Time With Tandy

Inspirational author and speaker

Time With Tandy

Inspirational author and speaker

Blog

  • The Root of the Problem

    #inspiration, #Jesus, heart, soften, forgivenessA heavy rain had fallen overnight. We woke up to the promise of a brighter day and headed outside to breathe in the fresh, clean air that follows a summer rain.

    While the ground was still damp, my husband started pulling weeds that had sprung up in our flower beds. I tackled the ones growing between the paving stones. It didn’t take long to appreciate the difference damp soil makes.

    When I gently tugged, the entire root of the weed emerged from the ground. I was happy to know my efforts were eliminating the problem and not just a temporary solution.

    Previous weeding experience hadn’t gone as well. When the ground was dry, often only the portion above ground broke off. Things would look better for a short time until the root produced new growth and the weed once again became visible. Hard, unyielding soil gives those kinds of results.

    The analogy was not lost on me. When my attitude is hard and unyielding, the root of bitterness and discontent grows. I may be able to hide it for a short time, but it keeps reappearing.

    Jesus is the master gardener who is able to get to the root of the problem. His tender loving care softens my heart so the once flourishing roots of my unhealthy behaviour can be eliminated.

    When I submit fully to Jesus, there is no risk of one of these roots being left behind. He is the one who can probe to the depths of my heart, remove my sins, and give me a clean start.

    “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” (Romans 4: 7-8 NLT)

  • It Doesn’t Sit Right

    #inspiration, rules, testsI walked into the eating area of our RV and immediately noticed the blind. My husband had opened it and it was sitting at an angle.

    I have to straighten this up, I thought. I reached over to fix it and paused. Was a crooked blind important in the grand scheme of things? Sunlight was entering the room regardless of the angle.

    My husband sometimes sets up situations like this as little tests, to see how long it will take me to react and make my correction. This may or may not have been the case, but with this thought in mind, I left the blind as it was – all day!

    Rather than being bothered by it not sitting right, I appreciated the open blind allowing light to flood into the space.

    Too often in life I have allowed my ideas of how things should be done to impact my day. If something doesn’t sit right with my rules, there must be a problem. In those cases I fail to realize two things.

    The first is not everyone has the same rules on basic things such as how towels are folded, the orientation of the toilet paper roll, or the importance of straight blinds.

    The second is even more challenging; it’s not all about me! Your ideas are every bit as valid as mine. We can agree to disagree.

    After surviving the crooked blind incident, I truly understand the statement Don’t sweat the small stuff!

  • Proud Citizens

    #inspiration, Canada, citizenship

     

    This is an updated version of my Canada Day post from two years ago.

    Yesterday was Canada Day. Thousands gathered in our city to watch the Canada Day parade. Red shirts and maple leaf insignia were worn and flags were waved. This is one way of showing our patriotism.

    Festivities in honour of Canada’s birthday took place all across our vast nation. In our city and many others, the celebrations concluded with spectacular fireworks displays. These events enable us to come together and celebrate our citizenship in what we believe is one of the best countries in the world.

    Across the world citizens of Canada have a reputation for being polite. Kindness and care for others is also an attribute of those with a heavenly citizenship.

    A friend once told me that we often go through life like tourists. We gather souvenirs and mementos from places we’ve been and people we’ve met. What we are called to do as citizens of heaven is to leave little pieces of heaven wherever we go. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

    No matter what country we live in, we are also citizens of heaven. One day we will all be reunited with our Lord, Jesus Christ. No citizenship can be better and that alone is a reason for celebration.

    But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20 NIV)

  • New Glasses

    #inspiration, vision, perspectivePrescription in hand, I headed for the Optical Store, determined to make the necessary change.

    A few months earlier I had been there, looked at new frames, received some price quotes and then decided to put off getting new glasses. Even though my prescription had changed, my old ones didn’t seem that bad, so I thought I could get by with them.

