Author: Tammy M Cardwell

Living Words

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“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”
Jn 15:7

I have no idea how may times I’ve heard this verse but, like every other verse in the Bible, it can speak something new every day. A year or so back, I grew even more determined to stay in God’s Word when I saw the true significance of one of the conditions that comes after “If.”

“If…My words abide in you…”

The Word of God must abide – live, dwell, and be firmly planted – IN ME in order for me to qualify for this promise.

This doesn’t just happen. It is up to me to seek out God’s Word, to go after the seed I want planted in me. I go after it by being in church and sitting under the teaching of the man or woman of God. I go after it by reading the Word for myself. I go after it by studying it on my own, participating in Bible studies, listening to the Bible app on my phone… Like any good farmer, I seek out quality seed and get it in the ground. (I also watch my heart to make sure the ground is good!)

Then, to ensure that it grows and lives in me, I nurture that Word. I think about it, chew on it, ask God to teach me through it. I record my thoughts and, yes, write blog posts. I also discuss what I’ve seen and learned with others who are cultivating God’s Word in their lives.

I WILL make sure His Word lives in me regardless, because I genuinely love both my God and the Bible, but it is good to know that in doing so I also work towards qualifying myself for the promise found in the fifteenth chapter of the book of John.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Self-confidence

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Copyright Tammy Cardwell 2014
Copyright Tammy Cardwell 2014

The portrait you’re looking at took me so long to complete that the one who commissioned it could have had a baby while she waited. Why did it take me so ridiculously long to finish such a simple piece? Was I so overbooked with commissions that my pencil couldn’t fly fast enough?

Hardly.

This commission came in while I was working on a special piece for an auction. The image, which happened to be of Jesus, had been in my head for years and I was excited to draw it. The auction supports great ministries, and I was thrilled to be able to contribute. Everything was going perfectly. The wood of the cross looked awesome. The clothing draped just right. The hands were amazing. and then I got to the head and face; these were my undoing. No matter how hard I worked, how much I reworked, I simply could not get it right. And then I ran out of time.

I “finished” the drawing, but even as I took it to the framer I was ashamed of it. It wasn’t just bad; it was humiliatingly, publicly bad. That it sold for less than I’d paid to have it framed was no surprise; I was glad it brought anything at all – and hoped that everyone would forget I’d produced anything so regrettable.

I have no idea how many pencil portraits I’ve done through the years, but I’ve drawn enough that I feel confident in saying I’m good at what I do. Even so, this whole experience shattered my self-confidence. the wise thing would have been to pick my pencils right back up and start on something else – anything else – but I didn’t. It was many months before I could bring myself to even pull out my supplies. Admittedly, laziness and procrastination were factors in the delay, but they were fed by fear of failure.

Strange as it may seem, I share this story to encourage you. How many singers have had their confidence hammered after blowing the National Anthem on the Little League field? How many young dancers have been ready to quit after going left while everyone else danced gracefully to the right? How many aspiring thespians have considered switching to Botany after mangling a monologue? It happens to the best of us.

Sometimes, hopefully most of the time, we’re able to stand back up, brush ourselves off, and get back to it. Then there are the times when we lie there, paralyzed for a while before something gives us the strength to rise again.

Swiftly or slowly (Swiftly is so much better!), the key is to DO IT. When hit with such a blow, we need to be like David who, after discovering the destruction at Ai, encouraged himself (1 Sam 30:6) and managed to get up and do the next thing – and he recovered all that had been lost. Fear is a terrible enemy, but we can conquer it. YOU can!

I’m not proud of how long it took me to complete this portrait. I am, however, proud of the work; it is every bit as good as I knew (somewhere inside) it could be. I am also grateful for the amazing patience of the friend who commissioned it, and for the vitally important lesson I’ve learned once again.

“Down” is not someplace anyone wants to be, especially over something so absurd. I’ve decided that, should such a thing happen again, I will take a page from David’s book and encourage myself (or read myself the Riot Act). I have to; there’s another picture waiting to be drawn!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

The Lord’s Living Garden

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“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enameled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord’s living garden.”  ― Thérèse de Lisieux

Revelation

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The Holy Spirit, and the way He reveals things in the Word when we ask Him to teach us, is AWESOME! I love it when God tweaks my view of Scripture, making me see the familiar in a totally new light.

For instance, here are some pieces that came together for me at some point last year.

