“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

This weekend I met a woman named Doreen and looking at her and talking with her you would never guess that she had been fighting cancer for the past 5 years. This was a simple, let me drive your van and see how I like it kind of encounter that turned into the privilege of getting to hear her testimony of  faith and trust in God and how His love, comfort and joy has carried her while walking in this storm. Needless to say I was brought to tears, and yet felt encouraged by it too. I was so overwhelmed with this experience I just had to wrap my arms around this complete stranger and thank her for sharing her story with me, as we hugged  I whispered a prayer for her and thanked God for this brief encounter.

“Be kind.  Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”  

I wish we could and would keep this in mind, all of the time. It applies to every person you have contact with:

The ones who put up a good front.
The ones who tell it like it is.
The ones who seem to have it all.
The ones who are grumpy.
The ones who are sweet.
The ones who cut you off in traffic.
The ones who always say hello.
The ones who are rude.
The ones who always have a kind word.
The ones who don’t smile back when you pass them.
The ones who are cheap.
The ones who are generous.
The ones who are always complaining..
The ones who are funny.
The ones who are loud.
The ones who are quiet.
The ones who are complete jerks.
The ones who are happy.
The ones that are sad.
The ones that are angry.
The ones who are always out.
The ones who always stay home.
The ones who have known success.
The ones who have known failure.

Some of us are pretty good at handling things, some of us aren’t and some of us are very, very good at pretending. This is why we should all be kind, all the time, both to ourselves and to everyone around us.  We simply never know what people are going through.  We never know what they are trying to handle, what demons they face, what life circumstances are weighing them down. Grace and mercy is the best we can do for each other. 

I have never ever met or known of a single person who has not dealt with life’s sorrows: be it grief, anger, betrayal, addiction, illness, low self esteem, body image issues, marriage issues, parenting issues, struggling children, career loss, money problems or crippling fear of life. Not one is immune.  So, let's be kind to one another, stranger, family and friend and see them for who they are - struggling, perfectly imperfect human beings, just like you and me. Make connections, smile at one another, wish each other well, offer a hand, give them a hug. It might not seem like much, but it may very well make all the difference in the world!

Thank you Doreen, for sharing light in your darkness. 

Friday!

Well it's official. We will be closing the office in Alachua and I will work from home beginning July 1st! I have mixed feelings about this but I am so thankful that I still have a job. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate over the years, but it is my job to get everything ready for the big move. If anyone is looking for some filing cabinets or office future we are selling them for pretty cheap, we also have some couches and chairs that would work well in a Florida room. a refrigerator that is only 2 years old and works really well, and a microwave that does more than just heat food, you can actually cook it in! So let me know. (Pictures below)

I am looking forward to the 3 day weekend, but my weekends always seem to be busier than my work week so who knows.

I just want to tell you all how much you mean to me. I think of each of you and I am so thankful to have you in my life. Although I don't get to spend a lot of time with some of you,  I hope you know that does not minimize your worth to me. I believe people come into our lives for a reason and a lot of times that reason is to grow you in some area of your life. Growth can be painful sometimes but necessary. Sadly during those growth periods relationships change but I want you know that does not decrease your value to my life, if anything it makes our season together more valuable because of what has been learned along the way. I am a better person today because of you and I "Thank you".

Well I am gonna keep it short today but I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Be safe.

-Tammy

Text me if you are interested in any of these pieces: 352-226-7029

Memorial Day Weekend

As the weekend quickly approaches I am sure some of you are making your Memorial Day plans, I mean who doesn't like a three day weekend!

Like so many holidays, the purposes have been watered down over the years and filled with so much commercialism, because its not ever special enough to just give them the honor and reference they deserve, we tend have to make it bigger and better, but truth is there is nothing bigger and better than the sacrifices men and women make to serve our country.

Although I do not currently have any family members in the Armed Forces, I have had many in the past who have served in every branch of the military. Personally, like our law enforcement officers, they do not get the honor and recognition they deserve, and are often times treated with disrespect, and this is heart breaking, because we owe them so much as they willing place their lives on the line for our safety.

Just like most people, I like  to get together with family and friends and have some BBQ, potato salad, and watermelon, but how does this honor those to whom we celebrate Memorial Day for? Truth is, to many, it is treated like any other three day weekend and very little thought goes in to the reason this day was set aside in the first place. I have been guilty of this and I am sure some of you have as well.

Several years ago I decided that I would find a way to honor this day, and so I did.  I heard about the Wounded Warrior Project and decided this was how I could do that. I am not telling you this to pat myself on the back or anything like that,  but rather to share it with you so that if you, like myself, wish you could find a more meaningful way to pay tribute this is a possible option. There are many different foundations specifically for our military veterans and active military personnel so there are plenty options to choose from. Just a thought. Wounded Warrior Project (click to donate)

When I think of the military, I also include our local law enforcement, because they are providing the same service of putting their lives on the line every day for our safety. There are many foundations that honor them as well, like the Officer Down Memorial. Officer Down Memorial   (click to donate) There is a special place in my heart for this one, because I do have several family members in law enforcement. My brother Andy, a police officer,  started the local Officer Down Tribute which takes place every January to honor the fallen officers from the previous year, it is an incredible experience to be a part of, brings tears to my eyes every years. Many agencies join with this event, officers, fire fighters and family and friends of the community, if you have not been to one yet, you should, its incredible.

