encourages me.
Sometimes He speaks something that challenges me.
Sometimes He speaks something I don't necessarily want to hear.
But if I truly want to follow Him, I need to have ears that are willing to hear all of it—not just the parts that are comfortable.
That is my prayer:
“Lord, help me not just to read Your Word, but to truly hear it. Give me a heart that is good soil. Help me recognize Your voice, receive what You are saying, and then live it out.”
Because having ears to hear isn't simply about listening to God's Word.
It's about being willing to do something with what we hear.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Lord, I'm listening.
Do Not Be Wise in Your Own Eyes
I love reading Proverbs. It's one of my favorite books of the Bible to read.
I heard it said many times when I was younger that if you can't read the entire Bible in a year, then be sure to read the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. I've done my best to do that over the years, although I haven't always succeeded.
But there is something about Proverbs that keeps drawing me back. There is so much wisdom packed into those chapters, and so many of the verses are practical reminders of how we're supposed to live.
This verse is a great reminder:
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and Shun Evil."
Proverbs 3:7
When I read, "Do not be wise in your own eyes," I basically take it to mean don't think your wisdom is better than the Lord's.
And boy, can we get ourselves into trouble when we do that!
It's easy to think we know what is best. We look at a situation, make our plans, follow our feelings or desires, and convince ourselves that we've got it all figured out. But the Lord sees what we can't see. He knows what we don't know. His understanding is far greater than ours.
Being wise in our own eyes is really a matter of pride. It's saying, in one way or another, "I know better."
And I've certainly had my moments of doing that.
Then the verse goes on to say, "Fear the Lord and Shun Evil."
I don't take "fear the Lord" to mean that I need to be shaking in my boots because of what the Lord will do to me.
Fear can take on so many meanings, but when I see "Fear the Lord," my mind goes to reverence, honor and awe.
I need to hold the Lord in the highest regard. I need to recognize who He is and who I am in comparison to Him. I need to give Him my utmost attention because of all that He has done for me. And I need to give Him the praise, honor and respect that He deserves.
In other words, I need to trust His wisdom more than my own.
And then there is that last part: "Shun Evil."
I take that to mean that anything that isn't honoring to the Lord shouldn't have a place in my life. I shouldn't flirt with it, entertain it or make room for it.
I should shun it.
It needs to stay behind me. It needs to have no place in my heart, my mind or my life.
Man, have I had ample opportunity for evil to really take up residence in my life by trying to be wise in my own eyes.
I remember a time when I lived like a hellion even though I knew better. I wanted my way, and there was nothing anyone—not even the Lord—could say or do that was gonna stop me.
I thought I knew what I was doing.
I thought I knew what I wanted.
I thought doing things my way was going to make me happy.
But ya know what?
That only works for a short while.
Eventually, living that way begins to eat you up inside because deep down you know better. You know when you're going against what the Lord has shown you. And no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise, doing things our own way doesn't bring the true peace and fulfillment we're looking for.
I've learned that God's way really is better than my way.
That doesn't mean following Him makes life perfect or that I'll never struggle. It means that I've learned I don't have to figure everything out on my own. I can trust the One who sees the whole picture when I can only see a tiny piece of it.
And maybe that's part of what this verse is reminding me of.
Don't be so wise in your own eyes that you forget who God is.
Don't let pride convince you that your way is better.
Don't let the things of this world take up residence in your heart.
Instead, humble yourself before the Lord. Reverence Him. Trust His wisdom. Follow His ways. And when something isn't pleasing to Him, shun it.
So what this verse teaches me is this:
Don't live for yourself.
Give the Lord the respect, honor and reverence that He deserves.
Trust His wisdom over your own.
And don't allow evil to have any place in your heart or life.
Because I've learned the hard way that being wise in my own eyes can lead me down a path I never intended to go.
But when I humble myself, trust the Lord and follow His ways, I know I'm walking in the direction He wants me to go.
And that's a much better place to be.
Tim got his first tattoo today of three different swords. A center sword and then two crossing swords.
A three-swords tattoo generally represents resilience and triumph over adversity.
For Tim, the three swords tattoo represents the resilience he has shown and the triumph he has experienced over all the adversity he’s been through in his life so far. And they represent the continual triumph he seeks as he moves forward in life.
He told me that the three swords will also be a constant reminder to him that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always with him.
He’s really thought through the design that he wanted for his first tattoo. I’ve always told him that if he’s going to get a tattoo, it should mean something to him. He shouldn’t get one for the sake of getting one. I think he has definitely accomplished that with the design he's chosen.
