Faith It ‘Til You Make It: Make Your Future Hear Your Voice

By Ben Tankard

Sometimes life is a series of tests. Sometimes life can be a mess. Still, if you learn how to focus your faith, you can turn the tests into testimonies and the mess into a message. That is what Ben Tankard has done and will demonstrate in this book. Faith It Til You Make It is an easy-to-read series of faith nuggets from an NBA hopeful who lost his career through injury but rebounded to discover a hidden music talent that has made him a bestselling gospel/jazz musician.

Through faith, you too can discover your inner powers. This gift can be triggered by the Word of God as you are inspired by your new faith mentor, Ben Tankard.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781490807096

Ben Tankard

Ben Tankard is a former professional basketball player, an American gospel/jazz keyboardist, a producer, a songwriter, and an author. Ben dropped out of college after one year to play minor league professional basketball in Canada. He was invited to an NBA camp but was injured and cut. Ben rebounded from his basketball injury to become a bestselling gospel and jazz musician. He is also a motivational speaker for the NBA, suit designer (big and tall), pastor, record label president, aircraft pilot/owner, and reality television actor with his own new show on Bravo TV—Thicker Than Water: The Tankards. Ben’s success is based on principles of faith and wisdom, which he shares in his bestselling books and articles and through public appearances. Ben and his wife, Jewel live near Nashville, Tennessee, with their children.

Book preview

FAITH IT ’TIL

YOU MAKE IT

MAKE YOUR FUTURE

HEAR YOUR VOICE

BEN TANKARD

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Copyright © 2013 Ben Tankard.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Ben-Jamin’ Universal

1510 Memorial Blvd

Murfreesboro,TN 37129

www.bentankard.org

615-907-0185

ISBN: 978-1-4908-0709-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/12/2013

CONTENTS

WELCOME FROM TEST TO TESTIMONY

POOR LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

STARTING FROM NOWHERE

THE REALITY OF POVERTY

THE WRONG PLAN

A REAL TURNING POINT

THE SOUNDS OF A MINSTREL

A SPIRITUAL PIED PIPER

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

FAITH ACTION EXERCISES FOR YOUR WORKOUT

FAQS

WELCOME

FROM TEST TO TESTIMONY

(Article on Ben Tankard from Victory Magazine, Kenneth Copeland Ministries. Reprinted by permission.)

The evening sun was barely visible in the quiet December sky as Ben Tankard maneuvered his International RXT truck around the circular driveway to his home. He and his wife, Jewel, and their children had recently moved into the beautiful three-floor, 14,000-square-foot mansion in the Nashville, Tennessee suburb of Murfreesboro. The colorful lights illuminating the street set the tone for the season, and for how Ben felt every year as Christmas drew near. But the song softly playing on his truck stereo made the season more real than Ben sometimes cared to remember.

Wiping a tear from his cheek, Ben stepped from the truck, now unable to erase the memory of the drumbeats from the song The Little Drummer Boy. Neither could he ignore the thoughts of how significant that song had been in his life. From the age of three, Ben had loved the sound of drums.

I can remember wishing for a drum every Christmas, Ben recalls. But somehow, even that young, I knew it would never happen. We were very poor! Our clothes came from Goodwill, and our Christmas presents often came from the Salvation Army.

POOR LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

When he was seven, Ben tried out for the school Christmas production of The Little Drummer Boy. Unlike others auditioning for the part of the drummer, Ben didn’t own a snare drum. Rather than embarrass him by pointing out that the audition required him to have a drum, the music teacher had asked one of the other boys to loan Ben