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?

Every Christian has a testimony and hopefully has many chances to share it with those who need to hear. This video was recorded in a service at Hillside Christian Church, Amarillo, Tx 79119 (806-457-4900) and is one of the most powerful "testimony times" I’ve ever seen.

And yes, I also agree with what he says at the end.

I’d really like to see the whole service.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I’m late on this, because going on the cruise got me so behind on email and I only just found the article, but for the benefit of those who have followed the Amazon.com POD junk here, I thought I should share.

I’m chuckling here.

I’ve been catching up on I Can Has Cheezburger and found this reminder of when my youngest son was taking piano. The one piece he wanted most to play was…

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Well, I’ve done it. Today I finished reading the book of Revelation in The Message Bible. When I began, I knew I wouldn’t be able to read it in 90 days like those people I had read about online, but I wanted to see just how much of a difference it makes when you read the whole Bible through in a much shorter time. I ended up reading it in 160 days and let me tell you, the difference is TREMENDOUS.

I’ve shared bits and pieces as I went along, so those of you who have been following know that from Genesis 1:1 I noticed a difference. The Bible as a whole really does have a great impact when you read it AS a whole, quickly, instead of a bit here and a bit there, now and then. I’d had one friend question my ability to notice the details when I was reading it so quickly (Quickly being a relative term; since it took 160 days I was obviously not skimming), but if anything I would say I noticed more details than when I’d been reading it through in a year or more. I most definitely made more connections than I’ve ever made before, because passages and facts from earlier books stood more clearly in my mind while doing my current reading.

Having just finished Revelation, obviously today’s thoughts are on the end times and the second coming of Jesus. Backing up even further, one of the things that really stands out when you read the New Testament as a whole, rather than in bits and pieces, is that every writer was anxiously awaiting Jesus’ return, expecting it any minute and urging his readers to do the same. People today, when you tell them that Jesus could come back at any time, tend to say, "Oh, people have been saying that for years."

Yep, they have, they’ve been saying it for around two thousand years, actually. But think about this. If these early writers, some of whom saw Jesus face-to-face, felt it was vitally important to be watching, so important that they reiterated it again and again in their letters, how can we not be doing the same? The fact is that eschatologists all pretty much agree that the pre-Rapture prophecies have been fulfilled and the time has to be extremely close. Responsible Christians, those who keep the Second Coming (BTW, the Bible speaks more of Jesus’ second coming than His first) firmly in mind, won’t just coast through life; we’ll be actively going about Kingdom business.

Which reminds me of the verse God gave me for this year - my verse for the year…instructions, if you will.

"…to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:17

There really is no time to lose. It is time and past time for the individual members of the Body of Christ to wake up, stand up, and take part in what God is doing in the world.

And now I’m going to go pull my One Year Chronological Bible (NLT, if you’re interested) back out and start over with Genesis 1:1. Knowing what I’ve learned about the benefits of accelerated reading, and knowing how much I still have to learn about and from God’s Word, I want to see how much more I can gain by reading it through quickly, in chronological order!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

PS: On End Time stuff… A friend recently reminded me that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012. I think that’s rather interesting, given what’s going on in the world today.

I’ve said before that I’m a reality TV junkie. The only reason I’m not watching a continual round of reality TV right now is time. Well…time, heat (The living room isn’t air conditioned anymore) and…er…fleas. Yep, we’ve once again entered the season in which we fight those pesky insects that I can’t for the life of me figure out why God created.

Anyway…

So today I’ve been piddling around a UK website that sells designer wallpaper from those decorators I used to love watching on BBC America. I’m talking Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen, Linda Barker, and more. If you’ve watched the shows and loved the lavish patterns these designers prefer, you’ll want to take a look. Depending on the designer and collection, you will find papers that are more conservative and less (much less) conservative, with many offerings with a retro feel. These retro-like patterns, while being completely modern in color, hark back to the sixties and seventies or even a few centuries ago. You’ll find a few that are somewhat restrained, but most are bold and… I’m laughing; you’ll just have to look to see why I’m at a loss for adjectives. The Brittish design differently than we do, so these are not your typical American wallpapers. See?

I’m planning on painting my new house, for obvious reasons, but if I were thinking in terms of wallpaper, I would be drawn mostly to the Graham & Brown Umbra Wallpapers. Well, more than drawn, actually. I really like the Umbra Tolla Storm 60039 Chocolate and would love to use it in my office. Check it out.

