Author: Tammy

Come on and let me take you on a Blog Tour!

Posted on by Tammy

Greetings Bloggity Friends!

Did you catch my play on words or should I say tunes in the title?  Did the title make you quickly recall the old song, “Come and let me take you on a Sea Cruise…OoEee, OoEee baby!” Oh come on and admit it, you thought of it and probably sang it, if only in your head.

I’m popping in today instead of the regular Wednesdays because I wanted to share with you where I’m hanging out today.  I’m over at my friend, Danielle’s blogsite.  I was fortunate to meet with Danielle this summer at my conference.  Those of us who came in a day early had a blast meeting up for dinner and gabbing thanks to Danielle’s diligence in organizing it.  She is a real sweetie!

Her site is part of her ministry that she has with young girls.  It was fun to speak to that age group again since I was a Youth Director of Junior/Senior High folks a few years back. I had a blast doing it and still have lots of fun and funny memories with them.  I had many opportunities to have heart to hearts with quite a few of them and I have to tell you, those were special times as well.

So, to see a different side of me than you are used to seeing here maybe, come on over where you can find me talking it up by clicking right here!  Then come back and let me know what you thought!

 http://daughtersofzion08.blogspot.com/2012/01/lord-can-i-have-do-over.html

daughtersofzion08.blogspot.com

I don’t know about you, but I am absolutely loving this wonderful Springtime weather in Ohio.  Yep, you read that correctly.  We should be in the 20-30’s, but have been bouncing between 30-50’s!  I. JUST. LOVE. IT!  I’m not meant to be in the cold midwest I don’t believe.  I like it warm.  Warm, not hot mind you.  However, as anyone who lives in or has lived in Ohio knows–wait a minute, the weather will change.  And that’s about to happen soon I here.  I guess we will be getting our usual snow dump by this weekend.  Sigh……
So, friends…what’s on your mind today?  Did you visit Danielle’s site?  What’s the weather in your neighborhood?  Let’s chat!
As for me, I’m counting down the days for Spring to be here and stay!
…and that’s all I have to say about that!
Tammy

A Lesson for Life, Literally

Posted on by Tammy

Happy first Wednesday of 2012!  My prayer for you is that your 2012 is off to a wonderful start!

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite blogs I love to follow.  Kelli, the writer of the blog,  also happens to be a recent graduate with me from She Speaks this past July. She sent along this blog post to share with all of you today that I think you are going to like!  I actually giggled out loud when I read it!  I can so picture this happening, you’ll see! I hope you this enjoy this posting as well!


 A Lesson for Life, Literally
I desired to be more like Christ and so I prayed for patience and humility. I got both of those in the form of a 7 pound, 5 ounce baby boy named Ryan on August 26, 2003.  
God knew that patience and humility would not happen in a few situational lessons. He knew it would have to be a LIFE lesson. Literally. In other words, God would give me something that would keep these two virtues in front of me for the rest of my life.
Ryan was the gift.
We had our first child seven years into our marriage. My husband and I were both in graduate school and wanted to get those degrees before we plunged into parenthood. Our daughter, Bekah, was born and life changed. For the better. It was so sweet to watch life through fresh eyes. She was easy. And pleasant. I think that she was so easy and pleasant that other moms secretly envied me. They have since told me that they secretly prayed that my next child would be a boy and that this boy would rock my world.
My prayer for patience and humility and their prayer for my world to be rocked were both answered. 
Ryan came into the world exercising his voice. That has continued. He is a talker. He is a laugher. He does everything with enthusiasm and volume. And lots of it. Gotta love it.
Like the time he was four and we were nearing the end of the caroling part of our Christmas Eve service. He yells out, “Let’s sing some more about Jesus!” Loud enough for the other 300 people to hear. Humility. Came.
And the time I had taken him to an outside consignment sale with me. He was playing with the toys for sale and I was about 10 feet from him looking through the clothes racks. And then I heard laughter. It seemed that the shopping crowd of 75 people were no longer shopping. They had gathered around something and were laughing. And then I heard someone say, “Look at that boy peeing on that little tree!” I began to laugh as well and then realized that the “little boy” was my Ryan and the tree was in the middle of the front yard with no leaves attached. Humility. Came.
And Patience? Yes, it is necessary. And God continues to work with me on this. And though I don’t always have it, I am always given the opportunity to develop it.
Ryan truly is a gift. He makes us laugh. He makes me smile. He keeps me alert. 
This past year, at age 8, Ryan accepted Jesus as His Savior. And I am convinced that God is going to use Ryan’s volume, his energy, his voice, his enthusiastic spirit, and his love for life to bring others closer to Christ.
Just like He did with me. 

