Time With Tandy

Inspirational author and speaker

Time With Tandy

Inspirational author and speaker

Author: Tandy

  • Open Arms

    #God, the Lord, loveAlthough the little girl had been with her grandmother only an hour earlier, she was excited to see her. At first glance, her eyes lit up and she ran with open arms for a loving embrace.

    I watched this heartwarming scene and thought of how very special their relationship was. There is nothing quite like the love expressed through a child’s hug. This expression of affection can melt even the coldest heart.

    My young grandchildren are moving past the spontaneous hug stage. I know they still love me; it’s just that other things now vie for their attention. They know that I won’t force them to hug me but I will be there with open arms when they’re ready.

    This reminds me of my relationship with God. There are times I race to spend time with him. Other times I let life distract me. My love for the Lord has not diminished and it is not my intention to ignore him for other pursuits.

    The good news is He remains close by, watching over me. He is not forceful, demanding attention, but waits patiently for me to return.

    When I realize I’ve moved away and reach out to the Lord, he is always ready to welcome me with open arms.

    We loved because he first loved us. (1John 4:19 NIV)
    I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. (Proverbs 8:17 NIV)

  • Janice Richardson

    Janice RichardsonJanice Richardson writes Christian articles and stories focusing on how God impacts people’s lives. She resides in Calgary, Alberta with her husband and one of three sons. Janice loves reading, writing, and being in nature whether it is hiking, skiing, walking, or cycling. She also has a bit of competitive side and loves watching football, her son playing soccer, and playing Word with Friends on her phone or tablet!

    I wondered how Janice came to have a story included in the anthology Gifts from Heaven. She explained; “Several years ago, I took an on-line Christian writing course through the organization Christian Writer’s Guild. I was assigned a mentor who reviewed my lessons and gave me feedback. After I completed the course, she started sending me emails inviting me to submit stories for books that James Stewart Bell was compiling and publishing. I never felt like I had a story that fit the guidelines so never submitted anything. For the past year, I have been interviewing people and writing their God story for CSC News in Calgary. At the time I was writing on one of the people they had “matched” me with, I received an email from my former mentor asking for submissions for another book. Ray’s story fit perfectly with the guidelines for this book! I submitted a revised version of his story and was very happy when I learned that it had been accepted!”

    And that’s how it’s done, folks.  Of course, Janice’s talent for writing had a lot to do with her being published!

    In addition to writing, Janice works for a non-profit organization primarily doing administrative and financial work. Although she has a passion for writing people’s true stories of how God has impacted their life, she would also like to write a novel and plans to pursue that in the future.
    We will be watching for that, Janice!
    For information about the book Gifts from Heaven, ordering a copy, or any other questions or comments, please email me at Janice_r@shaw.ca .

  • I’d Like a Do-Over!

    #inspiration, stories, emails, websiteHave you ever done something you wish you could take back? Wouldn’t it be nice to erase the mistake from everyone’s memories and start over again? It’s happened to me more than once.

    This week I ran into another situation where I desperately wanted a do-over. For those of you who received eleven back to back emails from me on Monday, I apologize. This wasn’t my intention, no matter how good the reading may have been!

    By the time I realized what had happened, it was too late to undo my mistake. The damage was done. You see, I’m was doing work on my website and discovered some posts that had been moved to trash instead of the archives. Since I wanted them available, I moved them over to my blog page, not knowing they would be sent out all over again.

    Text messages from friends soon started coming in, notifying me to multiple emails. Oh no, I thought. This is going to shatter the illusion that I’m perfect! Oh wait, I’m pretty sure everyone already knows that. So now what do I do? Since I couldn’t change what had happened, there were two options available. Either I could hang my head in embarrassment or I could make the most out of an unfortunate situation.

    I chose the latter. After all, I know I’m not the only one to have done something they wish could be reversed. The lesson in this may be not to take myself so seriously. I’m human and make mistakes. The mistakes are not what define me. It’s what I do with them that counts.

    That being said, some of those stories were pretty good. Maybe you missed them the first time around and would like to read them now. In case you weren’t one of the lucky ones to get eleven emails from me on Monday, you can read them on my website archives. http://www.timewithtandy.com/2013/07/

    “Don’t look back. You are not going that way.” Author unknown

    “You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”  – Richard Branson

  • Endless Knot

    #God, #Jesus, Good Friday, sacrificeI wasn’t sure exactly what it was in the box but knew it was unique and beautiful. The sculpture was a large circle with thick glass strands intertwining.

