My Faith in God

I have much to boast about in the Lord. My life has traveled down many roads of despair and dissatisfaction. I will not get into it all right now, there is not enough time or space. 

I have learned to put my trust in the Lord’s hands. I have learned to lean and depend on Jesus. Life can be cruel and difficult. It can wear at your soul and tear at your emotions, especially if you are not connected to the one and only power source that never leaves you to deal with life alone. 

I have been connected to this one and only power source most of my life. I feel secure, comforted, and loved. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that I am never doing life alone, and I am never fighting battles alone. 

My faith works very well for me. The more I exercise it, the stronger and more confident I become. This next year coming up, try to build your faith life up and see what a wonderful blessing it is to believe in Someone greater than yourself. Sit back and notice what faith in God can do for you. 

The Power of Yet

 The Power of Yet

By Brent Rinehart

“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength” - Habakkuk 3:17-19b)

I decided to share this article by Brent Rinehart because it is very relevant. After you read it, you will see what I mean.

Have you experienced times in your life where you can’t feel God’s presence? When the worst happens in our lives, while we do our best to cling to our faith, it’s easy to question God. Where is He when a loved one dies far too young? Where is God in divorce, disease and death? Where is He when war rages? These are age-old questions humans have struggled with for centuries, and questions we can easily ask today. It seems as if the world is on the brink of disaster, so we are left searching for God through all of it.

Habakkuk wrote his prophecy at time when he and God’s people were asking the same questions. The Babylonians were preparing to invade Judah where the remnant of God’s people remained. This was a direct judgment from the Lord, for they had experienced rapid moral and spiritually decline. Habakkuk complains against God, not understanding how he could use a downright wicked nation in Babylon to judge a less wicked one in Judah. But, we know that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

The book of Habakkuk can easily be an unnoticed little book of the 12 minor prophets of the Bible. Habakkuk like many of us, wants God to show up and deal with the human evil they are experiencing. God reminds Habakkuk that He will deal with evil in every generation and God will deal with evil in our generation today.  Although it seems that evildoers are getting away with what they are doing, God says they are not. "Yet, I will trust Him." There is this word, "Yet" meaning, "Nevertheless" I see the evil and darkness all around me, I will trust my God to deal with it. I will trust Him to protect me.

It may look like the fig tree is not blooming and many other disappointments are present, "yet, I will rejoice and trust in the Lord." There is power in the word,"yet."

                                      

     https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-daily-bible-verse/your-daily-bible-verse-may-29.html

When to Let Go?

 When to Let Go?

Jesus said this, in Hebrews 12:1, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

R.J. Thesman, a Contributing Writer for Crosswalk.com writes, "We can’t know everything that happens after death – and truthfully – we probably don’t want to know everything. Yet I believe God is so loving, he sometimes allows us to “see” or “feel” into another realm to remind us he is omnipresent and always caring.  Years ago, I read an anonymous quote that still encourages me today: “Since God is with us, and our loved ones are with Him – then they’re not very far away.

I embrace this perception that my son is with God and God is with me meaning that Austin is not far away from me and neither is your loved one very far away from you. 

I wrote this poem a few months ago in dedication to my son who passed away 3/11/21. I miss him terribly every single day. I think about him every single day. His birthday is today, February 12th. Happy Heavenly Birthday my Beloved Angel. We'll reunite again in heaven. I have to let go of the grief and loneliness I feel without you, but know that I will always love you! 

When To Let Go?

When to let go, I don't exactly know

All I know- I will have to let go,

Because holding onto this pain won't bring no change.

I keep remembering when things were all right.

I keep remembering the things I did right.

When to let go, I don't exactly know.

My mind holds on; my mind don't wanna accept that you're gone.

My heart gets numb from knowing I have to let go.

So I ask myself, when to let go, so I say to myself- I don't exactly know.

There's so much I cherish and I hold on to, 

There's so much I remember and love about you.

