My New Book, Essence: 365 God Thoughts About You

I want my Crisp Mountain Air readers to know about my newest book. I spent 365 days (and yes, there is a Leap Year post) praying and writing what I thought God wanted to say to my readers. It was a labor of love and learning to listen. Now I want you to experience that voice I heard for you and for me. In a dark world and in scary times, I pray this book brings light and life and hope to you as you start each day brighter and rising higher to see a beautiful vision of how God sees us and His creation. I'm so blessed to have endorsements from some of my favorite teachers and authors, including Dr. Brian Simmons; Ray Hughes; Don Milam; Steve Backlund; Theresa and Kevin Dedmon; Matt Tommey; and more. Much love to all and thank you for reading my blogs!

My friend sent me this picture of my book given to her as a gift. 

Here is the Amazon link to purchase. It will make a great gift any time during the year, but especially for the New Year. Gift yourself and a friend! 

Click here to purchase paperback, hardcover, or Kindle.

Smile - It's Your Superpower

I met with a friend today whose smile lit up the meeting.

Like a charged battery, it changed the atmosphere;

And defied anyone to try to mess with her joy.

That’s power right there.

Superpower.

"A smile remains the most inexpensive gift you can bestow on anyone and yet its powers can vanquish kingdoms." Og Mandino

Cabin Fever

When rain falls

Temps cool

The grass greens

And my crepe myrtle blooms

I take a deep breath

And gaze outside

And wonder

Is it safe to come outside?

Is the hot wind gone? Yes!

It's Fall in Texas - at last.

A Message From Your Papa

Don’t you know?

I love you and don’t expect you to love me back.

I protect you even when you don't feel it.

I’m with you even when you haven’t met me yet.

I hold your hand when you need a friend.

I hurt when you are hurting.

I am the joy of your laughter.

I am the breath in your lungs.

I am romance.

I am the light in your darkness.

I call you Son, Daughter.

I see you. I really see you.

In your pain you will look for me.

I am here, as close as your breath.

Listen for my voice in your heart.

Listen with your inner spirit.

You will hear my heart beating for you

And my words of love toward you.

You will hear me say, “wait a little while, 

Your answer is coming. Meanwhile, I've got you."

"

Poem: Create In Me

I listen to many voices

Wise, strong, loving

They don’t always agree

With each other or me.

But together, like a puzzle

I connect them and see

More of you, more of me

As we manage this life

No more strife or striving

But love and living.

Grace for each other

Grace for each day.

Like God as He made

Creation and Man

I’m learning how it feels to say

“It is very good.”

Breathe - There Must Be a Better Way

 There is so much noise right now.

Today I choose silence, love, peace, joy, and fun.

I write because I love. I work because it delights me. I trust God to provide what I need when I need it. I feel in my heart there is a new and better way to reach the people I truly care to work with; to whom I want to offer my words and books. It’s not hype. It’s not self-promotion. It’s not having the loudest voice, the best funnel, or the largest following. Just thinking about these ploys tightens my chest.

So, come breathe deeply and be quiet with me today. Maybe we’ll figure this out.

But from your heart you should want the best gifts. Now I will show you even a better way. (1 Corinthians 12:31

Evolving

Sometimes dreams change. Sometimes you realize you have already reached your dreams and didn't know it. You've been there. Done that. The dream isn't so big anymore. Your passion evolves. You realize it's not about how many you reach. It's more about the being than the reaching. Because when we "be" - that gets noticed when we're not really watching. And that's when you'll reach the most.

I used to want to speak to large crowds; write bestselling books; somehow be famous and in the fame make a difference in the world. I spent time being mentored by people in that realm. Reading all the books. Paying for coaching. Taking classes. Doing some stuff. But...now...what I really want...is just to quietly sit by my husband. Talk to my family. Walk in the forest with my dog. Listen for the still voice of my Father in Heaven. I'm living that right now and it's the best place I've ever been.

You might love my book, Tapestry - The Divine Design for Your Life. (NOT a New York Times bestseller. Available here:

Almost 65,000 Views

I'm doing some writing at Starbucks and just noticed I have only six more views to go to count 65,000 of you who have read my blog posts.

