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. ❤️

Kadosh

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Tamar

Kadosh, it’s a Hebrew word that means holy, as in something that is set apart for a special purpose. This week, but especially today I am learning the full meaning of this word.

Usually I go about life writing during the day while the kids are at school and then being the mom/wife in the evenings when the family is home. This is fairly normal for most working women these days. But I’m learning now that I have stepped into a season in my life where there will be times when I am Kadosh, set apart from the norm for a special purpose. Because most of the time I’m writing and can only do so much at a time – because I’m writing a day at a time usually. Except right now, I’m not in a writing phase; I’m in a publishing one. (Tamar wears MANY hats.) And while the writing phase has certain time limitations and a “normal” schedule, I’m finding that the publishing phase has a very different schedule. One where I am basically on lock down until the work is finished.

So, I wrote all that to say this. Friends, family, lend me your ears for a moment. I love you, I cherish you, and I desperately want to spend time with you but right now I can’t. I have a job to do and until it’s done I won’t be coming out from behind my computer. Please be in prayer for me as I do this sacred work behind the veil. And know that as soon as I am permitted to come back out I will be bringing with me something new, special, and just for you!

Think of it kind of as a delivery room, not everyone gets to go in during the delivery, but everyone gets to coo at the baby when they come!

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Lunch Buddies

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Tamar

Hee hee hee!!! I am so excited that I get to blog today! I feels like forever that I’ve been able to come on here and talk to you all!!! I have been SOOO busy getting this next Bible Study up and running and ready. There has been so much going on here behind the scenes and I am seriously on pins and needles waiting to unveil it to you! You’re gonna LOVE it! It seriously is all I can do to contain my glee in this moment, deep breath… It won’t be too much longer, I hope.

I can give you this little peek behind the curtain, the new book/Bible Study cover and title:

Waiting front cover only

Ahhhh… there’s nothing like waiting on a Bible Study about waiting right? You know you love me!

Yup, the writing is finished, the proof copy has been sent to the editor, the front cover is done, it’s so close I can almost taste it! I love being able to see the finish line don’t you!

On Fridays I go to the school to have lunch with the kids. Today, as I was walking up to the school I was wondering if Anna would, for the third week in a row, forget that I was coming and bringing her forgotten lunch and get another one before I got there ending up with three lunches for the two of us. And it just made me think of all the times when we forget that our heavenly Father is bringing something into our lives. He’s coming with something big and exciting and we forget so we work on and worry about that very same thing only to see Him coming around the corner with His version of what we’ve been working on… and it’s SO MUCH BETTER than what we did that our version pales in comparison and we just want to hide it behind our backs.

Every time I have walked into the cafeteria carrying a lunch for my daughter that I know she will love and actually eat, and see her walking to the table with a tray filled with food that I know that she will not eat, God has tapped me on the shoulder and said, “you know you do that too right?” Siiiigh…

Why do we worry and sweat over things that He’s got under control? So often we think, “Oh! This and such doesn’t feel like it’s going anywhere God must need me to do something about it. Maybe He needs my help…” No. He doesn’t need your help. He needs your TRUST. He needs for you to believe in Him to do what needs to be done that you can’t do. He needs for us to be still, silent, quiet, peaceful, calm, motionless, carefree, and know that HE is God, that He has it all under control and that when it is time for us to DO something He WILL let us know it.

Once upon a time… OK, all the time, I was worrying over my sins, I was worrying over whether or not I was doing the right thing and God stopped me and said, “I am a good Father, if you’re doing something wrong, I will tell you.”

Oh! He IS a good Father! And He DOES tell us when we’re doing something wrong or when we’re doing something right! We just have to be still enough to be able to hear Him!

Oh how I love being on this phase of writing! There’s nothing like being at the end of a season and looking back over the whole thing and seeing how it all unfolded right before your eyes but couldn’t see it until now. My season of “waiting” is over, I know it, I can feel it down to my bones. God is opening my eyes to so many things right now and it’s amazing. Time is rushing by like a freight train and the rush of wind as it passes is taking my breath away. All I can do right now is laugh. Laugh at God’s sense of humor and irony. Laugh at how perfectly it has all fit together. Laugh at how wonderful He really truly is, and know that I’ve only BARELY scratched the surface.

