faith | ETERNALLY PLANTED

The Butterfly that Was Two Butterflies

July 21, 2026July 21, 2026Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Blog cover featuring a Blue Morpho butterfly with closed camouflage wings and open iridescent blue wings beneath the title "The Butterfly That Was Two Butterflies."

“Tammy. Take a picture!”

The words were urgent, but also softly spoken.

I turned and saw a huge butterfly resting on my sister’s arm. It had mistaken her colorful tattooed cuff for a flower and, once it settled, was in no hurry to leave. In fact, it stayed on her long enough for pretty much everyone in our tour group to take pictures.

This specimen was both beautiful and fascinating. It seemed perfectly designed for camouflage. Its colors and the shape of its wings would have made it disappear completely up against a tree or leaf-strewn forest floor. And then there were the spots that looked very much like eyes; other animals could easily have mistaken it for a predator instead of prey.

I wondered if that was part of why it stayed so long. It instinctively knew it had nothing to fear. In a sense, it was hidden in plain sight.

It makes me think of us and how our lives are hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) When we are right with God, we are in a sense wearing a type of spiritual camouflage. The devil may see us, but he also sees the One who watches over us. That knowledge can give us the same type of confidence that butterfly had.

We saw many beautiful butterflies at the butterfly conservatory that day, and we took our fair share of pictures. But there was one butterfly that proved most elusive. There were plenty of specimens there, but we only saw them in flight, and they seemed able to disappear without warning. We got only one picture, and it’s not the best.

Blue Morpho butterfly with iridescent blue wings displaying shifting shades of sapphire and teal.

Its wings flashed the most astonishing shades of blue, shades that changed as it moved. What you see here is a true representation of its coloring. The left wing wasn’t just in shadow and the right in the sun; its colors were literally shifting as it moved—which it did constantly.

I set my heart on following one until it landed for more than a split second so I could get a photo. After much wandering and a great deal of patience, I finally got my wish. One of these glorious creatures settled onto a branch right in front of me.

And suddenly I was laughing so I couldn’t have taken a photo if its wings had stayed open and still long enough.

Because, you see, the instant it landed it closed its wings.

And it was the very same butterfly that had landed on my sister’s arm.

Blue Morpho butterfly resting on a woman's hand with its wings closed, revealing brown camouflage and large owl-like eyespots.

There are so many spiritual lessons wrapped up in that one discovery that I hardly know where to begin.

When this Blue Morpho rested on my sister’s arm, it was the same brilliantly blue butterfly it had been only moments before. Nothing had changed. The blue hadn’t disappeared; it was simply hidden from view. Its beauty remained hidden until it took flight.

The science of this butterfly’s coloring is particularly fascinating. According to scientists, the blue isn’t pigment at all. Millions of microscopic structures on its wings reflect blue light and cancel out the other colors. That’s why this one was caught flashing from a deep sapphire in the left wing to a brilliant teal in the right.

Every detail of this butterfly speaks of an unimaginably creative Designer.

God took so much care to clothe this one butterfly in kingly colors at the same time He graced it with an almost perfect camouflage!

And why worry about your clothing?
Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow.
They don’t work or make their clothing,
yet Solomon in all his glory
was not dressed as beautifully as they are.
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers
that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow,
he will certainly care for you.
Why do you have so little faith?

Matthew 6:28-30 NLT

And if God cares so wonderfully for the Blue Morpho…

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

When Ministry Leaves the Building

July 15, 2026July 15, 2026Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

Pastor placing a comforting hand on a woman's shoulder during a football game, illustrating how ministry happens beyond the church building.

The game was on—fast and furious.
The crowd was cheering for family and friends.
And there I sat…
sick, miserable, and wanting my bed.

I hid it to the best of my ability, but at some point my pastor walked by and asked if I were doing all right.

I lied.
I assured him I was.

A while later he passed by again, watching me, and asked if I were ok.
Yep. Lied again.
Call it speaking in faith if you want to, but I was flat out lying and we both knew it.

The third time, instead of passing me, he stopped. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eye, and asked something like, “Isn’t it great to be healed, whole, and serving God?!”

In that instant, I was healed, completely healed, and a joyful, “Yes!” came out of my mouth.

And he grinned and walked on.

