HAVE FAITH By: Tammy Lochridge and God

Do not grow weary, lose heart or wander around.
Have Faith.
Do not give in, give up or shut down.
Have Faith.
Be careful not to drift or stray.
Have Faith.
God will never go away.
Have Faith.
Do not throw your confidence away.
Have Faith.
Draw near to God everyday.
Have Faith.
Be sure of what you hope for.
Have Faith.
Be certain when you can't see more.
Have Faith.

When you hear God's voice obey.
Fix your eyes on Jesus and pray.
To his hand hold on tight.
Approach the throne with confidence and might.
Make every effort to enter His rest.
Combine it with faith, give Him your best.
Drink in the rain and produce good fruit.
Don't become a land turned to ashes and soot.
HAVE FAITH!

FREE!

I went away this past weekend to Dodge Park Church's first ladies retreat. We shared the weekend with two other churches, and it was a very special weekend. We had beautiful weather and a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the talks that our speaker, Diana Graves, gave. I could really feel the presence of the Holy Spirit the whole weekend. I had some very special times with God. I walked a labyrinth and prayed the whole time. By the time I reached the center I had so much peace inside of me. I was also able to get away, all by myself, and walk through a wooded trail. That was another special time I had with God. The best therapy in the world for me is to be in the middle of his awesome creation.

I talked before about the 3 hr meltdown that I had a couple of weeks ago and how I believe that to have been a true mourning session, not just a breakdown. I believe that was confirmed this weekend. Diana talked about her past and the abuse she endured, and usually when I hear someone talk about the hard times they are having or have had I feel the victim in me begin to rise. I can relate, which is not a bad thing, but I also craved the attention; the pity. I'd feel I need encouragement; someone to lift my spirits. I did not feel that once this weekend. I felt healed, strong and ready to be that person that shares my experiences to help others, not to receive attention.

On Saturday, Diana gave us some questions to contemplate and then asked us to write out a prayer. This was my prayer: Dear God, I feel your Spirit filling me. I am truly becoming a new me. I allowed you to speak to me that night - I did not cry just out of fed up frustration. I truly mourned; I said goodbye to the victim inside of me. I don't have to be there anymore. I am healed. I truly am free! Thank you, God, for your commitment, your grace, your love, your patience, your hand, your shoulder, your Son, and your Spirit. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Turning Point

I believe I have entered a new season in my life. It's going to be a season of learning more about the Holy Spirit, and maybe even more about myself. I had started to study through a book that my Pastor had given me over the summer. I got about half way through that book when the unofficial start of autumn began; the busy season for me. So the book got put down and set off to the side. God has made sure that my study of the Holy Spirit was not forgotten about. BSF has started up and we are studying the book of Acts this year, and we will be learning a lot about the Holy Spirit. I also intend to pick that other book back up again.

Surrendering to the Holy Spirit; this is an area that I really have trouble with. I use to always think it was God or Jesus that I could not fully commit to or trust; I don't think that is really true anymore. I have accepted God and I have invited his Son into my life. I believe in them and love them. I think my fear and lack of trust is with the Holy Spirit because this is where God gives me everything I need. The Spirit is the one who guides me, convicts me, teaches me, reveals things to me, comforts me, counsels me, the one I need to depend on. Instead I doubt, I reason, I question, I try to hide, I seek reassuance and direction in several places trying to find satisfaction and answers, I depend on my emotions.

I had a major meltdown a week ago. I honestly do not remember ever crying as hard for so long as I did that night; a good solid three hours of what I believe now to be mourning. By the time I was able to control myself enough to get some sleep (at three in the morning) I felt like my head was going to explode and like I could toss my cookies at any moment.

I have said this to myself many, many, many times since becoming a Christian; I am selfish. I think that night I finally came to terms with it. I don't mean to say that in a way just to put myself down. For those who know me know that I am good for doing that. I believe that there is still some kind of healing that still needs to take place in me. There are emotions in me that I just still don't understand. The Holy Spirit is the one that can reveal these things to me. I pray for victory over my depression a lot. It is easy to go to someone for words of encouragement and to seek there advice. But, people are people, they can try as hard as they can but only God knows everything about me and only his Holy Spirit can really help, and I know this. Fear and doubt is what keeps me from victory.

