Author Archives: Tamar

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About Tamar

Tamar Knochel at your service! From sewing and crafting to words of encouragement when you need them most. I'm here for you. ❤️

New Beginnings

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Tamar

Word of the DayExodus 5:1-9:12

“But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and moreover, I will not let Israel go.'” Exodus 5:2

The Israelites were on the cusp of something new, something wonderful and miraculous. They were about to witness things the LORD had never shown anyone before them. He was about to deliver them out of slavery in such a mighty and miraculous way that the enemies of the Israelites would fear them for GENERATIONS afterwards. Not because they feared the Israelites, but because they feared their GOD. God was about to do something for these people that the entire world is still talking about today!

In the story of the fall of Jericho, Rahab shares with the two spies how terrified everyone is of them,

“I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Seas before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” Joshua 2:9-11

Even 40 years after these Israelites left Egypt everyone is trembling in their boots because the Israelites have their sights set on Jericho. And most of the people inside the “impenetrable” wall know that the God who is able to part the Red Sea and then the Jordan just so that His people don’t have to get their feet a little wet, well, an impenetrable wall probably isn’t too difficult for Him to penetrate.

But in today’s reading, none of that has happened yet. Today, we find the Israelites still dwelling in Egyptian slavery waiting to be rescued just like the LORD told them they would be. Yesterday found Moses at the burning bush getting his marching orders from I AM. Today we see him entering into the presence of Pharaoh who is believed to be a god by his own people. (That’s funny, in the matter of just a couple of weeks Moses has been in the presence of THE God and a “god”. Sorry, I just found that humorous enough to point out.) Anyway, an interesting and yet not altogether surprising thing happens when Moses tells Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh gets mad and tells him “No.” Shocking right?

If you were Pharaoh and some slave representative comes to you in the name of some God you’ve never heard before (because remember, up to Moses at the burning bush the Israelites didn’t even have a name for their God), and tells you that this “god” is commanding you to let all your slave labor go, do you really think you would do it? Of course not! You’d laugh in their face; which is exactly what Pharaoh did and more. He made the Israelites’ brick-making work harder by taking away their straw.

Here they were, Moses, their deliverer has come to save them and ends up making their work harder for them. “Thanks a lot Moe. Way to save us.”

My point is this. Many of us are on the cusp of something truly miraculous; a spectacular deliverance that the world has never seen before. But with that comes change. Change is uncomfortable. Like birthing a child, the pain will be temporary and worth it, but it will definitely be present.

The Israelites had to go out and find stubble for their bricks, their water turned to blood too, the frogs were in their beds, and the gnats were everywhere the Israelites were. These Israelites experienced the plagues right along with the Egyptians. Perhaps, the LORD did this for the purpose of testing and strengthening their faith in Him. It’s hard to say and God doesn’t really explain Himself on this one. But considering the week I’ve had this week, that’s what I think it was for.

I think He tells us what His plans are and then circumstances arise that fly in direct opposition to what He just told us. Will we believe what God has told us? Or will we believe what our circumstances are telling us? Will we stand firm in our faith that God is good? Or will we cave under the pressure of our circumstances?

A little while back I was “feeling the pressure” and was frustrated by what was going on around me. As I prayed. I don’t even remember what it was that I was praying, I only remember what God showed me. In a vision he showed me holding a little white mouse in my hand. I wasn’t holding it with my hand open palm up, but rather with my hand closed around it. The little head and ears were poking out the top of my hand near my thumb and its sweet little tail was sticking out the bottom by my pinkie. And ever so slightly my hand tightened around the mouse until it squeaked, letting me know that the pressure was too great, at which point I released the mouse.

It is out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. God was showing me in this illustration how He works our circumstances for our good. He uses our circumstances to increase the pressure surrounding us until we squeak. And we can then HEAR what is filling our own hearts. Remember, tests aren’t for God to know what’s in us, He already knows. But we don’t; therefore the tests are for US to discover what’s in our hearts. When we squeak, I mean, speak out in our circumstantial pain, we are able to hear our hearts speak out the true root of what is troubling us.

In the plagues of Egypt God was encountering each of the Egyptian gods. It was like He was walking along the shelf of Egyptian idols flicking each of them over as He went down the line.

