encouragement

How God Talked Me Into TikTok

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

After Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I witnessed what can only be called a spiritual revolution on TikTok. Between posts and comments, I saw hundreds of people who hadn’t even had God on their radar suddenly coming to Jesus.

Something supernatural was happening – still is.

I’ve tried to support and comment on these posts as much as I could, and I’ve prayed. Oh, how I’ve prayed. I’ve been concerned for these newborn Christians because those are ones the devil so likes to attack, to draw into deception.

At some point last month, it seemed like God was asking me, “So how are you going to help them?”

Um…

I’ve been a lurker on the clock app for years. Well, not really a lurker, because as I said I comment and support. I’ve come to appreciate a great many of these creators. But becoming one of them – putting myself out there and making TikToks – was another thing entirely.

I couldn’t conceive of it. Oh, I could in theory like the idea, but when it came to seriously considering following through and doing it… That was a different story. Besides, God hadn’t come out and told me to start creating; He’d just asked how I was going to help.

Then it happened. Suddenly my FYP was filled with creators talking about creating. One explained that you don’t always have to do videos; you can post text and photos too. So I did one – a picture of my book with a brief explanation – and felt pretty good about it. So I did another. And another.

Don’t get too excited: As of right now I’ve only done five TikTok posts and about as many stories.

If you read yesterday’s article, When God Grows Your Faith, you know God has asked me to do some things lately that seemed impossible. This was one of them. He eventually did ask me to start creating on TikTok. For real.

So for real, if you’re interested, you can find me @tmcardwell. I post as Tammy M. Cardwell Author.

But back to my story. God was merciful on this one, leading me into this new thing gently and not giving me my assignment until I was at least relatively comfortable. But there is an assignment, and I am working on it. 

I’ve ordered my light, and I’m waiting for my video expert friend to recommend the right mic for my budget. He won’t be able to come help me stage for these videos until after the first of the year, I don’t think, but once I have the tools and know how to use them, I’ll start working with what I’ve got.

In the meantime, I’m working on ideas.

Like I said yesterday, the Christian life is all about walking by faith. It’s trusting that when God tells you to do something He’s already got the road mapped out in front of you. All you have to do is listen and, as Isaiah 30:21 tells us:

“You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,
‘This is the correct way, walk in it,’ whether you
are heading to the right or the left.”

Random Note: I can never read those words without flashing back to Gandalf with his hand on Frodo’s shoulder, telling him which way to go.

Each step may seem uncertain, but with each step I take I see God proving Himself faithful. He’s turning what once felt impossible into “done.”

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

When God Grows Your Faith

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about this quote from Hudson Taylor lately.

“There are three stages to every great work of God;
first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”

God has been asking me to do things, lately, that seem impossible, so I guess it’s no surprise that this quote came to mind.

“What do you mean by ‘impossible,’ Tammy?”

I mean that, when you look at my circumstances and experience, God is literally asking me to do things I cannot possibly do. 

Have you ever considered something and, even as you thought, “No,” you undeniably heard God speak to your spirit a solid, “Yes”? I did earlier this month. On the outside I looked calm and collected. On the inside a battle raged. My flesh, which was being told to step out of the way, was in a heated argument with my spirit.

But my spirit was leaping up and down. God had spoken to me, clearly, about this specific situation. And when God speaks that clearly, not only am I limited to one option – obedience – but I also have a guarantee that He’s not going to let me fail.

My flesh didn’t believe a word of it.

Flesh: “But you know how you get when learning new things frustrates you; you shut down.”

Spirit: “Not this time! God’s standing right here assuring me I won’t!”

Flesh: “What about the financial commitment you’re making? You haven’t budgeted for anything like this!”

Spirit: “God has, obviously, or He wouldn’t be telling me to do it.”

During the battle I was reminded of both Hudson Taylor’s quote and something a character in a book once said. I can’t remember what he said, exactly, but it was along the lines of, “Of course I don’t know how God is going to work it out. That’s what makes it so exciting!”

Even then, the battle wasn’t over.

The next morning, I was still struggling, doubting that I was truly hearing from God, so I fell back on my tried-and-true decision making strategy. It’s a principle my pastor taught many years ago: God always leads with peace.

So, when faced with a hard decision, I decide. In this case (because I had a feeling it was the wrong choice), I first decided I wasn’t going to do it; I was going to pass up the opportunity I was being given. And I was filled with…complacency.

I will interject here that I’ve advised people about this process many times and I always explain that only God can give you peace; the closest the devil can get is complacency. I’ve never experienced it like this before, however. Generally, the wrong choice has resulted in a churning stomach.