It’s not just a tattoo. It tells a story—a story of strength, faith, perseverance, and the determination to keep moving forward.
I personally have never gotten a tattoo, although I’ve always wanted one. For a long time, I was made to feel like getting one would be sacrilegious—that somehow I would be going against God.
As I’ve gotten older and grown in my faith, I’ve come to see things differently. I know many Christians who have tattoos, and their tattoos tell a story. More importantly, those stories often point back to God, their faith, their struggles, their victories, or something God has brought them through.
When you think of it that way, there's really nothing wrong with having a tattoo.
It’s not the tattoo itself that matters as much as the meaning behind it and what it represents.
And for Tim, these three swords represent resilience, triumph, faith, and the reminder that no matter what he faces, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always with him.
That’s a pretty meaningful story to carry with you.
He's asked me not to share the actual picture of the tattoo because it's he's to share and not mine. Of course you got the general idea from the description that I shared above. I can however give you an idea of what he's after with these pictures below:
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| Something like this as the center sword. |
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| Something like this as one of the crossing swords. |
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| Something like this as one of the other crossing swords. |
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| And for it to look similar to this once it's done. |
Our kids have to live their own lives and become their own person—not simply the person we want them to be. As parents, we can guide them, love them, and support them, but ultimately, they have to walk their own path.
I have so much respect for the man Tim has become. His dad and I will always be here to support him, no matter where life takes him. He’s dealt with so much in his young life, and through it all, God has had his back every step of the way. We know God has got him—and He’s got us, too. ❤️
Congrats, Son, on your first tattoo! 🦋 Thanks for allowing me to be there with you as you took this first step into something that was your choice and your decision. I’m honored that you wanted me there. ❤️
Love you, Son!
There are some Bible verses that seem to find you at just the right time.
Deuteronomy 7:9 is one of those verses for me.
“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”
— Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
I love those words: “He is the faithful God.”
Not He might be faithful.
Not He is faithful when everything is going well.
Not He is faithful when we understand what He is doing.
He is the faithful God.
Period.
But knowing the background of this verse makes those words even more meaningful to me.
Deuteronomy contains some of Moses' final words to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land.
They had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, and now a new generation was preparing to cross the Jordan and enter the land God had promised to their ancestors.
They were about to enter a completely new season.
And Moses knew they needed to remember something very important before they did:
Remember who your God is.
God had chosen Israel as His people, but it wasn't because they were the biggest, strongest or most impressive nation.
In fact, Moses told them:
“The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.”
— Deuteronomy 7:7 NIV
God chose them because He loved them and because He was faithful to the covenant He had made with their ancestors.
Then Moses tells them to “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God…”
I think that's such an important reminder.
The Israelites were about to step into something they had never experienced before. They didn't know everything that was ahead of them. There would be challenges, battles and things they couldn't see coming.
But they didn't need to know everything about their future.
They needed to know who was going with them.
That phrase really speaks to me.
God wasn't promising the Israelites that everything would be easy.
He was reminding them that He would be faithful.
There's a difference.
Sometimes we think God's faithfulness means He will keep everything from going wrong. But that's not what Scripture teaches.
Faithfulness doesn't mean we won't walk through difficult seasons.
It means God will still be God in the middle of them.
He will still be with us.
He will still love us.
He will still keep His promises.
And when we look back over our lives, we can see His faithfulness much more clearly than we could while we were living through those moments.
I know I can.
There have been things in my life that I didn't understand when I was going through them. There were times I wondered what God was doing and why He allowed certain things to happen.
But looking back now, I can see things I couldn't see then.
God was there.
He was there when I was afraid.
He was there when I didn't have the answers.
He was there when I didn't know how things were going to work out.
He was there in the difficult seasons and in the beautiful ones.
And sometimes His faithfulness wasn't about changing my circumstances at all.
Sometimes His faithfulness was simply carrying me through them.
I also love that Deuteronomy 7:9 describes God as “keeping his covenant of love.”
God's love isn't fickle.
It isn't dependent on whether everything in our lives is going the way we want it to.
His covenant love is steadfast, committed and faithful.
The Israelites would have plenty of moments when they failed God. Their history would include rebellion, disobedience, fear and doubt.
Yet God remained faithful.
That doesn't mean their choices didn't have consequences. They did.
But God's faithfulness wasn't based on their perfection.
It was based on His character.
And I'm so thankful for that.
Because I know I'm not perfect.
None of us are.
We have all made mistakes. We've all had moments when we've doubted, questioned, complained, worried or tried to handle things ourselves.
Yet God remains faithful.