He does the same thing in our lives! Hallelujah! Although we fall into idol (or idle) worship, God isn’t willing to allow us to stay in that place! He will knock that idol down taking away whatever it was that we were trusting in instead of Him.

Writing that I’m realizing that this last month has been a month where God knocked down my god of “predictability”. For the first month of summer I had a schedule (written out even) that I stuck to like glue. But then June turned into July and everything seemed to change. It was really only a couple of things that changed, but without that piece of paper telling me what to do at what time I felt lost and confused and frustrated. Then God dropped a bomb on me that things would be changing around here. Drastically. And I WASN’T happy about it. This last month has been me fighting with God about things changing. I didn’t want them to change, I wanted to keep doing what I had been doing, the way I had been doing it. Period. I didn’t want MORE work to do. My life had become predictable and I liked that. I knew what to expect and I knew what was expected of me. I was comfortable.

Then I was told to get a job, I haven’t had one in years. Next I was told to take on the Women’s Ministry Directorship, never done that before, I have no human training in theology, no certificates of completion to prove my qualification for the position, yet other women in the church that I will be leading do. This leaves me feeling terribly naked and vulnerable. Yet God says, “Trust Me”. (Yesterday’s post)

God just said to me, “How do you think Joseph felt when Pharaoh told him to lead the country? He’d never done THAT before either. But he managed with quite well with My help don’t you think?” “Yes, Lord.” (giggle)

This last month I have felt like that little mouse in the hand of the Master being squeezed until I squeaked. Not out of abuse or sheer meanness, but out of PURE LOVE. I was scared, which caused all kinds of reactions in me, but I didn’t know what it was I was scared of and why. Without the pressure I never would have squeaked out what was in my heart which allowed me to hear what I was feeling and made it possible for me to DEAL WITH IT. I can’t give something to God if I don’t know I have it. If I have a fear of failure, but never step out in faith giving me opportunity to fail then I would never be able to give my failures to God. (Huh, I just found out I have a fear of failure. Lord, it’s YOURS! Please take it!)

My friends, we DO stand on the cusp of something big and exciting today. I know I’m not the only one. Let’s step out in faith, having handed our fear of failure to the LORD our GOD. Sure, we may not get everything right the first time, but that’s OK. Just as long as we get back up and try again. After all, if you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.

Categories: 365 Life, Exodus, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Audacious Hope

Posted on July 24, 2013 by Tamar


Exodus 1:1-4:31

“When she could hide him [Moses] no longer she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.” Exodus 2:3

A mother’s love for her child is an amazing thing. We will defend our children at any cost. But sometimes the best way to protect them is to let them go.

Moses had grown too large to stay hidden any more. The officials were bound to find him sooner or later. Now we have no way of knowing what his mother was thinking. Was she hoping that he would float to a safe distant city down the river where a kindly farmer would find him? Did she actually have the princess in mind when she put him in the reeds? We have no way of knowing what her ultimate hope was for her precious son. But we do know this; in order to keep him alive, she had to let him go. And we can only imagine the pain that must have caused her. Yet she still had hope. Hope in her God that He would protect this son that was so obviously special. He had survived those three months without being discovered and immediately killed that was no small feat. God had managed to keep him alive this long, perhaps He would continue to bless little Moses and keep him alive long enough to find a new family to care for him.

I doubt that she could have imagined what came next. The audacity of hoping that not only by letting him go, he would end up coming back to her and she would get PAID to do the very thing she wanted to do in the first place. Mother her child. But beyond that, to then be able to watch him grow and flourish while living in the palace as the Pharoah’s grandson! He was right under the nose that had been trying to kill him in the first place.

We all have things in our lives that are REALLY hard to give up. Things that mean the whole world to us. Things that are so much a part of ourselves that it hurts when we let them go, Moses was her child, he was her flesh and blood. He was a part of her heart living outside her body. But in order to see him even have a chance at life, she had to let him go. And I believe that she clung to that audacious hope that somehow he would survive and she would get to see him again before she died. But even if she didn’t, she would know in her heart that she did everything she could to help him survive.