    Hours spent in front of a computer screen started to result in blurry vision. Reading a book could do the same. Sometimes the issue took hours to fully resolve. For the sake of clarity, the time had come to make the change.

    Decisions on frame style and lens type weren’t as difficult as I’d thought. I felt good knowing soon I’d be looking at the world more clearly through a new pair of glasses.

    This could have been accomplished much sooner if I’d just made the change when it was needed rather than putting it off.

    I guess this is a mirror of my life as I have been known to resist change there as well. My reasons to stay the same seem valid at the time. It’s too much effort. Things aren’t really that bad the way they are. Eventually, I lose clarity and situations become distorted. My focus is no longer healthy.

    What I need is a new perspective, another way of looking at things. When I figuratively change glasses my outlook and therefore my life, improves. It’s amazing what a shift in focus can do!

  • A Teacher’s Impact

    #Jesus, #inspiration, grace, teacherThe radio announcer posed an interesting question. He asked if there was anything we learned from a teacher that still had an impact on us today.

    Although it’s been many years since I was in school, it wasn’t difficult for me to think of something.

    In high school, I was fortunate to have the same English teacher two years in a row. He was widely respected as being firm but fair. At the beginning of my second year with him, I turned in an essay that received a much higher mark than I expected. At the end of the class I was called aside and told this essay didn’t deserve the grade I’d received but he knew I was capable of high-quality work so had marked this one with my potential in mind. I was given grace I didn’t deserve.

    This teacher’s faith in my ability gave me the confidence to believe in myself. I worked hard to affirm his decision and reach the high standard he envisioned.

    Since that time I have had many teachers or mentors in my life. Some have taught me work-related skills while others have taught me compassion and resilience. All have helped to shape me into the person I am today.

    Jesus is the greatest teacher of all. He taught not only with words but with example. The lessons he taught over two thousand years ago are still impacting people today. The model given through his life inspires all of us to be better people. He gave us grace we didn’t deserve and I, for one, want to live up to the potential he entrusted me with.

    I am convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6 GWT)

  • You Can’t See Me

    #inspiration, behaviour, pretectionI turned the corner onto my street and saw one of our neighbourhood jackrabbits hopping across the road. When it heard my car approaching, the rabbit stopped right where it was – in the middle of the road. It held perfectly still as I slowly drove past.

    Often I see one of these rabbits in my yard and instead of hopping away when I come close, it will freeze in position, as if to blend into the surroundings and become invisible. Such was the case when I took the picture included in this post. Some places are easier to blend into than others.

    To be fair, this can be an effective survival tactic. If the rabbit can’t be seen, there will be no danger of harm.

    Although this may be useful for animals, the behaviour doesn’t work the same way for people.

    Someone once told me she had observed me making myself invisible when I was out of my comfort zone. I was like the rabbit on the road. I thought no one could see me but I was wrong.

    My desire is to feel like I belong, that I’m part of what is going on. When it feels like this is a bigger challenge than I can handle, I withdraw to protect myself from rejection. This makes me appear aloof and unapproachable. The result is I am not drawn into the group.

    In essence, what I have just done is to create the exact opposite of what I wanted. I know I’m not alone in this type of behaviour. Does it affect you, too? Let’s step out in confidence to create the lives we want and not those we fear.

  • I Can’t Reach

    #inspiration, Father, heavenly,A friend told me a story about an outing with her family. At the end of a busy day, she was walking back to the vehicles with her son and young granddaughter. It was a clear night and the sky was filled with twinkling stars.

    The little girl looked up in awe and then stretched her arms up high to touch them. They weren’t as close as she thought so she reached even higher. When she couldn’t come close to grasping one, she looked at her daddy and said, “Can’t reach.” The loving father picked up his little girl and placed her on his shoulders so she could be closer.

    The image of a child being lifted by her daddy to reach for the stars was a powerful one for me. I can think of many times in my life when I have reached for the stars and fallen short. It was unrealistic to think I could achieve something so unattainable.