Well I am not sure if I will post tomorrow, but just in case have a safe and memorable Memorial Day week and if you don't do anything else say some special prayers for our Armed Forces and Law Enforcement officers this weekend!

Gentleness is costly.....

After writing yesterday I decided to go home and re-read the chapter on Gentleness in Elizabeth George's book "A Woman's Walk with God". I love that she spent two years devoted to cultivating gentlenss in her life. The part I would like to share is why gentleness is so costly.

1. Gentleness means trusting the Lord. The invisible root system of gentleness is faith. Faith believes that everything that happens in our life is allowed by God and that He is able to help us handle our situation. Gentleness is not resentful, bears no grudge and trusts that God will fight for us.

2. Gentleness means Submitting to God. In doing so this creates in us a capacity for the closest possible intimacy with God.

3. Gentleness means following Christ's example. Jesus' gentleness was grounded in a complete trust in His loving Father.

4. Gentleness means bowing the soul. This is our prayer life.

5. Gentleness means putting on a gentle spirit. This means not creating disturbances and bearing with tranquility the disturbances caused by others.

6. Gentleness means "Take it".  Bearing disturbances others create, enduring ill treatment and to withstand misunderstandings.

Well as you can see, gentleness is costly. It requires complete dependence on God,  and total control to God. It's a good thing that I don't have to develop a gentle spirit on my own cause I would surely fail. When someone hurts us our knee jerk reaction is to hurt back.  This is the beauty of the Spirit, to remind us that He is at work in our lives, all we need to do is surrender.  Our relationship with God is no different then our relationships with others, the more time we spend together talking and getting to know one another the more trust is established. The best way to get to know  God is by reading the Word. The best way for Him to get to know us is by our  conversations/prayers with and to Him.

We are a work in progress and always will be as long as we live and breathe, there are no short cuts, and you can only pretend to be something you are not for so long, the fruit is the evidence.

Have a great day!

Meekness is not a weakness......

If you have never study the Fruit of the Spirit, you may not fully understand what I am talking about when I reference fruit. These qualities or virtues are produced by the action of the Holy Spirit in us. They grow in a person who, by faith, obeys God's word through the guidance and power of God's Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is the power of God in our lives. You have heard or read the verse Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind...". The Spirit is the transformer that produces that fruit. It is no coincidence that Jesus is the Word of God/Bible, the written revelation of God and His purpose, because He knows that what goes into the mind will determine what we produce in our lives. Therefore the more His Spirit transforms the more His likeness shines through. This is the goal of every Christian, to be like Christ. Less of me, more of Him.

In reading about meekness this week it has to be one of the most difficult fruit to allow the Spirit to develop in Christians. We live in an extremely selfish age with the Me-attitudes instead of the Beatitudes. "Blessed are the strong, we can hold our own". Many people consider meekness a weakness. Some think that meekness makes you vulnerable to the manipulation of others, but I think that is an issue of boundaries, not meekness. Jesus was meek. (Matthew 11:29) and he was no weakling or wimp! I like Rick Warren's definition on meekness, he says: "Meekness is strength under control". Like a wild stallion that has been tamed, his power and strength still remain, but now the Master can use that strength and power according to his will. That is the purpose of Spirit. to take the wildness of humanity and transform it into the likeness of Jesus.

Meekness is one of those fruit that does not stand alone, even in the Beatitudes. One cannot have meekness without mourning and poor in spirit, or in laymen terms, godly repentance  and total dependence. Meekness/gentleness is also coupled with faithfulness and self control which are qualities of the Spirit that work together in us.

If you want to get a better understanding of the Fruit of Spirit, don't read the series of books by Lara Velez, instead check our Elizabeth George's "A Woman's Walk with God",  I will link it below. Her book is by far the best study I have don't yet on this subject and its an easy read with a powerful impact.

I think after I go through the Fruit of the Spirit, I am gonna do a study on the Beatitudes, both mirror what my life should look like, or I may just re-do Elizabeth George's again.


A Woman's Walk with God

Busy, Busy, Busy.......

I woke up this morning feeling like I was in the dead of winter. My son apparently got hot during the night and turned the thermostat down to 65! I have got to get a lock for that thing! I like it cool in the house when I am sleeping but not so cold I don't even want to get out from under the covers. Of course he has no clue what that does to the electric bill, I wonder if there is a parental control on that thing that requires a pass-code? I will have to check on that.