Categories: 365 Life, Exodus, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

God’s Timing is Perfect

Posted on July 23, 2013 by Tamar


Esther 5:1-10:3

“Then the king said to Haman, ‘Hurry, take the robes and the horse as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.'” Esther 6:10

The story of Esther is one that I absolutely adore. For lots of reasons, but one of the main ones is because it was the very first Bible Study I ever led. (Beth Moore’s Esther) Making the decision to follow that tug at my heartstrings and step up to the leadership position was HARD. I’d never led a Bible Study before. I didn’t know what I was talking about. What in the world qualified me to lead the study? Nothing. This was precisely why God wanted me to lead it. Because He knew that I wouldn’t be leaning on my own understanding I would be leaning on His. And I did.

Now here I stand, about five years later and I’ve taken another step (LEAP) of faith by accepting yet another leadership position that I feel terribly under qualified for; the Women’s Ministries Director position at my church.

I am quite likely the youngest adult woman at our church, yet I’ve been chosen to lead them. This intimidates me greatly! But if God has led me faithfully thus far then who am I to think that He won’t continue to do so? He helped me lead that first Esther Bible study and He will help me lead this Women’s ministry too. He is faithful, of that I have no doubt.

In today’s reading we find the evil Haman plotting to kill Mordecai, he’s all ready to strike when WHAM! He’s the one that takes the hit. It’s awesome how it all works out. The timing in this story is absolutely impeccable. I mean here we have Haman walking into the king’s court prepared to ask for Mordecai’s head on a platter and instead walks out completely humiliated. He went into the king’s chambers and is asked what he thinks should happen to someone in whom the king delights to honor. So of COURSE he thinks of himself, because you know, that’s the kind of man Haman is after all. Plus he did have that nice cozy dinner with the king and queen just yesterday.

So he comes up with this brilliant plan for “the man in whom the king delights to honor” to be given the kings very own robe to wear and his very own horse to ride and then be paraded through town with one of the king’s high officials leading him and heralding him as “the man in whom the king delights to honor”. All the time, Haman’s picturing himself in the royal robes on the royal horse being paraded around town. So it is particularly sweet when the king announces that it will all be for Mordecai, Haman’s arch nemesis. You can practically see Haman’s teeth clenching and his blood boiling in anger and hatred as he carries out the king’s orders to clothe and honor Mordecai.

Everyone in town knows how much Haman hates Mordecai, the ONE person in the entire town who refused to bow to him, is now the ONE person he is leading around on horseback and proclaiming at the top of his lungs, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” The poetry of that moment can not be lost on any reader of this story.

Yet we can’t forget the reason for which Mordecai was being honored. He had saved the kings life months and months before this moment. And it was only because the king had had a sleepless night and had pulled out the royal records to hopefully help his slumber when the king discovered a royal mistake! This man Mordecai had saved his life and had never been honored for it! How dare the king miss such a critical thing, it must be remedied immediately. But how? Not only did he need to honor and thank Mordecai, but it also had to be EXTRA special because it had been a delayed reaction. He needed help coming up with the perfect way to honor such a patient and understanding man, but who could help him? Who could aid the king in coming up with such a special ceremony? Oh! Of course! His right hand man Haman could! And look he just happened to be the only person in the court waiting to see the king early that morning! What terrific “coincidence”!

You know, there are plenty of ways to say it, “what goes around comes around”, “You reap what you sow”, but in the end it’s all the same. It’s GOD. His timing is perfect, every time.

While Mordecai may have been a bit insulted about the delay in gratitude from the king, we don’t know it never says. He certainly didn’t mind the way in which he was being honored now. Not to mention when he later found out that Haman had gone in to see the king in order to ask for his head, well, I’m sure that irony wasn’t missed on anyone that day!

I don’t know what it is that you’ve been waiting for. But I know that God is good, and He loves you, and He wouldn’t be delaying if it wasn’t in your best interest to do so. I mean, look at how well timed Mordecai’s repayment was. Yes, whatever blessing it is that’s still hanging out there waiting to fall from heaven, be confident that that blessing will fall and it will come with such a force and beauty that it will blow you away.

God has a plan for you, a plan for your future hope, and it’s perfect. Trust Him. He knows what He’s doing, even when we don’t understand it.