I went from enduring that event to enjoying it because one man was ready in season and out of season—prepared to care for a member of his flock at a sporting event—and stubborn enough to keep coming back until I was ready to receive.

We’ve all heard the latter part of Mark 16:18 (KJV)
… they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

So we understand that God can heal people through the laying on of hands. That is exactly what happened here, even though I had no idea in those first few moments that this was precisely what his touch on my shoulder was all about.

We weren’t in church.
I didn’t go to an altar and ask for prayer.
He didn’t have me stand to be prayed for.
He didn’t ask someone else to join him to pray for me.
He didn’t pray for me at all, or not when he was around me.

We were very much in public, but this was a private interaction. Only the two of us had a clue what happened in that ten seconds, and neither of us mentioned it again…unless at some point I thought to tell him how much I had appreciated him listening to the Holy Spirit and continuing to reach out.

But I have never forgotten that day. More than once, I’ve cried as I remembered how my pastor, Pastor Ronnie, cared about me enough to go the extra mile. His seat was rows in front of mine. From a human perspective there was no reason for him to walk past me three separate times. But the Holy Spirit had given him a reason, a nudge; He must have. Pastor Ronnie saw a need, responded to God’s prompting, and didn’t give up on me before I was ready to receive.

And I, as a result, was not only healed in that moment, but learned the type of lesson that lasts a lifetime.

We are all called to minister this way,
ready when the Holy Spirit points out a need,
in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2 NLT).
Wherever. Whenever. However. And for however long.

As was true that day, ministry opportunities won’t always look like we might expect them to. They may require us to get out of line at the fast-food restaurant (That would be me!) or visit a hospital when hospitals are the last place on earth we want to be. They may mean reaching out to someone who despises us or risking a relationship by saying what a friend doesn’t want to hear. We must stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we don’t miss His promptings.

This is what ministry looks like after it leaves the building.

It usually won’t happen inside the church building.
The other person may not be ready to receive the first time we reach out.
We may need to persist, even when it feels awkward or uncomfortable.

But when we get it right… oh, when we get it right as Pastor Ronnie did that day… the miracle may go far beyond meeting an immediate need. It may change a life forever.

Because when ministry leaves the building, lives are changed.

I know.

Mine was.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

If God Isn’t His #1, He Doesn’t Qualify to Be My #2

June 23, 2026June 21, 2026Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

Christian woman with an open Bible enjoying a peaceful sunrise, representing God-centered priorities and biblical dating standards.

I’ve been thinking about dating lately. Yes, about the possibility of me dating, but also about dating in general and what dating is and should be for the modern Christian.

What prompted this post?
I’m glad you asked.

A single friend told me that she’s had multiple presumably Christian men, some of whom she’s gone to church with for years, who at one point and another decided it was appropriate to slide into her DMs and invite her to their places for sex.

She’s not the first to tell me such stories. Another friend and I also had a conversation about having men who claim to be Christians fully expect her to go back home with them at the end of the evening.

This article isn’t going to be about sex.
I promise.

But in case you’re on the fence where sex and the Christian are concerned, let’s look at the Word for clarification.

Run from sexual sin!
No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does.
For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in you and was given to you by God?
You do not belong to yourself,
for God bought you with a high price.
So you must honor God with your body.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (NLT)

That’s about as clear as you can get, but here are a few more.
Hebrews 13:4
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
Ephesians 5:3
Matthew 5:27-28

Like I said, it was the conversations about men claiming to be Christians while also encouraging women to sin that prompted me to write the article, but it’s not the point of the article.

In case you’re unfamiliar with my story, I spent decades married to an abusive narcissist who passed a few years ago. I’ve lived with the consequences of being married to a man who wasn’t on the same page I was, who clearly wasn’t right with God even though he was a declared Christian.

I have no intention of going there again.

I am, however, willing to marry again if that’s God’s plan for me, and He seems to be saying it is. So, dating with a purpose is now under serious consideration.

And I do mean dating with a purpose. I know people date all the time for many reasons, some good and some bad, but for me the only reason to date is to explore the potential for marriage.

With that in mind, I’ve put serious thought into what it would take for me to even accept a date. I told one friend that I was only open to potential matchmaking if he knew both of us well enough that he could assure me he felt we would be good together. Thankfully, he’s the type of man that totally gets it.

