Written by Jodi Tomlinson

Thursday, 01 July 2010 03:04

Dear Friend, Many of you have probably thought I've forgot all about you and our weekly letters. Well, I haven't. I've had a new plan in mind, but it has taken much longer than I expected to come together. Chris came to me several months ago and said that he wanted to build me a website. At first I was very hesitant. I didn't want to have one just for the sake of it, but then I felt like God started nurturing a desire for it. I was already feeling a change in the Spirit regarding my letters. The idea of a site just made it make more sense, but the pace of life slowed my plan and here we are today. My intentions are to start doing something biweekly or so through a blog on my website when it is up. There you will be able to subscribe to the blog. I have a writing project that has been on my heart for many years, but do to things that keep taking the forefront; it gets continually pushed to the side. So, the blog will be excerpts from this project. I hope to have it up by the fall. In the meantime, I have been far from idle in my writing. I am currently teaching a Bible study to the teens that is very different from any others I've done. I'm very excited about it. I also started taking two classes online this week. Maybe I'm insane, my husband thinks so, but I feel like the illusive tomorrow never comes, so there is no time like the present. Today was my first real attempt at tackling these classes. It was quite eventful. My husband decided to make lunch for us. Our fire alarm went off, which is attached to our home alarm. We turned both off and thought all was well. Ten minutes later three fire trucks showed up outside and a fireman came to the door ready to knock it down. We felt very sorry and embarrassed. Once I sent Chris off to work, I tried to read my first chapter in a somewhat boring book. The girls decided to serenade me the whole time by singing a song I can't even remember in two different keys and with two totally different words.the whole time. Did I mention the phone rang a couple dozen times too? Then, while I was posting a bio of myself to my professors and classmates, I cut and pasted one from the first with the intentions of sending it to the second with a few minor changes. But some type of distraction happened. I'm not sure if it was filling a sippy cup for the sixth time, changing a dirty diaper, or someone hit someone or fell on the floor, but I didn't make the changes. So, my Humanities II forum now has a post explaining why I am excited about taking Psalms and the Wisdom Literature. Not a great first impression. Well, I tell you all that to say that life rarely happens the way we expect it. I know mine seldom does. I've found that we can get angry, bother, and disappointed about all of the injustices and setbacks that come our way or we can laugh at the days ahead. That's what Proverbs 31:25 says a woman of noble character does. I've found that laughter is often the best remedy. Proverbs 17:22 says that a cheerful heart is good medicine. I don't know about you, but there are many days I think I just need a good dose of something. More often than not, it just might be approaching me and life a little more light heartedly. Believe me, my first response was to be very bothered by my Humanities first impression, but a few laughs later, I'm not nearly as concerned. Take time to laugh a little. If you're really overwhelmed, try laughing till you cry. It's very good medicine. Love ya, Jodi Tomlinson P.S. Maybe I can get some type of credit for this letter since I used all scriptures pertaining to Psalms and Wisdom Lit.

 

Written by Jodi Tomlinson

Thursday, 20 May 2010 17:35

Dear Friend, If you've ever been to New Mexico in the summer, I hope you've had the privilege of seeing the beautiful lightening storms. They really are breathtaking. They shine in the huge blue sky as a thundering display of God's power and might; like a banner of strength and splendor. I saw one of these the other day and it made me think about my life lately. I have been on a journey for what seems like forever, through a very unfamiliar place. It has been a long trip and I've found myself very weary at times. I have cried out for victory more often than I can recall, but the peaceful truth finally rested on me a few weeks ago: He has the victory. He always has had the victory. Even when my eyes are cast down and I've become consumed with my circumstance, He is thundering overhead with all the power and might that I need. He is my victory. He is the majesty in the sky, fighting my battles. He is big enough to move any mountain, even the ones that are keeping me from Him. There really is no one like our God. He is breathtaking. He is powerful, and He is mighty. Too often, I get my eyes so focused below that I fail to remember the majesty reigning over me. I may be a mess at times, but I am a secure mess because He is lighting my path with power from on high. He is my banner, illuminating the dark skies above my life. Somehow, He makes beauty out of messes; the things that could scare some to death. It is a fascinating thing really. I will never understand all His ways. I will never fully comprehend the way of this world either, but I have found the words of life and I will never turn back. He has dressed me in His love and affection, and I would be bare without Him. Be it dessert, be it mountain top; I am secure in this mess with the banner of love over me. No matter what you are facing today, He is your victory. He already has the victory. It may be still on its way to you, but it has already been won none-the-less. Love ya, Jodi Tomlinson