Categories: 365 Life, Esther, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 1 Comment

Celebrate!

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Tamar

 

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Esther 1:1-4:17
“And for the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting seven days in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.” Esther 1:5

Today is a day of celebrating! Yesterday was Derby Day.

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My husband Sean has loved and run in demolition derbies since I’ve been with him (around 15 years).

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But yesterday marked a new beginning. The beginning of a dream being realized. While it’s my job to disciple the followers of this blog, it’s my husband’s job to go out there in his 7×70 car and draw attention himself in order to draw attention to God. (Which he does a FABULOUS job of doing.) This draws people to our table where we have free Bibles with stickers on them letting the recipients know about the blog. What better way to simultaneously disciple hundreds of people all over the world?
I am so happy to share with you that SEVENTEEN Bibles were given out last night. That’s a new record for us! Seventeen souls welcomed the Word of God into their lives!
But then on top of that, at the end of the derby the promoter came up to Sean with a trophy and a check for being the “Intimidator”. Which means that he was the most intimidating driver of the whole derby! It’s a huge honor. While every class has a first place winner only one person gets this prize.
So to say the least we were on cloud nine night! SEVENTEEN Bibles AND the Intimidator!
But then we came home and put the kids to bed and just before we hit the hay ourselves Sean checked Facebook. There was a picture on there that was so priceless I could hardly believe my eyes. (I’m working on making that picture available to you but I’m not sure I’ll be able to.) It was 4 children sitting on the ground having a Bible study with their new Bibles! The grins on their faces are from ear to ear. Well except for the little boy in the group who looks like he may have gotten dragged into it. 😉

In this last year of handing out Bibles I’ve noticed something. Is the children that very the most excited about the Bibles. While some adults may like the fact that we’re doing it, the children are the ones that desire the Bibles themselves. They ALL want one, even if they already have one at home.
This is what I was pondering this morning when God gave me a verse:
“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15)
These children see a Bible and instinctively know what it’s about. They know and they desire it. No, they may not fully understand all the words in that Bible, but they don’t care either. They know that book is about Jesus and that’s all they care about. I think there is much wisdom in these children. And I pray God bless them greatly for their willingness to trust.
May we all be more like them!

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)

On a side note we are OUT OF BIBLES! We are planning on going to another derby this coming Saturday in Lafayette Indiana. So any donations you could contribute &/or prayers you could send our way we would GREATLY appreciate! Also, if you’re in the area we would really like for you to stop by and say hi! 😀

Categories: 365 Life, Esther, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Busy Mom’s Morning Prayer – Revisited

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Tamar


Ephesians 2:11-6:24

Today is a very big day for the Knochel family, it’s DERBY DAY! For any of you who don’t know, that’s demolition derby or real-life bumper cars. 😉 My husband drives in them and we go and watch and bite our nails. So of course time is an issue for me today. And because I am particularly fond of this previous post AND it fits PERFECTLY with our reading for today, how could I not resubmit it to you? So without further ado, I give you the Busy Mom’s Morning Prayer!

As Christians and as mothers, we are waging war in a supernatural showdown all day every day of our lives. Therefore life requires that we put on the full armor of God every morning. But sometimes, as busy moms, we just don’t have a lot of time to pray through the Bible every morning to cover ourselves. God blessed me with most of this prayer the day after my Walk to Emmaus, and I can tell you from experience that He answers it immediately every time and that it is very powerful.

“Come Holy Spirit, fill me with Your fire so that I may be more like You; help me, I trust You.”

“Come Holy Spirit,” – “Belt of Truth buckled around your waist”(v14) & “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (v17): In John 16:13 Jesus tells us “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes and guides you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” So simply by me saying “Come Holy Spirit” I am putting on the belt of truth and I am picking up the Sword of the (Holy) Spirit, which is the word of God. I am calling God to come and be with me today. I am asking Him to come into my situation and live through me. “Come Holy Spirit”, guide me with Your light. “Come Holy Spirit” speak Your words with my tongue today. The word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, it is THE weapon that we use against the Enemy, and the Bible is filled with them! “Come Holy Spirit” and teach me Your words, Your wisdom, Your grace, Your love. “Come Holy Spirit”.