Kelli is a motivational speaker, writer, and blogger and loves seeing people reach their full potential in Christ. In her role as Serve Minister at Christ Community Church in Georgia, she has the awesome privilege of rallying others to find their unique place of ministry. Her favorite home team includes her loving, funny, yet quiet husband, and her two loving, funny, and not so quiet children. She is discovering that EVERYTHING is a gift of God and she wants to spend the rest of her life unwrapping those wonderful gifts!
Connect with her:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KelliWommack.MinistryPage
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/KelliWommack
Personal blogsite:
Unwrapping the Gifts of God
http://www.kelliwommack.blogspot.com


Resolutions or Goals…or Neither?

Posted on by Tammy

Resolutions or Goals…or Neither?
We have almost made it through the first week of Twenty-Twelve. Has it been good for you so far? At this point, my week has gone very well. Could I put in a request to continue the weeks for the remainder of the year to be at least this calm with no major catastrophes?  Puh-leaze? Oh come on, a girl can hope can’t she!
Calmness and less stress are on my list for this year. You know the list I’m referring to! THAT list. So tell me, have you made a resolution or goal list for 2012? Did you do one for 2011? If so, were you able to check at least a few things off the list as accomplished? I actually did cross off a few items on my list. Hooray for me, right!
For Twenty-Twelve, I have decided to make a list. I’m calling it my “12 in ’12”. I have thought long and hard at some of my wishes, wants and desires and came up with 12 to work on for the year. Some of the items are somewhat general but will hopefully be habit forming, in a good way. Then some of the items are very specific, yet hopefully life changing. A couple of them I already have laid the groundwork to get started and one or two others, well, let’s just say they are in the think tank! They will take some work and thought to get them rolling—but I’m on it!
I know there are so many thoughts about New Year’s Resolutions or Goals. There are some folks who feel they are a waste of time and think those of us who set them are major goofs. There are some folks that make the resolutions thinking that if they write them down, they will magically happen, then fail within a couple weeks. And of course they blame everyone and everything for the failure! Then there are the goal driven, list making, over achievers like myself that write a list of resolutions every year. I work hard at my list and more often than not, I succeed. Well, at least on most of them!  I sometimes have the same item on my list a couple years in a row, but usually finally get to scratch it off eventually. This year is no different; I do have a repeat or two. This year, though, there IS something different about this list. With this list, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do differently for myself this year. What realistic items do I want to tackle and realistically what do I think I really could accomplish. Then before I even put anything down on paper, I prayed about each and everyone one of the 12 items one by one until I felt that the item should be on the list. Yeah, I am anal in that way!
So, why did I go with 12 in ’12? Why so many and why a catchy name? I wanted something that I could consistently remind myself with a quick reminder. I figured that any time I would write or see 2012, it would remind me of my “12 in ‘12”. Do I have that many things I need to do better or change? HA! Let’s put it this way, if the year were 2025, I’d be able to do 25 in ’25!  Really! It’s not that I’m so messed up that I have a bazillion things I need to change, it’s just that there are some things I’d like to tweak about myself or my house. For instance, the dreaded piles to be filed…ugh! Truthfully, the “To Be Filed” pile has been neglected for so long it has become more like the “To Be Pitched” pile.  THAT, my friends is Numero Uno on the 12 in ’12 list!  Oh, and the decluttering of the house and heart is next!  Oh my, don’t even get me started on the decluttering. Seriously!
Now it’s up to you.  What are your thoughts on this whole New Year’s Resolution or Goal thingamajig? If you are one that does them, have you made your list yet?  Have you decided this year the list is of self-improvement, home improvement or a little of both?  Please leave me a comment below.  I would love to hear what you’re thinking about for the coming year.
As for me, I’ll be working hard on my 12 in ’12.  Who knows, maybe soon I will be able to get on this blog and tell you I have a new ditty….like 9 in ’12 or something great like that before it’s even the end of the year.  I’m that determined!
…and that’s all I have to say about that!
Tammy