When Moses says God keeps His covenant of love “to a thousand generations,” he's emphasizing just how enduring God's faithfulness is.
Generations come and go.
Life changes.
Families grow.
Children become adults.
Circumstances change.
People we love aren't always here forever.
But God remains.
He is the faithful God.
That makes me think about my own family and the generations that have come before me—and the generations that may come after me.
I don't know what the future holds for those I love.
I can't protect them from every difficult thing they'll ever face.
I can't make every decision for them.
And I certainly can't control what tomorrow will bring.
But I can pray.
I can point them toward Jesus.
I can share what God has taught me.
And I can trust the same faithful God who has carried me all these years to continue to be faithful to them.
That's probably one of the biggest things I've learned as I've gotten older.
I don't have to know everything that is ahead.
I don't have to understand every circumstance.
I don't have to have all the answers.
I just need to remember who God is.
He is God.
He is faithful.
He keeps His promises.
He loves His children.
And He doesn't suddenly stop being faithful because life gets hard.
So when I look at Deuteronomy 7:9, I don't just see a verse that was written thousands of years ago for the Israelites.
I see a reminder for me today.
Remember.
Remember what God has already done.
Remember the times He carried you.
Remember the prayers He answered.
Remember the doors He opened.
Remember the times you thought you couldn't make it through—and yet here you are.
And most of all, remember who He is.
Because I may not know what tomorrow brings.
I may not know what the next season of life will look like.
I may not understand everything God is doing.
But I know this:
He is the faithful God.
And after everything I've experienced in my life, that's enough for me.
I can trust Him with whatever comes next.
Mom was 16 when she married my father and 17 when she gave birth to me.
Today, that seems almost unheard of, but back in those days, a lot of women got married and started their families young. They stayed home, took care of the house and kids, while the dads went to work and provided for the family.
I think about how young my mom really was when she had me, and then my brothers and sister. I think about all she gave up so young in life to become a wife and a mom.
Her life has not been an easy one.
My folks struggled on a daily basis to rub two pennies together to feed and clothe us kids. We never went without the things we truly needed, and they always found a way to make do, but it wasn't easy.
Mom sacrificed so much to make sure we had what we needed.
It's what moms do.
I've done that with Tim many times through the years. We have never been in the dire straits my parents were in—praise the Lord—but I've still given up things I wanted or needed in order to give Tim what he needed as he chased after his hopes and dreams in his young life.
And because I've experienced that kind of sacrifice myself, I understand so much more now what my mom gave up while raising us.
She never really had much of a youth.
She went from being a student in school, to dropping out, to getting married, to having babies, to taking care of a home and being a wife and mother.
Now that's a mouthful.
She went from being a kid herself to suddenly being responsible for a family.
When I was younger, I didn't fully understand that. Honestly, I don't think I could have. Young people simply haven't lived enough life yet to understand some things.
But now that I'm older and have lived more life myself, I look back and I can see so much more clearly.
What sticks out to me the most is her resilience.
She kept going even when I'm sure every fiber of her being didn't want to.
She was strong because she needed to be strong for us kids. She kept going because she simply couldn't stop. There were mouths to feed, a house to take care of, children to raise and a husband to care for.
And Dad was a hard man to keep happy. She did her best, even though it didn't always work out the way she hoped.
At 74, Mom is still doing life to the best of her ability.
She's had to do it alone since Dad passed away in 2002. Of course, she's had us kids to support and help her along the way, but that's not the same as having your husband beside you.
At 74, I can see more of the wear and tear that all those hard years have left behind.
But she's still a trooper.
She's like the Energizer Bunny—she just keeps going.
And honestly, I have so much more respect for my mom today than I ever did when I was younger.
Age has a way of changing your perspective.
When you're young, you see your parents as simply Mom and Dad. You don't always stop to think about the sacrifices they made, the things they went without, the worries they carried or the times they kept going when they were probably exhausted and didn't know how they were going to make it through the next day.
Then you grow up.
You become a wife. You become a mom. You have responsibilities of your own. You make sacrifices for your own child.
And suddenly, you understand things you never understood before.
I understand my mom a whole lot more now.
I understand what it means to put someone else's needs ahead of your own. I understand what it means to worry about your child, to sacrifice for your child and to keep going because someone is counting on you.
And I understand her resilience.
I'm sure some of that resilience and determination is where her kids and grandkids get our drive from.
Mom has been through a lot of life.
She's experienced hard times, loss, struggle and more than her share of challenges. But she's still here. She's still going. She's still doing the best she can with what she has.
And today, I want her to know that I see it.
