That’s What It’s All About

Ever wonder why certain people were placed in your life? Did you know that EVERY person in your life is there for a reason? I was hit with this realization about a week ago with the birth of this little angel:

 

Meet Kaylee Jean Tanneberger, daughter of TWO of my BEST friends!

Fourteen years ago I was a freshman in high school and was in band. Our band was HUGE! We had more busses than I can count on both hands and feet! Well thanks to my disability, I was assigned my own special small bus and was able to choose who I wanted to be on that bus with me. I chose a few people and one of my friends, Travis, asked if his friend, Darrell, could be on the bus with us. I had no idea who this “Darrell” guy was and the fact that Travis described him as “goofier than I am, but a cool guy”, I was a little nervous, but I agreed to it. Darrell and I became the best of friends in a very short amount of time.

Fast forward 4 years. I’m a freshman in college and my friend, Janet, wants me to meet a good friend of hers, Mel. I agree to go to dinner with Janet, Mel, and Mel’s entire family! That’s trust, my friends! But it was fun! Mel’s family was a hoot! Reminded me a lot of my own family. Mel and I became the best of friends, more like sisters, after that.

Fast forward a couple more years and I decided to randomly throw a party. I had always heard that you should never invite your high school friends and college friends to meet. It’s like “two worlds colliding.” They could not have been more wrong. I took a chance & it paid off big time! The party wasn’t actually all that random, as it was right in between my boyfriend’s birthday and Mel’s birthday. Once Darrell caught wind that we were celebrating Mel’s birthday (keep in mind at this point they hadn’t met), he INSISTED that I go shopping with him to get her something. So we went to the store and I saw a whole new side of Darrell that day! He had turned into this jittery, nervous, ball of confusion. I thought it was adorable! So the party day arrives. Good times were had that night, but until I got the pictures developed (gosh, remember those days?)…I had been completely oblivious to something. As I went through the pictures, I noticed that Darrell and Mel got closer and closer to one another! Sure enough, they were both secretly smitten with one another! A short 2 months later, the three of us went to my brother’s gig out of town. On the ride back, I glanced over and saw Mel and Darrell holding hands. Mel and I sat there giving each other looks the entire way home. Unfortunately, with Darrell in the same truck, I wasn’t able to fish for answers! But when we got rid of Darrell, I found out that they had officially started dating! I was SO excited! I had played matchmaker without even trying! Sure enough, a few years later, they made the announcement I had hoped and prayed for. They were engaged! I was ECSTATIC! It’s one thing to see your best friends get married, but to see two of your best friends getting ready to marry EACH OTHER….no greater joy!

May 2006…I’m rolling down the aisle at my two best friends’ wedding! Even in that moment, it was still completely surreal! During the reception, members of both families made sure to point it out that it was all my fault! A blame I was MORE than happy to accept!

Of course as soon as they were married, I started bugging Mel to find out when they’d start having children. They were pretty set on having children right away. But God had different plans. Months went by & turned into years with no baby. Then just last December, they moved to Arkansas and almost immediately I got the call that they were expecting!

Fast forward one last time to August 17th, a little more than a week ago. I’m in the waiting room at the hospital, waiting for Kaylee Jean to arrive. Hours pass & she finally enters the world! As soon as I held that little girl in my arms, I was overcome with a joy I can’t explain. But then Kaylee reached up her teeny little hand and grabbed my finger. In that moment, my mind raced backwards over the past 14 years and I realized that in a way, Kaylee was my fault! Mel’s father later confirmed that realization. Another blame I am MORE than happy to accept!

I know this will sound totally conceited but stay with me. It is just really strange to think what would have happened had one or both Mel and Darrell not had me in their lives. Or if I hadn’t had that party. Would they have found each other some other way? Would Kaylee even be in this world?

Once more, I’m reminded of the indescribable feeling that God is actually using me for His purpose. Wow!

You may not always see clearly that God is using you, until you look back on a situation. So the best thing you can do is just keep listening to his calling and be obedient to Him, even if you don’t understand why. Afterall, that’s what faith is all about, isn’t it?

Jeremy and Adie Camp

About a month ago, I was ECSTATIC to hear the news that Jeremy and Adie were expecting their third child! They have both been hinting that they wanted another one for a while now.

