Category: Uncategorized

by Allison Becker
December 26, 2021

“But we long to see you passionately advance until the end and you find your hope fulfilled. So, don’t allow your hearts to grow dull or lose your enthusiasm, but follow the example of those who fully received what God has promised because of their strong faith and patient endurance.” (Hebrews 6:11-12 TPT)

I visit this drawing every year at Christmas time. I drew it in the hospital with my son in 2015. At the time, the Lord had me give it to one of the staff members there. He wanted her to know that she was seen.

Sometimes, whether during the holidays or average day to day, we wrestle with that truth… among others from Our Loving Father.

“Am I seen?”
“Do You hear?”
“Did You say?”

If you’ve ever grabbed hold of a promise from Him that took a little bit longer than you’d like, you have likely struggled with questions like this. Perhaps, like me, you are now.

I’m so glad that I snapped a photo of this drawing before giving it away! God has blessed my own soul more than once with the reality of just some of the gifts He brought to me through His faithfulness to a nation brought through the womb of one young woman.  One virgin girl full of faith and purity in a highly polluted time and place was used to bring God’s promise not just to her people, but to everyone on the planet.  Her innocent “yes!” literally birthed the Way for your and my answers to these questions to be forever settled.

In a world where the multitudes are following their own desires, did you know that it only takes one? One heart absolutely abandoned to the will of the Lord. We see it all over Scripture: Abraham, Noah, Hannah, Samuel, Gideon, David, Paul… the list goes on outside the pages of the Word, touching this world here and now. The common thread in all those stories was persevering faith in the God of the promises who doesn’t lie, mislead, or change.

Have you heard a word from Him over your life? Are you pregnant with a promise? Some of His pregnancies take a loooooooooong time. That’s the dreaded persevering thing. We’re born with a deficit of it. We’ve been reborn in Christ with a gift of it (Galatians 5:22).

It will be challenged. Not because God doesn’t care, isn’t listening, or doesn’t see you. It’s because there is a force working against your promise, against the very God of the promise Himself. He’s been tempting God’s precious people to question what He’s spoken since the very beginning. He’s loud and obnoxious. He works to bring about abortions in every stage of the pregnancy, no matter how far along you are. I want you to get a picture of this through a look at the actual abortion debate. Your enemy – God’s enemy – wants to kill your promise at every stage, from heartbeat to delivery. He will try to wear you out with intense pressure, fear, confusion, doubt, and disappointments in order to get his way.

Why? Because Jesus is entering this world one more time through a pure, faithful girl. Your individual promises are part of God’s bigger plan.

If you are feeling weary from the battle today…

I enCOURAGE you to rest your head on God’s chest and read over these promises to you in the picture. Hear His heartbeat, which utterly swallows up the voice of the enemy. May God give you fresh hope, clear vision, and a belly full of fire for as long as it takes to  see His promises here on earth as it is in Heaven. I  can’t tell you exactly what that looks like in your life or mine, but I do know that the enemy can’t stop it and it’s better than we think.

Here is the breakdown of the promises in the drawing:

Love Came Down:
To prove you are LOVED
To BIND up your broken heart
To FREE you from sin
To reconcile you to GOD Almighty
To SAVE you from death
To bring you into the LIGHT
To make you HIS planting for the display of His splendor
To give you JOY and a song of praise
To PROVIDE for you
To crown you with BEAUTY
To COMFORT you who mourn
To declare you RIGHTEOUS, holy, & blameless
To make you a daughter and SON
To freely GIVE

 

 

by Tammy Phillips
December 25, 2021

Cesar Augustus, the first Emperor of the Roman Empire reigned during a really dark time in Israel.  The darkness was a lot like our present day. Cesar was a dude who thought he knew it all.  He sent out an Executive Order.  “Big Brother” wanted to know who and where you were!   He wanted money!  And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. Everybody went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.

Joe went up to Judea, not to New York City, but to David’s City, Bethlehem… from Galilee from his hometown, Nazareth.  He was a descendant of David, you know.  He had to drag Mary along with him.  She was about to pop because she was so Prego.  It wasn’t long after they arrived that she told Joe: “IT’S TME!” It was probably the 80-100-mile hike and the 4-7 day walk that put her into labor.  You know that girl had to be worn out.  Joe forgot to make reservations at the Holiday Inn-Bethlehem.  Everything was sold out.  There was a big crowd in Bethlehem to be taxed.  You know how crazy the post office is on tax-day.  Bethlehem was buzzing just like that. “No Vacancy” signs were everywhere.