I tell myself it's time to let go, I tell myself this, but I don't really know.

Has the  time come for me  to let go?

As I remember the precious time gone by, 

As I remember the day you left, it makes me wanna  cry.

Some peace in my mind, I need to achieve some peace of mind depends on me.

I ask myself when to let go, I tell myself, but I don't exactly know .

But I know I don't have to fully let go-and I know the presence of your spirit brings me Joy! 

When our loved one knows Jesus and leaves this side to be with Him, their spirit lives on as we carry them in our heart. I am learning to live in my space of peace, as I feel Austin's presence around me. I don't have to let him go because I will forever carry my son inside of me. I will embrace his peaceful spirit, because from my understanding of death, God allows our loved ones to look in on us until we see again. 

Tis the Season to be Thankful!

 Tis the Season to be Thankful!

Psalms 100:4 says, “Enter his gate with thanksgiving and his court with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”

The next scripture goes on to say, "For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." There are so many reason for me to show thanksgiving and gratitude from the generation before me, to my generation, to the generation coming after me. This season of celebrating the holiday, Thanksgiving, is everyday for me.   

Truthfully, every single day is the season to be thankful. When I look back over my life, I have to say, "Thank you Lord," every single day. My life is a gift and a blessing. I do not even know where to begin. As I write this piece, I feel joy and gratitude overtaking me. My heart is grateful- my eyes are tearful, as I think about the mountains God has gotten me over, and the valleys He has seen me through. I have been through a lot, and without Him I would not be here today. I am nothing without the Lord-He is my everything 

My personal relationship with the Lord goes something like this-He is my Father and my Friend. He is my Healer and my Hero. He is my Doctor and my Deliverer. He is my Provider and my daily Provision. He is my Peace and my Pacification. He is my Restorer and my Restoration. He is my Life and my Lifeline. God is the whole world to me. I can not help but enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His court with praise. He is faithful to me. I have not always known, nor understood how a God like this could love me so much. 

I was raised up in the church and have always been an active in the church. Not knowing any better, I felt I had to do things in church to earn God’s love and approval, so I volunteered for many years. I learned later in life that I did not have to work for His love or my blessings. God made a commitment to me and gave me His Grace; grace is free. 

When my babies were a few weeks old, and I could take them to church I knew I would need to leave them in the daycare for a couple of hours. I signed up to work daycare. There was a need for mothers to help care for all the babies, and I could not just leave them Sunday after Sunday without doing my part.

At my home church in Florence, Alabama, I song in the youth choir when I was not ushering. As a teenager, I only volunteered because I had to. My mom made that clear. But as a mother, I wanted to help in daycare and in children's' church to be there with my sons. After all, I was dropping them off in both departments. As the years passed, volunteering in church made me feel good and worthy of God’s love and faithfulness. I believed it was the main way to get something from Him. 

When I got older, I learned better and my motives changed. Today, I am thankful for all of those experiences and for God being with me in every area and phase of my life. I  had to experience life so I could learn, and grow in the different levels of  my life experiences. I am so happy that He is a patient and understanding Father, and also a Friend.

God is my Spiritual Teacher- I owe Him everything. I know I could never ever repay Him, but I can give Him thanksgiving more than once a year. I will give Him thanks and praise every single day. For everything, and so much more, I am forever thankful! 

Thanksgiving comes everyday. 

                                               

I want to share another one of my favorite songs, by: Cece Winans; it is an exhortation of praise and thanksgiving. I love this song! If this blog blessed you and you agree with it, please share it. 

https://youtu.be/9sE5kEnitqE

Faith in What's Next

 

Faith in What's Next

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." NKJV

        This scripture is another one of my favorites in the Bible. I particularly like this version, because it speaks to me personally. In my mind, He calls me by name and says, ever so gently, come here Tammy; let me talk to you for a minute. As I read this scripture, I am reminded of the truth, and this is how it plays out in my mind when I meditate on Jeremiah 29:11.   