However, last week they received some devastating news. Their unborn baby has already gone to be with Jesus. Laura, a dear friend and fellow moderator on Jeremy’s boards, called me from her camping trip to tell me that she saw a message from Jeremy that they had bad news and asked us to read his blog, but she had no internet connection, so she asked me to read it. As I was opening the internet, my heart was already sinking…we both had a feeling it had to do with the baby, although we were hoping that it had something to do with the tour, or anything else! But as I began to read Adie’s post, our worst fears came true. Adie had gone in for a checkup and they could not find the heartbeat.

Laura and I sat on the phone together speechless. Neither of us could mutter anything more than the occasional “Oh my gosh!…Oh no!” How do you even begin to form words in a situation like that? It’s not easy! Our hearts were CRUSHED for Adie and Jeremy and the girls. We just knew that things were going to be difficult in the coming weeks, months, maybe even longer.

But Adie shocked us all when she posted again on her blog. Over the past week, instead of what we thought were going to be tearful, heart-wrenching posts, we found posts of love, joy, strength, and faith! What an amazing woman and example of true commitment to the Lord!

Of course, as we all know, something like this doesn’t just go away overnight, and the entire Camp family certainly has a bumpy road of recovery ahead of them. I pray that they just hold tight to each other in this time as they have been – Jeremy was able to be home during this whole ordeal. I pray for continued strength and healing for Adie, as well as wisdom and courage for Jeremy as he gets ready to head back out on the road in a couple weeks and will have to face the reality of it all night after night at each show.

Please keep Jeremy, Adie, Bella and Ari in your prayers!

MercyMe Involved in Fatal Crash

MercyMe was leaving their show in Fort Wayne, IN last night when a car struck their tour bus, killing two of the three passengers in the car. It was later reported that the third passenger, currently in stable condition, has lost her unborn baby as a result of the accident. None of the band members/crew were injured in the crash. They are all understandably shaken up though. Please pray for the band/crew members, as well as the families of those involved and for the woman who survived.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.
~ Matthew 5:4

Psalm 139:7-12

The second theme in Psalm 139 is: You can’t hide from God!

We may not always know it, but God is ALWAYS with us! He’s with us in the good times AND the bad! Bad things happen all the time: death, divorce, money troubles, failure…

We’ve all experienced at least one of these. At the time, you may not have felt His presence, but He was there! He was holding your hand & guiding you through the wilderness the entire time. Isn’t that a comforting thought?

Have you ever thought that you’ve messed up so bad or your life has gotten so hard that even God can’t get you out of it? Maybe He can’t do it? Maybe He doesn’t want to do it? You don’t deserve it.

None of us deserve it! But that’s the beauty of our Lord and Savior! Not only CAN He get us out of that darkness, He WANTS to!

When is the last time something REALLY awesome happened to you? This week I’ve experienced so much joy through my friends! I have one friend who is just over a week away from having a baby, another friend who, just a few days ago, announced his engagement, and just today I got a call from a friend to tell me that he and his wife are expecting their second child! I was so overcome with joy! I just praised God over and over.

When is the last time something really bad happened to you? In my last post I spoke about losing a big chunk of my income. Did I praise God in that moment? No. Should I have? Yes.

I know that sounds so strange, but we really do need to remember to keep worshipping and praising Him in the hard times. Those are the times when God has decided to test you and strengthen your faith. So let Him!

John 16:33 says: “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

What does that mean? It means that all these battles we constantly try to fight on our own have already been won by our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Why are we trying to fight a battle that’s already been won?

I know it’s easier said than done, but in times of trouble you must find peace in the fact that Jesus is right beside you, walking along with you every step of the way. You can’t hide from Him, no matter how hard you try!

Psalm 139:1-6

As I was reading through Psalm 139 recently, I noticed 4 different themes. Verses 1-6 focus on the idea that God knows everything. Have you ever been talking to someone and you knew what they were going to say before they said it? God knew every part of our lives before we were even made! I’ve heard that many times in my life, but when I really stop and think about it, I realize that I can’t even put into words the amazingness of that statement!