1.    We know the Israelites were to use no leaven at Passover. This was part of them being
prepared and ready to leave as soon as God (through Pharaoh) gave the Word.
2.    We know leaven represents sin throughout Scripture.
3.    We know that many things in the Old Testament are types and shadows (AKA prophecies)
of what later happens in the New Testament.
4.    The Exodus, itself, is prophecy! It foreshadows our exodus from this earth at the Rapture.
We must remove sin (leaven) from our lives (houses) and be spiritually ready to leave at a
moment’s notice. Even the end times transfer of wealth that we hear so much about is
foreshadowed by the Jews requesting and receiving all sorts of valuable things from their
Egyptian neighbors.

The Word of God is SO COOL.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Love Labels

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In studying Love, I of course am spending time in First Corinthians, chapter 13. One of the first things you see that love does not do is “parade itself.” (KJV “vaunteth”) Most of us don’t literally walk around saying, “Look at me! I am too good for you!” Clearly, this is a heart condition more than outward action. We may not parade around openly, because we know it’s unacceptable, but it’s what our hearts do that God sees.

One thing our hearts do, when they are not filled with love, is label people. We say, “She’s so OCD that I can’t stand to be around her.” We cannot truly exalt ourselves; only God can do that. This technique, however, effectively puts the other person on a level below us – in our own minds – and makes us feel better than them.

One who walks in love will, instead, use love labels, thinking things like, “Her faithfulness humbles me. Her attention to detail is amazing. She so clearly gets fully into everything she does.”

When we intentionally put love labels on people, we raise their value, their worth, in our eyes. We begin to see them as God sees them, and we see ourselves more clearly as nothing more or less than their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. When we intentionally put love labels on people, we instinctively begin to treat them differently, to esteem them, to show them the love that John 13:35 is talking about.

When we intentionally put love labels on people, we begin to act like Jesus.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

The Power of Journaling

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I discovered the power of journaling decades ago when I was going through an especially hard time. The thoughts in my head stayed confused, whirling about so fast I could seldom catch them and hold them still long enough to actively think on them. I had become frustrated, judgmental, constantly anxious and unsatisfied. I was a Christian at the time, and I prayed, but even my prayers were unfocused and frustrating. And then, one evening while sitting in a laundry mat with a room full of other people,  something wonderful happened.

Since I couldn’t pray openly, like I usually did, I began to write my prayers down in a notebook. I poured out my heart to God in a different way and discovered something totally unanticipated. I was finally able to actually catch the thoughts and put them into some order. I felt, for the first time in a while, that what I was saying was actually making some sense, and having finally grasped those myriad words and crammed them onto paper, I was able to sit back and actually hear God’s voice for the first time in too long.

He told me to go back and read what I’d written, and as I read He pointed out every time I used the word *I*. It was humbling. Right there, in black and white, in my own handwriting, was proof that I had completely lost focus. My attention had wandered away from Him and onto every bad thing I perceived to be in my life. I had become completely focused on ME and how I felt everything was wrong.

The words on the page truly represented the attitude I’d had for a long time, and I knew it. He’d known it all along, but my brain had been so busy griping, moaning, and complaining that I couldn’t hear Him. Like an avalanche carries away an unprepared skier, they had completely consumed me and I was alone in the noise until I found the way to still them.

That experience taught me a great lesson about journaling, and I have kept many journals through the years – some prayer journals and some just records of things I’ve been thinking about that I don’t want to forget. I even have a small journal I carry in my purse today so that I can remember the special things God shows me no matter when I happen to see them.

I also have a formal prayer journal, one I was given on my birthday last year, and it has revolutionized my prayer life. Just this morning I was thanking God for it, because I was trying to pray during my first “get ready” minutes, before I pulled the journal out, and I found my mind wandering all sorts of rabbit trails instead of talking to Him about the things I wanted to discuss. My brain can be like that at times, especially in the morning, but the journal helps it wake up and focus, helps me stay true to what I want to do.

It also serves as a permanent record. I may have only had the journal about a month and a half, but I’ve gone back and reread some of its entries multiple times so that I can keep myself on track, so that I don’t forget the things God has revealed to me and the path I want to walk. This has proven to be a great help in keeping me on the right path in my walk with God.