I see the sacrifices.
I see the strength.
I see the resilience.
And I appreciate her in a way I don't think I was capable of appreciating her when I was younger.
Happy 74th Birthday, Mom!
I'm praying this 74th year of your life is your best one yet. You deserve to be celebrated every day, but especially today.
I love you, Mom.
Happy Birthday🎂🎈!
The beginning of this verse in my NIV Application Bible actually says,
“I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart...” — Psalm 9:1a
Now that has a better ring to it than just saying, “I will give thanks to the Lord,” doesn't it?!
“With all my heart.”
Those four words really stand out to me.
As I've grown older and experienced a lot more of life, my appreciation for the Lord has grown immensely. Giving thanks to Him when you're my age becomes much easier than it was when you were younger and wanted to hold tightly to your own wants, your own plans and, especially, the illusion that you were in control of your own life.
When we're young, it's easy to think we know what we need. We have plans for how we think our lives should go. We want what we want, and sometimes we don't understand why God doesn't give it to us on our timetable.
But the older I get, the more I realize just how much God has already done for me.
God has been faithful to me through every season of my life.
I grew up poor. Very poor.
Our food came from that famous grocery store called the government😂.
Our clothes came from those famous clothing stores called the Salvation Army and Goodwill. And on occasion, when Mom could afford it, our clothes came from K-mart through the layaway plan.
I bought my first-ever pair of Nikes when I was a teenager. I earned the money myself by mowing lawns and delivering newspapers. Other than that, our shoes came from those same places I mentioned above.
At Christmas, our stockings were often filled with fruit and a candy canes because that's all my folks could afford.
Today's kids know very little about that sort of thing.
And I'm not sharing any of this because I'm ashamed of where I came from. I'm actually grateful for it.
Those experiences taught me things that I probably wouldn't have learned any other way.
They taught me to appreciate what I have.
They taught me that having more doesn't necessarily make you happier.
They taught me that you can live without the things you think you absolutely have to have.
And most importantly, as I've gotten older, they've given me a greater appreciation for God's provision.
Today, I'm married to an amazing man of God. I have a wonderful son. We have a home, food on our table, vehicles to drive, clothes to wear and so many things that I didn't grow up having.
We live comfortably compared to the way I was raised.
But having more today doesn't stop me from giving thanks to the Lord with all my heart.
If anything, it makes me even more grateful.
Because I know where I came from.
I know what it was like to not have much.
And I know that everything I have today isn't something I should take for granted.
God has brought me a long way.
And when I look back over my life, I can see His hand in places where I didn't necessarily recognize it at the time.
There were things I wanted that God didn't give me.
There were things I thought I needed that I eventually realized I didn't.
There were difficult seasons I didn't understand while I was walking through them.
And there were times when I probably thought I was doing a pretty good job of running my own life.
But God was there through all of it.
He was faithful when I wasn't.
He was patient when I didn't understand.
He provided when I didn't know how things would work out.
And He brought me through things that I never thought I'd have to walk through.
That's why my thankfulness to Him isn't based simply on what I have today.
I'm thankful for Who He is.
I'm thankful that He never left me.
I'm thankful that He has carried me through the good times and the hard times.
I'm thankful for His provision.
I'm thankful for His protection.
I'm thankful for His grace and mercy.
I'm thankful for the blessings I can see and the ones I probably don't even realize I've received.
And I'm especially thankful that I don't have to look at my life and believe that I somehow got here all by myself.
I didn't.
God has been with me every step of the way.
Psalm 9:1 doesn't simply say, “I will give thanks to the Lord.”
It says,
“I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart...”
That's different.
That's not half-hearted gratitude.
That's not thanking God only when things are going well.
That's not thanking Him only for the blessings that are easy to see.
That's giving Him all of me and recognizing that He deserves my gratitude in every season.
When I think about where I started and where I am today, I can honestly say that my thanks for all He's done runs very deep.
Deeper than words could ever express.
And I hope I never get so comfortable with what I have that I forget to thank the One who gave it to me.
I will give thanks to the Lord—with all my heart.
And I pray I always will.
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| (These numbers are in kg so you have to convert them to #'s) |
Tim now holds the record in the Men’s Junior 70kg Division for the Carolina WSO (Weightlifting State Organization), which includes lifters from both North Carolina and South Carolina.
This is something I’m pretty proud of because it’s not just a record for a particular competition or gym. The Carolina WSO records include lifters across North Carolina and South Carolina, so his name is now part of the record books for his state organization.
He actually beat the requirements for the States record by a long shot when he competed at Junior Nationals this past summer.