I work hard at becoming the type of woman who would be a true blessing to her husband. Primarily, I decided a long time ago that God is my number 1 and I intend to keep Him there. I expect nothing less from the man I marry. I even pray for him now, wherever he is, that God bless him, help him become who God wants him to be, and bring us together at the right time.

Am I interested in other things too? Yes, after being given the same advice by multiple people (including a man) to make a list of things I desire in my husband, I did. And I took it to God, trusting Him with it.

That’s the bottom line: God knows who I need and who needs me, and He is capable of bringing us together at the right time. So my job is to make myself ready and to be watching. Yes, to date, but to date for the right reasons and with my standards set.

My standards for dating are simple, and I’ve realized that I have not only the right, but the responsibility to make those standards clear from the beginning. My plan, should a man ask me out and I think maybe I want to accept, is to ask him two questions.

1. Are you a Christian?
2. Is God your #1?

If he can’t answer both questions with an honest and firm yes, then there’s no potential for a relationship and the answer is no, because we’re not walking the same road and I’m not leaving mine to join him on his.

If you’re thinking, “Hey, those questions might offend him!” you’re right, and if they do, he’s not for me. In fact, the man who is for me would be glad I asked and might have even considered asking me the same questions.

Here’s the deal.
If God isn’t his #1, he doesn’t qualify to be my #2.

Yes, I know there are men who could answer yes deceitfully or answer yes sincerely and later prove by their fruit that they were mistaken. The key is to watch for the fruit.

For instance, if like my one friend experienced, my dinner date were to invite me back to his home for sex, my answer would be something along the lines of, “Clearly you either lied or were wrong about your answer to my second question. So, yeah, there’s no potential for a relationship of any kind here.”

Child of God, I’m not telling you what to do… Wait, yes, I am. If you want to stay in right relationship with God, you have got to set aside the world’s standards. Parts of modern culture may imply that physical access is simply part of the evening, but we’re not called to live by that culture.

This same rule holds true where any temptation to sin is concerned.
If your date is tempting you to sin, it’s time to head out the door.

Modern culture demands instant gratification in pretty much all areas of life. The problem with instant gratification is that its benefits usually disappear just as fast. God’s rewards on the other hand, though we may not see all of them instantly, are eternal.

Make His standards your standards, and hold to those standards, and you won’t go wrong.

If God is truly first, His standards come first too.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

PS: In case it’s not obvious, if God isn’t your #1 you’re really not ready to get married.

The Dating App I Never Wanted… and What God Showed Me Through It

March 25, 2026March 24, 2026Tammy M Cardwell4 Comments

Woman sitting on a rock overlooking water at sunset, reflecting quietly

This piece is even more transparent than what I usually write, but sometimes it’s the things written in the trenches that God uses most. And, frankly, I felt God leaning on me to share. So let’s go.

After a few years of widowhood, I’ve reached the point where I’m seriously considering the possibility of getting married again. Getting here has taken time and many counseling sessions with God as my therapist.

He’s even told me I’m ready to meet someone, which is remarkable. Marriage to a narcissist leaves you carrying a lot of baggage that can be very hard to get rid of. It feels like it’s taken a piece of forever to get where I am today.

So, on a random day not long ago, God decided it was time to take a step.

He told me to set up a profile on a specific dating site.

His instructions made no sense to me. This dating app is so expensive there was no way—even for Him—that I would willingly consider that kind of commitment.

Judge me if you will, but I have an aversion to the whole idea of dating sites—for me. Still utterly confused by His insistence, I signed up for the free plan and determined to cautiously dip my toes in the water.

The extensive profile questions proved truly educational. They forced me to consider how I really feel about certain things. I had to ask myself, “Am I answering based on who I’ve always been, or who I’m becoming?”

But the real education came when I started getting matches. All I could do with the free site was look at their profiles, which I did. I rejected one after another, only “liking” one because I wanted to see what happened when you liked someone—and he was safely located several states away. Why was I rejecting these men? Honestly, for stupid reasons. Except…

God called another counseling session in which He showed me just how much fear still hid in my heart, and it wasn’t fear of the men.

I wasn’t rejecting them; I was rejecting me.

Bottom Line: I was afraid of hurting someone. The thought of potentially holding someone else’s heart in my hand, not knowing if I had what it took to make him happy, doubting that I would be enough…

Frankly, it scared me—and I hadn’t even realized it until God made it clear.