 

Written by Jodi Tomlinson

Tuesday, 04 May 2010 21:35

Dear Friend, Today I watched my children and a few others play on the church playground. Paige was having a reoccurrence of her stomach pains from a year ago. The other kids played for over an hour while she chose to sit on Mommy's lap. One of her gentleman friends, Jabyn, gave her his white daisy he'd brought to church right before he left to go home. It was such a truly sweet gesture to make her feel better. She wouldn't let go of her flower all afternoon. To me, the goodness of the Lord isn't always the absence of pain and suffering; it is the good that is all around in spite of it. Psalm 23:6 says, "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life." Some could argue that this goodness is reserved for us in Heaven, but Psalm 27:13 reads, "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Isaiah 38:11 encourages us that the "land of the living" is here and now. Some would say they cannot see God's goodness in spite of all the pain in the world. I am so very aware that there is horrific suffering everywhere. It seems the older I get, the more aware I become. I know that people struggle with pain and sorrow on a daily basis. I would even venture to say that we live in one of the most blessed nations on earth and cannot even fathom some of the trials others endure. I don't believe that God's Word promises us a proverbial bed of roses when we come to know Him, but I do believe that we are given goodness and blessings beyond compare. I think that this goodness of God rarely comes in the form of riches, fame, or perfection. Oh, don't get me wrong, it can and will come in any form God sends it, but I think the greatest goodness of the Lord is something that happens inside a person. I think the greatest healing on this earth is the healing of a heart; the healing that comes through salvation and continued relationship with God. It can be so saddening to see evil in the world, it can even cause us to wonder at times, but we can never be so arrogant and smug as to think those that suffer aren't experiencing the goodness of the Lord too. Rarely does God pick us up out of our circumstance when we ask Him into our lives. He normally leaves us in the middle of our stuff and then shows up with His goodness daring us to see it. Am I living as one who offers the goodness of the Lord to those I encounter? I think that is the real proof of a healed heart. Am I reaching beyond myself and my comfort? May I find the place between insecurity and pride where I can walk confident in Him. I pray that I am not so blinded by my own pride or so crippled by my insecurity that I cannot see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. May we be quick to recognize His voice, His heart, His creation, His hand, and HIm. May we not be an obstacle in the way of another seeing His goodness. Lord, may we die to the pride that keeps us blinded and live full in the land of the living with You. Love ya, Jodi Tomlinson

 