“fill me with Your fire” – “with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (v15): When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentacost (Acts 2) it came in tongues of fire that danced above their heads (this was before they had light bulbs of course). Have you ever heard the expression “She is really on fire for the LORD”? When we are “on fire” for something we’re excited about it, we’re ready to tell people about it. And honestly, the gospel of peace is exciting! God’s love is exciting. His grace is exciting. And let me tell you, I’ve been praying this part of the prayer for 6 months, the more often you pray it, the more on fire you will get for God and His gospel of peace! I have prayed this prayer for just about everything under the sun. Wisdom, discernment, help, courage, when I sneeze and there’s no one around to say “God bless you”… “Come Holy Spirit and fill me with Your fire”, it’s an invitation to God to fill you and use YOU for His good purposes on this earth! To use YOU to change the world! “Fill me with Your fire!”

“make me more like You” – “with the breastplate of righteousness in place” (v14): Abraham was declared righteous, not because of his deeds but because of his faith. Faith is our belief in action. Jesus’ death on the cross pays for the debt our sins create between us and God. The blood stained cross declares each and every one of us righteous (or pure) in God’s sight. However, we have to believe that it’s true and then live out our lives in that belief, or “walk in faith”, that it is true and that even though we are human and not perfect, we ARE forgiven, which makes us righteous. A breastplate usually has the royal crest emblazoned on it, declaring whose army you belong to; under whose authority you speak. As Christians, we are children of God Almighty the King of kings. We are not only warriors, we are royal warriors with the righteous symbol of God’s authority emblazoned on our chests. And it is with this very authority that we are able to stand up to the Enemy and WIN! We have been given the authority of Christ’s shed blood to tell the attacking Enemy forces “to report to Jesus immediately” and they must obey. So when we pray “fill me with Your fire so that I may be more like You” we are asking God to fill us up with His shed blood, placing that breastplate of righteousness over our chest and with it His authority over the Enemy. His righteousness covering our humanity. Covering the nakedness that we were once ashamed of; no longer.

“help me,” – “Take the helmet of salvation” (v17): In Romans chapter ten, verses nine through ten we read “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Now I know that for someone who hasn’t been raised in the church this could be a difficult passage to read and understand so let me break it down a bit for you. 1) “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord'” – The word “Lord” is a term of respect that voices the acknowledgement that you are giving Jesus power, authority and ownership over you life. You need to speak out loud your decision to let Jesus be the one in charge of your life instead of you. Now there are all kinds of “sinners prayers” out there that you could pray, but according to this scripture it can be as simple as “Jesus is Lord”. 2) “believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” – So very much of the Bible centers around belief, and honestly, the helmet of salvation centers around it too. The Bible tells us multiple times that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and dead for three days, and then on the third day He rose from the dead and for a period of 40 days appeared to a multitude of people who then gave witness to the fact that He was indeed alive. So the question you have to ask yourself is, “Do I believe this to be true?” I pray that you’ve answered “YES!” 3) “you will be saved” – Yes, it really is as simple as that! Verse ten explains it to us a little more; that when we believe in our heart that Jesus did die for us personally, then we are justified (which means He made it so that it was just-as-if-I’d never sinned). Salvation is simple, there is no real action required on our part aside from belief and a confession of that belief. Romans 10:13 tells us “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” – see, just call on Jesus. No work on the part of man can save him (I believe this includes confession of sins), because Jesus did it all for us to make it as simple as possible so that all who believe will be justified and they will confess with their mouths and be saved! Salvation is the pathway to the Garden of Relationship with Christ and this is where all the healing takes place. The confession of sins and asking for His help with them takes place within the enclosed walls of the Garden of Relationship and is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL to it. (I can not stress this enough!!!!!!!) Honestly, I don’t know that true healing could take place without it. “Help me”, is our daily cry to Jesus. “Help me” to be the person You want me to be. “Help me” to stop doing the things that I did in the past that got me into trouble. “Help me” to be a better mom. “Help me” to live the life I’ve always dreamed of. “Help me” to get through this dark place that I’m living in right now, shine Your magnificent light on me. “Help me”, so small, and yet so VERY VERY profound.