    There came a time when I knew I couldn’t reach high enough and gave up trying. My dreams became more down to earth. They were no longer big dreams but now I had a chance of reaching them.

    Then came the day I was asked to reach for something far beyond my limited abilities. Tearfully I replied, “I can’t – it’s too big and too far.” My heavenly father smiled and lifted me on his shoulders. He lovingly held my arms up and told me that together we could reach anything.

    Entrust your efforts to the Lord and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3 GWT)

  • I Changed My Mind

    #inspiration, decisions, exercise, mind“Squat down like you’re going to sit in a chair,” the exercise instructor told us. “When you are almost there, change your mind and stand up again. Now repeat, and again.”

    The exercise was effective but I couldn’t help laughing at the thought that came to mind. If changing my mind is exercise, I should be way more fit for all the years of practice I’ve had!

    Do you ever second-guess your decisions and keep changing your mind? Questions such as; What if I made a mistake? Why did I agree to do something so challenging? Will I look like a fool? go through my mind.

    These would either paralyze me or turn me into someone who only made decisions to please others. It all came down to a lack of confidence. I wanted you to like me and thought I had to be and say who you wanted me to be in order for that to happen. In other words, I didn’t believe in myself.

    Moments like this still occur in my life, but not to the same extent. It wasn’t easy but I have learned to voice my opinions. Just because someone doesn’t agree with me doesn’t mean they reject me. The more I practice this, the more confidence I gain.

    This allows me to make a decision and stick with it. It looks like changing my mind will no longer be enough exercise for me!

  • Fragrant Memories

    #inspiration, memories, childhoodHave you ever had the sight or aroma of something familiar cause memories to flood over you?

    I had passed by these lilac trees many times in the preceding weeks but this day I stopped to fully appreciate their beauty.

    You see, the home I was raised in had several lilac trees in the backyard. I can picture them along one side fence, planted in alternating colours of purple and white. When in full bloom we would cut some to bring indoors and I remember their sweet fragrance filling the room.

    Happy memories from my childhood washed over me as I gazed at the showy blossoms. Parents who loved me and older siblings who doted on me flashed through my mind. I was blessed to grow up in a place and time where it was safe to spend hours outdoors, running and playing with my friends.

    Respect, good manners and helping others were not options; they were part of the fabric of life. Right and wrong were clearly defined and a strong conscience ensured I knew which one to follow.

    The love I experienced and the lessons learned by example prepared me for life. I sometimes forget that not everyone had the advantages of a secure childhood. This was a gift I sought to pass on to my children and they, in turn, are passing on to the next generation.

    The sight of lilacs brought back the sweet fragrance of youth and the legacy of family. Before I moved on, I said a prayer of gratitude for a life filled with joyful memories.

    Train a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not turn away from it. (Proverbs 22:6 GWT)

  • What Did You Leave Behind?

    #inspiration, legacy, identifyMy husband and I were walking on a path through the woods when we saw some animal scat in front of us. I wondered what kind of animal had preceded us. I hoped it was from a deer and not something more dangerous. In order to confirm this, I took a picture for identification purposes. I needed to know if this was a safe place for future walks.

    Our initial guess turned out to be correct and my fears of a dangerous animal were alleviated.

    The situation did produce some interesting questions, though. I wondered if I could be identified by the crap I leave behind.

    Do my fears and insecurities leave a trail of chaos in my wake? Do my frustrations and anger cause turmoil for others? Does the garbage left behind let you know I was there? Am I walking away and expecting others to clean up my mess?

    If that is the case, I need to make some changes. These are not ways I would like to be remembered.

    Knowing I can be identified by what I leave behind, I want to leave a legacy of kind words and gestures that showed I cared. Smiles, laughter and stories of memories made together are the best evidence of my footprints in your life. My purpose is to inspire others by sharing from my heart to help them see their true value.

    I think I’ll keep that picture of deer scat on my phone as a reminder of what and what not to leave behind.