The Goodness of Love

I'm reflecting today on the goodness of my Papa God. He's kind, with a sense of humor, and astounding amount of grace. He sees me. He's for me. He cheers for me. He likes my ideas and he loves my dreams. I have his DNA. He loves others through me. He gives me favor, provides, and protects. He heals and lifts me up and he is my hope of life here and hereafter. I love him with all my heart. And the good ending is: he loves me more.

How precious is your unfailing love, O God! - Psalm 36:7

The Giver's Blessing

One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was to accept help when I really needed it. I had always been a giver, and then...I couldn't give. I had need. And people knew it. And they gave to me. And it was humbling to say the least.

Though grateful, at first I felt ashamed. I really hated to accept the help. But then I realized that if I didn't receive the help, I would be depriving the givers their blessing from God.

So what may have looked like a weakness in my life - ended up being a blessing in someone else's life.

The generosity on the part of friends was rewarded with a release to them of the abundance of heaven - financially and spiritually.

Someone needs to read this today. God is so good! And kind! I have been humbled many times in my life - and I am thankful for that.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 - God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. (The Message)

Acts 20:35 - "Giving brings a far greater blessing than receiving." (The Passion Translation)

Art by my friend, Gary Rowell.

Find out more about Chris and her writing, teaching, books, and author coaching at www.christinetracy.com.

You Are a Gift!

Have you ever considered that we were given the gift of life in order to give it away?

Gifts like compassion, personality, faith, love, wisdom, experience, and knowledge...they're all part of the life we've been granted. So what do we do with all of this?

Sure, we need to work to pay the bills. But the fun comes when we can work from passion, create from strategic and brilliant ideas, and then give, give, give of our heart to others who are hungry for what we carry.

We actually become a gift!

I feel like I have been given so much. How can I release it to change the world around me?

1 Timothy 4:14 - Don't minimize the powerful gift that operates in your life, for it was imparted to you by the laying on of hands of the elders and was activated through the prophecy they spoke over you. (TPT)

2 Timothy 1:6 - Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

Tell Them!

"Tell them I'm no longer coming. I'm already there.
They've been waiting. The wait is over. It's time.
Release the word.
Relate to people.
Redeem the time.
Restore the foundations.
Repair the walls.
Report the good news.
Recognize My voice."
- What I felt God asked me to tell you on Nov. 5, 2019

"Grace" for Healing

Do you ever beg and plead with God for help, feeling sorry for yourself and wondering why He won't answer? I didn't know how desperate I was getting until recently a horse named Grace corrected me and set me on a new course of partnering with God instead of begging. I now understand how God wants to join us in a journey toward answering our prayers.

It's not always about Him giving to me (although He does this too), but also about Him teaching me to trust and work with Him. Once I started changing the way I think about this - healing came astonishingly fast. I'm talking healing of something I have suffered with since a baby.

Oh my. I'm just sharing because I'm hoping this might help someone else out there.

If we're not getting answers - perhaps we need to change the questions.

Could this help with other things I have prayed a long time for? What if He is waiting for us to trust Him, to let him take our hand, and to let Him step with us into the answers.

Yes - I got all this wisdom through His grace toward me...and a sweet Rocky Mountain Horse named Grace.

John 1:16 - And now out of his fullness we are fulfilled! And from him we receive grace heaped upon more grace!

Find this horse ministry on Facebook: @truesignificance
#sanctuaryranch #freereigncoaching

The Happy Gauge

When you move a lot, you tend to have an array of emotions, tempered by a wisdom to know that time will help as you try to find community and happiness in every new place.

We have lived in Texas now for one year - having left our beautiful and beloved Colorado with hearts for new adventure and family.

The first time I came to Colorado as a young woman, I knew it was "home." But as the years went by, I realized those feelings of settling and happiness can come from even deeper places than what we see, smell, taste, and feel.

Happy comes from within even when things don't look great in our lives. It is a place that trusts the strength of God, and the new beginnings of each day. It finds itself in the hug of a child and the devotion of a dog; the gratefulness for a car that works and a home that warms. Happy can be found in the community at the local coffee shop or the new church. Happy is always the heart of family doing life together. And no matter where you live, you can find happy if you look for beauty in creation. Change, progress, and answered prayers keep the happy gauge rising as you realize that "yes," God is in this adventure with you.

So...I'm happy to report my happy gauge is at an all-time high in my new home of Brownwood, Texas. Who would have thought????

Psalm 16:9 - My heart and soul explode with joy - full of glory! Even my body will rest confident and secure.

