life

From Trials to Triumphs: My Year of “Soaring”

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New Year’s Eve found me pondering the word God had given me for 2024. Yes, I mean God literally told me that was my word; I don’t choose them myself.

The word was “soar,” and as we discussed it I confessed that I couldn’t see how it fit the year. Had I missed something? His answer was, basically, “Yes.”

The year began with a TIA that, praise God, caused no damage. An ER visit followed a few weeks later when acid reflux had me vomiting up the mucus that lined my stomach. Pretty much all of April and part of May were trashed by a severe reaction to gnat bites (gnats were at plague level at that point) that kept me in bed most of the time; I was going to work as I was able, but everything else hit the floor. These are just a few examples, but you get the picture: The word “soar” really didn’t seem to apply when looking at it from my perspective.

Then God showed me His perspective.

I’d entered 2024 having already made some lifestyle changes, but that TIA spurred me to make even more, to begin treating my body more like the temple of the Holy Ghose that Paul tells me it is in 1 Corinthians 6:19. Then, after the acid-reflux ER visit, I chose to stop using the medications I’d relied on for years and go the holistic route. The result, which I shared about in Acid Reflux Solutions: My Holistic Path to Recovery, is that my stomach is healing.

Then there is my weight, including a disturbing amount of belly fat, which has been an issue for some time. For years, I’d not been able to get under 176, which kept me in the obese category.  Last October it was 183, if I remember correctly. By February, my lifestyle changes had already caused it to drop to 180. Recently, for the first time in over ten years, I’ve broken that 176 barrier, and I’ve actually bumped 174 in recent days. It’s been a slow process resulting not from diets, but from steady lifestyle changes, and I’m feeling worlds better.

God explained to me that the weight loss and the improvement in my digestive system were examples of me soaring, rising above those trials I’d faced in the first part of the year. Even the month and a half I spent battling an allergic reaction so bad that it actually affected my ability to think clearly saw me rising above my agony. He then showed me all I’ve learned this year, including my most recent lesson on my trust in Him. (That one is in God’s Question that Stopped Me in My Tracks) He didn’t stop there, but I am. I’m sure you get the picture.

My point is that, when He gave me the word for last year, He knew exactly what was going to happen, and also knew how He was going to use what happened to help me grow, to help me soar.

Now I’m looking at 2025’s word, “perseverance,” and wondering just what He has in mind. Given the American Heritage Dictionary’s definition of the word…

Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.

I find myself wondering just what’s on the schedule.

We shall see!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

God’s Question That Stopped Me in My Tracks

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I was thanking God for a friend a few days ago. Some time back, she volunteered to handle a specific task every month. It’s not super complicated, but it does take time and requires her to run an errand that otherwise wouldn’t fall on her. Month after month, she consistently covers this project for me. “I’m so grateful for her, “I told God. “I know I can hand her this job and she’ll get it done.”

I meant what I said, every word of it. My heart was full of gratitude. Then God asked me a question.

He wanted to know why, if I trust her so easily, I sometimes doubt Him and whether He will “get the job done.”

OUCH!

We’re talking punch-in-the-gut stuff here. I like to think I’m a woman of strong faith, but He wouldn’t have asked me the question if it didn’t apply. Do I really, at times, trust a human friend more than I trust my God? I mean, this is GOD we’re talking about. Of course He will get the job done, whatever that job is!

I do tell Him on occasion that it’s not Him I’m doubting, but me. More specifically, I too often doubt my own ability to hear Him clearly. Did I really hear God’s voice, or did I go off on a tangent of my own creating? Yes, I have those moments – more than I like to admit. I wonder if this is part of what He’s talking about, that in doubting my own ability to hear Him I’m doubting His ability to help me understand. Possibly?

I’m still thinking about this one, about how I have at least on occasion failed to trust The Creator of the Universe, how at times I apparently put more faith in the one who holds my project in her hands than in the One who holds my whole life in His hands.

This faith walk? One of its most important factors is self-assessment – making sure we are who we think we are, and repenting if we’re not. If we’re not listening and judging ourselves when He asks questions like this one, we’re not getting the job done.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

When Darkness Fell: The Day That Changed Eternity

Tammy M Cardwell3 Comments

Like many people, I’ve been reading through the book of Luke this month, and today we reached one of the hardest and most beautiful chapters in the Bible: Luke 23.