“I trust You.” – “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” (v16): This is one of my favorite truths that I love to share with people. When God revealed the shield of faith to me I’m glad that I was already on the floor because if I hadn’t been I would’ve hit it! Turn with me, if you would, to the Psalm of Protection, Psalm 91 and look at verse 4. “He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge; HIS faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Now I’ve heard a lot of sermons on these passages of scripture and I have to tell you that NONE of them left me feeling any better about being able to fend off the Enemy… because everything depended on me! Did I know the truth? Was I righteous? Was I ready? Did I know the gospel message well enough? Was I faithful enough? Was I saved? Did I know enough scripture? It’s enough to make a girl want to scream “NO! I DON’T! I CAN’T! I GIVE UP!” But look at it right there in your Bible! It’s not MY faithfulness that shields me from the Enemy! It’s HIS! Praise God Almighty in heaven its HIS faithfulness that protects me! it’s HIS faithfulness that never fails! Mine? HUH! All the time! But not His, His faithfulness is unending. His faithfulness is eternal. His faithfulness is more than enough. His faithfulness doesn’t just shield me from one side only like most shields do. OH NO! His faithfulness is a force field that surrounds us in a bubble of protection that not even laser beams or nuclear weapons can penetrate! Hallelujah Praise the LORD for His love endures forever! Isn’t that just the best news you’ve ever heard? I mean as a mom I am pulled a thousand different directions. My daughter needs this from me, my son wants that from me, my husband needs me to do this for him, my friends need help with something, my ministry needs my attention, our family members… the list goes on and on and on! It is so comforting to know that GOD CAN HANDLE IT! That His faithfulness is ALL we need. That we can say “I trust You” and step into that force field of peace and know that no matter what fiery missiles the enemy tries to launch our way, we’ve got our bubble of peace powered by GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

“Come Holy Spirit, fill me with Your fire so that I may be more like You; help me, I trust You.”

Categories: 365 Life, Ephesians, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Eat, Drink & Be Merry!

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Tamar

Word of the Day: Ecclesiastes 8:1-12:14 & Ephesians 1:1-2:10
“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do. Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”-Ecclesiastes 9:7
Sometimes words just can’t convey the message as well as pictures can. So enjoy the slideshow of my being merry with my family all the days of my vain (also translated meaningless) life. 😉

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Gabe & his new friend Moe.

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Painting Gabe’s room

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I was driving out in the country and felt lost so I prayed that God would show me the way. I turned a corner and saw this!

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Our dog Skippy singing Happy Birthday with us.

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Goofy Gabe!.

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Anna playing with my phone. She loves her selfies!

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Lost in thought while taking a break. I have no idea who he is, but he still let me take his picture. Then asked if I was going to put it in the paper. I may not have known him, but he knew me!

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ELEVEN years!

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4th of July parade with my WHOLE FAMILY! All of Sheridan! 😀

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Smile, God loves you!

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Ministry milestones

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Sean’s logo for his deny car. I’m so proud!

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A smiley face in my lunch!

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Crazy dog!

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Crazy kids!

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A smiley face in crumbs from the Teen Challenge Tea party.

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I thought this was a hilarious explanation of a product. None of us could figure out what they were talking about!

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Sean at his new job!

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Anna’s accidental selfie.

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Morning dew in sunlight.

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A smile in French silk pie from room service celebrating a friend’s birthday!

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The joy of knowing I WILL see him again!

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My loving husband showing me he cares.

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The real me.

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Singing my heart out for Jesus

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MY GIRL

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A PLAN!

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Yup, that’s God’s version of a cheesy smile.

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Yes, my husband and I still have stuffed animals and they’re sniffing with each other.

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Stopping by the side of the road and discovering part of myself waiting there for me.

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The after party dish washing crew

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Yup, THAT’S my husband!

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Unexpected gifts

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Long awaited gifts

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Re-Discovering the me I used to be!

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The A+ I KNEW she would bring home eventually. She worked so hard for it too.

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Written by the hand of a girl struggling with addiction and in a place where EVERYTHING has been taken away from her in order to conquer that addiction.

