“Courage, Sacrifice & Duty”

 “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed and having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” Roman 6: 17-18 

The word slave has several meanings but one that fits this passage is a person entirely under the domination of some influence or person. Imagine being under the domination of the influence of righteousness. Can you imagine? I certainly can. I remember when a small still voice said, “Ask him if he wants bottled water”. I knew it was the Spirit calling me but I stilled question whether or not I should give my last and only bottled water to a complete stranger who had full access to a water fountain. After much thought I gave in and offered the bottled water. This is just one example of the many times the Spirit has moved me to do something I really did not want to do. Truthfully, I would not have mind giving this individual bottled water if I had a case sitting in my office or if I had another one stashed away somewhere. But that bottled water was my last and to top it off, I was thirsty. The Spirit never cease to amaze me of how at the most opportune time it moves me to act out of my comfort zone (courage), to give something up (sacrifice), or remind me to stay on track (duty). I attribute that small still voice to the Holy Spirit others may call it a conscience. Nevertheless, it is that voice that pulls, pushes, and moves me to do what is right. In my walk with Christ I am learning every day to appreciate the Holy Spirit governing my actions. In fact, I have learned enough to know it is a blessing to be guided by the Holy Spirit. 

- Demo, Team TT 

Photography provided by Bobby Perkins.

“You Can Call Me FREE”

“So if the Son sets you FREE, you will be FREE indeed.” John 8: 36 NIV 

We (America) just celebrated the anniversary of our Independence on July 4th and it really had me thinking, so many soldiers fought and died for that day to be possible. I’m proud to be an American, and I’m so grateful for our soldiers. Shout out to all the soldiers out there, I have much love and respect for all of you and I thank you for the sacrifice that you make serving our country!

Check out the poem I wrote inspired by having Freedom in Christ.

This is… 

This is purity 

Pure in mind, body, and soul—spiritually cleansed, consecrated within and my actions speak louder than words 

This is security 

Secured safely from all harm, hurt, or danger by my heavenly Father—my protector 

This is LIBERTY 

Freed from all my sins—liberation at its best and no more looking back 

This is carefree 

Joy so deeply rooted that no one can take it from me and I mean no one can even touch it!

This is me… FREEEEEEE 

My freedom in Christ is celebrated daily, because it’s a day-to-day battle for me to die to self (flesh). I thank God for His grace that sustains me and empowers me to fight the good fight of faith. I have victory and freedom because of the blood Jesus Christ shed on Calvary. Instead of celebrating my independence, I celebrate my dependence on God! I’m thankful to be a CHRISTIAN, a child of God, a born-again BELIEVER!

My top was purchased from H&M, pants from TJ Maxx, shoes from Belk, and my earrings are thrifted from St Vincent DePaul thrift store located in Huntsville, AL.

Peace, Love, and Apple Sauce (lol)

-Dom, TeamTT 

 

Photography provided by Bobby Perkins.

"If You Search...You Will Find Freedom…and a Heart Check…From Dad"

Oh! The awful feeling when God reveals your heart, but geeze the wonderful feeling to realize the chastisement because of love. I see the manifestation of what I’ve been praying for all these years; not because God is showing up the way I want him to, but because I’ve started to draw closer with a humble and sincere heart. God showed me my heart; I couldn’t repent initially because I knew it wouldn’t be sincere. So I had to meditate on this revelation until there was a godly sorrow in my spirit to cry out to my Daddy. I’ve gotten so tired of living life this way because of being afraid to leave what I was so comfortable in for a surreal relationship with God.

Now I daily meditate on these things: This life is not about me; I must be humble in everything (except the enemy); meekness speaks multitudes; I have no authority to judge; and I NEED A SAVIOUR. I have to practice Luke 9:23 EVERYDAY, He has to be first priority. He has had me in the book of Philippians and Romans as a part of my daily sculpting. Lately, it’s not so much that God has provided many blessings, which he has, but that he is sculpting me into the woman I truly desire to be and the one he has called me to be. Each moment that I call for my Daddy, He answers. He Loves Me. It amazes me how mad my Daddy can be at me and then at the end of his disciplining, He still has open arms and mercy towards me.

My Daddy loves me enough to discipline me and set me free. I cling to my Daddy and Him to me. Romans 8:39. 

My thrifted independence look immolates the 50s. My blouse was purchased from Ross in Nashville, TN. My belt was thrifted, but I don’t remember where?! It’s like that sometimes. My skirt was thrifted from the Goodwill in Fayetteville, Tn. My shoes where borrowed from Dom and my earrings are thrifted from The Neighborhood Store in Huntsville, AL.