Reading about how Jesus was treated on that last day is painful. To see Him accused unjustly and witness Pilate and Herod toss Him around like a ping pong ball hurts. Then, watching Pilate give into the crowd’s demands not because Jesus had been found guilty of anything, but because the crowd was overwhelming… You see just what a wimp Pilate was, really.

But when I keep my eyes on Jesus, I’m blown away. At any point, He had the right and authority to put an end to it all. He could have, but He’d already settled His course in the garden. He was determined to do God’s will no matter how much it hurt. So, rather than potentially say something that might hinder the process, He remained silent except for the one time He confirmed what Pilate had said about Him being king of the Jews. He literally could have called ten thousand angels and chose not to.

On the walk to Golgotha, He spoke only to the weeping women, giving them warning of what was to come. Then, once He’d been raised up on the cross, what did He say? “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (verse 34, NET) Every time I read those words, I come to a full stop and consider: If Jesus, who was in a worse position than any man ever had been or would be again, could ask God to forgive those who were crucifying Him – even though they didn’t want or ask for forgiveness – who am I to hold grudges? Seriously? In eleven words He preached a sermon I will never forget.

His heart being what it was, it’s no surprise that He told the second criminal, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” (verse 43)

At verse 44 we reach the beautiful part of this chapter. As the devil was no doubt rejoicing, God turned out the lights. Some have theorized that this was a solar eclipse, but it happened at Passover, so that’s not possible. Whatever God did, the result was no sun and no moon for three hours.

What would it have been like on that hill after three hours of darkness? I’m guessing it would have been nearly silent, maybe with the painful moans of the dying, the sound of weeping, and the steps of any soldiers who were on patrol. And then something completely unexpected happened.

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

Luke 23:46 NET (emphasis mine)

And then He breathed His last. And…? Can you imagine? It might as well have been the dead of night and a man who should have been barely breathing SHOUTED out such a declaration. Luke doesn’t tell us much beyond the impression it made on the centurion and that the crowds “returned home beating their breasts,” but you know it was a kick in the gut to every one of them.

About that same time, the veil in the Temple was torn completely in two from top to bottom. This “veil” was actually a curtain that was around 60 feet high and, according to ancient Jewish tradition, about 4 inches thick. It separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the Temple, protecting man from God’s holy presence. When Jesus gave up His life as the sacrifice for our sins, that protection was no longer necessary.

Light dawned in that moment, and today we have the right to enter boldly into God’s presence!

I get to the resurrection tomorrow as I appropriately finish the book of Luke on the day we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth, but I end today’s reading in joy for what Jesus had already done at 3:00 in the afternoon on a day darkness had ruled.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Here’s Your Invitation: Subscribe to My Newsletter

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I published my December newsletter yesterday, and realized afterwards that I’ve never shared about it here…which is admittedly ridiculous.

So if you’re interested in a more personal contact, especially if you’d like to keep up to date on the books I’m writing, you’ll want to sign up for the Eternally Planted newsletter right here. Do this and you’ll receive one email a month, two at the most unless there’s something extra special I need to share. Among other things, these emails will contain snippets from my works in progress. These book samples will not be shared here on the blog.

I pray for you, today, that your Christmas will be truly blessed and Wednesday will find you…

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C

Voting: A Christian’s Civic Responsibility

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

Yes, I said a CHRISTIAN’S responsibility. In truth, it’s every American’s civic responsibility; I merely specify Christians here because there are so many that have the idea we’re supposed to stay out of politics. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You can toss around the phrase “separation of church and state” if you like, but you’ll be using it out of context. No, it’s not in the constitution no matter how many people believe it is. The phrase appears one time, in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in which he assured them that there was a wall protecting the Church from the government – not the other way around. Doubt me? It would take maybe ten seconds to do a search and find the text.

I was going to pull in a quote here, one that is commonly attributed to Edmund Burke. In double checking the actual quote and attribution I went down a fascinating rabbit hole that ended with, “We honestly don’t know who said it.” In the meantime, I found this, which was printed in a 1895 medical bulletin, and it even more clearly says what I want to get across.

“He should not be lulled to repose by the delusion that he does no harm who takes no part in public affairs. He should know that bad men need no better opportunity than when good men look on and do nothing. He should stand to his principles even if leaders go wrong.”

BOOM!

My convictions about voting go way back to a childhood conversation. David Marion Tisdale, my grandfather and, in my opinion, one of the best men who ever lived, once told me that if a man doesn’t vote he has no right to complain about the government. Apparently, if someone started complaining to him about government related issues, his immediate question would be, “Did you vote in the election?” If the answer was “No,” the conversation was over.

