From a Cluttered Desk

I am Tammy Cardwell, she of the cluttered desk. (Hey, you think I'm kidding?!) I'm having a blast here in Blogland and invite to you to peruse my ramblings. Like a buffet, they offer variety - essentially whatever makes it to the top of the piles that sometimes clutter my brain. We'll eventually cover it all - homeschooling, God, our church, the Eclectic Homeschool Online, books I'm writing and publishing, conferences I speak at, the joys of grandmotherhood, and hopefully chocolate. Of course, this is only what's near the top now. Who knows what's in those piles?

I’m in serious travel dream mode now. The chalets I was looking into have me off and running. See, I get to go on a cruise later this year, but I’m going without my husband. I fully expect to enjoy myself, of course, but if I’m going on one vacation without my husband it only makes sense that I dream about going on another one with my husband, right? So I headed over to TravelStoreUSA.com to see what they had to offer. The answer? A lot! You can book all sorts of awesome vacations with these people.

The cruises appealed instantly, especially when I saw the ad flash through for their Lord of the Rings Tour and Cruise. (Gee, I’ll bet aaaaaaaaaaaaaall of my friends are surprised that this one attracted my attention!) I have to admit I was shocked when I read the blurb.

Celebrate the 5th anniversary of the release of The Return of the King with a cruise to where it all began, along with TheOneRing.net and Red Carpet Tours.

Has it REALLY been five years?! Ohmygoodness!

Get this…  You have multiple options.

You can take their 6-night pre-cruise tour November 17-23, 2008, where you stay on land and not only tour several Rohan locations, but also get to see Daniel Reeve, the calligrapher and map maker for the movies. I’ve admired this man ever since I read the first article about him. He is tremendously gifted!

And/or you can book the 14-night cruise (November 23-December 7, 2008) that takes you to filming locations like Hobbiton, Edoras, Helm’s Deep, and Lothlorien. There are also extra excursion packages you can purchase, including special day tours to LotR locations.

Okay, I have to stop now or I really will be drooling. Here I intended to play around on their site for a while, dreaming of the vacations I would take, and now I’m really wishing. Does anyone out there want to buy us some travel gift certificates so we can go? Please?

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

What Does God Want?

    We have been created anew in Christ Jesus to do good things. Other translations say "good works."
    When being encouraged to do good works, some people answer by quoting Ephesians 2:8-9. (KJV For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.) Yes, we are saved by grace, through faith and not by our works; salvation is a gift. Now, if those who quote verses 8 and 9 would only continue to verse 10, they would see why God gave us the gift- "to do the good things he planned for us long ago". God doesn’t give useless gifts; He gives gifts with a purpose. Knowing this, we realize we are responsible to find out what His plans for us are and to follow through and do what He expects us to do. As Ephesians 5:17 puts it, "Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do."
    God prepared these works in advance, expecting us to do them. How much clearer can it get? God had a plan in mind, works lined out for each one of us, even before we accepted His gift of salvation. Now it’s our turn. Now it’s time for us to learn what those works are, pull ourselves together, and go get them done.
    This is not merely something we can do; it is something we must do if we are to be pleasing to Him. After all, His Word says repeatedly that faith without works is dead. (James 2:17, 20, 26; KJV; Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?… For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.) Too, without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6, KJV, But without faith it is impossible to please Him.)

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

You can download the complete God Doesn’t Want Volunteers ebook for free at CJPress.net

