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Perspective is powerful

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

This is truly a must read. My previous pastor, who was a pilot, used to say, “Your attitude determines your altitude.” Dencie Lee’s testimony illustrates this beautifully while it showcases the grace, mercy, and power of God.

I've got something to say

One year ago I was at MD Anderson for a second opinion. The cancer had returned in my lungs. It was inoperable. Radiation was not an option, and for the rest of my life I would be on chemotherapy. I had six months to a year to live.

Every time I say this or share it, I have to stop for a minute.

I’ve been told three times in the last five years “cancer has returned”, but this last time was different. Cutting or burning the cancer out was not an option this time; I was shaken. I met with a new oncologist, I was now at MD Anderson having my labs and scans redone. I was hopeful and believing God for a better report. However, the results confirmed the cancer had returned. Prognosis was the same. I remember my daughter asked the oncologist “if chemotherapy gets rid of the…

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So I did a thing.

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

This is a very dear friend of mine, actually one of those people who helped hold me up through some of the worst of the bad times with Jack, days that saw me hitting the ground in agony. Not only is this post spot on, but I’m sure her blog is going to prove to be powerful. Check it out!

I've got something to say

So I did a thing last weekend. A photographer friend asked me about doing a photo shoot. Sure, why not. As the day approached I thought, ‘what was I thinking? Why as I doing a photo shoot? What in the world?!’ Ok, I’ll do it for a friend, how hard can it be? And, we will have a blast, I’m sure.

Fast forward, photo shoot day. I completely put myself in her hands. She told me what to do, where to stand, where to look. Okay, no problem. I was not seeing what she was seeing through her lens. I was not even thinking about what I looked like standing on my bar stool, out in the middle of my yard or sitting on my counter beside my sink, pretending to drink imaginery coffee. I simply trusted her lead. If I would have known ahead of time what all I’d…

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What does your desk look like?

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I just finished answering an author interview in preparation for my forthcoming ebook version of Experiencing the Bible. (It releases on Christmas Day! Be watching for a chance at a discounted pre-order!) One of the questions was, “What does your desk look like?”

My answer was, “Messy?” LOL!

I have been very grateful for this desk in the past few weeks. My son gave it to me to replace the tiny desk I’d been pretending to use and finally I have space to spread out everything I need for taking notes and studying details and looking up references. The blank spot you see in the photo is where my laptop was sitting until about an hour ago.

What does my desk look like? It looks like productivity happening!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Back in the Saddle?

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I wish I didn’t have to put a question mark on this title, but life is an odd thing. It can throw you.

In many ways, things have been intense since Jack passed away and I entered widowhood. I spent weeks working on the apartment, adapting it to me-only living, and then I spent weeks going through decades worth of records and papers and…stuff. Losing my husband made me acutely aware of what my kids would be dealing with if something were to happen to me, so I set about ensuring that transition would be as easy as possible. Just today I put the finish to the last piece of the puzzle: The Book. It contains pretty much every legal and informational paper they might need at my passing. Except all my passwords. I do need to work on that.

All that to say this. As of now, with that last task complete, I feel like my brain is my own again. (Happy Birthday to me!) Starting today, Son #2 (Owner of pixeldripstudio.com) has begun planning a new website for me, one that will help me do so much more than simply blog, and it’s got me excited and fired up all over again. We’ve been talking style and options and possibilities, and I’m thinking in terms of articles and blog posts and freebies…

I’m also working on converting Experiencing the Bible to ebook format. It’s a challenge for two reasons.
1. While I read ebooks all the time I’ve never learned about their formatting. (I am now!)
2. Part of the print book’s power is the built-in journal. I have to do a bit of rewriting and adjusting to compensate. It won’t be a huge deal for the reader; they’ll just want to invest in a journal to write in. Maybe I’ll even create a matching one myself? Maybe.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’m back in the saddle and back at work. And it feels GOOD.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Time to Look Back

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

As you reach the end of a flight and head to the terminal, you see people gathering their belongings and preparing to disembark. Ensuring they leave nothing behind is part of their flight plan; it enables them to start the next part of their journey with one less concern.

December is the end of our flight. We’re on the tarmac, heading for the gate. Now is the time to look back, to assess where we are relative to where we were in January.

Did we throw out the habits that were holding us back? Did we develop new habits that have made us stronger? Did we gain the courage to end destructive relationships, or to take the risk and enter into new ones God led us to?

In January we will look to the future, setting goals and making plans. We will be better prepared to do this if we first set aside even a little time in December to discover where we really are.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Spirit Sword

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment
By Sam Ford

“The End came too soon.”
“There had better be a sequel!”

These were my first two thoughts as I finished the last page of Spirit Sword. My third thought was that people had better buy and read this book so the author will hurry up and start the next in the series if he hasn’t already.

Take one unlikely hero, a child, and rip his life away from him. Then introduce him to a sentient sword who knows the true history of the world (and a whole lot more), and off you go on a grand adventure.

Spirit Sword is the type of book that more than entertains you. It engages you. You become part of the adventure.

I would say that this is an admirable first offering for an aspiring author, but it doesn’t read like a first book at all. The well-developed characters fit into their excellently-crafted storyline perfectly. It’s intended for a young adult, male audience, but this almost-60-year old female couldn’t put it down.

Spirit Sword, you had me at, “Hello.”

My Fear

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

It’s strange…the places you can stumble across revelation. I was registering on a website when the security question asked me, “What is your greatest fear?” Without hesitation, I typed my answer.

FAILURE

Then I sat staring at it, wondering where THAT had come from. It wasn’t long before I admitted to myself, for perhaps the first time, that this has been the truest answer to that question from the time I was a small child. While others went out and did things that looked fun, I sat on the sidelines.

I never tried because I was afraid to fail.

As an adult, I’ve learned better. I understand that failure is part of the learning process. At least…I understand it on a superficial level. My instant answer to the question, though, shows that I still have some very real issues.

So it’s time to self-assess. I’ve conquered this fear in so many areas, but I’ve got to move forward and eliminate it in more. I mean, really, at this point in my life how bad can failure be?

I’ve already raised my kids; any failures I had there are over and the damage done. That’s one of the biggest potential problem areas I can think of in this life. Well, other than failing where your relationship with God is concerned, and I work in building that all the time.

It’s time to kick my fear to the curb, to realize that it’s STUPID. Yes, I said stupid. Me failing at something might lead to my embarrassment, but it won’t result in WW3. Besides, how many times did Jesus issue the encouragement, “Fear not!”?

What about you?

What is your biggest fear?

And what are you going to do about it?

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Fighting the Darkness

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

As a church employee and, I believe, trusted friend, I often have people tell me about their struggles, their pain, their darkness. As I looked around the church this morning, I realized once again that most of us think we’re the only ones fighting the darkness. “Yes,” we think, “other people may have their challenges, but their challenges aren’t as bad, as agonizing, as life-altering as mine.”

But they are.

This is an important fact to remember. Unless my neighbor has told me about her struggles, I have no idea what’s hiding behind her smile. Is she wondering if she dares trust that her husband will never have another affair? Is her mother dying of cancer, leaving her feeling like an abandoned child? Did she just lose her job right after buying a new car?

I don’t know. So…

I won’t judge her when she upsets me, because I DON’T know.

I won’t assume that her life is hunky dorey and no one is living through a hell as bad as mine, because lots of people ARE.

AND I WON’T GIVE UP HOPE.

As I looked around the sanctuary this morning, I saw many people who are even now fighting the darkness, but I also saw a room full of conquerors who have battled time and time again and, with God’s help, WON.

Philippians 4:13

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C