Summertime...

Taking it back to the good ole' days...And bringin' it to these good days! :)

Yes - I am addicted to NKOTB again just from their new song Summertime. You need to check them out because they are bringin' it back. haha! (www.nkotb.com) I know my summer co-workers are totally in love with them AGAIN! :)


Anyway, I am suffering through these summer classes and I am simply one day closer to have another degree and able to put a few more letters behind my name. I am so thankful for some of the people who are continuing to listen to me complain about reading more articles and writing more papers, and yet still loving me and telling me to hang in there! :) When I got halfway through the program I promised the Lord if He would get me through this program I would not sign up for anything else. (We'll see how well I keep that promise!)

I have been trying to cling to God's word and just worship him with all of my thoughts. I have been struggling these past couple of days to just remain pure in my thoughts and to not allow Satan to tempt me or convince me that I am not worthy to be a Child of God. And often times I allow thoughts to bring down my spirits...completely dictate who I am around and to people. Even though, many people can identify this in their own life, very few actually act upon it and make the necessary changes. I let thoughts like..."You're never going to have a lot of good/close friends because you are not cool enough," or "Tam, why don't you just give up and put your wall back up because they don't care about you!" These are the lies the Devil tries to throw at me. I have been battling these thoughts this week. I am thankful for my friend Kels who has been praying so fervently for me and sharing Scripture with me.

She sent me Romans 12:3, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." Its funny because Jon has been preaching on Faith (what it is, what motivates that and what kills it). It has been really encouraging. I think one of the major thing that stuck out this past week while he was talking about Faith was just how PRIDE is a Faith killer! The Lord sent hardships into Paul's life to keep him HUMBLE. (2 Cor 12:7-10) Paul prayed that the Lord would remove those hardships which he did, but God just ended up sending more hardships in the place of those he removed. I like what John Piper said, "weaknesses are not sins, but experiences, situations and circumstances and wounds that are hard to bear and that we can't remove either because they are beyond our control or because love dictates that we not return evil with evil."

Anyway -- that is kind of where I am standing in life this week! I am praying for next year to be an exciting and stretching year for all of us. I know I want to continue to grow and build character and leadership...I don't want to be complacent. I challenge you to take the same adventure.

I must acknowledge that last post I left one person out of my "people I miss" list... and that would be Lee Farmer (my cheese! ;-))
"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." - Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Signing off...

The beauty of the Lord

So its pretty obvious that I am not very good at keeping a blog, but I do think about writing. I just don't do it. :-/

In the past month and a half, the Lord has been stretching me greatly in my walk with Him, but also in my friendships with other people who the Lord has caused me to cross paths with. I have this one girl who I was so blessed to meet this past school year and now I am mentoring her. Let me tell you... I never would have imagined the things I would have to pray through and face, but God is so good. I don't just say that flippantly, but with so much truth in my heart! On top of work, mentoring, and church stuff... I am still in summer classes. I am in two right now and will have a third one during July. AH!!! I am growing so weary, but I know that I am at the end of the tunnel and beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Praise GOD!

A lot of people are asking me....(some excited, some nervous, some sad, some don't really care...) where are you going when you're done? Just so everyone knows - I am staying at CSU until the Lord moves me on. I have verbally committed to work through May 2009. Only the Lord will be able to open the door for my next journey. Until then I am holding on to the rope and preparing myself for a ride. So for right now, no one should be concerned. Just keep me in your prayers as I seek the Lord's direction.

People I miss:
1. Kelsey
2. Alena
3. Molly


Prayer Requests:
1. My best friend and her husband, Kaye and Ben, are in South Africa this summer serving with Campus Outreach. They are leading a group of guys and girls there. Just pray for their safety, impact and financial support.

2. That I would continue to grow in my walk earnestly. I want to be see the Beauty of the Lord, but many times I hinder my own self. I know if I fall in love with Him then I will begin to see His good, pleasing and perfect will.

3. For my Master's courses to not stress me out. I am so close to be doing done. (december, baby!)

4. My time with my mentoree that I am pouring into right now. She is awesome! Please pray for her walk and for her to be receptive to the Holy Spirit, not so much to ME.