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My book babies

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My actual baby

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From one of those perfect moments.

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On a date with my man.

Ok, I admit, I put in words! I just haaad to put in my two cents.

Categories: Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

Pleasurable Toil

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Tamar


Ecclesiastes 2:12-7:29

“What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live, also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil – this is God’s gift to man.” Ecclesiastes 3:9-13

This whole 13 books series is all about being the YOU that God created you to be, doing what God created you to do, saying what God created you to say. So while a song was made from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, (not to mention my second book Dandelion Season) those aren’t the verses I’m going to focus on today.

In the post, Only You, I shared a heavy reality with you. You were made for a purpose and if you’re not living out that purpose then there’s a good chance you will be vastly disappointed on Judgment Day. Today’s reading confirms that to a greater extent for me. The phrase, “take pleasure in all his toil” is repeated three times just in today’s reading. And if I remember correctly, it’s repeated all throughout Ecclesiastes – which was written by the wisest man to ever live. So surely it’s good advice.

In addition to the awaited reward for fulfilling your purpose, there is also great wisdom in taking pleasure in your work day in and day out. God has placed something on your heart that it longs to do, what is that thing? When we delight in the LORD He gives us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). Now I’ve heard that verse taught many different ways, but for me this verse reflects another verse in Matthew. It comes at the end of a section on worry, and while I’d love to just throw you the one specific verse and move on for sake of time. Sometimes we just need to build up to something by reading it in context. This is a message we all need to hear in every season of life!

“Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:25-34

While Solomon is harping on, eating and drinking and taking pleasure in our work, Paul is reminding us that even those basic needs of food and drink are not provided by all our toil. They’re provided by the Lord who is our shepherd so that we shall not want. The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his friends the sheep and leads them beside still waters. When we delight ourselves in our shepherd, He takes care of us. Not when we’re working hard, but when we’re hardly working!

“He MAKES us lie down in green pastures.” (Psalm 23:2) When we take pleasure in our work, it’s not work any longer is it?

God has made you for a purpose. When He knit you together in your mother’s womb, that purpose was sewn into your very being. At the very core of who you are there is a desire that surpasses all others.

Jesus promises us, through Psalm 23, Matthew 6 & Psalm 37, that when we pursue Him and His purposes for us He will provide for our needs AND our wants. Oh what a mighty God we serve!

If there is something in your heart to do and the fear of not having enough money is keeping you from letting go and doing it. Pray about that. Perhaps God is calling you to a leap of faith into His faithful arms.

I have a friend who hasn’t gotten a paycheck for YEARS because she has been doing what God put on her heart to do. And yet she has never been without food or drink or clothes BECAUSE GOD HAS PROVIDED FOR HER. And if He’s willing to do It for her, then He is CERTAINLY willing to do it for YOU!

Categories: 365 Life, Ecclesiastes, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | 3 Comments

My Dear Friend, I Need Your Help!

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Tamar

I’m feeling the LORD leading me to do a better job at reaching out to those in need. So, I’m contacting you today to ask for your help.

1) I am sending out ministry resume’s letting organizations of any size know that I’m available for speaking engagements. As part of this resume’ (which I will be posting on my website) I would really like to include personal testimonies of people that I have been involved with spiritually. That, I pray, has been YOU! I would GREATLY appreciate if you would reply to this email with a few words, speaking to potential clients about how my life/ministry has impacted your life/ministry.

2) I have just come out with the first (of thirteen) four-week devotionals that I will be offering for sale as part of my speaking engagements.

In this “book tour” I will be speaking on how you need to be the YOU God made you to be. In order to fulfill your God-given purpose and be truly happy in your life, you need to let go of the pre-conceived notions formed through training, societal norms and media influence and cling ONLY to God’s word and influence in your life. To do that, it is critical to spend structured time in the Word of God daily in order to hear His voice and block out the World’s. This thirteen book devotional series does just that by including a daily Bible reading and meditation on that reading focusing on one or several of the above mentioned points.