        I imagine Him saying, "Daughter, listen to me. Do you still not know that you can trust me and you can put your hope in me?  Do you not know you can trust my plan? Why are you dismayed? Why are you anxious? Why is your head cast down? Why do you worry; and- why do you listen to your flesh before you listen to me?" In my mind, I hear Him saying that I do not have anything to worry about. I hear Him reminding me that He has known me from the very beginning when He created me with a blueprint for my life.  After all, He did strategically form me in my mother's womb. He reminds me that He is still "Present" and  He has me in the palm of His hand. 

        I need to repeat this part. "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord." At this point, I feel utter amazement towards Him. I am thinking, "Wow! He has thoughts of me?" I truly believe that God has the blueprint for my life; He has the final draft to my book. Better than that, He wrote my book! His plan for me is peace and not evil. His plan for me is to give me a future and a hope. Why should I worry about the next chapter of my book? I know the Author, and I trust His plan. He is the same One who formed me in my mother's womb and created a plan for my life. He is "Present" and He is Hands-on. 

        I marvel at His Awesomeness. My faith in what's next, is my choice to walk by faith and not by sight. Faith is my spiritual gift; sight is my natural gift. Faith is my supernatural ability to believe in the intangible things around me. Sight is my natural ability to recognize the tangible things around me. I believe faith is far better. I need the ability to see in the natural, but I also need the ability to see in the supernatural (the spiritual) as I walk by faith. 

        My sight can grow weak, and it can even fail or deceive me, but my faith can only grow stronger and bigger when I exercises it. Also, when I nourish my faith by praying, meditating, believing, reading His word, and communing with other believers, it will grow stronger. 

        I believe this is my truth and the truth for all believers. My faith in what's next, is this path that I am on- which is to walk daily in faith and to trust God's plan for my life.

Why Not?

Isaiah 54:14 says, "I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me."

         I am on a journey to see the fruits of my labor over the past several years. I have been laboring and toiling for quite some time now. Like anyone else, I have made my share of mistakes in life, but I have  never given up on trying to get to my dreams. I have always held onto the God given hope inside of me. I am sure over the years, I have messed up some opportunities that were provided for me to step into my dreams. I know now that I gave into the fear of not knowing. If I am to be honest, I did not have the  faith to walk towards my destiny when I had a chance. 

          Oppression is not just physical, it is mental as well. It is a mental state of being or sense of being that I put in my own mind. I thought I had more faith since I had been in church for many years and was taught about the Word at a young age. As a teenager, I was still attending church every Sunday for five or six hours a Sunday. My lack of faith in God's grace, hope, and love meant that I was not where I thought I was. Now, I often reflect to try to figure out why my choices and decisions were grounded in senseless fear. 

       The truth is during that time, I did not have enough faith in God, but now I do. Looking back, I am so glad He never let me go. My upbringing taught me more than I realized. I am grateful to my parents for keeping me grounded. I was raised up in the church, so when I got older, I never gave up on hope. 

        Here I go again. I ask myself why stop trying? My failure or delays are not reasons to give up on my dreams. Here are the questions I ask myself. Why not finally take God at His Word and see where my, "today faith," takes me? Why not get out of my head and get out of my own way and trust the God of grace, hope and love? Why not walk in faith and obedience while God has given me another opportunity? Why not stop wearing the badge of fear on my chest and embrace faith? Why not free my mind and continue to grow? Why not believe the scripture when it says that I am far from oppression, and fear does not come near me? 

        God's word tells me that I will not be disgraced or put to shame. I know God is my Redeemer and He is my hope for today and every day. He is my everlasting kindness. He tells me that in righteousness, I will be established and have no fear. I believe Him.

        I have spent too much time trying to do freelance writing for other people. Today, I am stepping out on faith and writing for myself. God said write; start your blog. Today, I am doing it; I am obeying Him and I truly love it. I only hope my story resonates with someone reading this post and it blesses you.