My name is Tammy Caulkins and I
work as an accountant for an International Clinical Research Organization. I
grew up in a small town called Laurel Bloomery, TN. It is between Damascus, VA and Mountain
City, TN. My mother took me to church every
time the doors were open. She was a
Sunday school teacher and a very good one at that! I was saved and baptized at the very young
age of 11. Shortly after giving my heart
to Jesus, my Mom and Dad went through a divorce. Although at the time I thought my world had
ended, my mother never stopped praying and caring for me and my two sisters. We had to move to Mountain City so my Mom
could be closer to work. I think it was
at that time that we stopped going to church as often. We still call Pleasant Home Baptist our home
church (my mother is still a proactive member there), but because of the
expense of driving 20 miles one way, we just couldn’t afford to go as often as
we used too. However, I know I am where I am today because
I had a Godly mother who prayed me through my teenage years.
Since my Dad was a truck driver
and was not around to help my mother with raising me and my sisters, I sought
attention in someone who would eventually become my daughter’s father. It was during this time that I did not live
my life for Jesus. My daughter was born
on October 21, 1989 and her name was (at that time) Charli Nicole Brown (yes,
Charli Brown). I had just turned 18
years old one week before she was born. After
being married for 2 years to her father, it was apparent that we were not meant
to be together. We divorced and it was
during this time in my life that God started working on me and preparing me for
His purpose. Little did I know that HE
was also preparing me for a lifetime of fulfillment and complete joy! Even though I knew my time should be spent
growing closer to God, my focus seemed to be finding a father for my
daughter. I was not as concerned about
finding the Godly husband to spend the rest of my life with, as I was finding
Charli a Daddy. It was about 3 years
before I got on my knees and prayed that God would send someone to help me
raise my daughter. That night God spoke
to me… He said, “Tammy, you’re praying for the wrong thing. You need to pray for your future husband, and
not a Daddy for your baby girl.” It was
an eye opener. I knew that God should
always come first, then your spouse and then your children. About two weeks after that prayer, God brought
Todd into my life. Todd had also been
through a divorce and had two girls of his own.
We were both Christians and knew without a doubt that we were meant to
be together. We dated a very short two
months and he proposed. We were married
four months later in December 1994.
Although Todd and I never had
children of our own, Todd adopted my Charli and her name was changed to Charli
Caulkins. We have three girls, Katie,
Amanda and Charli. Katie is a Special
Education teacher and lives in Iowa and is married to our son-in-law
Colby. They have two kids, Hannah, 10
and Jackson, 6 and another one due in July!
Amanda is a Clinical Trial Associate and works for the same company I
do. She lives in Johnson City. Charli is working on her Master’s Degree in
Psychology and is married to our son-in-law David Byrd and they live in Johnson
City as well.
Todd and I visited Indian Springs
one Sunday evening in 2008 because David Byrd was singing with the youth and he
and Charli were dating at that time. We
have been there ever since. We became
members in September 2009 and attend the Hill Road campus. Todd is involved with the food ministry at
Indian Springs and his passion is going on mission tours with the youth. I have found my place in our church is
helping in the nursery. I just love
loving on those precious babies! We are
so blessed to have a loving church family and we’re so thankful for God’s
promise.
Also, after two years of being
divorced, my Mom and Dad remarried each other and they have been together ever
since, praise the Lord! God is so good!
~ Submitted by Jessica Poff
ISBC Women's Ministry
Events Coordinator
~ Submitted by Jessica Poff
ISBC Women's Ministry
Events Coordinator