I felt such shame. I’ve really thought I was trusting God completely where potential relationships are concerned. I have faith in God!

But, as He’s reminded me a few times through the years (because I need reminders), when I fail to have faith in myself, when I let that fear settle in, it affects my ability to trust Him. Fear pulls the rug out from under our faith, so we must seek it out and cast it away.

I repented of course; I’ve learned that much for sure! I started actively casting down those doubts when they arise and have renewed my commitment to trust Him without reservation.

If God wants me to get married again, He will bring the right man and we’ll be blessed. It’s inevitable. Never in my life has He failed me, and He won’t fail me now. And if I’m not meant to marry again? That’s cool too. I love the life I’m living.

Getting back to the counseling session, in the end God told me to cancel my membership, that the app had served its purpose. Being who I am, I asked Him to clarify what He meant.

His answer didn’t surprise me. He knew what was hidden in my heart and chose to use the dating app like a mirror so I could see it for myself.

Psalm 139:23–24 (NLT) says:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

I want this. I pray this prayer with the psalmist because only when my heart is cleansed and my anxious thoughts are conquered can I truly stop doing things that offend Him.

Walking the path God has laid out for me is vitally important to me. I never want to risk veering from it even a little bit, and certainly not because of anxious thoughts.

And the beautiful thing? God is always faithful to answer this prayer! When I’m not quite right, He lets me know.

It’s generally God’s own Word that He uses as a mirror, to help me see where I’m missing it. Honestly, this is one of the best reasons for reading the Bible; it has unique power to open our eyes to see things in ourselves we may prefer to ignore.

God also speaks to me personally, gently showing me where I’ve disappointed Him or when I could have behaved in a more godly way.

And then there are the surprising times, like this one, when He tells me to do something that seems utterly ridiculous or follow a path I find completely incomprehensible. I’ve learned to obey anyway, because I know He doesn’t do anything without a purpose.

In this case, that purpose wasn’t meeting someone.

It was revealing something.

God knew exactly what was hidden in my heart. He simply used the dating app as a mirror so I could see it too.

God will use the most unexpected things to help us see what’s hiding in our hearts.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

PS: If you, too, are recovering from a narcissistic relationship, you are enough! Even if you’re carrying baggage like I have been, God can help you deal with it, unpack it, and kick it to the curb.

How God Talked Me Into TikTok

October 10, 2025October 10, 2025Tammy 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

October 10, 2025October 10, 2025Tammy 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

The Victor’s Crown: Why Our Struggles Matter

September 20, 2025September 20, 2025Tammy 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

Even Through the Pain

September 11, 2025September 11, 2025Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Yesterday was one of the hardest days I’ve had in years.

Did I know Charlie Kirk personally? No.

Had I ever even met him? No.

But I’d witnessed…

Charlie Kirk was driven to reach and help a generation that most of America has given up on. His approach was unique, involving respect and honest debate, and his special combination of sincerity, verity, integrity, and unwavering conviction had an impact that had evil running in fear.

Yes, evil. This is undeniably a case of good versus evil – God’s kingdom versus the devil’s pseudo kingdom.

Be it in a college campus debate, on his show, or in some more intimate setting, as far as I can tell Charlie based every answer, every explanation, on a foundation of truth, be it truth from the Bible or truth from accurately presented history.

Has he been accused of saying things to the contrary? Yes. As has been proved time and time again, especially in the political and religious arenas, it’s possible to take a statement out of context and make it seem to mean pretty much anything you want. Some of his words were given this same treatment, but when you go back to the context the lie becomes clear.

If someone chooses to believe the lie, that’s on them.

I’m rambling. I know I am, and for once I don’t care. I don’t think I’ll even go back and edit this. I’m still so messed up that I don’t even care right now.

But here is something I do care about.

Reactions: Everyone’s reactions, including mine.

We all know how great the differences are between the two “sides,” but it’s never been more apparent than in these two days. Those who publicly celebrate the assassination of a human being, any human being, are wrong.

Disagree with me if you like, I don’t care.

Here’s the deal. I’m going the political route for this, but only because it’s the most obvious. It still applies.

I wasn’t an Obama fan.

I wasn’t a Biden fan.

I wasn’t a Harris fan.

I did not speak out against them.

I did not wish them ill. (Out of office, yes, but never ill.)

I PRAYED.