I know longer want to be a burden I want to be an encourager. I no longer want to be selfish I want to be selfless. I feel like my recent meltdown was me saying good bye to the things that have been so comfortable and hard to let go. I hope and pray that this is another turning point in my life. The people around me are so affected by the choices I do or don't make, the words I do or don't say, the thoughts I think. It hurts me so much to think about the way I have made some people in my life feel.

God, I have prayed this before and I will continue to pray this as long as it takes. Fill me anew with your Spirit. I want victory. As scary as this is for me to say, God, I am ready to move forward. I am willing to work hard. I am willing to let go. I want people to see your awesome light shine through me when they look at me. I want them to see the person you have intended me to be. I don't want to play the victim anymore. I want to be the strong, confident, mighty warrior you see in me. I want to use everything you have given, joys and sorrows, and use them to reach others for you. I love you and thank you for your patient, uncoditional love. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God is working!

I wanted to share the weekend that I had. I really saw God working this weekend. Saturday morning my girls, a friend of theirs and I were given the opportunity to deliver some lap blankets to a nursing home with a few members of Bethany Church. There was a bit of a mix up with communication; I guess we were suppose to visit a certain group of people but it turned out no one there was expecting us. So, we got to visit with a group that was in the activity center plus one lady that was sitting out in the hall reading a book. The director pushed her chair in to the activity room while the lady protested. She just wanted to sit out in the hall and read her book. A few minutes after she received her blanket she turned to me, with tears in her eyes, and apologized for her behavior. She was so touched by the gift of the blanket. She told me how she used to love to crochet and how she loved having an extra blanket to keep on her bed. I gave her a hug as she went on and on about how much she appreciated the blanket. God's hand at work.

Sunday, a group from my church, Dodge Park Church, made a trip to a veteran's center down in Detroit. We were invited by another Pastor to help give the men there a church service, and to serve the men food. The best part of the afternoon was when we were given the opportunity to personally pray for each man that need prayer for a temptation in their lives. Praying out loud has always been hard for me. I am noticing that I am starting to be a little more comfortable with it. Especially when it comes to praying for a complete stranger. I felt honored that the two men I prayed for were comfortable enough to share with me their temptations and it felt great to have the opportunity to pray for them. God worked in those men's lives yesterday and I seen him working in mine. I am not as afraid to let God use me as I use to be.

God is faithful and worthy to be praised!

Take My Hand

This is a song I wrote. It was inspired by God. The music is played by two good friends of mine; Angie Kilp on the piano and Ken Hill on the guitar, and that is me singing. A couple of the pictures are photos that I took but most of them are from an internet search. I am really thankful for the time that Angie and Ken put into helping bring my song to life. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I have enjoyed creating this song.

God Is There

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:3,4

This scripture was read in church yesterday during worship time. It really spoke to me. The word safe is what really got my attention. The world can be such a scary place to live. There are so many things that can pull us down.

Trust in the Lord, Delight yourself in the Lord. All we have to do is just reach out our hand to Him and He WILL take it. He WILL guide us. He WILL protect us. He loves us and truly cares about us. It seems like such an easy thing to do; extend an arm, allow Him to take hold, curl up in His lap and rest in His arms. And yet, It can be the hardest thing to do. It is hard when you are going through a rough spell, when you feel alone, when you feel like all hope is gone.

I was reminded this weekend just how easy it is to give up, to isolate yourself, to give in to the lies of satan. A good friend reminded me, too, in the power of the name of Jesus. When you find yourself all alone, when you can't bring yourself to reach your hand out to God and you feel like you have no other options, or you find yourself sitting in a church pew trying to pray and all you can do is sit quietly, taking deep breaths while trying not to cry; not knowing what to say, you can say the name Jesus. He is there for you and He knows exactly what you are going through. Take comfort in that.

