So Glad You've Joined Us!

Welcome ladies!

We are so excited that you have joined us on this amazing Character Makeover journey! The iBloom team has been praying that God will do a life-transforming work in each of us through this study.

My name is Tara McClenahan and I will be posting on Mondays throughout the duration of the study. I have been married for 15 years, have a 17-month-old son whom I adore (yes ~ we waited a while to have a baby!) and am an Associate Life Coach, Speaker, Ministry Consultant, Life Plan Facilitator and writer with iBloom. I have also started my own home business teaching others how to preserve their photos and the stories behind them! Check out Heritage Makers here!

I love spending time with my family, reading, writing/journaling, researching, digital photography, digital storybooking and reaching out to other women that God puts in my path.

As for my spiritual journey, let me say that it has been quite a ride ~ sharp turns, reversals, valleys, mountain tops, detours, off-and-on ramps and occasional stops at the side of the road. I grew up in a Christian home but I never really understood a real relationship with Christ until my dad died of brain cancer in 2000. Because of his death I was ready to walk away from God. I had grown up in churches that taught that if I had enough faith, then God would heal, bless, prosper us, etc. When healing didn't happen for my dad, my whole family was spiritually shipwrecked and some still are. That was one of my "I'm going to park here on the side of the road until I figure out if I want to continue on with you, God, if you are even real" moments. But through His infinite grace, He brought me back to Himself. He proved Himself to be real to me in a profound way and that started a REAL relationship with Him.

Then almost three years ago, I miscarried our first baby and the spiritual fallout from that rocked my foundation to its core. I had never been as close to God as I was when that happened. The fact that we were having a baby at all was a miracle in and of itself so I was sure it was God's will. When we lost that baby, I could not for the life of me figure it out. That was my "I'm going to pull over, park on the side of the road AND get out of the car and start walking and find my own way because if this is what you have in store for me God, I'm not sure I want to continue!" moments (OK, I stayed in that mode for almost two years). But again, God brought me back to Himself and taught (and still is teaching) me about His Sovereignty and that if I want to be His, He has to be Lord of my life. My life is no longer my own but His. And the things that He allows in my life, He wants to reshape to be used for His glory to minister to others. That is why I am so excited about the Character Makeover study! I know that he wants to take this marred and cracked pot and remold me in His image. My prayer is that all of us, at the end of this study, will be able to look in the mirror and behold ourselves looking a little bit more like Jesus than we did at the beginning.

So please share a little bit of what God is doing in your life. What has He brought you through that He wants to use for His glory to touch other lives? What are you wanting to see in yourself when this study is done? I can't wait to hear from all of you!

Love to all my sisters!
In Him,
Tara