Mary had sweet baby Jesus in the only place they could find…A BARN in the ‘hood.  (Light brought into darkness.  God Almighty laid aside His Glory and appeared on the scene as a baby.)  She had her first son, her first child, away from home.  She probably left His onesies in Nazareth, so she wrapped him up like a peanut with what she had.  She swaddled him and laid him in a manger hewn out of rock. You know, the things that farm animals ate out of.   He came into the earth just like he left the earth, all wrapped up and lying on a stone.

Out in the county there were some farmers minding their business.  They were sleeping out in the field taking care of their animals, so no harm would come to them.  Out of the darkness, “kabam-shazam,” out of nowhere, a HUGE angel appeared.  He had to be at least 20 feet tall.  He showed up from nowhere.  The mega angel lit up that whole field like sunrise over the ocean.  It nearly scared the farmers to death. They were shaking in their boots.  Hopefully, a MAGA angel will show up in 2020.  The angel roared, “DON’T BE AFRAID!”   Look!  Listen!  I am bringing you GOOD NEWS!!!  You have hit the lottery.  It is going to make you so HAPPY.  Everybody is! It’s good news for everybody.  Today. T-O-D-A-Y!  In Bethlehem…Are you ready for it?  Our Savior has been born, the Savior of the World.  He is here!  Christ the Lord is here! Our Savior, our deliverer…from Greek word “sozo” which means to save, keep safe, and sound, to rescue from danger, to save from perishing from disease, to make well, heal, restorer, doctor/healer when you need him, restorer to health from the oppressor (you know the one who tries to harm and hurt you, the one who tried to keep you beat down).  

Feel like you’re missing something?  The Savior will complete you.  
Anxious? He says don’t worry!  
Sick? God has no big problems!  
Need something?  He is more than enough!  
Lonely? He will never leave you nor forsake you?  
Need a constant in your life?  He will never change.  He always has been, always is and always will be.  
Want to do well? He has the keys to the kingdom. His name is I AM, I WAS, I always will be.  HIS NAME IS CHRIST, the anointed.   He is smeared all over, bathed-in, like suntan oil at the beach…it is all over Him to be who he was and is supposed to be.  He is furnished with all necessary powers to perform his position with duties as assigned by God.

The LORD, the man of the hour, has power for decision making.  He gets things done.  He is supreme.  He has it all under control.  He is our Savior for such a time as this.  He is our SOZO now.  Life is now.  He is not a fire policy.  He is the son of God and he is here.

A child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (the Chief of Completeness) – Isaiah 9:6

Get it?  I AM is here!

This is the sign. You can find the Savior of the World wrapped in swaddling clothes and he is lying in a M A N G E R.  (A manger? The king is in a manger?)  Don’t miss the sign boys.

The heavens could not stand it anymore- the good news! 

Bam! The angel’s back-up singers the Heavenly Host (Heard of them?  They were a real popular group with God) I mean I am talking a platoon, a troop of hosts showed up and put on a show.  They were praising God and rocking the stage saying:

“Glory to God in the highest. Peace on Earth. Good will to men!” You could hear them all the way in Nazareth.  After the field concert (And Luke Bryan thought this was an original idea?), the Angel of the Lord & the Heavenly Host – poof- they jetted back to heaven in an instant.  

The Sheps chatted and thought it might be a good idea to let the flock hang out and for them to head on to Bethlehem.  They wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  I mean the Lord had dropped a concert in the middle of the field in the middle of the night to let them know the good news.  Talk about virtual reality.  The Sheps sped to Bethlehem. 

Lo and behold!  Surprise!  Surprise! Surprise!  Can you believe it?  They found Mare, Joe and sweet lil’ baby Jesus lying in the manger.  After they saw BABY JESUS, they went and told everybody about it!   Anyone that would listen, heard the story.  They didn’t go to bed for days.  Everybody they told wandered in AMAZEMENT.  You can see them just shaking their heads.

Mary was just blown away.  She kept quiet and to herself.  She thought…I birthed the King?  He’s lying in a manger?  The Savior of the world?  After the long journey, the labor, it was too much.  She just kept all this to herself and let her thoughts just circle in her tiny little brain. It was just too much to process.

The Sheps! They just kept on partying. Glorifying, praising, singing to the top of their lungs to God.  What a story, a Glory Story of the Savior of the World!

Merry Christmas!

