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From Frustration to Progress: What’s New at Tammy Cardwell Publishing

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

If you read my Behind the Scenes post from a month ago, you know we’re working on a completely new site for TammyCardwell.com. This experience has taught me much about myself, some of which is not at all pleasing. In that post, I shared that dealing with completely new app details had caused me to shut down and stop making forward progress. It happened again this month, and I went two weeks without a single post in this blog because I let my head get twisted by my inability to complete something else.

I’m not proud of myself for letting it happen again. It’s a frustrating reminder that we all have areas in which we can grow. Overcoming this type of intimidation and frustration, clearly, is one of mine.

BUT, to bring you a little up to date on what’s going on with me…

I did launch my newsletter. When the new website is up and running, the blog will simply become part of TammyCardwell.com instead of its own entity, so I decided to use the blog’s current title, which I love, for the newsletter. I invite you to sign up today!

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

In the welcome email, should you choose to sign up, you’ll find a link to a gift I created just for my newsletter subscribers. It’s an ebook entitled 2 Steps to Strengthening Your Relationship with God, and I look forward to it being a blessing.

My newsletter publishes once or maaaaaybe twice a month, unless I’ve got something special I need to share. I’ll keep you up on what’s going on in my life, give you chances to let me know what’s happening in yours, and in general make myself available on a level I can’t on the website.

I’m currently very much in research and write mode too! While taking care of all the backoffice business stuff, I’m also laying the groundwork for two new books, one a devotional and the other about the book of Leviticus. Yes, you read that correctly. As crazy as it sounds, I have learned to genuinely love Leviticus, and I plan to share my “why.” I don’t intend to publish excerpts publicly ahead of time, but my newsletter subscribers will get sneak peeks into both of these books.

I still work full time as one of our church’s secretaries, which does kind of limit how much brain power I have in the evenings. Other than watching The Voice with my family (a favorite thing to do), I don’t accomplish much during the week beyond maintaining my tiny home. So, when it comes to writing, I’m mostly a weekend warrior. But, slow or not, I’m getting it done!

And I’m enjoying seeing the progress!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Again, if you want to subscribe to the Eternally Planted newsletter, just click here.

Behind the Scenes @ TammyCardwell.com

Tammy M Cardwell2 Comments

Terry Cardwell, PixelDrip

I’ve mentioned before that my web designer (Actually, all things internet) son and I are working on my new website. We’ve both been crazy busy, and he’s had to wait on me quite a bit, so we’re behind. But I took a few days off to spend with my granddaughter and her parents (Grandparent priorities, right?), promising myself I would also get caught up on my end of things, or at least significantly further along in the process, before I left to head home.

So here we are in his office. He’s working on parts of my site and soon-to-be newsletter while I work on others. There is so much to do that, honestly…

One of the reasons I’ve been so behind has less to do with being crazy busy and more to do with intimidation. I’ve been learning new skills in new apps and, to be honest, I let one facet of the project overwhelm me to the point where it locked me down. When I say that, I really do mean I shut down. I stopped working on that part of the project, other parts of the project, and even this blog. I felt like I had no right to write anything if I weren’t going to get these other foundational details taken care of first. Irrational? Absostinkinglutely!

His reaction when I told him what I’d done? “Mom! All you had to do was let me know. I could do that for you.”

If you recall my August 10th post, God Has a Reason, you may remember lesson #2. 

When you know you need help, ask Him.

I didn’t ask. If I had, He probably would have told me to get on the phone. Terry’s the owner of Pixel Drip so yes, he totally could have taken over that part of the project and done it in minutes where it took me hours and multiple video tutorials to even feel like I was speaking the right language. I still haven’t actually “done” that part, but I’m back to writing and getting closer to taking those final steps.

Last night, after my angel granddaughter’s bedtime, we went over the basics of the website design and how it will flow. He wanted my input, but I had nothing beyond a few questions. While what you see right now is pretty much exactly what the simple WordPress blog has looked like for years, once we complete the site redesign it will be very different and more completely reflect who I am and what I’m trying to accomplish. For instance, want a peek at my primary logo?

I really like everything Terry’s done so far and I’m enjoying catching glimpses of what he’s working on right now. I hope to launch the newsletter (Which will be entitled Eternally Planted) very soon, and while I’m typing this post I’m also glancing up to see him playing with possibilities for that logo.

I’m loving what’s coming and am getting excited all over again. Taking this time away and getting with him face-to-face instead of relying on text messages has made all the difference. Truly, I feel like I’ve taken a breath of fresh air and am ready to put my head down and get back to work.

And that feels really good.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Why Has Tammy Been Quiet?

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Ok, so I’ve not been too obviously quiet, since I had several blog posts scheduled weeks out, but there are reasons you’ve only seen a few posts from me in the past month. One reason is that gnats invaded my apartment and this gal is allergic to gnat bites. The results had me down hard for about two weeks, but I’m coming out of it now praise God. But that’s really secondary to my big news.