God’s got my back. I don’t have to worry or fear the future, because I know the One who holds it in the palm of His eternally merciful hand and He loves me enough to die for me. I am so blessed to know this God whose word always proves true. This God who proves His faithfulness to His people in so many abundant ways. This God who fills the earth with so many colors of His love that there is no way to count them all! Yes! This is MY God. This is MY Father who brings me the best lunch I could imagine, so I don’t need to worry about getting my own lunch because I know that His will be so much better in every way!

God bless you my friends! I have missed you!!!!

Categories: 365 Life, The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quick Update

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Tamar

I just wanted to get on here quickly and let you know that I haven’t fallen off the face of the planet or anything. In fact, I think and pray about you daily! I am preparing the next “launch” for our ministry. So prayers for “365 Life” are greatly appreciated! I am so very excited about it. Truly, it’s nothing new to any of you who have followed this blog for any length of time, it’s simply the Bible in a Year reading plan. But it’s more formatted and formalized. It will be launching on the www.Walkofages.com website in the next month or so as we’re still recording the weekly wrap up messages and putting things to bed format-wise. But it is all very exciting and wonderful and I can hardly wait to share it with all of you!!! So if you have not yet signed up to follow that particular blog and you’re interested in reading through the Bible with us, make sure to click on the link above! I’ve spent many many hours getting that site prepared to host our little daily Bible Study, so stop on by and see what I’ve done with the place. 🙂 Also, if you would like to have a journal that coordinates with our daily readings click here or a coordinating Bible click here! All of these links can be found at the Walk of Ages website in the side margins or on the home page.

I’m still working, not so diligently, on the book website and getting it functional… it’s proving itself to be a pain! I’ll let you know when it is in a better place… but not yet. (worried grin)

As for this lovely home away from home, I’m going to try to keep it for updates and announcements, prayer requests and of course (now that my phone is fixed) pictures of the hearts and smiles that God gives me from time to time. If you’re curious what that is all about click here and read how this tradition began. I pray that God will open your eyes to the signs of His unfailing love in wonderful ways all around you every day!

 

Categories: SHMILY!, The Crazy Mom Blog | Leave a comment

Heart SMILY

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Tamar

So I’ve been fasting for the last few days, I needed some extra clarity in my life. Anyway, I am, right now, breaking my fast with a communion of orange juice and an everything bagel. Because, there’s no grape juice in the house at the moment, and just a plain piece of bread didn’t seem right compared to an everything bagel…because Jesus is everything right? So I’ve got my bagel all fixed up and ready to eat and I go to put it on the plate & realize there’s a heart in the middle! God loves me!

image

Categories: The Crazy Mom Blog | Tags: , , | 9 Comments

WE’RE EXPANDING!

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Tamar

Our current blog site has become a bit crowded lately! It can’t seem to house everything that’s going on around here, so we’re expanding our virtual territory! It’s been on the horizon for quite some time now, and God finally gave me the omph to make the move. So, without further ado, here is the link to the new blog site Walk of Ages, where ALL of my daily writing will be housed. God has made it clear to me that the “365 Life” (or the Alphabetical Bible in a Year Plan,) is our foundation. It’s what keeps me grounded and you too! If you’d like to join me in His challenge make sure to subscribe to that blog.

I have discovered that while we can shower our bodies every day, there is simply nothing that compares to being washed in the water of  word daily. And then on top of that the act of writing about it just seems to be the towel that dries and the clothes that dress. He had me create a journal to go along with the reading plan, 365 Life, available here for $5.99.

In addition to the 365 Life site, I am also working on a site that will feature all the books I’ve written and published to date. As you can see, I’ve got my hands full at the moment!!!

Now for those of you that are following this site, don’t get discouraged, we’re not going anywhere! I will still be posting my  newspaper articles and pictures here, as well as an upcoming series from my latest book “Food for Thought: 30 Meditations on the Last Supper“. Which will be featured on Amazon’s Kindle as a FREE e-book starting Tuesday Feb 12th until Saturday February 16th, so make sure to check that out here. After the sale ends on the 16th the e-book version of Food for Thought will still only be $0.99.