I enCOURAGE you to enjoy every precious moment with your family and friends  celebrating our precious Saviors birth. 

by Tammy Phillips
December 24, 2021

“So, I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun”(Ecclesiastes 8:15 CSB)

I am like a kid!  I am so excited to have all my kids under one roof for three days.  It is  a great gift; I need no other than their time.  I am going to enjoy every second in their presence. I recommend joy for you no matter your situation.

When I read Ecclesiastes 8:15, I smiled big.  Solomon was supposed to  be the wisest  man that lived other than Jesus.  Solomon simply stated in human terms that under the sun, “I recommend joy.  There is nothing better for a person to do that eat, drink, be merry, and enjoy life.”  In Ecclesiastes Solomon implied that life under the sun was pretty meaningless. Work we must and it is not easy.  Under the sun can be pretty laborious, so we might as well enjoy.  We should make best of all bad situations and enjoy life. 

I recommend joy, but also know Jesus came and died for us to have a better life and to make a better way for us.  Jesus said,

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)

When Jesus made the above statement, in all reality by the Greek work that was used for life, He was saying:

“I have come that you may have life.
I have come that you may have ‘zoe.’
I have come that you may have the absolute fullness of life.
I have come that you may have life real and genuine.
I have come that you may have life alive and breathing,
I have come that you may be alive not lifeless or dead
I have come that you may live stronger and longer.
I have come that you may live happily in the blessings.
I have come that you may enjoy life.”

Solomon recommended joy because he had not found anything better.  Jesus brought the better.  He brought the joy!

I enCOURAGE  and highly recommend enjoyment now and heading in to 2022.  Jesus died for  the better life.  Enjoy His presence this Christmas. Season.  Enjoy your family!   Five times in the twelve short chapters of Ecclesiastes, Solomon loudly proclaimed to, “Eat, drink and enjoy!”  Enjoy the life that Jesus bought and paid for you and me, it makes our journey under the sun all the better.  

by Tammy Phillips
December 23, 2021

“When I applied my heart to know wisdom and to see the business that is done on earth, even though one sees no sleep day or night, then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover [it], yet he will not find [it]; moreover, though a wise [man] attempts to know [it], he will not be able to find [it].” (Ecclesiastes 8:16-17 NKJV)

A sunrise
A sunset

A raging river
A babbling brook

The depth of the oceans
The height of the heavens

The number of  stars
The galaxies afar

The color change of the leaves
The different sizes of trees

A mountain range
A dessert so strange

Baby toes
An elephants nose

Jesus’ birth
All things on earth

All the work of God
Man cannot find out

Amazed we can be
As we get a glimpse of His unmatched glory

I enCOURAGE to pause and look around at all the things under the sun.  Give our LORD the adoration, praise, honor, and glory He is due for all He has made, and all He has done.  Glory to God in the Highest.  His works cannot be found out.

December 22, 2021

“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.” (Luke 12:22 KJV)

I do not know who needs to hear this today.  Maybe this is a word for me…Maybe it is a word for you…I was traveling through Ecclesiastes  and Holy Spirit sent me on a detour through Luke 12:22.  This verse set me free from worry years ago.  I hope is does the same for you.  It  guided me through most of yesterday.

Jesus was teaching His disciples and He spoke these words of freedom, “Take no thought for your life…”

Do not  worry about it.
Do not be anxious anything.
Don’t be troubled with cares.
Don’t even think about it.
Take no thought.

Are you worried about a package not arriving before Christmas?  At least you have a present ordered and the money to pay for it. I just recently heard of a young mom who spent her son’s birthday crying because she had no money to gift him one gift.

Are you anxious about your home not being clean for the holidays?   At least you have been blessed with a home.  Untold numbers in the world are homeless and would love to come home to a dirty house.   Recently, the tornadoes that swept through Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi left thousands of homes not only dirty but destroyed.

Are you weighed down with care about your children or grandchildren this season?  At least your kiddos will be home with you.  There are children who are fighting for their lives.  There are children who are fighting for our country.  There are children who are just fighting.  Appreciate every second with your babies, no matter what size they are.  Life is precious and we take it for granted.

Are you concerned with what you and your family will eat or what you might wear to your holiday soiree’? Take no thought.  It will always work out, it always does. 

When your mind begins to wonder….
When Satan attempts to steal your joy…
When worry and anxiety start knocking on the entrance to your heart, or…
When an entitled woman at Sam’s makes a third exit lane, passes you, and cuts in front of twenty others waiting patiently in the two other lines for the associate to scan three items in each cart  and grant exit from the  building…

Do not even think about it.  (I almost lost “my Jesus” witness on “entitled woman” yesterday, but the wise man ahead of me declared what a miserable life she must be living to dishonor so many others without thought.)  You know, my flesh wanted to go “Madea” on her.

