All About HIM

Slow Down!

Tammy M Cardwell1 Comment

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

Give Thanks

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

I’ve been working through a new prayer journal I was given for my birthday in December, and one of the things I most appreciate about it is that it reminds me daily that we are to come to Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” This is how we should come before God. He blesses us constantly. When we come to Him in prayer, we should first bless Him: Thank Him for all He has done, is doing, and will do, and praise Him for Who He is.

Putting thanksgiving and praise first changes our whole attitude toward prayer. It reminds us that He is not a server at a fast-food window, but a loving father who wants to sit down with us and give us the very best. It builds our faith as we remember all of the wonderful – even wonderfully small – things He’s already done for us; and if we plan to ask Him for anything, we need faith to believe He will answer!

I tried keeping a thanksgiving journal once before, and it was reasonably successful, but I found myself thanking Him only for what I saw as…well, not necessarily “big” things, but readily noticeable things. Now, though, beginning my days in thanks as I do, I find myself coming more like a child who thanks her daddy for every small thing – and in doing so I am reminded over and over again that a lot of those “small things” aren’t really that small after all.

At the very least, they are a continual reminder that He is interested in every area of my life – every minor incident, every dark corner… and I am truly thankful for this, because there have been quite a few of both. Honestly, some days I get so caught up in thanking God in my morning prayers that I don’t make it much further through the journal, and you know what? I find the requests I was going to make still get answered anyway…thanks to Him.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Fasting

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

You’re seeing Christians fasting all over the net. It happens every January. Why?

Answer: More than you can imagine if you’re not one of them.

Fasting is too big a topic to truly cover in one blog entry; it would take books. Fortunately, books have been writing about it – including some excellent books by Jentzen Franklin.

I can tell you this. It is probably the thing most Christians are least likely to want to do, but it is one of the most powerful things we can do. The benefits of a true fast (which, at its simplest, is abstaining from things you very much want and spending more time with God instead) are mind blowing.

For me, one of the most exciting things about fasting is the way it hits a spiritual reset button in my life. It brings my focus back to God and His thoughts and intents. Spending more intentional time with God, like you do with a friend you love dearly, also leads to hearing things from Him that are truly life changing.

These are both reasons why many fast in January specifically. After the busy lives we’ve led during the last two months, it helps to stop, sit, and really focus on God so that He can help you get back on the right path if you’ve strayed any, prepare you for what is coming, and help you grow even more than usual.

Usually, when you hear of people fasting, they’re fasting “for” something – seeking an answer – which is fine too. Even when I fast simply out of obedience however, because God told me to, I do it with expectancy, because miracles usually come as a result of genuine, spiritual fasts: open doors, healings, favor in situations…

Like I said, mind blowing.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C