As you can see, I could really use some prayers for strength and stamina! The ministry is certainly kicking into high gear around here, we are blessed beyond measure! Which is wonderful… but it comes with consequence as well. I have been praying for those folks that God has ordained to join me in this ministry, although I may not know all their names and faces and job descriptions yet, God does! So prayers for them would be appreciated as well! I am so honored and blessed to do what I do, just the other day I received the most wonderful email from a new friend that made everything come into focus. Never forsaking the fellowship of believers doesn’t always have to mean going to church regularly, it means what it says, making sure that you spend time in the company of other believers as often as possible. And with the technology that is present today, physical proximity to those believers is of little consequence. Our words have tremendous power in this world, more tremendous than I think we will ever be able to fathom this side of heaven. And i want to make sure that my words empower believers to walk closer to God every day, and to each other.

My friend, I strongly urge you to prayerfully consider doing this 365 Life plan with me. It may be new, or scary, or intimidating. It may even be something that you would never do because it’s alphabetical instead of chronological or from cover to cover, but that’s where the beauty lies in this reading plan. It is 20-30 minutes of reading a day maximum! And those minutes don’t have to be spent all at the same time. They can be chopped up into little bite sized chunks throughout the day even, and then you can write in your journal at the end of the day. Simple as that. The important thing is that you read and allow the Holy Spirit the chance to be your teacher. God has really opened me up to His grace after 32 years of walking in the dark, He showed me His marvelous Light and He did it through reading His word daily.

Honestly, if I can do this with two kids, a crazy schedule of writing and teaching and 3 websites, then surely you can do it too!!! I want you to have the gift of time with God, it’s the greatest gift any of us can ever have, and it’s so easy all you have to do is open a book and pray!

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

What if?

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Tamar

I’ve been reminded lately of Joseph and his struggles through life. His brothers threw him in a pit and planned to leave him there to die, only to then sell him into slavery. But after years of struggling, look where he ended up, the second in command of all of Egypt where he saved them from starvation! And when his brothers came to him fearing his wrath against them his response was “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)

Romans 8:28 tells us that “God works all things for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose”. All things? Really?

What if his brothers had never thrown Joseph into that pit, what would have happened to all those people in Egypt during the famine? The evil deed that Joseph’s brothers performed out of jealousy and anger is the very thing that God used to get Joseph headed in the right direction. It placed him precisely where he needed to be at precisely the time he needed to be there. If there had been no pit, no sale to slavery, then there would have been no trip to Potiphar’s house. If Joseph hadn’t been in Potiphar’s house and been accused of molesting Potiphar’s wife, he never would have been in that prison to meet Pharaoh’s cup bearer. And if he hadn’t ever met the cup bearer and shared his talent for dream interpretation then Pharoah’s dream would have gone un-interpreted and the prophesy of the famine would have fallen on deaf ears causing all of Egypt to suffer. Sure, God could have used someone else to save them, but He wanted Joseph to be that person. He had chosen Joseph for that position of honor.

My point is this, so often we bemoan the rough moments in life without realizing that it is precisely those moments that are taking us to where God wants for us to be. That pit took Joseph to Egypt. And your pit can take you to where you need to be too. The thing about Joseph is, he didn’t let it get him down; he used it to lift him up. He continued to serve God even in those rough patches where life kicked him while he was already down. He believed that God would do what He said He would do for Joseph.

“Let not your hearts be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1

Categories: Joshua | 1 Comment

Joshua 8:1 – 10:21

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Tamar

Word of the Day: Joshua 10:11 And as they fled before Israel, while they were going down the ascent of Beth-horon, the LORD threw down large stones from heaven on them as far as Azecah, and they died. There were more who died because of hailstones than the sons of Israel killed with the sword.

This verse is from the Israelites second battle with Ai, the first one didn’t go so very well. Why, because God wasn’t in that battle with them. So much of life is a battle in one form or another. And I’m finding that many of life’s battles don’t have to be fought at all.