The One Thing

In my life, I have seen miracles - so many that in no way could I ever not believe in the love of an all-embracing, all powerful, Creator God.

I have witnessed and participated in miracles of healing, dead-raising, deliverance, and the power of prayer. I have seen people changed for good and forever. I have seen the sweet miracle of people set free from shame and torment. I have seen the love of Papa God wake a person up to who they truly are as a son and daughter of a Father who loves them no matter where they are in life.

I have been the recipient of that love.

And I have been a teacher in hopes of helping others see what I see and know what I know.

And this all boils down to one thing:

God is good. He is really good.

Psalm 100:5 - For the Lord is always good and ready to receive you. He's so loving that it will amaze you - so kind that it will astound you.

A Kiss of the Sun

When I was little, my parents used to have a little sign in our Shorewood, Wisconsin garden that read: "A kiss of the sun for pardon; the song of the birds for mirth; one is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on Earth."

That's about all I have to say about that. And it is quite enough!

Sidetracks to Big Inspiration

There are so many things I love to do, like gardening, playing my guitar, taking online classes, photography, and meeting friends at my coffee shop. But these all take beautiful time. Am I missing what my true calling is by enjoying my little life's pleasures? Yes, maybe,...and no. I believe our true calling emerges from our creative moments. When I garden, journal, play, read, drive...these are the moments I have brilliant thoughts and ideas for the business I'm passionate about, which is helping people tell their stories. Life is a balance. Don't waste time if you can help it...but don't forsake the fun, either. Let's create today...and have brilliant thoughts, strategic ideas, and meet fascinating people! And then let's get to work on what we're best at and love the most!

Today, God is revealing something new for you...something powerful to propel you to success!

If you are uniquely gifted in your work, you will rise and be promoted. You won't be held back - you'll stand before kings! Proverbs 22:29 (TPT)

Magnifying Magnificence

When I take one facet of the magnificence of Creation and magnify it… my heart skips a beat as I recognize in that tiny brilliance of God’s goodness, I find myself - my inmost being - thrilled and full of joy at the beauty that takes my breath away. We are that kind of beauty to Him. Did you know that? He went to the cross for the joy set before him of being with us for eternity. In Song of Songs he literally exclaims His love for us: “For you reach into my heart. With one flash of your eyes I am undone by your love, my beloved, my equal, my bride. You leave me breathless— I am overcome by merely a glance from your worshiping eyes, for you have stolen my heart. I am held hostage by your love and by the graces of righteousness shining upon you.” Song of Songs 4:9, The Passion Translation.

Chris Tracy's art includes writing, photography, and helping people tell their stories. www.christinetracy.com

Do You Have a Spot?

We move a lot. I mean A LOT! And every place we move, I can't feel settled until I find what I call "my spot."

In Old Park near Kremmling, Colorado, it was beside a pretty mountain stream called Pass Creek. In Redding, California, it was on a big boulder by the Sacramento River. In Parachute, Colorado, it was on a quiet, sparkly lake on the Grand Mesa a short drive away. In Denver, it was on a big rock by Harvey Park Lake. Now, in Brownwood, Texas, I have found my spot in a pretty park along the Pecan Bayou.

In my spots, the blur of life takes focus and I sit there as long as it takes to feel a quieting. I pray. I sing. I take photos. I listen. He speaks. I write. 

Psalm 34:8 - Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.

Grace For One Day

I'm doing a 7-day visual journaling challenge with Matt Tommey of Thriving Christian Artists. For Day 2, we are supposed to express our spiritual goals through our art. My art is photography and writing, so I thought I would complete this assignment right here on my blog. My spiritual goal for 2019 is to learn to live inside the grace of today - one day at a time. Each day has enough grace in it for me to handle what that day brings. Tomorrow will have grace for what tomorrow brings. 

To illustrate this visually, I chose a photo I took on a ranch near Hartsell, Colorado. I was walking outside in early Spring, and happened to look down. This is what I saw - a kiss from God with an exclamation of His love. Each day I want to look for and capture an image of His presence and His grace for "today."

Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Matthew 6:34 - TPT

It's OK to Hope!

Daisy is hoping
for some
chicken!

Do you hope? I do. I hope and dream and plan and scheme. I make vision boards and dream lists, and I meet with others to encourage each other's dreams. What or who inspires your hopes and dreams? Hope and faith are sisters in the family of God. Faith keeps our dreams alive and brings them to reality. It's an amazing unseen law of the universe. We are somehow connected to God's ability to speak things into existence! What an honor. What a power!

Now faith brings our hopes into reality and becomes the foundation needed to acquire the things we long for. It is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen. Hebrews 11:1 (TPT)