A thrifty tip: Be independent of fashion rules (not all now… don’t go out looking crazy) and dependent to self expression.

-Sheika, Team TT

Photography provided by Bobby Perkins.

Thrifty Threads Store Spotlight: Sacks on 72 "$5 Clothes Sack Sale Everyday"

Proceeds benefit the following charities: 
MarMac Charities, Inc., Crisis Services, Save a Life Pregnancy Center, and Habitat for Humanity
Store Owner: Sean Overmyer
Store Location: 7443 Highway 72 W   

Store Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9:00am-5:00pm, Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm& Closed Sunday  
Store number: (256) 837-7772

TT: How long has Sacks on 72 been in business?
Sean Overmyer: Since 2009, we’ve been open for 3 years now.

TT: What makes your thrift store different from other thrift stores in the community?
Sean Overmyer: We have the $5 clothes sack sale every day, because most of our donations consist of clothing we wanted to figure out a way to get customers to buy more clothing (that way we have more room in the store for more merchandise) so we came up with the idea of allowing customers to fill up a bag full of clothing for only $5! It worked, so we continue to do it and even named the store after the idea.

TT: This is what got me (Dom) to the store, a fellow thrifter told me about the store and I was in disbelief when she told me you could fill up a bag of clothes for only $5, I had to find out for myself and that I did!!!

For more info on this thrift store and others like it check out www.thethriftshopper.com

Happy Thrifting!


-Team TT 

“Reunited & it Feels so Good”

Friends that Pray together, stay together…

It all started with Monday night prayer at Mother Holmes’ house from Hope Community Church. We (Sheik, Demo, and I [Dom]) were all seeking to draw closer to God and through what other way than prayer. I always kept my guard up; I’d never really had lots of close friends because I was afraid of letting anyone into my circle. I’d hurt so many of my friends in the past and in return I’d been hurt therefore I kept to myself to avoid hurting others and/or them hurting me. After meeting and hanging out with Demorise and Ta’Sheika that changed!

I (Sheik) knew I needed a change of direction in my life, so I started going to Monday night prayer. I wanted to be delivered and I was also in need of a spiritual mother, thus I was drawn to Mother Holmes. I wanted to develop a strong prayer life, based off the passage “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16 NKJV Here’s a brief background testimony… when I first got saved my freshman year of college (at Tennessee Wesleyan College); I was always surrounded by my sisters and brothers in Christ. They would give me guidance and hold me accountable. After leaving TWC my sophomore year I strayed away from my walk with God to the point that the world left me broken and damaged.

Like Sheik I (Dom), was looking for a new beginning and I’m so thankful I took the time out (sacrifice) to go to Monday night prayer; it seriously changed my life! I had no idea how essential prayer and fellowship was until I met Sheik and Demo. Our friendship was different from any I had before; instead of calling each other friends we would call each other prayer sisters. We’d get together and talk about our problems, hold each other accountable, keep it 100, encourage one another, and of course PRAY… I knew I had problems and if anyone could put up with me longer than a year I knew they loved me lol (I’m a hot mess, you guys have no idea)!

I (Sheik) too had issues with trust in friendships, after developing a relationship with my girls, Demo and Dom, I realized that I wasn’t alone with battling issues from my past and it was ok for me to be transparent about what I’d been through. What’s funny is that I knew of Dom since high school and back then I thought to myself I’d never hang out with a prissy girl like that, since I was such a tomboy. It’s funny how God works in mysterious ways! We are all women of different backgrounds, with similar issues, but we have the same desire to serve Christ. Now that Dom is back and Demo is only a drive away our 3 strand cord is back in full effect and it cannot be easily broken.

Let's talk about my "oh so" retro thrifted assemble. My jumper was thrifted from the Goodwill thrift store in Fayetteville, Tn. My belt is thrifted from Thrift Mart in Huntsville, Al. I made my earring with the help of some superglue and buttons. My shoes are Steve Madden and my watch is New York and Co. My girl Dom is rocking some super cute Express turquoise ankle cropped pants thrifted from Thrift Mart. Her top was purchased from TJ Maxx, her shoes were gifted from one of her co-workers in Kuwait. Her earrings are Thrifted from St. Paul DeVincent Thrift Store located in Huntsville, AL, her charm bracelet was hand made by Be Spotted (Tia Granberry), and her watch was purchased from Fossil. Don't Dom and I look so fabulous! But wait, we're missing someone....... (To be continued, stay tuned for the next post!)

Lots of Blessings!

-Dom and Sheik, TeamTT