Progress Report

In November, I wrote In His Mercy, an entry about my journey with a book He told me to write years ago. I’m making progress!

It’s currently in the hands of some beta readers whose judgement I trust. Once I get that feedback, I’ll make the changes I need to and turn it over to a professional for editing and format tweaking. Then it’s on to cover design and, finally, putting it up for sale on Amazon.

And then the not fun stuff starts. But that’s an issue for another post.

For now, just be proud of me for making it this far. If you read the other post, you know it’s been a long road for what really isn’t that complicated of a book.
God is so.
Very.
Merciful!
If He’s told you to do something and you’ve failed Him, He still loves you and still wants to use you. Just step back into the game and get moving.

I did.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

In His Mercy: https://tammycardwell.com/2021/11/13/in-his-mercy/

In His Mercy

What happens when God tells you to do something and you don’t? Well, it varies, but here’s one story.

He told me to write a book years ago, and I started…then dropped it. Years later, He told me to get back on it and I did…and later dropped it. A few months ago, He told me to get back on it again, and I started planning, but… yeah.

I’ve been faithfully back at it, seriously at it, for several weeks now and I’m excited about both how it’s changed from when God first told me to do it and the progress I’m making as I work. I’m also excited by how clearly my story illustrates His mercy. He could have given up on me, but He didn’t. He kept coming back and saying, “Tammy, I gave you a job to do. Now let’s get going.”

And there’s even more to His mercy in my story. When I started, years ago, I thought I knew what it would look like, and it was fairly simple. Then God added more to the plan. When I picked it up recently, I knew I’d be working on the “more,” but then He added even more. Why? He knows me!

When faced with what feels like a huge task, I can get overwhelmed. God knows this, so He broke the book down into manageable phases. What might have had me throwing my hands up in defeat if I’d seen the whole vision up front, ended up being an exciting journey because I wasn’t worrying about the next phase while working on the current one.

God knows everything we will need to become who He wants us to be, and He’s merciful and gracious enough to work with our weaknesses.

Thank God!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

When We Worship Part 2

I did not expect to have a part two, but you can never predict God.

The women of our church have a dedicated worship hour every month. This is the service I referred to in my earlier post, “When We Worship.” God always meets me there. He talks to me. He gives me visions. He encourages me… Tonight was different. Tonight He called me.

I used to write, used to have my own publishing company that produced ebooks for homeschoolers, used to edit a large homeschool magazine. God gave me those gifts and I used them in that homeschooling season. Then I…laid them down. Other than the occasional blog post and the writing I do for work, I’ve done almost nothing with my gift of words for ten years.

Tonight that changes. Tonight, during worship, God told me that it’s time to pick that gift back up and return it to Him. Interestingly enough (though it’s not really a surprise), two things happened this weekend that led me directly into this conversation with Him. “Do you remember when you said…?” He asked. Yes. Yes I did.

So why am I sharing this? Two reasons.

1. The lesser reason: Accountability. The more people I tell, the more likely I am to follow through. Because when God calls you to go out on a limb it is easy to find excuses not to. I’ve done that very thing many times in the past. This time MUST be different.

2. The big reason: This is a reminder that you never know what will happen when you set aside time to wholeheartedly worship Him. He will meet with you. He may give you reassurance, peace, visions…or an assignment. When it’s the latter, remember one particularly vital point: Obedience is also worship.

Yep. I’m preaching to me.

Celebrating Jesus!

Tammy C