We’re working on my new website!

I know things look the same here, and they will for…I’m not sure how long. One of the biggest hurdles has been successfully run, however, and my developer has completed the process of moving my blog to their server where it will become part of a new website in which I’ll be able to go more in depth in several areas.

This has been an educational trip, I tell ya!

We’re working on multiple things at once, and one of the most exciting for me is branding: color choice, style, etc. It’s kind of fun, and really interesting. It’s also making me think outside of my usual box. On the branding questionnaire, for instance, I encountered some surprises. One that caught me off guard was something along the lines of “If your brand were an animal what animal would it be?”

My answer? A peacock!
If you know me, you know I love peacocks,
but my response goes beyond simple animal preference.

Have you ever heard a peacock? If so, you would probably agree they can be pretty annoying. Frankly, the same could be said about me – has been. Honestly, there will be times you probably don’t want to hear what I have to say. In the past, I’ve been pretty conservative, staying in the middle of the road, trying not to offend anyone, but there’s no time for that anymore.

I have a revelation of Eternity that demands I do all I can to help others not only live well in this life, but also prepare for the next. There’s not a person on Earth who is guaranteed tomorrow. We may want to ignore that fact, but we can’t change it. Hebrews 9:27 (NET) speaks truth loudly when it says, “And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgement…”

Yep, I’m not the only one who can say things that people don’t want to hear. The Word of God can be just as annoying as that peacock’s voice when you don’t want to listen to what God has to say. Even so, our preferences do not change the truth God speaks.

And then there’s the undeniable beauty! Even if you’re not a peacock lover, you have to admit that, when he fans his tail, the peacock demands attention. He’s lovely. He’s majestic. Each feather is simply amazing, so much so that they’re reproduced in myriad artistic ways! Have you ever studied one, literally handled it with intent? They’re awesome!

God’s Word is like that too! It’s beautiful! You can look at it in intricate detail and be absolutely amazed. You can come to the same passage you’ve read before and see something entirely new that you missed the first time. Like that extraordinary peacock, the Bible demands attention, drawing you in and leaving you in awe. Of course, the peacock is only a bird; it can’t even begin to the compare with the Word, but you get what I mean. I hope?

And that is why I chose this animal as the answer to that question.

I am super excited about this move and all it will help me do! The website will serve as a home to Experiencing the Bible and a devotional I’ve begun writing, as well as anything else God has me do. I’m also making plans for a newsletter that will allow me to communicate more personally and share snippets from the upcoming book. But there’s more! At my developer’s request, I’ve been making a wishlist.

One of the things I’m particularly excited about having is a dedicated reviews page where I can share my thoughts on, and experiences with, various resources. My primary focus being on helping Christians grow in the Lord, you can expect to see reviews of Bibles and other such things for sure. At this point, I don’t know if I’ll include other types of reviews on a permanent page or simply keep sharing them here as blog posts. Feel free to offer up an opinion on that.

Don’t worry, my blog will continue to be just as eclectic as it has been.
My brain demands it!

So yes, I’ve been quiet lately. In large part, it’s because I couldn’t post anything that wasn’t prescheduled during the transition, at least I don’t think I could have? It’s also because I’ve been busy, not just with this move to a full-blown home on the web, but also with my full-time job; I kept working during the gnat debacle (and came home each night and cratered) because there’s so very much to do. 

You may remember that I work for a church, Hillside Church in Mont Belvieu, Texas, to be exact. We’re deep into one of our two busiest times of the year right now as we prepare for the auction that provides the bulk of the funds for Operation BAM, a vitally important ministry that helps untold numbers of people, all around the world, every year. You read a little about it in my post “Relief to the Texas Panhandle.”

This ministry is one of my absolute favorites. Yes, we have the disaster response truck. We also provide car seats to a local hospital so that mamas who can’t afford one are taken care of. We support missionaries and organizations around the world. We provide protein for shelters and other organizations that usually only receive donations of non-perishables. We make Christmas dreams come true for multiple families every year, and also celebrate Christmas by taking trailers loaded with bicycles into neighborhoods and passing those bicycles (and trikes, and this past year scooters) out to resident children and any others who show up. We have a team of quilters who make special blankets for those who are going through cancer treatments, we support a men’s rehabilitation facility, and we help out a local pregnancy resource center.

And more!
It seems every time I turn around
Operation BAM is doing more, and I love it!

So right now I’m neck deep in auction items and preparations for our upcoming Crawfish Boil & Auction. Yes, this means I’ll still probably be a little quiet, if not as much as I have been, but only for a couple more weeks…maybe three.

Hopefully, I’ll soon be fully back and you’ll be seeing at least three posts a week from here on out. In the meantime, thank you for being part of my community. I love having you here!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C