There is a little bit of a story behind how his results ended up in the 70kg category.
When Tim competed at Junior Nationals, he was competing in the 71kg Junior division, which was the weight class at the time. Since then, USA Weightlifting has changed the weight classes, and the 71kg division no longer exists. When Tim weighed in at Nationals, he was actually under 70kg, so his results qualified to be placed in the new 70kg Junior division.
And now his name is at the top of that record.
How cool is that?
As his mom, I am incredibly proud of everything Tim has accomplished this year. He won Junior Nationals in his division, set personal records, and now has his name in the Carolina WSO record books.
But here's the part that means just as much to me...
Tim is currently out with an elbow injury.
This is the first time since he started his Olympic weightlifting journey that he has had to sit out of States. And I know that's not easy for him.
He misses lifting.
He misses training.
He misses making gains and working toward his next goal.
When you're used to walking into the gym, putting in the work, seeing your numbers go up and constantly pushing yourself to get better, being told you have to stop can be incredibly frustrating.
But even in the middle of that disappointment, Tim is keeping a positive attitude and making the best of a tough situation.
That makes me proud too.
Because being an athlete isn't just about what you can do when everything is going right. Sometimes it's about how you handle the seasons when things aren't going the way you planned.
And this is one of those seasons for Tim.
He won't be competing at States this year, but he will still be there.
He'll be there supporting his teammates, cheering them on and helping his coach wherever he can.
That's the kind of thing I love seeing in him.
He's learning that being part of a team isn't dependent on whether you're the one standing on the platform. Sometimes your role is to compete. Sometimes it's to encourage. Sometimes it's to help. And sometimes it's simply to stand beside the people you've trained with and support them.
And while I know he'd much rather be lifting, I'm proud of the way he's handling this setback.
What a year this has already been for him.
He became a Junior Nationals champion.
He hit some huge personal records.
And now he's officially a Carolina WSO record holder.
That's a pretty incredible list of accomplishments for one year.
But as I've said before, the medals, the records, the numbers and the titles are just part of the story.
What matters most to me is the young man behind all of it.
I'm proud of the lifter Tim has become, but I'm even more proud of the person he's becoming.
This injury may have temporarily taken him off the platform, but it hasn't taken away his accomplishments, his work ethic, his determination or his place on his team.
The platform will still be there when he's ready to return.
For now, we're taking this one step at a time, trusting God through the process and making the best of where he is right now.
I really like the way the picture above reads, but I wanted to share what the NIV version of the Bible says as well:
“For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” — Psalm 91:11 (NIV)
No matter where life takes us, we are never truly alone. God is with us, and He commands His angels concerning us to guard us in all our ways.
Think about that for a moment.
We don't always know what is ahead. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Sometimes we step into a new season excited about what is coming, and other times we step into one wondering how we're ever going to get through it.
But God already knows what's ahead.
There have been times in my life when I have looked back and realized that God was protecting me in ways I didn't even recognize at the time. There were things I didn't see coming, situations I didn't understand, and moments when I wondered why God was allowing certain things to happen. Yet looking back, I can see His hand was there all along.
Sometimes I think we have a tendency to look for God's protection only in the things we can see. We recognize it when something bad almost happened and somehow didn't. We recognize it when a door closes that we really wanted opened, only to discover later that God was protecting us from something we couldn't see. We recognize it when we look back on a difficult season and realize that somehow, through all of it, God carried us.
But what about the things we never knew about?
What if there were dangers we never saw? What if there were situations God kept us from that we will never know happened? What if there were times His protection surrounded us and we were completely unaware of it?
We may never have the answers to those questions. And that's okay. We don't have to see everything God is doing in order to trust Him.
Faith means trusting the One who sees what we cannot see.
That doesn't mean we will never face difficult things. It doesn't mean that nothing painful will ever happen to us. Scripture doesn't promise us a life without trouble.
What it does remind us is that we don't walk through those things alone.
God is with us in the good seasons, and He is with us in the hard ones. He is with us when we understand what He's doing, and He is with us when we don't have a clue what He's doing.
And there is something incredibly comforting about knowing that He commands His angels concerning us—to guard us in all our ways.
We may not always see the protection God provides. We may never know the dangers He kept us from or the things He prevented from happening. But just because we don't see it doesn't mean God isn't working.
Sometimes faith is simply trusting that God is watching over us even when we can't see what He's doing.
So wherever life takes you, don't be afraid of the road ahead.
You may not know what tomorrow holds, but God does.
And wherever you go, He goes with you.
That is such a comforting thought.