Whether for prayer, or only for personal use, I highly recommend the journal. Write it down so that you can get it out of your head. Write it down so that you can read it again and actually see what you’re really saying (Just be prepared for a shock, because we can be much more self-centered than we realize.). Write it down so that you can remember, later, what you’ve learned today. The pen really is a mighty tool.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Slow Down!

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Hello. My name is Tammy Cardwell, and I move too fast.

I have moved too fast most of my life. In school, I learned that moving quickly from class to class gave me more time to read. This began a habit of walking fast that still gets me in trouble today as my shorter friends and relatives have to call out from somewhere behind me, “Slow down!” Truly, unless I’m on a deserted road in the country, intentionally idling away the time, I forget there is a such a word as “amble.”

All of which is bad enough, but when you hear God calling out, “Slow down,” as I have, you know you’ve gone beyond a lack of courtesy and are veering into dangerous territory.

He reminded me, recently, that it is those who wait upon the Lord that renew their strength. Too often, I listen to one part of what He says and move forward without hearing Him out completely. This is something I do to people as well, and I assure all of you that I really am working on it!

So, in a recent conversation, God reminded me that it is the warrior who waits to hear everything his superior has to say that is strengthened for battle, and the server who waits to hear everything his customer has to say that is strengthened for service.

It’s bad enough when my friends have to tell me to slow down. It’s far worse when it’s God sitting there, patiently waiting for me to return and actually hear Him out so that I can be strengthened for what lies ahead.

So if you hear me muttering, “Slow down, Tammy.” Don’t worry about me talking to myself. I’m just reminding me before someone else has to.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Peppermint Essential Oil

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Peppermint Oil

As is true for any regular essential oils user, I definitely have my favorite oils. One of these is peppermint.

Historically, it’s been used for centuries to “soothe digestive difficulties, freshen breath, and relieve colic, gas, headaches, heartburn, and indigestion.”* I drink of a drop in an ounce or two of water regularly to help support my digestive system and fight off symptoms that might indicate acid reflux. (Not prescribing here. just sharing my story.) I also use it in the diffuser to support my respiratory system; on my skin to soothe itching, muscle pain, and hot flashes; and more.

Most Young Living oils can be ingested anyway, but peppermint is one of the essential oils that are generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for human consumption regardless of who produces it. (Not recommended for children under 6) I’ve already said I use a drop in an ounce or two of water, but you can also mix it with other liquids and even cook with it.

I diffuse it fairly often both because I appreciate the scent and I find that it helps me maintain a stronger respiratory system. It also repels rodents and insects, a fact that has been a big blessing this winter! It does more, though, and there’s one thing in particular that parents and college students should bear in mind. It helps you think!

Seriously! Dr. Dembar, of the University of Cincinnati, did a study and found that inhaling peppermint oil increased the mental accuracy of students by up to 28%.*

A few things to be aware of concerning peppermint oil.
1. Using it repeatedly in the same place on your skin might result in contact sensitivity. I just don’t use it in the same place twice in a row.
2. There is some concern that it may adversely affect people who have high blood pressure.
3. You should use it with caution during pregnancy.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

*Reference Guide for Essential Oils, by Connie and Alan Higley, 3013 Edition

Those People

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Everyone seems to have a few of “those people” in their lives. You know the ones I mean. They’re the paranoid person who constantly complains about all of the plots people are hatching against them, the OCD person who has to carefully script every conversation, the one who is always asking for your help but never offering theirs even when they can clearly see you need it… It seems they have only one things in common; they can rub you raw… and if they’re Christians, they can REALLY rub you raw.

The Word of God says, in Proverbs 27:17, that “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” When I said they rub you raw? There is a reason. God often puts people like this in our lives for this very purpose, to teach us what it is to truly love as He loves.

It is easy to love those who treat us well, who love us the way we expect to be loved or at least behave the way we expect them to act. That type of love is good, but if we aspire to love like Jesus loved, we must go further – a lot further. One step along that path is to learn to love “those people” – to genuinely feel compassion for the one who is so consumed with paranoia that all of their conversations center around the enemies that surround them. True love listens, true love responds by encouraging them in the Lord and giving them the Word of God to stand on, and true loves prays for them with a heart that genuinely cares for their well-being. Yes, frustration may enter in – we see in Scripture that even God got frustrated on occasion – but true love responds as God is inclined to respond, with mercy and compassion.

If we genuinely wish to learn to love as God loves, we should thank Him for putting those people into our lives and let Him use them to push us closer to Him.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C