At this point I am focusing on women’s groups, although I am certainly not opposed to speaking to men’s groups as well since the message is obviously for everyone. If you are involved in a group that you think might benefit from hearing this message, given by someone anointed to give it, please let me know ASAP! I want to get my calendar full! There are ears out there that are hungry for this message and I have a heart that yearns to share it in Jesus’ name and power. Any and all help that you can offer in helping me get this message out to the world would be greatly appreciated! I am including a PDF printable for you to take to any groups or organizations that you think might be interested in having me speak or learning more about these devotionals ($9.99/printed book $4.99/e-book which includes links to the daily Bible reading as well as many other outside resources).

With the most sincerity I can muster, the most thanks I can direct your way and the best blessings I can offer up on your behalf,

Tamar Knochel

Categories: Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

A Sleep Over Paaartay!

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Tamar

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Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12 & Ecclesiastes 1:1-2:11
“The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and *hastens* to the place where it rises. Ecclesiastes 1:5

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This verse me smile! Although it’s summer, we’ve kept a pretty regular schedule with a regular bedtime for all of us. But tonight was special. We had three siblings spend the night which has been TOTALLY fun and crazy. We had three tween-aged boys scarfing down every scrap of food I dared push toward them and two little princesses going gaga over every toy they found its been brilliant!
So here I am, doing my reading and posting at midnight-thirty because the girls are STILL awake! I think the friend is too scared to sleep.
Anyway, I told you all that to tell you this is my post for today. I’m not even going to try and get up in the morning!
Sweet dreams my friends, or, by the time you’re reading this, GOOD MORNING! 😀

Categories: 365 Life, Deuteronomy, Ecclesiastes, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We are the Body

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Tamar


Deuteronomy 30:1-32:52

“He avenges the blood of His children” Deuteronomy 32:43

You know those encounters where you walk away and start thinking of a million different things that you should have said? I had one of those conversations yesterday and it has been haunting me since. I can’t stop thinking about the pain that it caused me. And the worst part is that the anger involved in the situation wasn’t even directed at me! Well, not directly anyway.

It was one of those situations where I was stuck in the middle between two people I greatly respect and admire. I walked away trying to pray about the situation but couldn’t come up with the words. So I just said, “Lord, please take care of this!” And He said, “I just did” meaning me and my conversation with the person. And yet I truly felt like I could have done a much better job of handling the situation if I had said… well… something more than what I said. And yet, now looking back 16 hours later, I don’t think He was talking about this one incidence, not completely anyway. I’m wondering if that conversation was to light a fire under me.

You see the problem was between two children of God. And as I stood there listening to the accusations, SERIOUS accusations being flung from one side to the other (who wasn’t present to defend himself) I stood there in the middle being wounded in order to shield my friend. And I’ve realized that this is precisely what Jesus is doing. He is standing in the middle of a circle of believers of different denominations slinging stones at one another for being who He created them to be only to hit Jesus instead.

My friends, WE ARE HIS BODY, when we cast stones at each other we’re casting them at HIM! And it HURTS HIM!

The other day my son noticed a man we know, who could best be described as a hippie. My son got into our car and announced rather loudly (the car windows were open) “Mommy, that guy is WEIRD!” After slunking down as far into my seat as I could, out of embarrassment, I said to him, “Gabe, don’t say that! He’s just different. And different is good. He is being the man God intended for him to be. He is CERTAINLY not like anyone else we know and that’s a great thing.” He certainly has brought a lot of laughter into our lives that’s for sure. 😉

My point is this, while is it devastatingly important for you to be the YOU God created you to be. It is just as important for the hippie guy to be the hippie guy, the wacky pyromaniac guy to be the wacky pyromaniac guy and the obsessively neat freak lady to be the obsessively neat freak lady. We CAN’T judge and condemn others for being who they are, just like they can’t judge and condemn us for being who we are. 1 Corinthians 12 says: 

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

We are the body, all different parts playing their respective roles. My ear can’t criticize my feet for not listening, just like my heart can’t judge my hands for their inability to pump blood throughout my body. My feet weren’t created to listen they were created to hold me up and take me places. And my hands weren’t created to pump blood they were created to hold my children and fix dinners. We were all created to perform a function specific to us. And NO ONE can criticize us for not performing THEIR specific function instead of our own.

Categories: 365 Life, Deuteronomy, Writing Through the Bible in a Year | Leave a comment

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