en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/861882 Comments by gitz http://www.taminprogress.com/1-in-4/#IDComment138477396 they were skinny dipping in the lake the day my Dad died on the boat. they literally never grew up. the first question my sisters and I asked mom, after we all settled into the fact he was gone, was "did he have his swim trunks on when the paramedics got there?!?" Tue, 29 Mar 2011 23:17:51 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/1-in-4/#IDComment138477396 http://www.taminprogress.com/1-in-4/#IDComment138471631 My mom took an approach that made sense to me. She said sex was good and healthy... there was no shame in it... but it's meant for your husband. And by waiting, I was being faithful to my husband - the one I hadn't met yet. I knew about sex and condoms and all that stuff, but I also knew about who I wanted to be and what I wanted my marriage to be. I wanted a marriage like my parents. One of love and commitment and joy and, yes, my parents had lots of sex. Speaking as a girl who never got married, and in turn never had sex as I waited faithfully for that man, I honestly don't have regrets. People think that's crazy. That I'm crazy. But in being faithful to the "future husband," i was also faithful to myself. I know if I ever would have had sex in any of the relationships I was in, I would have been used. And unfulfilled. And I would regret that. I'm grateful I don't have those emotions to contend with on top of all the other crap I've been dealt. I don't know the right and wrong answers, but i know that was right for me. Tue, 29 Mar 2011 22:43:39 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/1-in-4/#IDComment138471631 http://www.taminprogress.com/i-have-an-announcement/#IDComment136899539 beyond words proud. love you, sister. i'm ready when you're ready. Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:26:24 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/i-have-an-announcement/#IDComment136899539 http://www.taminprogress.com/hunger/#IDComment132240297 i get too afraid to be hungry or want, because i know i most often can't do anything about it. it's been weird to have to learn to tame my hunger to meet the conditions of my life. Fri, 4 Mar 2011 00:56:17 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/hunger/#IDComment132240297 http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2011/02/questions-from-a-reader-on-love-relationship-and-pain/#IDComment131761955 i love the part you said about your mom... i found that once i stopped concentrating on what i wanted from my parents and accepted that what i always wanted might not be what they were capable of giving, it allowed me the freedom to appreciate what they WERE giving. it's a hard lesson seeing our parents as human beings rather than the image we've created in our minds of what we need them to be. Wed, 2 Mar 2011 04:15:03 +0000 http://www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com/home/2011/02/questions-from-a-reader-on-love-relationship-and-pain/#IDComment131761955 http://www.taminprogress.com/he-loves/#IDComment131757009 she's my favorite. she just is. there is no other singer out there with a cd in their pocket whose voice i love more than hers. Wed, 2 Mar 2011 03:39:00 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/he-loves/#IDComment131757009 http://blog.inthenameoflove.org/archives/2008#IDComment131754786 i think that's why i've always had an issue with "forgive and forget" ... i think we are supposed to forgive, and learn from our lives, which means we don't forget. if we truly forgive, the forgetting shouldn't matter. Wed, 2 Mar 2011 03:23:40 +0000 http://blog.inthenameoflove.org/archives/2008#IDComment131754786 http://www.taminprogress.com/pig-tails-make-me-want-bacon/#IDComment130721674 i don't take crazy photos because i look ridiculous enough in the ones where i'm trying to look good :) Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:58:06 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/pig-tails-make-me-want-bacon/#IDComment130721674 http://www.taminprogress.com/late-night-writing-session/#IDComment130721410 YES! i'm excited for the day i start editing a certain someone's chapters. cuz i like you. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:57:09 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/late-night-writing-session/#IDComment130721410 http://blog.inthenameoflove.org/archives/1995#IDComment130219548 girl, flaunt those jeans and everyone will notice the attitude instead of the denim :) i think it's great that you took a panic moment in the day and made it funny instead of stressful. God is pleased with you, B. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:45:25 +0000 http://blog.inthenameoflove.org/archives/1995#IDComment130219548 http://blog.inthenameoflove.org/archives/1985#IDComment129981535 such good word. my view of worship changed so much once i had to be only at home. finally finding places online that allowed me to worship with other people... i couldn't have cared less about the details that once would have mattered to me. i was just so happy to be a part of it again. Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:23:02 +0000 http://blog.inthenameoflove.org/archives/1985#IDComment129981535 http://www.taminprogress.com/youre-a-book-worth-reading/#IDComment95644384 Oh, and I'm like Brent in not having a testimony of sorts. Jesus just always was everything in my world. But I have fantastic stories of how He was a part of my world growing up... a part of our everyday lives. And I wouldn't give up those stories for anything. I love the contentment I've always had in Him. Sat, 28 Aug 2010 07:02:02 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/youre-a-book-worth-reading/#IDComment95644384 http://www.taminprogress.com/on-purpose/#IDComment91996840 I don't know my exact purpose, but I can't say that bothers me. I just focus on keeping my eyes and heart open so that, when He puts something in front of me, I don't miss it. I think if I try to define my purpose I'm going to get so focused that I miss what HE wants me to do rather than what I THINK I should do. Don't know if that makes sense, but there it is. Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:16:38 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/on-purpose/#IDComment91996840 http://www.taminprogress.com/a-video-of-brent-and-tam/#IDComment91996448 I couldn't see this on my iPad the other day and just remembered to look it up now that I'm at the computer. So.Worth.The.Wait. Funny thing: when you started the video I was thinking, "Her hair is so cute like that." Apparently Brent disagreed :) Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:13:59 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/a-video-of-brent-and-tam/#IDComment91996448 http://www.ricianne.com/2010/06/oak-of-righteousness.html#IDComment83907766 Patricia, this literally had the hairs on my arms standing on end. And you expressed yourself so poignantly... half way through I said to myself, "God, let me become like this oak for someone someday." ... and then I read who it was for. You pulled that through before I even knew it was your intention. You have a gift. Thu, 1 Jul 2010 19:32:18 +0000 http://www.ricianne.com/2010/06/oak-of-righteousness.html#IDComment83907766 http://www.taminprogress.com/plan-b-study-chapter-3-the-illusion-of-control/#IDComment83512804 I know this is going to sound ridiculous, because believe me I would not have chosen what is my life for my life, but I think I have it easier than most in the control department. Because I have none. Zip. Nada. Not an ounce. I don't have a say in getting up, sitting down, eating, breathing, sleeping, anything. All things in my life are decided for me by my body, my circumstances, my medication. I can't choose to breathe, open my eyes, close my eyes or move my body without some sort of assistance. What I'm saying is that I had no option other than to recognize I control nothing. If I was out in the real world, living a real life, I might still be hanging onto every thread by my fingernails. But the life I was put into... it's no longer a struggle. It's just a fact. Now, I know I have "control" over my reactions to my circumstances, but really that's not even true. In order to live in this life, I had to decide that not an ounce of my life is about me. It's about Him. And that fact takes control over my reactions as well. Every single thing in my life boils down to that fact that He is God and I am His. Which makes His plan the only one that matters. Again... don't know if I could have or would have gotten to this place without the extreme limitations in my life because it left me without illusions, and while I would like my circumstances to be different, I wouldn't want my relationship with Him to be different. So I'll take one if it means the other. I get tired and disappointed, but I never doubt that He knows better than me. Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:16:47 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/plan-b-study-chapter-3-the-illusion-of-control/#IDComment83512804 http://www.taminprogress.com/no-to-negative-nelly/#IDComment82029003 my dog. keeping me sane. i wouldn't have made it through the week without that pup. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 01:33:51 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/no-to-negative-nelly/#IDComment82029003 http://www.taminprogress.com/pondering-the-why-of-the-fear/#IDComment80862041 A friend of mine had a thing with her daughter that they had the chance, in the moment, to say "Rewind." When they would be in "discussion" and started saying things they knew they would regret, one or the other would stop and say, REWIND, and they would start over. I thought this was amazing. I was never able to say No to my mother, let alone Rewind. What a gift. Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:20:26 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/pondering-the-why-of-the-fear/#IDComment80862041 http://www.taminprogress.com/pondering-the-why-of-the-fear/#IDComment80861854 This photo makes me want to jump through my computer and join you both on the couch. Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:18:51 +0000 http://www.taminprogress.com/pondering-the-why-of-the-fear/#IDComment80861854 http://www.lindseynobles.com/2010/06/how-he-loves-tam-hodges/#IDComment80137471 sweet girls, the love of Him that pours out of both of you is stunning. i'm so grateful to be a small piece in the grand life you live. Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:24:00 +0000 http://www.lindseynobles.com/2010/06/how-he-loves-tam-hodges/#IDComment80137471