In Exodus 14 Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt, they’ve come to the impassable Red Sea and the entire Egyptian army is quickly pressing in on them. Fear drives the Israelites to panic and complain against Moses and the LORD. To which Moses responds “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” (Exodus 14:13-14)

In today’s word of the day we find the PERFECT example of this! The hailstones that God threw down from heaven killed more men than the swords of Israel! God fought FOR them, He worked FOR them in that battle.

One evening Jesus and His disciples were out in their boat. Jesus exhausted from preaching all day was asleep on a pillow in the front of the boat, seemingly unaware of the danger surrounding them all. A great windstorm popped up and caused the waves to break over the side of the boat filling it with water. If something didn’t change soon the boat would sink and they all would die… except Jesus was with them! Sleeping… but with them; He was their only hope. So the men frantically woke Him saying “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:35-40)

Jesus’ reply to their fear brings up a great question, what were they really afraid of, death or that Jesus didn’t care enough to save them from it? Now don’t get me wrong, a situation like that would scare the pants off just about anyone. But when we look to what the disciples say, we find what’s in their hearts. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” First of all, they call Him Teacher, of all the titles they could have awoken Him with, Savior, Messiah, Son of the living God, and they chose Teacher. It shows their lack of faith in His proven record of miracle-working. They’re not trying to wake up that guy; they’re waking up the teacher, maybe because He is about to teach them something.

Second, they say to Him “do you not care that we are perishing?” Don’t you care Jesus? They were afraid that Jesus didn’t care enough about their situation to wake up and save them from it. Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. While the body of Jesus slumbered on his pillow, the Spirit of Jesus, the Living God was WIDE AWAKE! Psalm 121 tells us: “I lift my eyes up to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth forevermore.”

Read that one aloud, it gives me chills and my spirit rejoices EVERY time, because it is the TRUTH! In every battlefield of life, every storm that threatens to cause you to perish, no matter how terrifying, no matter how asleep Jesus seems to be, He is AWAKE, He is ALIVE and He is acting on your behalf for your benefit and His glory! It is only a mere matter of time before you see Him rise up and calm the storm with His simple, “Peace! Be still.” It is only a matter of time before you see the hailstones falling from the sky pelting your enemies to death and missing you completely. The LORD is for you. And if the God is for us, then who can be against us?

Categories: Joshua | Leave a comment

One Woman’s Testimony

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Tamar

Every morning…Ok, well, not every morning, I read a section of my Bible in an attempt to read through the entire Bible in a year (alphabetically no less, it makes things interesting). On this morning as I’ve been thinking about what our next memory verse could be I was reading in the fourth chapter of John. And while this is not the first time I’ve read this chapter, the story was still new to me this morning because of this article.

I am so honored to be writing for this paper my friends! I still catch myself shaking my head in amazement that this is really happening to me; God has been so good to me over the years. You see, I have been through some “stuff” and every single step of the way Jesus has been there with me holding my hand and telling me that we can get through this together. It has built up our relationship in incredible ways that I have just had to share with people. And yet, finding people to tell was difficult. I mean, have you ever had something so absolutely amazing happen to you that you literally wanted to tell the “whole world”? And what you end up doing is telling your whole world.

That’s what happened to the woman at the well in John chapter four. She met Jesus, the Messiah that everyone had talked about and been waiting for since the beginning of time and here He was sitting at her town well! Talking to HER! She had been through some “stuff” and here was this guy she had never met before telling her all about it and saying something about giving her living water. She was so excited about this experience with Jesus that she turned and ran back to town to tell everyone she could find. And you know what the scriptures say happened? “Many Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony.” (Jn 4:39)

Did you catch that? Her testimony caused many of her friends (and maybe even some frienemies) to believe in Jesus! One small seemingly insignificant woman changed an entire town because of one experience with Jesus. Two weeks ago I ended my article with a verse from Revelation “And they conquered [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony” and I encouraged you to go on this journey of memorizing scripture with me. Then I asked you to log onto my website and share your stories of Jesus in your own life. Now, while you don’t have to tell your story to me, you do need to share your stories with someone, anyone! You never know what that one little story could do! It very well could just change an entire town!

