Celebration of Life

Tammy McDonald

Tammy L. (Hinnant) McDonald, born March 2, 1966 and passed away on Feb. 1, 2022 surrounded by family. She attended Crystal River High School and was part of the class of 84. She went of to earn a degree in Accounting and was the Sr. Staff Accountant for Solomon Software, a division of Microsoft.

She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Patrick McDonald of Homosassa, a daughter, Tasha (Kyle) Steen of Crystal River; sons Chakotay McDonald of Homosassa, Bryan McDonald of Crystal River; 3 grandchildren: Amos, Lovinia, and Atlas; Nephew Daniel Hinnant and Niece Nicole Hinnant; 5 sisters: Carlene Ottenbaker, Sheila (Jay) Layson, Lisa (Todd) Rooks, Tricia (Kurt) Langenmayr, Amy (WS) Kellner; 2 sister-in-laws: Jo Martin and Melisa Kirkendall; 2 Brother-in-laws: Shawn Wagner and Shannon Wagner.

Tammy was preceded in death by her father, Marion “Marvin” Hinnant, mother Nina (Cobb) Hinnant; both grandparents on the Hinnant and Cobb sides; father-in-law Clarence Wagner, mother-in-law Mary Wagner and brother-in-law Rick Martin.

Tammy was a member of the Red Level baptist church and was a life member of the Disabled American Veterans. Tammy enjoyed swimming in her pool and gardening, but she was the happiest at the beach with her family.

Tammy was a person you do not forget, she excepted everyone she meet, her and Patrick started attending here about 5 years ago, as Amos was just a baby.

Tammy has been such a bright light in this church, such an encouragement to me and my family.

She treated me and my family, my daughters like we were her family.

What I loved about Tammy is she would tell you when you were wrong, or when you needed to straighten up, but she would also encourage you and love on you.

She was always a blessing to be around. She lifted your spirit, and even though she was going through so much, and dealing with so much, she did not allow it to show.

There is one thing I am sure about Tammy, she loved God with all over her heart, and she showed it in many ways, and she wanted others to know it.

She showed the love of Jesus all through her life, and and in so many different ways.

Message

Knowing how much Tammy loved God, and her relationship with Jesus, I want to share some promises that we can find comfort in today.

And if we have a relationship with Jesus, we also can have these promises.

The first promise I want to look at is found in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

2 Corinthians 5:1–10 CSB

1 For we know that if our earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands. 2 Indeed, we groan in this tent, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment. 6 So we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

We are growing older, our bodies are growing older, and beginning to break down, Paul uses a tent as an illustration here, that is destroyed.

As our earthly body wears out, God has a heavenly body for us that will not wear out, that is not made from hands, but is being prepared for us in heaven by Jesus and God the Father.

This eternal home that Paul is telling us about, Jesus also told us about.

John 14:1–6 CSB

1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. 4 You know the way to where I am going.” 5 “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Here Jesus tells us that there are many rooms, the KJV it says many mansions, Jesus says, if it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?

He says, he is coming again for us to take us with him. He says you know where I am going, but old doubting Thomas says, we don’t know where you are going.

Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life - that is the way to heaven, the way to get to the Father is through a personal relationship with Jesus.

Paul continues on in 2 Corinthians saying that we groan in this tent, that is we deal with pain, with sickness, with the problems of this earth.

We know that Tammy had a lot she was dealing with, her tent was wearing out, she had a lot of pain - even though she did not show it - she was battling a lot of sickness - again even though she did not like to show it.

The verse continues, desiring to put on our heavenly dwelling, now let me just say, Tammy did want to spend more time with her family, she did want to stay and see her grand-babies grow up.

But she also had a lot going on in her, and she knew the promises of that are found about heaven in Revelation 21:4

Revelation 21:4 CSB

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.

In heaven there is no grief, no crying, no pain, no sickness, see because we have shed the earthly body and put on the heavenly body.

We have become new, we have gained our spiritual body, we have been made perfect.

Paul continues in 2 Corinthians 5:5

2 Corinthians 5:5 CSB

5 Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

God begins to prepare us for eternity at the moment we except Jesus as Lord and Savior and begin that personal relationship with him and that is when we receive the Holy Spirit which is the down payment towards our gift of eternal life.

In verse six, we get in to more of the promise of these Scriptures, we are told that we are confident that while we are in this body, this flesh, on this earth, we are away from the Lord.

See salvation, our relationship with Jesus is about faith, we are to walk by faith, not by sight. I have never seen Jesus in person, like I see Patrick right now, but I have seen his work in my life.

