Is the Son shining in Your Storm?

It was a beautiful, crisp morning in North Georgia! Frost was covering the grass and trees outside for the 1st time this year. The weather was beginning to take a drastic change in Georgia. The season felt like it had changed from Fall to Winter in a 24 hour period! The sky was a beautiful bright blue and the clouds were fluffy and full! The sun was shining in all of it's glory on this beautiful day.

On this glorious day I had to run the normal errands to the grocery store, bank and to the Christian Book Store. Josiah was in his car seat acting out Toy Story 3 and singing along to "You got a friend in Me!" When all of a sudden, out of nowhere this beautiful day changed for a moment.

Something that resembled rain, sleet, freezing rain and snow began to come down very quickly! Josiah even commented, "What happening Mommy?" What was so strange was the sun was still shining, the sky it's beautiful blue and the clouds fluffy as ever. But the storm was raging on my windshield as I drove down the road to complete my list of to-do's for the day. In less than two minutes the storm had left and everything had returned to it's brilliant beauty.

We completed all of our errands and started the trek home to take a nap, when all of a sudden as I approached Sawnee Mountain it began to storm so bad that I had to pull over to the side of the road. The same storm that hit my windshield earlier in the day came down in sheets in front of me. At that time I looked at the other cars coming towards me and they strangely looked dry! Was I the only one experiencing this odd storm? During the storm the sky was bright and glowing. In less than two minutes the sky was clear and we were on our way. In a few moments we were home and ready to take our afternoon nap.

Josiah settled in for his nap and the Holy Spirit began to speak to me about what had happened on our routine day out running errands. He said "Tami, in the midst of your storm is the SON still shining?" You see the storm was raging on that brisk afternoon but the sun was still shining on! He wants us to remember that in the midst of our storm He is still shining for us. He wants us to remember to keep His SON shining in our storms of life. The storms of life rage, come quickly and they come when we least expect it. We can soon be overwhelmed with the storm in front of us and forget to look to the Son. He will hold us when we shiver in the storm. He will make sure that we make it home after the storm. His SON will keep shining through the storm. Are we willing to give Him the glory during our storm? Do we take the time when the storm is raging to look to the one who can turn our mourning into dancing?

This week you may have a storm that is stirring, you may have a storm that is pounding you so hard that you want to take cover or you may be on the virge of the storm lifting...I urge you to look to the SON! Let Him shine in YOU! Be BLESSED and Bless OTHERS!

He makes ALL things POSSIBLE!

Tonight, I am feeling very reflective, grateful and pensive as I write this blog entry...It is so hard to try and describe all the feelings that I have been feeling over the last several days since my Handsome Nephew Christian Thomas Hall has come into this world. My Beautiful sister Tracey gave birth to him on October 2oth at 6:44pm. He weighed in at 11lbs 22.5 inches long! A big blessing in my eyes, just proving how great and faithful our God is to us. He is my sister and brother-in-law Ryan's 1st baby together.

Nearly 13 years ago this November 11th my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Dara! At the time, my sister was in high school and wanted to make the best decision for her baby. Early in her pregnancy, she made the decision to bless another family through adoption. I know this was a hard decision for her but she was focused on what was best for her baby. We all read the profile of the adopted family and felt it was a great fit for her.

During this time lot's of emotions were running wild in our family, as to be expected. Questions like: Is this the right decision for us? Mom & Dad can raise her, right? If I would get married this summer before she is born Gabe & I could raise her as our own, right? Is this really going to be the best thing for her? BUT...GOD had Great plans for HER! Little did we know that he was going to make ALL things POSSIBLE through adoption.

When the adoption was final, emotions continued to rise...Sadness, grief, hurt, pain and so much more! There was a slight glimmer of hope that was received from the adoptive family that they were open to having an open adoption. My sister was not for it at first because she was still dealing with the grief. Over the course of the 1st year of Dara's life God began to show her/us that He could make ALL things POSSIBLE if we would let Him!

Right before Christmas of 1998 our families met for the 1st time! Gabe and I were not able to be there but they met and it was a wonderful time! We got to meet Dara and her precious family at my sister's graduation in June 1999. Gabe & I had just gotten married the weekend before her graduation. This meeting still proving that He makes ALL things POSSIBLE in His time!

When the adoption became final the thoughts of ever seeing Dara or having a relationship faded. We thought that could never be a possibility. The dreams of seeing her grow up, celebrate birthdays, graduate from high school, go to college, get married and have her own children were all just a faded dream.

In December of 1998 those dreams started to become a reality that we never thought would come true. As the months and seasons began to unfold so did the visits, memories and pictures with Dara and her family unfolded. We not only got to be a part of Dara's life, we also were blessed with an amazing family, an extension of us!

Throughout the years my sister has been blessed beyond measure with a wonderful job & career, an amazing husband and now their first son! God continues to make ALL things possible through the birth of their son. On Saturday, October 23rd Dara and Christian met for the 1st time! A Sister and a brother exchanging hugs and kisses for the 1st time. A picture that we thought we would never have...A biological mom and an adoptive mom witnessing the beauty of His possibility together! This is one thing that in our eyes was impossible 13 years ago but God saw fit to make it possible for our family!

I am so grateful for Dara's family. They are such a big part of our family now! I don't even want to consider what life would be like without them. They are wonderful, loving and fit with us like a glove.

I am so proud of my sister for making a decision that would affect all of us for the rest of our lives. At the time she had no idea what was going to happen or if she would ever see her daughter again. She may have not seen the possibility 13 years ago but I know for certain that she sees what God is capable of now! He took in what her eyes seemed impossible and He made ALL things POSSIBLE and then some!

This is dedicated to my sister & Dara's Family! WOW! ALL things are POSSIBLE with GOD!

My 1st Post

Well, here it is...I have officially entered the bloggers world! I am kind of excited and a bit nervous as I walk into this unchartered territory for me. I believe that God has a special purpose for me to encourage others. I believe that this blog will be a small tool in doing just that.

I have entitled my blog "my unveiled journey." This verse says it all for me, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18. I was given this verse several years ago when the Lord was birthing a new ministry in me. It has become my life verse.

My purpose for this blog is for anyone(particularly women) that read's this to see that it is okay to live a transparent, unveiled life. I think as women we can get caught up in playing a role and hiding behind our issues. I am a wife, mom, pastor's wife and one that is struggling with illness right now. I am a normal person with normal issues that just happens to be under a microscope for others to analyze everyday. My husband & I made the decision early in our ministry that we would live a life of transparency. We chose to not be the pastor's that would try to hide their issues & put on a fake facade at church. We want to be pastor's that our congregation can relate to & feel comfortable that we understand what they are going through.

I ultimately want to be a woman of God that lives a life unveiled so I can reflect His glory! I want my son to see the same mommy at home that he does at church! I am striving to be a woman that is okay with living beyond the veil!

I will be using this blog as a voice for myself to express my daily shortcomings and successes! I will use it as an encouragement to women and pastor's wives. I will be sharing very openly about what God is transforming in me so I can better reflect HIM in my life. Please feel free to comment on my posts openly. Looking forward to walking this unveiled journey with all of you! Good night!