Every time I read this part of Psalm 139, I’m hit with an extreme sense of guilt. I ask myself, if God knows everything about me and he has already laid out my life for me, then why do I worry? Why do I have fears? Why can’t I just go through life fully trusting Him? God already knows what’s going to happen in each situation I come across.

Last Sunday I had an incredible morning at church and was looking forward to going home and lying down for my Sunday afternoon nap. However, when I got home I had a letter from Social Security. Because of my disability, I receive monthly benefits. Their rules change periodically and my benefits go up and down from time to time. Well according to this letter, I was about to lose my benefits completely. Currently, I only work one day a week. I’m also paying back old credit card debts and newer student loan debts. It is virtually impossible for me to pay my bills on the little money that I will get monthly starting in September! I spiraled downward when I got that letter! I will admit that I completely lost sight of God in that moment! I was mad! I wanted to know why. Why was I being punished like this? I have been searching for a job for 2 years now with no luck. I started to wonder if God didn’t think I deserved each seemingly great job that I had applied for, or even interviewed for.

In a very disturbing dream that night, God reminded me that I needed to trust Him in this time. I needed to keep my faith or I would lose everything. I woke up the next morning much happier than when I had gone to bed the night before.

I have about 3 weeks until reality hits, but I also know that God is already there. He’s already planned out the next 3 weeks of my life and I’m interested to see what happens. You just never know when God is going to throw you a curve ball….and maybe even a homerun!

Daily Inspirations Photography Open For Business!

Hey everyone!

I am thrilled to announce that Daily Inspirations^TM Photography is now open for business!!! Just click on the Photography tab above to start shopping!

I appreciate your patience in this. I wish I could say that I’ve had the same patience but when it comes to computers, my patience runs on a very short fuse! But God is so merciful and every time I wanted to just give up, He gave me a gentle kick in the rear and reminded me why I’m doing this

Photography Update

Hey everyone! I’m excited to say that Daily Inspirations Photography has unofficially launched with its first photo! Posting everything is going to be a much more tedious project than I had anticipated.

The Photography page is currently under construction and will remain that way until all images are posted. Then we will officially launch! But until then, the photography is NOT FOR SALE!

Thank you for your patience! God bless!

Jesus, Bring the Rain

We need rain here! Badly! Lately we’ve gotten a little bit here and there. But that’s it. I can’t remember the last time it rained good & hard for more than 5 minutes.

I love a good storm! So long as no one gets hurt of course! There’s some strange excitement I get out of hearing the thunder boom across the sky, seeing the rain pounding on the land, watching the wind blow things around, it’s like an adrenaline rush. It’s funny because there’s absolute mayhem and potential danger around you, but when you’re in the comfort of your own home, you feel safe from harm.

Last night, we had a CRAZY storm! Wind howling, rain blowing sideways, tree branches coming apart. It was actually kind of exciting! Of course, that excitement was short-lived when the storm ended about 5 minutes later. We kept saying “Bring on the storms! Bring on the rain!” Our town even held a Prayer for Rain vigil a few days ago. I’m convinced we live in some strange rain-free bubble! But I smile every time there’s even a glimpse of hope for a good storm here.

We go through many storms in our lives. Things weigh us down & pull us away from God. People often wonder why God allows bad things to happen to us. Last week in church our pastor talked about how God will put you in a storm to see how you handle it, to test your faith. Think about the moments right after a good storm. The grass is greener, the lakes and rivers are fuller, and if you’re lucky, you just might spot a beautiful rainbow streaking across the sky.

When storms hit, we get excited & look forward to the beauty that we know lies ahead afterwards. We should treat the storms of life this same way. Look at each storm as God using you and testing you to see how strong your faith is. When it’s over, you will be stronger and more beautiful. Show Him that you have complete faith in Him. Embrace the storm! When you feel it coming, look up to the sky & say “Jesus, bring the rain!”

And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
Lyrics © MercyMe

Crowns Camp 2!

Well how bout this. Just as I’m in the middle of recapping my 2nd time in Crowns Camp 1, Mark announces that Crowns Camp 2 is about to begin! And you better believe I’m going to do it! He said they start filming it tomorrow. I don’t know if that means it will be starting online tomorrow or if he’ll wait till the beginning of the week to start posting them. So our Psalm 139 study will have to wait for now.