Amazing Grace My Chains are Gone

Performed March 13th

mighty is the power of the cross dpc

Performed April 10th

Welcome to Our World

My girls and I performed this last Christmas.

Comfort, Comfort my people, says your God. Isaiah 40:1

We are studying Isaiah 40:12-31 this week in BSF. For verses 21-26, one of the questions we were asked was; which phrases or thoughts for Isaiah's instruction encourage you to look to God in life's challenges? Why?
I chose "...and calls them each by name." I started to explain why, I said things like God knows me, He created me, by His power and mighty strength he will keep me. I found myself writing a little note to myself from God. That inspired me to write this:

Dear child,
I know you are struggling right now;
Its ok, I've got you,
You can let go.
I will not let you fall.
I know your heart
And I understand.
Run into my arms;
There is freedom waiting for you.
Take comfort in the strength you find there.
I know sometimes you feel so alone,
And I know you know that's just not true.
I am always there when you need me.
I will never let you down - you can trust me.
Take peace with who you are.
You're exactly how I created you to be.
Feed on my word - it will satisfy your hunger.

Love,
Your Heavenly Father.

Beautiful Feet

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10: 13-15.

It has all started with a comment that a good friend said to me; it was basically that I have a ministry going with women. That comment kind of bothered me because it reminded me of times in the past where I think I have failed with some women that God had put into my life. I really do have a draw toward helping women, though. I have never really thought about in the past because my focus always seemed to be on children.

Some believe that in order to get to the adult that you need to go through the child; focus on getting the child interested in coming to church and the parent will follow. I am starting to think that way of thinking needs to change. We need to start with the adult, especially the wife and mother. I believe that the woman has alot of influence on her family, especially when it comes to emotional or spiritual things.

I know from my own personal experiences that starting out in a new church is very difficult, especially if you are coming into a church as a non-Christian or a new Christian carrying a lot baggage. It can be hard to find your place and feel like you fit in, or to find the courage to be yourself. And when you have that baggage, those past issues that you need to face and deal with, it can take forever until you are even ready to begin to face them, and overcoming them can take a lifetime. We, as a church, need to be prepared to be there for these people, and we need to be prepared to be there for the long haul. No matter how redundant their issues my seem, or how tired or frustrated you may become listening to their issues, you have to stop and think about how they must feel; wanting so bad to overcome and no matter how hard they try they feel sometimes like it will never happen. They don't want to feel like a burden, they just wanted to feel loved and like someone truly understands them. They need a hand to hold, a listening ear, a word of encouragement and a shoulder to cry on.

I have found myself falling back into a depression. I think some of it is the weather, but I know that a lot of it is because I have pulled myself away from God. I feel Him pulling me in a direction and I am fighting Him, again. I am letting doubt and fear stop me from being obedient. I have been so bored. I love my women's group but I am so utterly bored with it. I have this wonderful opportunity to teach children about God and I have been so bored with it. I want to get out and make a difference. I want to reach the ones that are difficult to reach; I want to go to them, not wait for them to come to me; I want to have beautiful feet (just like it is written in Romans 10:15). I feel that draw to help women in need. But, like I said, I have been fighting that. One reason is because I am not sure how to make that happen. I am either at home, BSF or the grocery store. I am just not sure where God wants me to go to meet these women, and then there is the doubt and fear that I allow to stop me. I think of past failures and convince myself that I am just not adequate for the job.

This is a verse that really stuck out to me from my BSF lesson; partly because part of it is a verse that a friend pointed out for me to read in the past. I stuck my name in part of it to make it more personal to me.

Comfort, comfort [Tammy], says your God. Speak tenderly to [Tammy], and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 40:1-5

God, I want beautiful feet. I want all of mankind to know you personally through your Son Jesus. Give me the courage and a willing and obedient heart. Help me to take my gifts and use them in a way that brings you glory. Help me to be aware of the opportunities you lay before me. Help me to stay close to you and trust in you completely. I recommit myself to you today. I will not give up!