I enCOURAGE you to stop and breathe.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Breathe in Jesus; breathe out Satan.  Breathe in peace, exhale worry.  Don’t even think about it.  Turn it all over to Jesus.  He will guide you through the detours of life.

“Life is more than food, and the body [is more] than clothing.” (Jesus from Luke 12:23 NKJV)

“Life is so much more than some haughty woman cutting line in Sam’s”.  -Tammy Phillips, December 21, 2021

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22 NIV)

 

by Tammy Phillips
December 21, 2021

“Wisdom strengthens the wise more than ten rulers of the city.” (Ecclesiastes 7:19 NKJV)

I don’t know about you, but I want to be made stronger than ten mighty, powerful men in my city.  I love to hear the powerful, mighty, wise, successful men speak.   We can learn much from them.  However, the greatest men I know cannot teach me more than the great God I know.  He imparts the greatest wisdom. 

If you know, then you know.  If you do not know, then you do not know.  To be wise is to know.  To be wise is to be skilled in any art.  To be wise is to pursue your own knowledge and truth.

Wisdom is to exercise of what you know.
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. 
Wisdom is the practice of sound judgment either in avoiding evils or attempting good. 
Wisdom is discerning, judging correctly, or discriminating between what is true and what is false; between what is right and wrong, what is proper and what is improper.
Wisdom is readiness of mind to act or accomplish a purpose that comes from experience or practice, united with activity or quick motion. 

I enCOURAGE you with the words of Solomon.  “Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [Therefore] get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7 NKJV).  Think about this…first get wisdom and then wisdom will give you strength more than ten mighty, powerful, rulers of a city. Think for yourself.  Do not let others think for you.  Study to become the best you that you can be.  Exercise wisdom.   If we know to exercise our bodies, and don’t do it, we are not being wise nor using wisdom.  If we know to read our Bible, and don’t do it, we are not being wise.  Wisdom is exercising what we know. 

by Tammy Phillips
December 20, 2021

“For [there is] not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NKJV)

Do you think you are so special that you always do good and never sin?
Do you think you are so special that Jesus did not die for you?
Do you think you are so special that your sins are bigger than His sacrifice? 
Do you think you are so special that his death did not pay for your healing?
Do  you think you are so special that the blood of Jesus cannot atone for your iniquity?
Do you think you are so special that His blood was not enough for your transgressions?
Do you think you are so special that He is too weak to carry your sickness and pains?  
Do you think you are so special that you can work your way to heaven?

The Word of God says, “For [there is] not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.”(Ecclesiastes 7:20 NKJV)

“All have turned away; all alike have become worthless. There is no one who does what is good, not even one.  “All  have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  However, the good news of the Word of God also says “They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Romans 3:12, 23-24, 5:8, 6:23, Romans 10:13 NKJV)

You are not so special because of your sins but because of your Redeemer. 

I enCOURAGE you once and for all to forgive yourself.  Settle your salvation in your heart.  You are not your sins!  You are  not condemned but redeemed and forgiven! 

“[There is] therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 NKJV)

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,” nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:39 NKJV)

The baby in a manger that we celebrate at Christmas came to earth on a mission.  He journeyed from heaven to the manger through Israel  to the cross and rose again back to heaven in order to purchase us back.  And He did just that!  Glory to God in the Highest!

 

by Tammy Phillips
December 19, 2021

“Also do not take to heart everything people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you.  For many times, also, your own heart has known that even you have cursed others.” (Ecclesiastes 7:22 NKJV)

 We often take the words of others about us too seriously. People say thoughtless things. We say things about others that we would not want them to take to heart. 

Recently, Austin Peay played Ole Miss at Oxford in football.  My son, Parker, his fiancé, Caroline, his good friend, Alex Hicks, and I were sitting on the visitor’s side in the corner of the endzone opposite the Ole Miss student section.  My son played baseball at Austin Peay.  He is extremely competitive and also a big supporter of APSU.  The Peay played Ole Miss tight for a little while.  Parker and a handful of parents seemed to be the only cheering section for APSU out of about 48, 000 football fans.  Parker’s six-foot-four self was not sitting near the parents so every time he stood up, he drew the attention of the opposing student section.  They jeered back and forth for a while.  The words got a little ugly from the Ole Miss fans.  It did not stop my son from cheering on his team. 