But yeah, I felt total and complete complacency, like a sleeper who chooses to roll over and go back to sleep because he isn’t in the mood to face the day. It disturbed me so that I quickly decided to obey God.

Not only did peace instantly flood my soul when I said, “Yes,” to God: I got excited!

And then something occurred to me. Actually, I’m going to say God revealed it to me, because this is a thought I’ve never had.

We are to live by faith. We know this. Scripture after scripture tells us we’re to walk by faith, to grow and strengthen our faith, that we’re to have works associated with our faith, that we can’t please God without faith…

I’ll stop. But you get the idea.

My faith is as strong as it is because living with my husband required it. When you’re moving essentially from one crisis to another, either you’ll build your faith up or you’ll let yourself be torn down – and I was not going to let myself be torn down!

Even in the year after he passed, my faith grew as it was stretched by my financial and housing situations, but in the past year or so…not so much. And I didn’t realize it until recently, but that steady season had quietly allowed my faith muscles to relax. 

But, again, that’s not what we’re called to do. I have come to believe that, if we’re not consciously choosing to stretch and work our faith, which is what is required for it to grow, God will lead us into situations where stretching and building up our faith is a necessity.

Now that I think about it, this is the second time He’s done that in recent months. Something else happened a few months ago that demanded I put my faith out there and trust Him, and I was excited to find I was able, that I was looking forward to seeing how He would take care of things. I still am.

So…yeah… Faith – trusting God – is not just important; it’s essential. We can’t just say we trust Him; our lives have to show it. And when they do, He’ll often lead us straight into the impossible.

But once our focus is fully on Him, we’ll realize it was never impossible after all. It may be difficult, yes, but at some point…it will be done.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Redeem the Time

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Copyright Jordan Benton (on pexels.com)

This was not a normal Sunday.

There was already a lot going on in my head when service began, and this was one of those days I had to force my rabbit-trail-loving brain to focus only on worshipping God. Some people assume I’m different in some way, that everything comes easy for me. But the fact is I’m like anyone else, and too often it takes a conscious mental effort to shut down the bombarding thoughts that try to derail my worship.

For the record, I won this morning and worship was great.

Then I sat down and realized I had a staff notification on my phone.

One of our young moms passed away this morning. There was no warning, no indication that anything was wrong, at least not as far as I know. Her family is very active in the church. She and her husband have led one of our groups for years – a group that is headed out to a concert tonight. Well, I assume at least most of them will still go, though with heavy hearts.

Her daughter gets married soon.

My heart breaks for her husband, kids, soon-to-be son-in-law, his family, and the youth kids who love her daughters – our whole church, actually. But those kids…there were some seriously red-eyed teens walking out the doors after service.

This threw me. Some people might think that as a church secretary I’ve seen enough church members pass that it would eventually get easier. Nope. It doesn’t. This is my family and I love them.

Mind you, I’m THRILLED for her! She is quite literally exactly where she’s been heading ever since the day she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. It’s everyone else…all those who love her. Thinking about everything left me so befuddled I couldn’t even discuss it with God on the drive home, or not cogently.

She was so young, only in her 50s. No one expects anything like this.

You don’t. Do you?

I think if she could send one last message, it would likely be a warning to redeem the time: Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior if you haven’t. Grow even more deeply in love with Him if you have. And tell everyone you can that Jesus is the only One who saves, because any one of us could be standing in front of Him before another day passes.

Literally, you just never know. Redeem the time.

Celebrating Jesus,
Tammy C

The Victor’s Crown: Why Our Struggles Matter

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

“Why does life have to be so hard?”

Now there’s a question we’ve all asked more than once. Clearly, I don’t have the whole answer, but I saw something in the Word today that reminded me of one of the reasons life is hard.

Everyone goes through hard seasons. Mine may look different from yours, but they are hard nonetheless. This is a good fact to remember: Everyone around you is dealing with something, probably many somethings. Never assume your neighbor has it easy, because it’s highly likely they don’t.

Everyone goes through tests, trials, and temptations. How we respond to them matters. I’m speaking to Christians here, so I’ll leap right into temptation. Have you felt God prompt you to give up a habit and you’ve tried, but you just couldn’t do it – or did it for a time and then went right back to it?

I’m not even talking about outright sin here. My point is that any time God asks us to do something, or to stop doing something, and we are tempted to disobey, that is a test. Our flesh may be testing us, or demonic influences might be pushing the temptation our way. Regardless, it’s a test.

Now look at James 1:12 in the New Living translation:
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

I went to the Renner Interpretive Version: James & Jude for Rick Renner’s notes on this crown of life and he explains that “crown,” the word James used here, referred to a victor’s crown such as those given to winning athletes. These crowns made of laurel wreaths marked them as people to be esteemed and honored; they also guaranteed the winner would be provided for for the rest of his life. 