Obviously, I hold certain convictions that affect the votes I cast, and I would love it if everyone voted the way I do. Here’s the deal, though. The bottom line is that I firmly believe everyone should get out and vote, period. And every Christian should get out and vote as God leads them to. If we don’t, we’re shirking our responsibility, and if we stand by and do nothing it’s our own fault when the government becomes something other than what we believe it should be.

Which, as I understand it, is exactly why many of the Amish are suddenly voting en masse. If you’re not aware, this is a history-making event. A government agency encroached on their community not long ago and many of them realized that they can no longer stand completely apart. They are choosing not to be those “good men” who “look on and do nothing.”

Do your research. Spend time in prayer over how God would have you vote – on everything, not just for President of the United States. Then get out there and take action.

There are many reasons ours is a “free country” and the power of the individual’s vote is one of them.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Make God Your Refuge

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I apologize.
This has been sitting in my drafts since we were working on the site move.
I greatly regret the delay!

Although the red flags, which had begun waving before our marriage, started becoming more obvious when we moved in with his parents after six months of marriage, things didn’t blow up for me until he had his first affair (that I knew of) some years later. The experience crushed me.

And that, being crushed, drove me deep into God’s arms.

It’s sad that it so often takes truly horrific experiences to send us to the one place we most need to be! As a pretty typical American Christian, I thought I was doing well. I attended church regularly, served, tithed, read my Bible (some), prayed (fairly often)… All of that was good, and it was a start, but we were created for exactly what Adam had in the garden – an intimate relationship with God, one where we spend regular, quality time with Him as our sole focus.

I had young children, so I was able to keep myself distracted from what my husband was doing during the day, but once the boys went to bed and he was with the other woman, ignoring my repeated calls (which he’d explain away as bad cell signal the next day), it was just me and a waiting God.

I don’t remember how long it took me to wake up and turn completely to Him, but at some point I did. I changed my own actions, choosing to spend those endless hours in prayer, worship, and His Word.

Psalm 91 is fantastic, containing powerful instructions and promises that I and many others pray and declare regularly. It was in this season that I learned the reality of verses 1 and 2.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)

In turning my focus entirely on God during those long nights, I opened a door to a whole new relationship with Him. In getting to know Him better and better, developing a truly intimate relationship and learning to more clearly hear and understand His voice, I came to that precious place.

In the midst of the worst days of my life to that point, I was living in God’s secret place, hidden under the shadow of His wings. I had run to Him as my refuge, found myself safe in the fortress that was my God, and I was confident that if everyone else failed me I would always be able to trust Him.

I kept prayer journals at the time and I clearly remember telling Him in both prayer and my prayer journal that I didn’t want to lose what I had found in Him, what we had developed in the middle of the fire I was walking through. I straight up said that, while I wanted out of the fire, I was afraid that I would lose my focus when I left, that I would lose that closeness that was so radically changing me.

In point of fact, I had a group of online friends who knew what was going on and were genuinely worried about me. I emailed them at one point, and shared what would later become a blog post entitled “The View from Inside the Furnace.” I had discovered I had much in common with Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego who, while they obviously hadn’t wanted to be thrown into the fire, abruptly found themselves having private time with Jesus.

Like me, they suddenly were in no hurry to leave. Like me, they probably learned things in that time that changed their lives forever. Like me, they were perfectly safe while in the very midst of the flames. They didn’t leave the furnace until they were commanded to.

Like them, I walked out of that particular fire changed forever, freer than I had been when I was thrown in, and not smelling of smoke.

Admittedly, in years since this hellish season, I’ve had times of being more intentional and less intentional where my relationship with God is concerned, but I have never let myself walk away from my Refuge. It has always been God who has brought me through, and to this day I am grateful that I was driven so deeply into His arms during that time.

Understand that I could just as easily have run in a different direction. I could have stayed buried in the books I loved to read. I could have turned to drink or drugs as so many do. I could have let the fear and pain eat away at me until I landed in a hospital’s psychiatric ward. I didn’t.

I didn’t because I chose
to make God my refuge.

God is not only the only refuge you need, He is the only real refuge. We can try to do it on our own, but we aren’t meant to carry those kinds of burdens. His plan has always been for us to run to Him.

Make God your Refuge.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

The following is a complete list of the articles in this series.