    A card inside told me this was an endless knot, representing a never ending connection. It was also a symbol of eternity, harmony and endless love.

    This lovely expression of endless love was a gift from family members. I have heard many stories from people who don’t have good relationships with their family. The object I held in my hands represented the blessing of the harmony that exists with my children and grandchildren.

    Our lives are intertwined; each being made stronger by the connection with the others. This bond has been passed down through the generations.

    As we draw near to Good Friday, the endless love of God is in the forefront of my mind. He showed his love by sending his only Son, Jesus, to atone for our sins and give us eternal life. This act of great sacrifice reaches to all generations, binding us together.

    His love has no beginning and no end. He loved us before we knew him and paid the greatest sacrifice of all that our lives may be intertwined with his. For this, I am eternally grateful.

    The Lord is good. His mercy endures forever. His faithfulness endures throughout every generation. (Psalm 100:5 NLT)

    For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV)

  • Happy to Help

    #inspiration, friendship, assistanceA friend recently took on the task of updating my website. This is something I’m not able to do on my own and would normally have to pay someone else to complete.

    Her generosity in helping me out in this way is incredible. Hours of time are being spent on something that gives her no obvious benefit. When I express my thanks, as I do frequently, she brushes it off, saying, “It’s no big deal and something I enjoy doing.”

    Another friend recently asked me for help on a project she’s working on. This was in my area of expertise and I was glad to offer whatever assistance I could.
    When she thanked me, I found myself saying, “It was no problem. I’m happy to help you anytime.”

    It was no coincidence I met with both of these friends on the same day. I’d been feeling guilty about accepting the generosity offered to me, while freely offering the same to another. Thinking about how good it felt to assist one friend helped me understand why another would willingly spend time helping me.

    If I refused her offer, I’d be denying her this joy. What a concept! I’m doing something for you by letting you do something for me. And, you are making me happy by allowing me to do something for you. This is the ultimate win-win situation!

    “The greatest good is what we do for one another.” Mother Teresa

  • Clouded Vision

    #Jesus, #inspiration, forgivenessDuring our recent vacation, I was having problems with my hair. I’d wash it and hours later it would feel dirty again.

    After trying a few brands of shampoo I came to the conclusion the problem was with the water in the shower. Although it was frustrating, I didn’t know what else to do so had to accept it.

    Each day we would go for a long walk along the beach. During the last few days of vacation, the tide was very high, leaving not enough sand to walk on. We didn’t want to forgo our walk so moved inland.

    The next day I was pleasantly surprised with my hair. It still felt clean. It took another day of walking inland before I understood what the problem had been and felt foolish to not have recognized it sooner.

    Upon return from our beach walks my sunglasses would be covered with a film of sea spray that clouded my vision. I hadn’t thought about that same spray also coating my hair!

    The answer was obvious the whole time. Instead of seeing what was right in front of me I went searching for something more complicated. I don’t know about you, but this seems to be a pattern in my life.

    Little white lies, judgments and selfishness slowly build up until, like the effects of the sea spray, my vision and my life become clouded. I no longer feel clean and tend to search for outside reasons for my gloom.

    The problem, however, isn’t with anyone or anything else. It is my doing and only by taking responsibility can I remove the film that clouds my life. When I go to Jesus and sincerely ask forgiveness, he is willing and able to make my life bright and clean once again.

    Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. (Matthew 7:5 NLT)

  • A Different Perspective

    #inspiration, attitude, positive, natureAfter a long day of travel, we arrived at our destination too tired to do more than unpack and fall asleep.

    Early the next morning I woke up to the sound of surf. I opened the door to the deck and breathed deeply of the sea air. It was wonderful to see the water sparkling under a clear blue sky and hear only sounds of nature. Then, I started examining my surroundings.

    The previous night I’d been bothered by our bathroom sink that hadn’t been properly cleaned. I started looking around and found several more little items to be upset about.

    My mood had shifted and I was not happy. Housekeeping was not at the top of my priority list at home, but I started looking for things to find fault with here.