But James didn’t stop there. He called it the crown of life or, properly translated, the victor’s crown of zoe life which, according to Renner, “brings a physical and spiritual reward, both in life now and for all eternity.”

This is clearly something that is not to be taken lightly!

But we have to remember where we started.
“God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.”

Now let’s look at this verse in two other translations.

James 1:12 (NKJV) – “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

James 1:12 (NET) – “Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.”

How we deal with test/trials/temptations is what determines whether or not we are approved, whether or not we have proven ourselves to be true lovers of God.

Am I saying those who fail aren’t saved? Not necessarily, no. I’m saying that when a runner enters a race he goes in with his eyes wide open, knowing he will be tested to his limits. He may face distractions, bumps in the road, weather issues, interference by other runners, and major objections from his own body.

He will face the temptation to slow down, with a voice whispering that second or third place wouldn’t be so bad. He will face the temptation to throw up his hands and quit. But if he wants to win, he determines in his heart that we will press on through to the end no matter what obstacles are in his way.

This is what the Apostle Paul did. In 2 Timothy 4:7 he explains to Timothy that he knows his time is up, that he won’t be alive much longer, and he assures this one who was like a son to him that:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

We know from his own accounts and history that Paul faced more trials, tribulations, and temptations than most of us can conceive, but he ran his whole race determined that, no matter what he faced, he and God would win.

Those tests, trials, and temptations give us the opportunity to prove that our love for God is real, not just something we feel when life looks good. They also, according to James 1:2, help us grow into maturity.

Yes, life can be hard, but we can be strong. If Paul did it, we can too.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

THE MOTHER OF WEST.

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

O wondrous power! how little understood –
   Entrusted to the mother’s mind alone-
To fashion genius, form the soul for good,
Inspire a West, or train a Washington.
                                                                        Mrs. Hale

When Benjamin West was seven years old, he was left, one summer day, with the charge of an infant niece. As it lay in the cradle and he was engaged in fanning away the flies, the motion of the fan pleased the child, and caused it to smile. Attracted by the charms thus created, young West felt his instinctive passion aroused; and seeing paper, pen and some red and black ink on a table, he eagerly seized them and made his first attempt at portrait painting. Just as he had finished his maiden task, his mother and sister entered. He tried to conceal what he had done, but his confusion arrested his mother’s attention, and she asked him what he had been doing. With reluctance and timidity, he handed her the paper, begging, at the same time, that she would not be offended. Examining the drawing for a short time, she turned to her daughter and, with a smile, said, “I declare, he has made a likeness of Sally.” She then gave him a fond kiss, which so encouraged him that he promised her some drawings of the flowers which she was then holding, if she wished to have them.

The next year a cousin sent him a box of colors and pencils, with large quantities of canvas prepared for the easel, and half a dozen engravings. Early in the morning after their reception, he took all his materials into the garret, and for several days forgot all about school. His mother suspected that the box was the cause of his neglect of his books, and going into the garret and finding him busy at a picture, she was about to reprimand him; but her eye fell on some of his compositions, and her anger cooled at once. She was so pleased with them that she loaded him with kisses and promised to secure his father’s pardon for his neglect of school.

How much the world is indebted to Mrs. West for her early and constant encouragement of the immortal artist. He often used to say, after his reputation was established, “My mother’s kiss made me a painter!”

______

Excerpted from Noble Deeds of American Women
(Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls)
Edited by J. Clement
——
With an Introduction by Mrs. L. H. Sigourney
Illustrated
BOSTON: Lee and Shepard, Publishers
Entered by Act of Congress, in the year of 1851,
by E. H. Derby and Co., in the Clerk’s Office of the Northern District of New York
______

I Am A…

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Recently, in conversation, I said the words, “I’m a blogger.”

I understand that what you’re about to read seems ridiculous. Stay with me.

My own words caught me off guard. I mean, I AM a blogger; I’ve been blogging for years here and on my previous site. Regardless, after saying those words out loud, I had the same epiphany I did when I realized that I not only wrote but was, in fact, an author. It was a bit of a delightful shock.

“And you are sharing this today because…?” you ask? I will answer happily!

Frankly, this is the perfect opportunity to remind you to own what you are. Do you write? Then you are a writer! True, you may not be a published author yet, but that has no bearing on the fact that you are a genuine, bona fide writer.

Do you create art? You are an artist! Whether or not you’ve ever sold anything means nothing. Even if you’ve never shown a single piece of your art to another human being, you are an artist. Own that you are an artist! Delight in it! Enjoy being what you are.

