Trusting God

Prepare for Surprises

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

If you read my post from yesterday, From Perseverance to Prepare: My Word for 2026, you know that the word God gave me for 2026 is PREPARE. So you can imagine my reaction when I received Rick Renner’s newsletter today and the subject line was “Prepare for What’s Ahead.”

If you are not familiar with Rick Renner, I strongly suggest you check him out. He has a lot available on YouTube, has tremendous resources at Renner.org, has written I have no idea how many books, and every year God gives him a word that proves true.

I wish I could share the newsletter with you, but it’s copyrighted. So instead I urge you to check out this video in which he reads the word God gave him. It is very much in line with what God has been speaking to me, which is always exciting.

I love it when God confirms what He’s already spoken to me!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

From Perseverance to Prepare: My Word for 2026

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment
Field of stars with the word Perseverance and its definition

I’m not one of those who intentionally comes up with a theme or word for the coming year, but for the past several years God has given me one, and last year’s was perseverance.

Oh my, did it apply!

In 2025, I got to exercise perseverance in ways I’d never have expected. One of the biggest involved self-education. They say it’s important to keep learning new things if you want your mind to stay sharp, and I have been – or I’ve been attempting to.

Learning Spanish hasn’t been easy. In fact, I gave myself a break last month, though I fully intend to pick it back up this week. No, I don’t have a literal need to learn Spanish, but we have a large Hispanic population in our area and in my church, and I want to be able to talk to them in their language. It’s been a struggle, and those who are helping me are having to be very patient, but I’m trying.

And then there is technology and apps. I do not like learning new technology; it’s why I keep my cell phones until I have no choice but to upgrade. But this year?

Whether I’ve been at work or at home, I’ve had a list of things I need to learn. I’m making progress in all areas, including surprising progress in TikTok, which is an app I never even remotely intended to use for more than scrolling.

And then there are finances. I want out of debt! I’m working on it, intentionally making good choices as much as I can. I got slammed financially a few times this year, but I’m still persevering and am determined that the day will come when I will be able to say I’m completely out of debt.

So yes, perseverance is still a word I’m leaning on, reminding myself of. It’s like learning a new language – once you learn the word you keep it in front of you, continue using it so you don’t lose it.

I did learn perseverance in a whole new way in 2025, and I plan to keep on walking in it.

And what, you ask, is my word for 2026?

God gave it to me at the last minute, so to speak, in our New Year’s Eve service at church. It’s prepare. I know part of what God meant in giving me this one. We’ve talked about it and He’s told me to prepare both to level up spiritually and to share Jesus more. There’s more coming, I know, but He’s gracious in that He only tells me what He knows I can handle hearing. He’s good about that. In the meantime, I’m leaning on Proverbs 16:3 for this one. In the NLT, it reads:

Commit your actions to the LORD,
and your plans will succeed.

I’m looking forward to great things in 2026. I hope you are too!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Trust the Process

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment
DIY shelving unit reminding us to trust the process step by step

Sometimes things don’t look right mid-process,
but that doesn’t mean they won’t fit in the end.

Have you ever assembled a piece of boxed furniture?

I have, several times. It’s amusing, I suppose; I don’t have the patience required to refinish the beautiful wood pieces I instinctively love, but I can sit down with a couple screwdrivers and “build” these pieces without a problem.

The funny thing is that, with pretty much everything I’ve ever assembled, I’ve hit a spot where I honestly thought it wasn’t going to come together right. It happened again yesterday, while building the unit in this picture. I sat staring at it, debating whether I could safely move ahead.

I was following the instructions to the letter (and the diagrams). I even went back through to ensure I’d not skipped something somewhere, but it looked like the next step was going to throw off the fit.

And I heard God whisper, “Trust the process.”

So that’s what I did. I chose to trust that I’d done everything correctly and what I saw as an issue would correct itself when I made the next move. It did, of course, and now I have better organization in my makeup area as well as room for more books in my primary bookcase.

And I have another object lesson to add to my collection–another reminder that all I have to do is follow the directions God gives me, step by step, and trust the process. Proverbs 3:5-6 has served me well for years.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.

We instinctively want advance warning about what’s around the next corner, detailed directions from our current location to our destination. But God isn’t like GPS apps, and our ultimate destination is so far down the road that we’d be overwhelmed.

The most important part of our relationship with Him is trust (AKA faith), and He will allow us to go through various experiences so we can build our faith and come out stronger. Our spiritual growth is a process, and as His kids we need to trust Him–and trust that process.

When we do, everything fits together perfectly. The final product may not be what we were expecting, but it will always be what He wanted for us.

Trust the process. Trust Him.

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