Yup, this is very "me" and I would sooooooo do an accent wall in it.

Here’s another unique design from the same collection. I’m not sure how I’d use it, though it could make for a really interesting bathroom, don’t you think?

Well, maybe it’s a bit much even for me (Definitely for my husband), but I love the tongue-in-cheek feel and think it could be great fun (crate fun? <giggle>).

My husband got a tiny bit done on the house while I was on the cruise, and my son says he’s going to make sure the house gets finished, so yes, I’ve been daring to think about decorating again. Yay!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

This is the last one, I promise! I’ve just got a few more pictures I want to share that didn’t fit anywhere else.

Oh… Did I leave this one out of my first post? I think I did?

This is Good Company at the preliminary competition. They got good responses from the judges, though they also got critique. Those of us who know Morgan thought it was especially great that the female judge LOVED her outfit. She told Morgan she wanted it. LOL!

I cannot tell you how awesome this cruise was. I don’t know that I would enjoy a regular cruise anywhere near as much. The Music Boat Cruise, put on by Premier Christian Cruises, is a totally Christian affair. The music played over the sound system was Christian, the entertainers were all Christians, and as far as I could tell the passengers were also Christian. Courtesy ruled the day and you could really be yourself, your whole self, without concern that the other people on the elevator would think you were nuts because of your "God talk."

I don’t imagine the cruise line appreciated us much, though, because they didn’t make anywhere near as much money off us as they do other people. The casino was pretty much a ghost town, with only a few people playing occasionally. When I went by one time, the staff members were all at the Texas Hold ‘em table, playing poker. The bars, too, were frequented more by those of us who had "fountain fun cards" and were in search of sodas than by people who wanted alcohol. I only saw one person get drunk the whole time. (He really made a spectacle of himself too, and was thenceforth known as "the drunk," at least by us.)

The people really were the best part of the cruise. I’ve shared several pictures of friends and family already, but here are a few more.

First, Morgan and Dencie. You’ve seen me refer to Dencie before, I think. She’s our church’s minister of music and Morgan (Good Company) is her oldest daughter. And yes, they are sitting at the bar, but I have been asked to make it quite clear that for them it was a soda bar. LOL!

And then here’s me with Terri, one of my room mates, and Kim, the man who bought the hat in Key West that my sons just had to copy. Lest anyone wonder, I thought we were all getting close together for the picture; if I’d known Terri was standing off the the side, I’d have been standofish as well so that it wouldn’t have looked quite so much like Kim and I were together. LOL! Oh, and yes… <cough> This photo does reveal just how out of date my avatar is.

Finally, here’s a glimpse of one of my favorite things about this cruise - the water. People always tell you that the water is an unbelievable shade of blue. Well, I now believe it, and I understand those Crayola colors a whole lot better. Oh my goodness… We must have spent hours just watching the ocean!

Here. This was our view for much of the time.

Yes, the water really is THAT blue!

Look!

The boat produced beautiful wakes. We spent hours watching the living artwork. Okay, so water isn’t technically alive, but it really was like watching a constantly changing art display. My sister took other pictures that show the waves better, but I had to share this one because, again, it is such an astoundingly beautiful blue!

One more. This is one of the "art" pictures she took for me, one of my favorites, obviously. She took it late in the evening, hence the dark dark blue. Oh man…

Yeah, if I had the option of getting back on that cruise tomorrow, I would take it. They’ve already announced the 2009 Music Boat cruise and were taking reservations, discounted reservations even, while we were still on ship. Had it been an option, I would so have signed up already. Music Boat 2009 is definitely a destination I recommend considering. That cruise ROCKS!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Ready for more? <grin>

One of the great things about going on a cruise is heading out on excursions at various ports. Unfortunately, I don’t really have any pictures to share of our Glass Bottom boat ride in Key West, but I will say that I LOVE that area and would like to fly down there and hang out for a few days. We didn’t have anywhere near enough hours in that port of call!

The next day’s port of call was Calica, which is…west of Cancun? I think so, but I’m not about to swear to it. We docked in a rock quarry, which was funny, and when we saw the mass of people waiting to leave the ship, my roomies and I opted for a trip to the deck so we could watch the ship dock and the first of the people head on out.