Busy weekend. I am in the process of making office space in my home and I recently got some new couches so I spent the greater part of my weekend moving things around to accommodate an office area and that can take some time. I am one of those people who will move things around, go to the front door to take it all in and decide if it looks aesthetically pleasing at first glance when walking into the house. Needless to say I had to move that room around a dozen times before I finally decided I could live with the way it looks from the front door.

With my bosses retirement, and my new boss living in Jupiter, Florida, it has been decided that we will work from home, so I am working towards getting ready for that move and I think I have finally decided just where to set up, now to order some office furniture.  I am not just looking for an office desk, I want to create an 'office' environment, but trying to explain that to my husband has not been easy, but he will get it once its all set up. Besides at least I still have a job, we originally thought I would be phased out but and back to looking for another job, thankfully that is not the case!

In the meantime I am also helping my niece plan for her upcoming October wedding. Yesterday we went to the venue to brain storm on placement, decorations, setting and all the other things that go into wedding planning. We were there for about 3 hours, but it was a productive 3 hours and we finally have a game plan. Most importantly I believe I have a better understanding of what her vision for her wedding will look like and that's important.  These things must be treated with delicacy and although I am confident in my abilities to make her vision a reality, no amount of self-confidence can easily calm the mind of a worrying bride. It's her wedding day and I want her to be happy with the results, and I have no doubt she will be.

On a low note, my diet was horribly derailed over the weekend and that skinny chic in side of me is NOT happy with me. It's not that I ate horribly, I just ate a few things that I have decided to cut out of my diet for a while. Yes meaning I failed at some self-control too. That is and will remain an ongoing project.  I did however discover a few things.  Bread is not my friend, it bloats me up like the good year blimp and there isn't anything good about that. Also, I am pretty sure I have a dairy intolerance. So all is not lost. I always do really well during the week, it those weekends that get me sometimes, guess I need to plan better for the weekends.

This week I will be moving on to book two of the Fruit of the Spirit Series I told you about last week. Book two is Meekness which should be interesting cause just what I have read so far, which isn't much, covers pride and that is something I do struggle with from time to time,. I am sure I will share more later this week.

Have a great week my friends!

Surrender.....

I have always been somewhat of a control freak, but I have learned to control it. Now that's funny! Maybe there is a better way to say that. I have learned from experience that you can't control everything and guess what......there are people who can do a better job....at somethings.......sometimes......okay maybe more than somethings and sometimes.

Truth is we all have strengths and weaknesses and different personalities are better in some areas but not so much in others. Interestingly enough I am not the typical 'Type A, B, C or D' personality. Yes can you believe it there are more than two personality types.  I am what the working world likes to label as a 'Type X' personality, meaning basically I am a personality type mutt. You may think that this could be a good thing but it poses many challenges. I like to do a good job, but I am not a perfectionist. I have many talents and skills, but its difficult to hone in on just one when deciding a college or career path. When I am working on something, especially that requires creativity, sometimes I am so focused I forget to eat. (Wish that would happen mire often) Other times, if I find it boring, I just try to get it done as nicely and quickly as possible so I can move on to something more interesting. I like order but I am not always great at keeping things in order. I am creative but my creativity is limited by my moods. So as you can see I am simply a hot mess, as my friend Brandy would say.

So, I have rambled on to bring you this question: How can one struggle with self control when they can be controlling? I believe the word we are looking for here is SURRENDER. Surrender is a battle term. It implies giving up all rights to the conqueror. When an  opposing army surrenders, they lay down their arms, and the winners take control from then on. Surrendering to God works the same way. God has a plan for our lives, and surrendering to Him means we set aside our own plans and eagerly seek His. The good news is that God's plan for us is always in our best interest (Jeremiah 29:11), unlike our own plans that often lead to destruction (Proverbs 14:12). Our Lord is a wise and beneficent victor; He conquers us to bless us. Now that's a battle I would be okay to losing.

There are different levels of surrender, all of which affect our relationship with God. Initial surrender to the drawing of the Holy Spirit leads to salvation (John 6:44; Acts 2:21). When we let go of our own attempts to earn God's favor and rely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, we become a child of God (John 1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But there are times of greater surrender during a Christian's life that bring deeper intimacy with God and greater power in service. The more areas of our lives we surrender to Him, the more room there is for the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we exhibit traits of His character (Galatians 5:22). The more we surrender to God, the more our old self-worshiping nature is replaced with one that resembles Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Romans 6:13 says that God demands that we surrender the totality of our selves; He wants the whole, not a part: “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Jesus said that His followers must deny themselves (Mark 8:34)—another call to surrender.

The goal of the Christian life can be summed up by Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Such a life of surrender is pleasing to God, results in the greatest human fulfillment, and will reap ultimate rewards in heaven (Luke 6:22-23).

Well this should certaintly help me as I allow His fruit to develope and grow in me. I hope as a teach/preach to myself that can you benefit, we are all just a work in progress!

Have a great weekend!