Written by Jodi Tomlinson

Monday, 26 April 2010 19:53

Dear Friend, About two months ago Paige started joining her sister in praying over our family meals. Leading up to this, Megan had a few days run of ending her prayers, "I thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Sissy, and the new baby. And let it have no poopy diapers. Amen." We squashed that prayer as quick as we could, but not before little sister picked up on it. Now the girls take turns praying and Paige's always goes something like, "whispering noises, whispering noise, Mommy, Daddy, Sissy, whispering again, poopy diapers, Amen." It's not quite as easy to correct the prayer of a two year-old. So, every night before we eat we get to hear, "poopy diapers, Amen." I'm convinced there's a lesson in there for me about being thankful for poopy diapers, or maybe she's thanking God for having poppy diapers since she struggled producing many for about a year. Either way, the prayer has stuck. Why is it that the things of God don't always stick like that in our lives? Inevitably, God brings His encouragement in an area or hands me an amazing truth and before the day's end, it has leaked from my mind. Maybe Paige has the right idea. Perhaps, the answer is keeping it constantly before the Lord in prayer. Besides, life has taught me nothing if not that God is much better at bringing good things into fruition than I am. I also think there is a valuable lesson in having the faith of a child. It is so easy to stop coming to God as His child and start operating solely as His worker. I believe that the combination of prayer and approaching Him and His truth as a child could very well be the key to making things stick in my life. My children believe everything I tell them to be unchanging truth. They are also very quick to bring me all their anxieties, needs, and desires. They don't carry any of those weights away from their time with me. That's the glue that keeps them happy and growing. I want the Words of life that the Lord feeds me and the change that He wants to bring about in my life to stick. I want the passion, the ideas, the dreams, the plans, and the desires that He places within me to be fueled daily in my life. Maybe I just need to take lessons from my girls and how they trust. Then pray continuously. Parenting may be the hardest thing I've ever done, but it has provided me such a wealth of wisdom. I know, I know, I need to stay thankful for poopy diapers, because one day there will be no more to change. Lord, I'll keep that ever before You also. Jesus, help the things You are doing and that You want to do in my life to stick. Help me to fuel their fire in my life. Help me to lay down any obstacles in their way that overwhelm me. You are a good Daddy. Take away all my insecurities. I want to live for Your glory and Yours alone. Love ya, Jodi Tomlinson

 

Written by Jodi Tomlinson

Monday, 19 April 2010 21:52

Dear Friend, I haven't written much lately, but I've had dozens of thoughts and ideas swimming around in my mind. I think God's had me on a work hiatus. I may not have many writings to show for the last month, but I do have near perfectly organized closets. At this rate we'll be able to eat off any surface in my house by my due date in September. In my cleaning I've discovered a few things. The funniest has probably been my daughters' stash of vitamins. Please, let me explain. Each morning my girls get a little bowl of vitamins with their breakfast. I then get plates returned to the kitchen along with empty bowls. Naturally I've been under the impression that those vitamins have gone into their little stomachs. Well, the truth started being revealed to me in stages. First, about a month ago, as I was cleaning the refrigerator, I found a vitamin behind it. As I pulled at it, more and more began to fall out. All together I found about two week's worth there. Megan confessed and was punished appropriately. About two weeks later, I moved the couch to mop underneath and found more vitamins. The more I moved the couch, the more I found. Within the week, I found vitamins under every chair in the living room and some under the chair in my bedroom. This time, it was Paige. I could reason with Megan, but Paige is now getting liquid vitamins. One morning the girls were eating breakfast in the kitchen. Megan got a bowl of vitamins and Paige did not. Paige asked where hers were. I told her she didn't get them anymore. In her broken speech she said, "under the couch." She was fully aware of her crime. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to, ". throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." I feel like in my life that sometimes I am more apt to throw off the simple truths that I know to be life to me instead of those things that hinder me. The nuggets that the Lord has revealed to me down through the years end up like vitamins behind the refrigerator or under the couch. I hide them away and then forget they're there. Why is it that the world is so much easier to follow at times? Why do I believe the lie that trading life in for a quick fix that the world has to offer is a better choice? I know that when my soul feels empty I need worship. I need the Word. I need good Christian friends, and I need Truth. Why is it easier to be lazy and to grab a thrilling book or watch a flick? Why is the enemy so good at what he does? I've decided that parenting, like marriage was partly created to keep me on my knees. It's on my knees I find the nuggets. They are like life to my body and nourishment to my soul. <javascript:verseResultsPage('bible',%201,%20%0d%0a'pr',%20'Proverbs',%20'7' ,%20'3',%20'NIV')> Proverbs 7:3 says of the Lord's teachings, "Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart." I have to keep them close to receive their life. I have to ingest them daily. They are my life and sustenance. Lord, help me to devour what you send to nourish my spirit. Make me strong to fight the attacks of the enemy. You have the words of life. Love ya, Jodi Tomlinson