But I STRONGLY encourage you all to join me in Crowns Camp 2! You won’t regret it! Tune in at http://castingcrowns.typepad.com

My Spiritual Vacation

When’s the last time you went on a spiritual vacation? If you’ve never done it, I strongly urge you to do it soon!

This was my second one this year and it wasn’t something I scheduled. It wasn’t something I was asked to do. Just something I felt was needed at the time. It’s SO easy to get bogged down in life, to make yourself so busy that you forget who you are. You forget to spend time with yourself…and with God.

I was a little hesitant to do the Crowns Camp again since I knew exactly what the videos would say. I knew the subjects Mark covered and the Scriptures he read. But what I didn’t know was that the second time around would somehow be COMPLETELY different! I was pleasantly surprised.

Mark starts off by encouraging us to read Romans 12:1-2 which says:

“Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

Mark talked a lot about how we’re living “lost”. We may have saved souls, but we still have “lost” minds. We need constant refreshment. God doesn’t expect us to just accept Him and then that’s it. That’s only the beginning of the journey.

Imagine you’re going on a long walk, a marathon perhaps. After a while, you feel weak and tired. You need to stop and let your body refresh itself. It’s the same with your spirit. Every now and then you need to stop everything & just let God be God for a while. I once read this quote:

“Give God the pieces of your life and watch what He can do with them”

There are two main misconceptions when it comes to being a Christian: 

1. You have to have it all together to accept Christ. Not true! God wants you to come to Him, broken or not. I was completely broken when I finally accepted Christ into my life and it was the most beautiful thing ever!

2. Being a Christian means being happy all the time. Wrong! I’ve gone through some of the toughest struggles of my life since fully accepting Jesus.

The difference is where we turn in our times of trouble.

Another Scripture that Mark had us read was Psalm 63. Verse 1 was the most powerful verse for me. It says:

Oh God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

Think about this for a second. David was in a desert with dry land and no water. Did he ever say he longed for water? No. He longed for God in his times of trouble. Where do you look in times of need? This verse reminds us to keep our focus on God in those times. Even though it may not seem like it at the time, He is there carrying us through! What was David’s secret? He knew in his heart that this world had nothing to offer him. This world will try and confuse you. Things the world says will complete you won’t. Only God can complete you.

Now I don’t know if this was pure luck or an act of God, but that day, Mark left us to ponder this question: Why am I not closer to Jesus than I am?

That night I read my daily devotional & it was titled “Thinking About God”. It was all about how often we acknowledge God. Do we only acknowledge Him when we’re praying? When we get into trouble? When we have a need? On Sundays when we’re at church? They offered several tips to remind yourself to think about God more often: hang crosses on your walls, keep your Bible out in the open, post Bible verses around your house, etc. If you spend more of your day with God, you’re bound to be closer to Him!

So how do we get closer to God?

First thing you need to do is examine your life. There are two parts – your old life and your new life.

Do you remember making T-charts in school? Well here’s where that comes in handy! Take out a piece of paper. Draw a line straight down the middle. At the top on one side, write Old Life. On the other side write New Life. Think about things you consider part of your old life. Some examples I came up with for my chart were laziness, neglecting self, fear, & swearing. On the New Life side, make a list of all the things you would like to be part of your new life with Christ. Mine include: going to church, praying, reading Bible, ministry, music choices, & less tv.

Don’t expect yourself to give up your Old Life stuff overnight, or start doing your New Life stuff overnight. It’s a process. Take it one thing at a time, one day at a time. And watch yourself be “transformed by the renewing of your mind”

During the week we also discussed Psalm 139. In case you haven’t picked up on it through my previous posts, that is one of my absolute favorite Scriptures. I could study that one Psalm for a year & still have so much to learn from it!

As I was reading through it, I picked up on something. I ended up breaking down the Psalm into 4 sections, each with a different theme:

v 1-6: God knows everything
v 7-12: We can’t hide from God
v 13-18: God knew us before we were born
v 19-24: We must ask God to test us

Over the next several days I will cover each section. Maybe if you feel led, you can go on a spiritual vacation of your own with me for the next 4 days as we focus on Psalm 139!