I would LOVE to hear your testimony; whether in person or on my website (www.TamarKnochel.com).

Categories: John | 1 Comment

Indestructible Life

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Tamar

Desperate for some alone time at the end of Christmas break I closed my door, snuggled up in my bed under my covers with my side table lamp glowing cheerfully, coffee steaming lazily from my mug, my Bible perched on my up drawn knees, when…

CRASH!!!

The cat yowled, the kids screamed, the bird squawked and I wondered “What on earth is going on out there!?! Is it too much to ask for five minutes of peace without incident around here?” Ugh… apparently, yes.

Not yet having reached the scene of the crime I pictured our hungry cat with her greedy black paw through the bars of the bird’s cage. My son flew into my room distraught and ready to strangle the cat for almost eating his bird. However he had nothing to fear, when the cage fell, the roof popped open and the bird flew well out of the cat’s reach.

Standing in my son’s room, bare feet coated with bird seed, I realized that this scene is a fabulous illustration of the one phrase I had been able to lay my hands and heart on before the crash. “[Jesus] has become a priest… by the power of an indestructible life.” (Hebrews 7:16)

Indestructible life, this phrase caught hold of my shoulders and shook me. It was through the power of an indestructible life that Jesus has become our priest, our advocate before God the Father, our shield from the accuser giving us lives that are beyond destruction as well!

In the fifth chapter of first Peter verse eight it tells us that “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Satan, like a hungry cat, roams around seeking someone to devour. Do you realize what that means? It means that there are untouchables out there, people that he can’t devour. Jesus gives us an indestructible life; a life where Satan can only torment and frighten us by reaching his claw-tipped paw through protective bars. However, no matter how hard he tries, he simply can’t reach us; even to the point of knocking the house right off the stand it’s sitting on. Even then, we remain out of his reach because Jesus has given us wings so that we can fly.

Categories: John | Leave a comment

Kick Fear to the Curb

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Tamar

I have a confession to make, I’m a scaredy cat. My eyes have been opened to the chains of fear that bind me and often times direct my actions. I fear that I’m not a good enough mom, so I worry and fret. I fear that I’m not a good enough wife so I clean and regret. I fear that I’m not a good enough Christian so I fall and repent. When all the while my kids are screaming “I love you Mommy” (you are a good enough mommy for me). My husband is saying “I love you Baby” (you are a good enough wife for me). And my God is saying “Let My complete love for you through them cast out your fears. (1 John 4:7-21) They love you because I love you. Listen to their love, because it’s My love. Let My love for you erase completely your fear of not being enough. Let My grace be sufficient for you. You are what I made you to be, human, and everything that implies.”

So, this New Year I have decided to conquer my fears. I have decided to take God at His word, literally. My New Year’s Resolution this year is to memorize two scriptures on fear (and not being afraid) every month. This is where I’m asking for your support Sheridan. There is strength in numbers and I’m pretty sure that there is at least one reader out there that would like to kick Fear to the curb with me! How great would it be to kick him clear out of Sheridan altogether?

On the first and third edition of the month I will share my verse on fear with you in my article. You may choose to ignore it, read it, memorize it, whatever, it’s up to you. I will also post a printable color picture card for that verse on my website for you to print out and tape to your mirror, your desk, or your steering wheel for all I care. On the day of the post, if you would like to let me know that you’re memorizing with us, stop by my website and leave a comment on the blog. While you’re there, encourage each other to keep going. We’re in this together! All moms for one, and one for all! I am really looking forward to getting rid of this irrational fear of imperfection and others judgments of it. But I’m even more excited to see what God will do with those of us who live by faith and not fear. So, will you join me? Tell me at www.TamarKnochel.com.

 

I would LOVE to hear your testimony of how God is working in your life! It is through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony that we defeat the Enemy! (Revelations 12:11) So let’s get busy kicking some Enemy tail and share those testimonies!


Categories: Job | Leave a comment

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