The Sound of Cheering
The Sound of Cheering

This morning I had an early appointment. When I was half way to my destination, I had a fresh thought drift across my mind. I say fresh thought because I wasn’t thinking about anything but driving safely on the frozen road, meeting with other writers at my friend’s bakery and the list of things I needed to do today. Then suddenly, I was thinking of the sound of cheering. I imagined a crowd yelling, whistling, and clapping with exuberant expressions of excitement, and something deep within me stirred.

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Faith ActionTami GauppComment
Squash Braid
Squash Braid

For as long as I can remember, I have loved baking bread. It is one thing I know I’m good at. I enjoy the process involved, the way the aroma of fresh baked bread fills the house and have never had a loaf not turn out. At one point, when I had young children, I tried to cut the process down by using a bread machine. But I was never completely happy with the result. It did save me time and it was bread, but it was not the same at all. I especially disliked the emptiness each loaf had right in center from the machine’s mixing paddle.

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The "How-Tos"Tami Gaupp Comments
How I Found Myself as a Nobody
How I Found Myself as a Nobody

I don’t know if it always has to be this way, but it wasn’t until everything around me crumbled that I came face to face with the reality of my true worth. If you are living in the rubble of betrayal, ruined relationships, isolation and broken dreams, you are in good company. Not until I learned how to be a nobody did I step into the strength of who I really am.

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Hope-Faith-Trust, Faith & LossTami Gaupp Comments
It’s The Little Things
It’s The Little Things

My husband and I were busily finishing up our packing and errands as we prepared to leave in July for our summer ministry trip around the U.S.   I was mentioning and partly complaining as I was thinking of what I still needed to do. I hadn’t bought the right length of shoe laces for my black shoes yet.

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Lifestyle of FaithGuest UserComment
Red Beans & Rice; A Cajun Family Recipe
Red Beans & Rice; A Cajun Family Recipe

When I was first married, I lived far away from my family. This was way before cell phones and personal computers, so asking my mom for helpful tips was something I could only do occasionally. I was only 19 and I had never lived on my own before. To help expand my knowledge I would pour through cook books and recipes I found in magazines.

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The "How-Tos"Tami Gaupp Comments
My Soul Waits, My Heart Rejoices
My Soul Waits, My Heart Rejoices

As I came across Psalm 33:20-22 yesterday, God spoke to me about my heart. Here are the words that struck me 1.  OUR SOUL WAITS -Since I know my soul is made up of my mind, will, and emotions, the first line could read, “my mind, my will, and my emotion wait for the Lord”. But is this true in my life? Is this something I honestly practice, or do I let my soul run on ahead?

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Prayer of FaithTami GauppComment
Leaning In
Leaning In

My husband once told me that as he watched me face physical crisis, it is as though I lean forward into it. I never thought of it like that, and he may not know this, but it was the biggest compliment he could have given me. Leaning into it is exactly what I want to do. It is not the same thing as accepting less than all of God’s promises for me. It is merely one leg of my journey. I don’t have any intention of camping out there permanently.

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Faith & the Physical Body, Hope-Faith-TrustTami GauppComment
Gaupp Seafood Boil
Gaupp Seafood Boil

My husband and I have been married now for decades. But since the beginning, I would hear stories about his time visiting his Grandma Sissy in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and her legendary crab boil. The story goes like this… when my hubby was around 10 years old he and  would take a row boat out with shark bait that he caught to catch crabs. Then he and would set out the crab traps and be out all day doing this until he had a good haul. When he got back to his family’s dock, his grandma Sissy and his aunts took all the crab he caught and used it for a big family seafood boil. 

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The "How-Tos"Tami Gaupp Comment
Unusual Pressure
Unusual Pressure

On Saturday morning, I was downtown Boise with some people walking and praying. One woman began to pray for our nation’s Capital, and when she declared PEACE over it she saw a massive storm raging and thundering with lightening and said they were pressing down over it with unusual pressure.

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Prayer of FaithTami GauppComment
4-Prayers God Will Answer
4-Prayers God Will Answer

Here are four prayers God gave to the Apostle Paul to pray for his Christian brothers & sisters.

Ephesians 1:17-23  Ephesians 3:14-21 . Philippians 1: 9-11    Colossians 1:9-14

He wrote them in his letters to the Ephesians, Colossians and to the Philippians.

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Prayer of FaithTami GauppComment
To Every Mother
To Every Mother

Letting go and releasing control of all the details of our kids lives isn’t for the weak. Being a mom is the most rewarding, exhausting and toughest job there is! From the physical energy it takes when they’re young to the emotional strength it takes to release them... it’s not a job with a fancy title or financial compensation but the investment we make into our children’s lives, often with our own with blood, sweat and tears, may just be the biggest impact our lives have on this earth.

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Lifestyle of FaithTami Gaupp Comments
When To Say What You're Not Saying
When To Say What You're Not Saying

One summer, when traveling, I stayed with a family who was grieving the death of their daughter. It had been 3 years since their terrible loss, and they were merely going through the motions of the life they once lived. The second night I was there, the mother confided in me she wasn’t doing well. She wasn’t sleeping, there was a disconnect in her marriage, they had stopped observing holidays and visiting friends or family. That’s when I realized just how much it was costing them to open their home to me in the midst of their grief.

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Faith & Friendship, Faith ActionTami Gaupp Comments
Mosaic Masterpiece
Mosaic Masterpiece

Because I am a practical, methodical, and deliberate person, I like to know the big picture of any project so I can understand what my roll is in it. I love to create, sketch out ideas, organize and categorize necessary steps, and execute it all with precision, along with the best of them. This skill came in handy when raising my two sons. It has helped me accomplish many projects, everything from keeping a household running smoothly, to creating choreography and training a group to perform at the State Fair, to starting my own businesses. I love everything about creating, and the thrill of setting a new process in motion.

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Hope-Faith-TrustTami GauppComment
Rest Like Jesus
Rest Like Jesus

I took a little vacation with my husband last week. We took time to celebrate our 31st anniversary and also to decompress from life in general. It was to McCall, Idaho, a beautiful mountain getaway, about 90 miles from Boise. And to make sure I used the time to relax, I shut down my laptop and didn’t write, tweak the website or do any of my other normal things the entire week. I even took a book and planned to read. Unfortunately I packed the wrong book, one that I had recently read! But we had such a relaxing time in the mountains and at the lake it didn’t even matter.

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Lifestyle of FaithTami Gaupp Comments
The Simple Life
The Simple Life

You may hear the phrases intentional living, sustainable living, live simply, tiny living, organic and intentional living. There is another saying that rings true, “there is nothing new under the sun”. So, although these concepts are not new, they may be new to us.

About ten years ago, I was living in a 2400 square foot home, with my husband, 2 sons and 2 dogs. We were homeschooling during the day, and involved running a concert house 4 evenings a week as a mission to youth in the current music culture. It was an intense season, filled with routine chores, lesson plans, homeschool field trips, home church, raising preteen boys, and running a concert house with shows that lasted into the wee hours of the morning. I longed for a simple, and organized life, but who had time for that. What I did have time for was organizing our schedule, cutting some things out and prioritizing things that were important to us.

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Lifestyle of FaithTami Gaupp Comments