Surviving Narcissism: Introduction to the Series
The Power of Refusing to Care
Yes, It IS Abuse
Truth Matters: Be Honest with at Least One Person You Trust
You’re Not Protecting the Kids
Review: Hope for Healing from Domestic Abuse
Your Narcissist is Not Your Real Enemy
Make God Your Refuge

To My Younger Self

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I was at a meeting, recently, where four more mature ladies were each asked to speak for ten minutes on what they would tell their younger selves. Every one of them shared things I could benefit from, and I took mental notes. Some of their thoughts were so valuable that I found myself asking, “Tammy, what would you tell younger Tammy?”

Whether I was addressing 36, 26, or 16-year-old Tammy, my answer would be the same.

The most important thing you can do in life
is develop an intimate relationship with God.

My 16-year-old self would have accepted the advice, I hope, but she would have been puzzled. She had enough of a Christian background that she understood the value of having God in her life, or thought she did, but she did not have enough training to know exactly what that entailed. She’d not yet received the Baptism in the Holy Ghost and was only just learning that there were people around her who were actively seeking God on a personal level.

My 26-year old self had a four year old and a one year old. She was filled with the Holy Ghost, growing spiritually, active in church, and definitely seeking God, but she was also tired. Her marriage still appeared to be good (Yes, she was pretty naive), so she had that, but the responsibilities of raising two young men were beginning to dawn on her. She was looking to the future and wondering…a lot of things.

My 36-year old self was facing a marriage in serious trouble, the challenges of teen hormones, and the sure knowledge that God was her only answer. She knew He was the only One who could help her not only make it through days and nights of wondering what was up with her husband, but wondering if everything she was trying to invest in her children was enough.

I’ve written about this season of my life before. You can read pieces of my testimony in
A Different Kind of New Year’s Post,
At Last It All Makes Sense,
And all of my Surviving Narcissism posts.

By this point in my life, I was growing spiritually specifically because my personal battles kept me on my knees. With my husband spending many nights supposedly doing innocent things while I knew for a fact he was in another woman’s arms, I spent hours seeking God’s face. If you’ve read The View from Inside the Furnace, you have some idea what I’m talking about. This season was the one in which I learned what I would tell my younger self.

Younger Self, you will save yourself a lot of struggles and agony down the road if you will do one thing: Seek a personal, intimate relationship with God. I’m not talking about just praying when you need His help. I’m not talking about just going to church every Sunday, or even every time the doors are open. I’m not talking about just reading your Bible on occasion. Those are all great, but they’re not enough. Religion, in and of itself, is not enough.

I’m talking about relationship.

Sixteen-year-old Tammy, you really don’t understand relationships yet. You think the friends you have right now will be there forever. But the me of today, over forty years later, can tell you that exactly one of them is. And actually, she’s the one who will help lead you closer to God. Everyone else? You may talk to them on social media every once in a while, but they’re not the friends you knew back then. People will come and go throughout your life. You’ll lose your parents far too early. You will eventually get married and one day he’ll be gone. You will have children. As they grow they’ll move out and live their own lives. You will have grandchildren, who have their own lives to live too. In the end, only God remains.

God, if you let Him, will be your closest companion not only in this life but in Eternity as well. But…

Relationships don’t just happen. They require time spent in one another’s presence, conversation (which is both speaking and listening), and actively paying attention to what brings the other joy. If you want the intimate relationship with God that I’m urging you to develop starting right now, you need to begin actively reading, studying, devouring His Word, the Bible. As you do, you’ll get to know The Word, who is Jesus Christ. (No, you don’t understand that yet either, but you will.) You also need to set aside time, the more the better, to talk to Him and to listen to what He has to say. He really will talk to you, and it’s wonderful! You also need the Baptism in the Holy Ghost, which will empower you like nothing you’ve ever experienced. You can’t even begin to imagine the impact it will make on your life!

I promise you, if you do this, your life will turn out very different from the one I’ve lived. God has used the hard times in my life to make me the strong woman I am today, but if I’d prepared myself ahead of time, if I’d gone into those battles already a strong woman of God, things would have been very different. They can be for you.

Yes, that’s pretty much it, what I’d say to my younger self.
Sadly, I’m not sure she would have taken me seriously. She really thought she knew what she was doing.

Today? I’m…

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

May I Please Get Back to “Normal”?

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Actually, if I can just get back to what passes for normal… Yes, that sounds good!

Seriously, it was one month ago today that I posted Why Has Tammy Been Quiet?
It was eleven days ago that I posted, Sometimes You Just Keep Fighting.