I had an "oh my goodness" moment while my oldest son was dockside waiting for his brother and a friend to get off the ship. When did Thomas develop those muscles?!

Yeah, the picture is grainy. He was a long way away. Interestingly enough, though, sound travels so well over water that he had no trouble hearing us when we were yelling at him. After he and his crew headed to the taxis, we moseyed downstairs to get in line. Half an hour later (give or take), we were skirting the ever-present models and photographers and making our way to the gate and the line of waiting taxis. Excursions hadn’t been in our budget, so we headed into Playa Del Carmen to "shop."

The three of us (My sister, our roommate Terri, and me) didn’t really buy much. To be honest, we weren’t overly impressed, though we were glad we went. The guys shopped, though. One of our gang had bought a straw hat in Key West and both Thomas and Terry set about getting some in Playa.

I don’t have a picture of Terry in his, but here’s Thomas with his purchase. (It was shot while he was helping The Access get ready for their sound check before finals) Tell me… am I the only one who thinks it’s hysterical that my Texas-born sons went to Mexico to buy cowboy hats?

We were told by more than one person that THE place to eat in Playa is Senor Frog’s. It was Mexican food, obviously, and we loved the mexican pizza (nachos). The staff is great fun, constantly teasing you in one way and another; which doesn’t really surprise when you look at the entrance. The restaurant itself is great fun; I wish I had room to share more pictures! This particular photo was taken after we’d eaten and the group gathered on the right is from our cruise crew. We’d all pretty much had enough at that point, both the shoppers and the swimmers, and were ready to head back to the ship.

Here’s what the swimmers enjoyed. Is this not too beautiful? Believe it or not, though, by the time we got to the beach (Senor Frog’s is on the beach), I was too hot and too tired to care about even dipping my toes in the sand. Yes, I really did leave Mexico without even setting foot on the beach. Do you want to kill me?

So this is as close as I got to water. We stopped at this fountain on our way to the taxi, specifically so that we could take pictures. That’s my sister on the left. It’s a fantastic picture of her and one of the few she allowed to be taken. Oh, and yes, that IS the world famous ice cream on the right. Playa also boasts a Starbucks and…um… Well, good grief, I can’t remember the other ice cream parlor we went in. Or maybe that WAS the ice cream parlor we went in. Since we didn’t buy, I didn’t pay all that much attention to where we were. We only went inside because some of our fellow cruisers were waving at us through the windows.

Thanks to the heat and the sand, we were SERIOUSLY tired and grody by the time we got back to the ship. Playa was interesting, but I do wish I’d been able to do one of the excursions instead. Even though the excursions I wanted to do (I dream of swimming with the dolphins) were canceled, there were other options if we’d been in a position to book. We had friends who went to the Mayan ruins, for instance, and others who went to a Mayan village. I believe I would have enjoyed either of those more than shopping in Mexico. I just don’t appreciate that type of shopping trip; I’m not a haggler and I don’t like pushy salespeople. LOL!

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Yep, I already know this is going to take more than one post. LOL! My sister took over 257 photos and I’ve chosen several that I want to share here for one reason and another.

First, let’s talk about the Indie Jam competition. Both of my sons were competing. You already know The Access (Terry’s band) won, but I thought you’d like to see some pictures from the process anyway.

I’ll note here that when the announcer was first explaining it, before the preliminary competitions started, he referred to it as American Idol on steroids. Well, if you consider that definition, then the guy in the foreground here is definitely Simon!

The singer is Cory, a friend of ours who has a great voice, but unfortunately didn’t make it  very far. There was some pretty stiff competition on that ship!

Here’s one of Good Company from the semi-finals. Actually they could have called it "Good Company Less 1," since the band really includes another guitar player/singer. He wasn’t able to make the cruise, though, so Thomas and Morgan did it as a duet. Only two bands and two soloists made it into the finals; unfortunately, the list didn’t include them. <pout> And can you believe how under dressed Thomas is? The rules are totally different when you’re on a cruise; playing in shorts was not at all out of order.

It’s not the whole band, I know, but I had to include this pic of Terry from the semi-finals. Is he a good looking bass player or what?

This one is The Access (With only half of Terry making it into the picture) playing their first song for the finals. By the end of "Generation," the second, much of the audience was on its feet, shouting. No other contestants got that kind of response!