Out of nowhere a policeman showed up and asked to speak to Parker.  Mama bear arose in me, but Parker told me he had it. The policeman asked him to be the bigger man and to quit enticing on the Ole Miss students.  He complied.

Somehow unbeknownst to Alex and I, Parker disappeared for a long while.  When we I questioned where he was, Caroline told us he somehow had communicated and was going to meet the one specific guy that he was jeering with.  WHAT?  A few minutes passed and Alex was about to go look for Park, but then I spotted him.  He was in the middle of the Ole Miss student section making peace with the guys that he had been warring with before.

Parker followed the wisdom of  Solomon, although I am not sure he was aware of Solomon’s advice.  He did not take to heart everything his rivals had said because he knew in his  own heart that he had “cursed” them just the same.  He chose to ignore their words.  They chose to ignore his and make peace.

If we all could learn this wise lesson in the time and space of a football game, what a different world this would be.

I enCOURAGE you to sometimes just simply overlook unkind and thoughtless things others say and do.  Let the words roll right off your heart.  We do not want to be judged by our worst words.   In return, we should not judge others by theirs.  There was an old idiom, “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words only hurt when we take them and allow them to inflict pain.  If we choose to ignore the fiery darts, we can maintain our peace.

by Tammy Phillips
December 18, 2021

“Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 CSB)

Don’t be angry when…

• a car cuts you off.
• people are stupid.
• your child does not do as you asked.
• your spouse is angry.
• someone offends you.

Can you name one time that anger served you well?   I cannot.  To be angry is to be troubled, displeased, irritated, and offended.   I was raised in an angry household.  Sadly, I raised my boys in an angry household.  I was an angry discipliner because that is what I learned.  Discipline should not be done in anger.  It makes me sick to think how long I let anger rule in my life.  My stepfather lived to be angry.  Of course, he grew up in an angry house, where he was told that he was hated.  His mother told him that she wished he had never been born.  I pray that my boys break the angry cycle in their homes.  I am still learning that anger is not the answer.  Does it ever feel good to be angry? No. it is harmful to both parties, the giver, and the receiver. 

“Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret–[it] only [causes] harm.” (Psalm 37:8 NKJV)

Anger is  manure in the mind.  It breeds hate, offense, resentment, indifference, and vengeance, just to name a few.  Solomon tells us not to hurry to anger.  When we exercise self-control in situations where we want to hasten to anger, we douse the fire the enemy is trying to start within us.  In self-control, we evict, execute, and kick anger to the curb.   

“A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.” (Proverbs 14:29 CSB)

I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be foolish, nor do I want to give anger a place to live. 

I enCOURAGE you to be slow to anger. Be even tempered.  Exercise favor when favor may not be what is deserved.  It will reduce the hurt in your life and the lives of others.   Jesus did it for us.  We need to pass it on.

“The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory [is] to overlook a transgression.” (Proverbs 19:11 NKJV)

P.S.   I wrote this and went to look for an old pic of me as a toddler pouting in a corner.  I hadn’t even posted this yet.   My husband had no idea what I was writing.  He told me a story about a stupid person.  I went to angry faster than a blinking eye and then I laughed.  I knew the opportunity to “practice  what I preach” would come.  Just didn’t think it would come so fast.  I let it go as fast as it was given.  

“Don’t let others get your tinsel in a tangle.  Stay jolly.” -Susy Himed

by Tammy Phillips
December 17, 2021

“The end of a thing [is] better than its beginning.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV)

My Papa Abney always said,  “The worst thing about doing anything is just starting it.”  He must have listened to the words of the wise, Solomon and all his proverbs. They are truth.  The end of a thing is better than its beginning. Think about it.

The end of a thing is better than its beginning.

The end of a cake is better than the mixing in the beginning because the beginning doesn’t taste so good.

The end of a road trip always seems better than the start because it seems a shorter distance to home.

The end of a conflict is better than its beginning because it brings resolution.

The end of a painting is better than its beginning because we are blessed to see the final product.

The end of childbirth labor is better than beginning pangs because of the miracle awaiting at the end.

The end of  a “diet” is better than the sacrifice of the beginning because the fruits of labor are rewarded.

The end of a race, crossing  the finish line, is better than the starting line and the thoughts of having to painfully put one foot in front of the other.

And so on and so on…

I enCOURAGE you to start.  Take your first step.  Whatever you have been procrastinating about doing, just begin. 

“Finishing is better than starting.”  (Ecclesiastes 7:8 NLT)