It was THIS WEEK that I finally felt RIGHT again. I really was recovering when I made that post on May 6th, but one thing this whole event has taught me is that you don’t recover as quickly at 62 as you do at, say, 42.

I fought and made it through the work weeks, though exhaustion followed me home. Weekend before last my body shut down on me, demanding true recovery time. Last weekend was some better, though I felt like my brain was mush and still didn’t have it in me to think seriously about anything beyond the most basic household chores.

This Monday, while at work, I abruptly realized I was back to thinking totally clearly. I’ve still not been sleeping right, or not consistently, so I was ready to go to bed long before bedtime on Monday, but I was only sleepy rather than exhausted as I had been after work every week for weeks. Also, my brain proved itself to be back in order over the past two days when it let me take some very important training and pass the final exam. YAY!

In “Sometimes You Just Keep Fighting,” I said, “When God gives you an assignment, the devil is going to try to distract you, derail you, stop you.” At that point, I was talking about my calling in the church and the importance of the fundraiser I was working on. Today, however, I realized just how completely the devil managed to derail me where this blog is concerned. This, too, is my calling. I’m here for a reason, to serve a purpose, and for the past month the only word you’ve had from me came in the form of posts I scheduled weeks and, in some cases, months ago.

I’m so sorry.

Yesterday, as I left the office, I actually had a list of “catch up” errands I really need to take care of this weekend, but the Houston area was the recipient of some insane weather yesterday evening that left much of our area without power thanks to straight line winds that left a wide path of destruction. (Thank God our town, to my knowledge, didn’t see the threatened tornadoes!) Yes, we were part of the power outage and downed trees; the power came on at about 6:30 this morning. Praise God, the outside temp had dropped so dramatically that I actually slept ok. Well, as ok as I have been. After all those weeks of interrupted sleep, my body seriously needs to reset.

Anyway, I decided this morning that it doesn’t make sense to run any errands in this tree-and-trash ridden, many-areas-without-power town, so I’ve come to do some important catching up here instead.

I’ve already answered several more questions for my web developer today, so we’re making some progress there. This is your official, rambling update, so yay me…sort of. LOL! Now I have to decide what to do next, and I’m so far behind in all areas that I’m a bit overwhelmed by the number of options, but I’ll get it figured out. More to the point, I’ll look to God and ask for the next step.

THAT is one of the biggest bits of advice I can give you today. When you’re overwhelmed to the point of not even being able to face your To Do list, just ask God, “Sir? What do I do next?” If you let Him, The Holy Spirit will step in and lead you by the hand. If I didn’t already know this truth, I would after the last six weeks or so: As bad as I got mentally, God’s step-by-step leading was what got me through many of my days.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Review: Hope for Healing from Domestic Abuse

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A domestic abuse survivor recommended that I read Hope for Healing from Domestic Abuse: Reaching for God’s Promise of Real Freedom, by Karen DeArmond Gardner. I took her advice because, as I hope I’ve made clear, I’m no expert on this topic. I can and will speak from my own experience and the stories others have shared with me, but I truly feel inadequate; I’m doing it because God has pushed me to, not because I consider myself qualified.

I do feel qualified, however, to recommend this book. It has not only educated me in areas of abuse and results of abuse that I’ve not dealt with, it has also forced me to deal with some things I didn’t even realize were issues in my life.

I never experienced physical abuse. Gardner did, so if you’ve been reading my posts and thinking, “Tammy, you just don’t know,” here’s someone who does, and she lived with the abuse for decades. She also experienced pretty much every other kind of abuse, which is why I found myself in these pages as well.

In case you’re still wondering, Hope for Healing from Domestic Abuse is for all of us – even those who are still living in their own personal hells, under their abusers’ control, and don’t know how to get out.

Gardner divides the book into sections that equate with the walk we all take on our journey to healing. In Part 1, we deal with the fact that we are, or were, victims. In Part 2, we’re survivors learning to breathe again. Part 3 introduces the overcomer, the one who learns to live again. In Part 4 we meet the Conqueror who can live freely. No, it’s not a literal roadmap. As is true with most things, we all have our own, unique experiences. However, the ground she covers is vast.

As you can see in the photo of my copy, I’ve done some serious marking and flagging. One of my favorite quotes, because it reflects exactly what I’ve been saying about my own experience, is found in Part 3.

“Your life will not be defined by what was done to you, but by what God does with what was done to you.”