And the next three are of the big announcement. The finals were all about two bands and two soloists. At this point (the first pic), the two soloists had already been congratulated, but told they’d not made it. So it was down to two bands, The Access and Unspoken. There were two winning positions, so this meant they would either win the grand prize or be runner up, so we were already happy, but we weren’t quite happy enough.

We’re waiting….

We’re waiting….

(In the next pic, Unspoken is in the left and The Access on the right)

And then the announcer says something along the lines of…

"Ladies and gentlemen, something has happened that is unprecedented on the Music Boat. We have two winners. We have a tie for first place!"

Yes, that is a huge grin you see on my son’s face. In the seconds after my sister took this shot, it was pandemonium - everyone was on their feet and the two bands were exchanging high fives, hugs, and shouts of congratulations. Well, I assume they were shouting; everyone else was so loud I couldn’t hear them.

Tieing for first isn’t as good as winning first hands down, at least not for my highly competitive son, but it still rocks. This win meant that they get to play one date on the Winter Jam 2009 tour and got to open for Leeland that night. Opening for Leeland was a hoot, considering they had JUST opened for that band 6 days earlier; frankly, they would have preferred opening for Toby Mac, but the other band got that gig. Still, I thought it was cool because Leeland is a local band (From our home town) even if they are becoming world famous, and they’re all great friends. They also share the same heart for ministry.

Also cool, one of the Leeland members told some of the guys, that afternoon, "You’re not opening for us tonight. We’re closing for you." Is that a great sentiment or what?

Mom loves looking at this picture!

And here’s a just-for-fun picture taken that night, after their sound check and before the concert. My sister told them all to run up on the stage and strike some poses. She had fun snapping pictures until everyone else realized what was going on and dashed out with their cameras as well. I guess we’re not the only ones who think The Access will be a name worth knowing in the very near future.

Hey, in case anyone is interested, they’re offering a Concert package right now. It will only last for a little while, but for $25 you can get a T Shirt (I wore mine every time they played on the ship), a poster (If you beg, maybe they’ll even autograph it for you!) and a CD (obviously not delivered until it is released later this year). I imagine you’ll have to pay shipping, but hey, that’s a bargain! Just head over to their MySpace page and ask about it; tell them that Terry’s mom says Mark (Their manager) told her he’d make it available to you.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Friends, I’m in a serious bind and could really use some help.

You all know that I recently returned from a wonderful, desperately-needed cruise (And, again, I thank my sister and friends who made this trip possible!). This was an unpaid vacation for me, which is no surprise since I’ve only been with the company 8 months or so. The surprise I did get, serious shock, actually, was finding that I’m not scheduled to work at all this week either.

Can we say "Not good!"?

I’m the only one earning money in our house right now and this means it will be the 20th of next month before I get a paycheck of any sort from the job that earns me the bulk of our income. Knowing this, I’ve been scrambling to see what I can do to bring in some more money in the immediate future (Like…well…yesterday would be nice. LOL!) and have decided on a special CJ Press offer.

Here’s the offer.
Visit http://www.cjpress.net and purchase any of my CJ Press products (This does NOT include the music, which isn’t published by CJP) between now and Thursday, May 29th, and I will send you a link to download a free copy of See, I Told Me So!: Homeschool Veterans Declare, “You Can Stop Worrying!” ($9.95 value). If you already own a copy of this ebook, this means you’ll have a copy you can send to a friend, and everyone who has read it knows that every homeschooler needs it.

Remember, there is a deadline on this offer: Thursday, May 29th.

It would help me greatly if you could make even a small purchase (I’ve eBooks and eWorkshops that are only $5.95.) and then share the opportunity with your homeschooling friends. This is a fantastic chance to get a copy of one of the top ebooks that every homeschooler needs.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

I’m trying to catch up on email and found that someone had sent me a link to one of those personality things. Since it’s Narnian, I couldn’t resist.  It says I’m Prince Caspian.

You are Prince Caspian, who became the rightful heir of Narnia. You have a sharp eye for injustice and a humble heart to improve the world around you. You never quite rely on yourself to make changes; instead, you believe only teamwork can achieve them. As you grow in wisdom, you will learn to trust yourself.

Find out who you are at the Narnia Personality Quiz

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C