A year ago, I was excitedly looking forward to a June trip to Denver, CO. After much searching, a group of friends from all over had at last settled on a beautiful house that we rented for a whole, glorious week. I would love to do this again, and bearing in mind that one of our number is in Canada, I would love to consider a place like Blueberry Lake Resort, 25 minutes north of Mont Tremblant resort. A Tremblant cottage rental could be the perfect thing. They offer 3, 4, and 5-bedroom chalets (Don’t you just love that word?), which allows for versatility in group size, and according to the website these homes come with some awesome amenities. The resort even has some enticing on-site services like an indoor spa, fully equipped gym, massage treatment rooms (or they’ll come to you. oh yeah), and more. Oh…they even have a 5 star chef that will come serve you in your own chalet if you so desire. And all of this on top of fabulous mountain views? This Texas gal is sighing and wishing and thinking it would be wonderful to wisk her husband away for a nice retreat to the mountains in Canada.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Rob Shearer is the owner of Greenleaf Press (Publisher of my book, FrontPorch History), and the director of the Francis Schaeffer Study Center, in Mt. Juliet, TN. He’s Conservative, Christian, and Very Opinionated. At Rob’s blog, Contending with the Culture, you’ll find…well, there’s really no telling. Not suriprisingly, politics figure of late. His fascination with ancient history shows itself on occasion. Too, he’s an avid reader whose interests run the gamut, so you’ll discover a variety of book reviews, many of which probably cover topics you’ve never considered exploring.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I was just sent a link to an article entitled Creative Kids’ Spaces on BobVila.com. It’s a great article that talks about the importance of giving kids’ their own space and proceeds to offer practical suggestions and advice for not only finding the space (often in the most unexpected places!), but making it just right and perfectly safe for our all-important children.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Everyone should feel that their church is the greatest church in the world and their pastor the finest pastor. I certainly feel that way about mine! If you’re ever in the Houston area - east of Houston actually - I invite you to take time to visit Maranatha Church, located at 12319, Highway 146, in Mont Belvieu. Ours is a wonderful, multi-cultural, full-gospel congregation that has a lot to offer the whole family.

We have services at 10:45 AM on Sunday and 7:30 PM on Wednesday.

Before the Sunday morning service, we have both a Bible institute and a life skills class. Our Children’s Church meets during the regular services on Sundays (Except for the first Sunday of the month, on which everyone comes to the sanctuary). On Wednesday evenings, as well as our regular service we also offer Power House Youth, Royal Rangers, and God’s Girls.

If you do come visit, please find me and say, "Hi." I’m in the music ministry, usually on the top row of the choir loft, and I sit on the second row behind our minister of music. I don’t look anything like my site photo anymore, but if you ask an usher or one of the sound men (Two of which are my sons) to point Tammy Cardwell out to you most of them can do it - if they can find me, of course (As the music ministry secretary, I tend to be all over the place).

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

If you want a single blog that does its best to keep track of what’s happening in the homeschool world, check out HS Blog. It offers…

If you have children, you need a copy of Jill Novak’s The Gift of Family Writing. This book… I don’t know where to start. I reviewed it recently for the Eclectic Homeschool Online and was astounded both by its relevance and the fact that I’d never really taken the time to read it before.

First, it is an obvious choice for me and people like me. If you care about sharing your family’s heritage with your children and extended family, then you will appreciate this book as it leads you into not only recording your own stories, but also helping your children record theirs.

But there is MUCH more to this book! This is one of the finest books I’ve found where teaching children to write (meaning to record their thoughts in ways that communicate) is concerned. It offers a wonderfully gentle approach to writing that is sure to woo even the most reluctant writer and offers hope for those whose previously-public-schooled children have been turned off of writing completely.

If you have children, get the book!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Marilyn Rockett is another of my long-time homeschooling friends. When I first met her, she was editing a magazine, but now she’s a published author with a website, blog, and newsletter of her own. Visit her home page and you will find links to read about and purchase her awesome book, "Homeschooling at the Speed of Life." (The cover boasts a homeschool mom riding a rocket - isn’t that one accurate?!) You can also sign up for her free newsletter, Timeminder Tips, visit her blog, download freebies, and more. She really understands what it means to homeschool in the real (read: BUSY) world.

The homeschool world contains a lot of wonderful people, and Marilyn is one of them. You will enjoy meeting her.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Do you want to homeschool for free, or at least for next to nothing? Sure, who wouldn’t, especially considering most homeschooling families are single-income families. Just make sure that your "free" curriculum isn’t really stolen curriculum, that you are not unintentionally violating copyright laws in your search for money-saving options.

Copyright laws can be pretty confusing and there is a group that not only understands this, but has taken the time to produce a site that specifically deals with copyright laws and the homeschooler. It’s a site I highly recommend.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C