But the big promises, the one we can stand on, the one we can be reassured of, is that we can be confident and as believers and followers of Jesus, we would prefer to to be away from the body so that we can be at home with the Lord.

The KJV says, to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Another words, on the afternoon of February 1, 2022 when Tammy took her last breath here on this earth, she took her first breath in the presence of her Lord and Savior in heaven.

She did not go somewhere waiting for a prayer to get her into heaven, she did not go to a waiting room, she did not stay in her earthly body, but as we are promised there in 2 Corinthians 5:8

2 Corinthians 5:8 KJV 1900

8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

She was immediately in the presence of Jesus Christ in paradise, the thing is Tammy would want everyone in here today to make it to heaven and see her one day too.

See Tammy love her Lord and Savior, she also loved her family and friends so much that her wishes were that everyone would hear that Jesus died for you that your sins would be forgiven, so that you too can have forgiveness and can have salvation and eternal life.

Paul says, in 2 Corinthians 5:10

2 Corinthians 5:10 CSB

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

As Paul says here, we will all appear before Jesus Christ, and be judged for our life, did your accept him for salvation or did your reject him.

You may say, well I have never rejected him, but I just never really accepted him either, I just do not buy into the whole Jesus thing.

Let me tell you about the Atheist that had a dream one time, well he came to an area that was two fields that was divided by a fence.

On one side of the fence was the field of Christians, the people who followed and believed in Jesus - the Atheist says, well I don’t really buy into that stuff. He says, I am not really saying it is not true, but I am not saying it is false either, but I cannot follow it.

On the other side of the fence was the people that followed Satan - Well the Atheist says, I am not a Satanist, I am not a Christian, but I am surely not a Satanist either.

So the Atheist just climbed up on the fence, and sat down and as he was sitting there pondering what he believed and wondering where he fit in, all of a sudden boom, the Christians were gone.

Then a few moments Satan comes out to collect his people, and calls out to the Atheist and says come with me, and the Atheist says, no I am not a follower of yours.

Satan says, well you are on the fence, you belong to me, the Atheist says, no I am not a follower of Satan.

Satan says, but if you do not follow Jesus then you are a follow of me, the Atheist quickly says, but I had not decided, Satan says, but you had.

Satan tells the Atheist, when you decided not to follow Jesus, by default you rejected him, and by default you decided to follow me Satan, now lets go.

See there are only two options for eternity, for after this life, for when we take our last breath, because just like 2 Corinthians 5:8 promises the believer like Tammy absent from the body is present with Jesus, well for the unbeliever that is absent from the body is present in Hell’s damnation and torment.

Tammy has left a big impact on our lives, and I know for me it was the love she had for Jesus, family, and friends, and with that she wants her family to know Jesus, so that she can see everyone one day again.

We are told in Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 CSB

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

That is everyone of us in here, I cold tell you stories all day long, about the skeletons in my closet, and even though I am a pastor, I still fall short of the glory, the perfection of God.

The thing is there are consequences, for those sins, Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 CSB

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The wages, that is the consequences, the penalty, is death, that is not physical death but spiritual, the is meaning eternal separation from God Almighty in Hell’s Damnation for eternity.

But the good news is that even though I have messed up, and I have done a lot of stupid stuff, that God has provided a gift, which is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

If we will believe in Jesus and what He has done for us, that is going to the cross, freely giving his life on the cross, which is the most horrific death known to man, and shed his blood dying so that we may have forgiveness of our sins, but then three days later God raised him from the grave, conquering sin and death, in order that we can have salvation and eternal life.

We are told in Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 CSB

8 But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God sent Jesus to do all this while we were still sinners, that is we do not deserve this gift of salvation, we cannot earn it, we cannot buy it, but yet Jesus freely did it for us.

Tammy believed all of this, and she would want all of you to believe this, to trust in this, and to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

Romans 10:9–13 CSB

9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes on him will not be put to shame, 12 since there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, because the same Lord of all richly blesses all who call on him. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Salvation is that simple - do you today believe that Jesus came to earth lived a perfect and sinless life, freely went to the cross and died for your sins, shedding his blood so that you might be forgiven of your sins, then three days later God Almighty, the creator of the world, raised him from the dead, conquering sin and death, that we may have salvation and eternal life.

If you believe that in your heart, this results in righteousness, and come and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life and you shall be saved.

For everyone who will call on the name of Jesus as Lord will be saved.

We are going to have an altar call, the song Amazing Grace is going to play and if you need to make that decision today, if you need to talk about salvation, then please come, Tammy would not want you leaving here today without Jesus being the Lord and Savior of your life.

This was something that was very important to her, and nothing would honor her and bless her more than knowing her family was getting right with God here today, as she looks down from heaven on us here.