    We sat down to breakfast with a panoramic view of the sea before us. Before long we saw two pelicans soar and then dive into the water to catch fish. The scene was calming.

    I thought of how incredible it was to be able to sit at our table and witness this. Here I was, in a place I loved, with the beauty and tranquillity of nature surrounding me. Why then, was I wasting my time looking for inconsequential things to be upset about?

    I was ashamed of my attitude and vowed to focus on the positive. I knew I was likely to see whatever it was I was looking for, so should concentrate on everything I had to be grateful for. All I needed was that different perspective and my attitude shifted.

    This is a lesson for me to remember when I’m having a bad day. The circumstances may not change but a different perspective can improve my outlook and my life.

    “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer

  • More Than I Think I Can

    #Jesus, #Lord, #inspirationThe words didn’t make sense to me. I could understand being told to do my best. After all, I’ve heard no one can ask more of you than to do your best. Yet here was someone asking for more than that.

    When I heard, “Do more than you think you can,” I laughed to myself, thinking that wasn’t possible. And then – I did it! I pushed myself harder to see if it was possible and ended up doing more than I thought I could.

    I learned I’d been settling for less than my best for quite some time. What had formerly been my best was now commonplace and I was capable of much more. This was a huge eye-opener for me.

    The lesson I learned was that I’m capable of doing much more than I think I can. Even so, there are limits to what I can achieve on my own.

    Over the past few years, I’ve done many things I never thought I could. This happened when I stopped limiting myself and God by staying stuck in, “I can’t.” What would not be possible for me is no problem for The Lord. Now, I say, “If you want me to do this, I trust you’ll make it happen.”

    Life is much more fulfilling when I don’t attempt to tackle it on my own. I am not supposed to be able to do everything. When I put my trust in the Lord, I can stand back and watch him do immeasurably more than I ever dreamed of my life. Every success and achievement is due to him and for that, I can never thank him enough.

    For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13 NLT)

  • Speaking Without Words

    words, non-verbal“Am I being mean?” I asked. The response I received was, “No, it’s just another form of communication.”

    You see, the woman in front of me in the aquafit class kept backing up. There was no room for me to move without crowding someone else. I was sure it wasn’t intentional and knew I’d been guilty of the same thing on occasion.

    Two of us had gently pointed out her roaming and it seemed rude to keep asking her to move. Instead, I chose a non-verbal method of communication. I splashed more as she got too close! This proved to be effective at moving her forward again.

    It is said that only 7% of our communication is verbal. I started looking for other examples of this.

    On the far side of the pool, two young children danced with abandon to the music playing in the facility. It was easy to tell they were happy and carefree.

    Have you ever taken one look at a friend and known there was something wrong? I’d just experienced that. I looked at someone, saw great sadness and gave him a hug. Non-verbally he had let me know he was hurting and I let him know I cared.

    We speak with our eyes, our facial expressions and our body movements. My tone of voice can also convey a meaning quite opposite to my words.

    If I can read this in others, they must be able to do the same when looking at me. Knowing this, I wonder; is my non-verbal communication keeping people from getting too close or drawing them near?

  • New Beginnings

    #God, #the LORD, #inspiration, March 20th is officially the first day of spring. After a long, cold winter, spring is looked forward to as a time of new beginnings.

    The hours of daylight lengthen and the temperature starts to rise. Soon green shoots will push their way through the ground with the promise of flowers to follow. Bare branches will bud and the trees will once again be dressed in their coats of green.

    Vegetation which has been dormant for months begins its renewal. This is a time of hope and promise.

    Patience is required as I wait for the signs of new growth to come. A date on the calendar doesn’t actually herald a change in the weather.

    According to the dictionary, renewal has more than one meaning. It can be the resuming of an activity or state after an interruption. This is the renewal we see in our surroundings in spring.

    The other meaning is the repair of something that is worn-out, run-down or broken. This is the renewal I have experienced in my own life.

    When I was weary and broken I brought my life before the Lord. He gave me a fresh, new start. There was no need to wait for a specific date on the calendar. God has taken a dormant life and renewed it. His mercies are new every morning and my relationship with him is filled with new beginnings.

    “The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.” (Psalm 19:7 NLT)