Yes, I realize skill is a measurable thing and many judge “what we are” by the skills we currently possess. Many believe that unless you’ve been published, you’re not a writer. Many are convinced that if your creations aren’t art by their definition, you are not an artist. I get it. I’ve said myself that I’m not an artist even though many have tried to call me one. I have the skills required to copy a picture, but not to create one; by my definition, that makes me a copyist, not an artist.

But I’ve been a blogger since I published my very first blog post. It wouldn’t matter if no one read what I wrote, I would still be a blogger. I just had to be reminded of this fact, because I’d fallen into judging myself as a blogger by the number of people my blog reaches. My blog community is growing, so I’ve felt more like a blogger lately than I have in a while…which is absurd.

God has planted within each of us the potential to be many things, and we get to choose which of those things we will be. Do some have more innate talent than others in certain areas? Of course, I’m not belittling this fact. I’m just saying that we all have potential. As believers, we should be actively drawing out that potential and using it to His glory, and we should believe in ourselves as we do.

But even if you don’t believe in God, those gifts, those desires, those drives to BE, are still there waiting for you to act on and own them. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t allow doubt, either your own or someone else’s, to drag you down.

I’ve noticed it’s become a thing to ask people what advice you would give your younger self. Often you hear such things as, “Don’t give up on your dreams,” and “Never stop believing in yourself.” I think it’s time to flip the script and let your younger self talk to you. If blogging were a thing when I was young, as soon as child Tammy hit publish on her first blog post, no matter how good or bad anyone else thought it was, she would have grinned and said, “I’m a blogger!” And, though she had only just taken her very first step, she would have been right.

So, with this in mind, I urge you to invite your inner child, that preschooler who knew without a doubt he or she could accomplish anything they wanted, to come out and have a chat. Let that younger you give today’s you the courage to own what you already are, to declare with confidence, “I am a…!”

Once you convince yourself, there’s no telling what you can do.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Who’s in Your Corner?

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

I was honored, today, by being asked to take on a new ministry responsibility. I accepted readily, because I believe in my boss’ ability to hear from God. That does not mean I was confident in my own ability to fulfill the role.

I immediately leapt into studying and preparation, but even after more encouragement from she who asked me, I had doubts about me. So after work I played it smart and texted my sister asking for prayer. She agreed to pray, but she also sent the following.

“I remember how scared you were before your first speaking engagement at a conference. And look how you came through that.

“I remember how scared you were before you got your job at Bath and Bodyworks and you rocked it.

“Need I go on?”

She didn’t need to. Those reminders of past victories were all it took. She Who Is Always In My Corner came through for me again.

We all need someone who’s in our corner, someone we can rely on for encouragement and pep talks. (Likewise, we need to be the same for others.)

Who’s in your corner?

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Help the Weak. Be Patient with Everyone.

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Two solid weeks of sick do not make for a blog that stays current.

The first week I was on vacation, and the second week I went to work feeling like I hardly had two brain cells to rub together, wanting nothing more than to go home and crawl back into bed. Honestly, I don’t know how I got my work done at all. So yeah, everything else flew out the window.

Now that my brain is actively working again, I’m thinking about the spiritually weak, those who are so sick with worry that they can hardly function, whose lives seem to be in such a tailspin that they feel they hardly have two brain cells to rub together, and the ones who are so in need that they can’t even think to ask for help. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 tells us, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

My sister was that help while we were on vacation together. What should have been at least a decent visit with her son was severely damaged by what we at first thought were only allergies (made unimaginably worse by the two flights it took to get to Las Vegas from Houston) and the fact that I could only go and do for so long before collapsing. There was no doing all the fun stuff that we had been looking into. Nonetheless, she showed that patience Paul talks about here. She was a nurturer and encourager. She was everything I needed her to be. Likewise, the people I work with were incredibly encouraging and patient with me last week as I crept through the days feeling mostly like a failure. I am surrounded by wonderful people.

So… What about me? Am I one of those wonderful people? Am I like my sister, giving encouragement, nurturing, and helping those who are weak? Am I like my co-workers, who patiently put up with my constant coughing, nose blowing, and failure to accomplish great things? I would like to think so, but I’m stepping back right now and doing some serious assessing of the person I look at in the mirror.

I want to like her. I want to respect her. I want to know that she reaches out in honesty and sincerity at all times. I want to know that her heart genuinely loves people and she doesn’t allow impatience to color her actions, or busyness to keep her from reaching out to the fainthearted and weak. Shoot, I want to know she’s so sensitive to what’s going on around her that she notices!

It’s amazing what being sick can teach you.

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