Yet, how many have I heard… No need to go there, I suppose. We’ve ALL heard people scream about wishing Trump were dead, wanting someone to kill him. Murder seems to have become the order of the day here in the US lately anyway, which again… good v. evil.

Why have I spent years praying for those in office? Partially it was because I want things to go well in my country. But more importantly?

God doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell: Neither do I.

Those are not just words; they’re my heart, and they apply here. They’re why I’m praying for those who are celebrating Charlie’s death.

I did not want my abusive husband to go to Hell; I was only at peace when he died because he had recently gotten his life right with God and I knew he was in Heaven.

I do not want Charlie Kirk’s assassin to go to Hell. I literally started praying right away that, while I want him found and brought in, I also want him to accept Jesus and know the love that can only come from God.

Which is exactly what Charlie would have wanted. I know this because I’ve seen the fruit of his life. In fact, getting back to Charlie, just this morning I posted the following to my Facebook page.

It just dawned on me.

Yesterday morning I was once again looking at James 1:1 in Rick Renner’s Interpretive Version.

James said, “I am one whose life is dedicated exclusively to doing His will and to faithfully carry out any assignment He will ever entrust to me.”

That was Charlie Kirk. He gave his life, literally, striving to reach a generation that many have given up on. He did much more, obviously, but this one thing in particular has been close to my heart and I know he, too, was a bondservant of Jesus Christ.

That’s what I want to be.

Celebrating Jesus, even through the pain,
Tammy C

THE MOTHER OF PRESIDENT JACKSON.

February 12, 2025January 3, 2025Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

The following is an excerpt from the book Noble Deeds of American Women from the Patriotic Series for Boys and Girls. Though printed for American's youth in 1851, this is no children's book!

               How often has the thought
               Of my mourn’d mother brought
Peace to my troubled spirit, and new power
               The tempter to repel.
               Mother, thou knowest well
That thou has bless’d me since my natal hour.
                                                Pierpoint.

The mother of General Jackson had three children. Their names were Hugh, Robert and Andrew. The last was the youngest and lost his father when an infant. Like the mother of Washington, she was a very pious woman, and strove to glorify God as much in the rearing of her children as in the performance of any other duty. She taught Andrew the leading doctrines of the Bible, in the form of question and answer, from the Westminister catechism; and those lessons he never forgot. In conversation with him some years since, says a writer, “General Jackson spoke of his mother in a manner that convinced me that she never ceased to exert a secret power over him, until his heart was brought into reconciliation with God.” This change, however, he did not experience till very late in life – after he had retired from the Presidency. He united with the Presbyterian church near the close of the year 1839, then in his seventy-third year. Just before his death, which occurred in June, 1845, he said to a clergyman, “My lamp of life is nearly out, and the last glimmer is come. I am ready to depart when called. The Bible is true. . . . Upon that sacred volume I rest my hope of eternal salvation, through the merits and blood of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

If departed spirits, the saintly and ascended, are permitted to look from their high habitation, upon the scenes of earth, with what holy transport must the mother of Andrew Jackson have beheld the death-bed triumph of her son. The lad whom she early sent to an academy at the Waxhaw meeting-house, hoping to fit him for the ministry, had become a man, and led the hosts of the land through many a scene of conflict and on to a glorious and decisive victory; had filled the highest office in the world, and was now an old man, able, in his last earthly hour, by the grace of God attending her early, pious instruction, to challenge death for his sting and to shout “victory” over his opening grave.

______

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
______

A POOR WOMAN’S OFFERING.

February 5, 2025January 3, 2025Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

The world is but a word;
Were it all yours, to give it in a breath,
How quickly were it gone!
Shakspeare.

The following anecdote was related, a few years ago, by the Rev. W. S. Plumer, while addressing the Virginia Baptist Education Society. We regret that he did not give the name of the good woman who possessed such commendable zeal for the missionary cause.

“A poor woman had attended a missionary meeting a few years since. Her heart was moved with pity. She looked around on her house and furniture to see what she could spare for the mission. She could think of nothing that would be of any use. At length she thought of her five children, three daughters and two sons. She entered her closet, and consecrated them to the mission. Two of her daughters are now in heathen lands, and the other is preparing to go. Of her sons, one is on his way to India, and the other is preparing for the ministry and inquiring on the subject of a missionary life.”