Karen DeArmond Gardner

Gardner’s brutal honesty, with herself and us, is eye-opening. As many truths as I had already recognized about my own experience, with her help I saw even more. “Yes!” I shouted at one point. “Yes, it WAS abuse, and all this time I thought it was normal!”

Recovering from any abuse takes time. Recovering from domestic abuse definitely takes time, and patience, and honesty, and a willingness to be open to God’s touch in your life. This book is a great place to start that process and Gardner walks you carefully through the mine field of your memories and emotions, leads you right up to Jesus, and gives you practical steps to take to help you on your way.

Even her last section, after the official four parts, offers unexpected assistance.

  • How Does God Know What It Feels Like to be a Woman?
    Yes, she honestly answers this question.
  • Your Picker Isn’t Broken
    When you are ready to marry again, you will know what to look for.
  • Eight Questions You Don’t Have to Answer
    People inevitably ask questions. That doesn’t mean you owe them an answer.
  • God, Church, and Abuse
    Realistically, a lot of abuse happens that the church has no idea how to handle.
  • What Can the Church Do?
    This one is directed at church leadership, and it’s excellent!
  • Say This, Not That
    And this is for your friends, to help them understand.

As a fellow member of the club no one ever wants to join, Gardner has done right by the rest of us!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

The following is a complete list of the articles in this series.

Surviving Narcissism: Introduction to the Series
The Power of Refusing to Care
Yes, It IS Abuse
Truth Matters: Be Honest with at Least One Person You Trust
You’re Not Protecting the Kids
Review: Hope for Healing from Domestic Abuse
Your Narcissist is Not Your Real Enemy
Make God Your Refuge

Do the Small Things

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Do you remember those stories from the Bible where God asked people to do something relatively simple and then He all-out went supernatural on them?

He’s still in the same business today, and this blog is a great example of Him at work.

You are probably well aware that authors write not only because we are compelled to, but because we want to reach people, share our excitement about new things we’re learning, offer suggestions for life…whatever. In my case in particular, you get a true hodge podge of American History, living with a narcissist, aphantasia, my tiny house, a lot of Jesus, and we – even I – never know what randomness to expect.

But it’s not really totally random. I try to be led by God in all things. I have dreams, and for the most part they’re dreams He has given me. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” I firmly believe that He gives us those desires, meaning He plants them in our hearts, and then He fulfills them. He does that with me on a regular basis. Knowing this is how He operates, I really do consciously go to Him for direction, especially for this blog He has called me to maintain.

So, when he asks me to do the small things, I try to be faithful to do them, and in recent months He’s gone supernatural on – in a huge way.

First, He had me write Understanding Your Aphant. Then, right after I posted it, He had me share it in an aphantasia support group on Facebook to see if there were any ways in which I could improve it. There were some excellent suggestions, and I implemented a few.

I was unaware that someone in that group had contact with Aphantasia.com, and that person brought my blog post to their attention. The result was that they published it as an article on the website and started pushing traffic toward tammycardwell.com. I was blown away by the response. As I said, I write with a heart that desires to help people. And the more people you have reading what you write, the more people you can help!

But that was just a taste of what was to come. I still can’t get over this next one.

I recently joined a Small Spaces group on Facebook to get more ideas for my tiny house. After I’d been there a day or so, at His prompting, I shared about my home and what I’m doing in it. It was a simple post with a few photos, nothing great.

It was a small thing.

The simple post exploded with comments and questions. In answering, I shared the link to this blog, pointing out my Tiny House series, so that anyone who was interested could come read those posts and get far more details than I could offer up in post comments.

Again, I just shared a link. A small thing.

Within a very few minutes, I was getting notifications that I was experiencing “unprecedented traffic.” On that day this blog, which generally gets less than 100 views a day, got almost 9,000 views from nearly 4,000 visitors all over the world. That’s thousands of people seeing my website for the first time, visiting for one topic and hopefully getting some Jesus while they were here. (If you know me at all, you know where my true priorities lie.)

And, vitally important, because of one seemingly insignificant comment I made, I had the opportunity to encourage some women who are dealing with serious issues I’ve dealt with personally. This was a huge honor; one I cannot overemphasize. After all, the greatest thing about coming through trials is being able to help others see hope while they walk that same path.

So yes, I have recently had more reminders that God is our dream keeper, and have seen once again that all I have to do is what He tells me to. He didn’t tell me to do big things. He told me to do small things.

Do the small things.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C