I love social media. It was made for writers and artists and photographers and musicians. I love how I have friends from other countries because of how a pandemic made us all learn to connect on Zoom. I teach classes to people on a Tuesday night whom I have not met, but who are friends of friends who heard about my dream classes and signed up. We gather from four time zones.

A one hour meeting costs nowhere near what my poor mom had to pay just to make a long distance phone call to me in the 1970s.

(The other reason I'm at Starbucks is that our AC is broken and it's 107 degrees in my town today. Help!)

Check out more about my books, coaching, and classes at www.christinetracy.com.

Twilight Time in 1958

When I was a little girl, we would take family vacations to northern Wisconsin. My mom would bring our portable 45 rpm record player and a stack of little records and we'd set it up on the beach and sit around a campfire as the sun set on Little St. Germain Lake.

I remember especially the song "Twilight Time" by The Platters (1958). (Link below.)

The song puts me right back in the sand, remembering the lap of oars in water; a cry of a loon; Nesbitt orange soda; marshmallows; parents dancing; and fishing for crappies at Sunset Point. What song brings you back?

"Good memories are like gold dust sprinkled through the mountains of life." - Chris Tracy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0kprJ30_HU

Have you read my book yet? It's available here:

Photo: I took this twilight photo of special friends who just got engaged!

Poem: Atmospheres

When the atmosphere around a person’s words is pure oxygen

 I listen better.

When there is a wonderful sphere of white noise

    I focus my thoughts and write.

When the fragrance of a forest propels me forward

    I enter heaven.

When the song of a bird trills at dark dawn

    I dance.

When you thrill my heart

   I rest in the palm of your hand.

Old Couples Not Talking At Restaurants

When Rick and I were first married, building our house in the mountains, and working two full time jobs with three kids...occasionally we would get to go to Denver, drop the kids at their grandparents' and go to lunch together. These rare times were full of conversation and catch-up.

There would always be an old couple sitting at a table in any restaurant. I would notice them because they would NOT be talking. I would tell Rick something like "we will never be like that. We will always have something to talk about. We will love each other. We will care about each other. We will enjoy being together." 

Well, we have now become that old couple, and quite often we will sit at a restaurant and NOT talk. I have come to realize there is a precious intimacy in being so content and confident in your person that language can be silent and still joyful. But this kind of knowing comes after many years of living together. 

Life is so funny; such a paradox; and loves to laugh at our folly. Be joyful!

Find my books on Amazon by clicking right here.

Poem: Butter Cookie

Butter Cookie

Let me be:

As tasty as second-day chili

Sweet and soft as a homemade butter cookie

Tender as aged meat

Giving as one who has little yet so much.

I want to “be:”

Slow enough to catch my memories

Quick enough to chase my grandkids

Deep enough to truly love

High enough to truly see.

Vintage. Old soul. Seer. Lover.

Help me embrace these parts of me.

That I may truly enjoy life

And the gift of my years.

(Acrylic painting by Chris Tracy)

Poem: Dancer

Dancer

Her light was so bright

She carried joy like a breeze

That whispered soft

Of better days to come.

Build or Be? - Part 2

You have done all you can do. You’ve taken the classes, you’ve put yourself out there; you’ve become who you want to be and nothing seems to be happening. No calls; no job offers; no money; no place to work.

The Bible says when you have done all you can do then stand and wait. Wait on the Lord. He put His dreams in us and partners with us to make them happen. The timing is always right. In the meantime, enjoy what you love. Work where you can. Stay open. Listen for His prompts. 

God’s promises to you are solid and true. There are so many verses I could write here for you but I feel like you need to grab your Bible and do an internet search on verses He brings to your mind. I’d use key words like God, dreams, promises, grace, provision, and protection. 

“Learn to live inside the grace of one day.” - Paul Young - Author of The Shack

Confession: I write these things for me, too. In the writing, my courage is strengthened and my belief deepens.

My books on Amazon.

Build or Be? Take off. Part 1

You’ve taken all the classes. Read all the books. Even gotten certified in something or have a degree on a diploma on your wall. Yet you feel unqualified; like you have to take more classes and learn much more.

I was that way. It took years to believe I was a writer even though I was a reporter for a newspaper and had a journalism degree.

When I finally decided to start calling myself a writer. It was hard. But I had to become what I already was.

When will the right time be for you?

Are you going to keep building it or begin living it?

If not now when?

If not you, who?

Is it time to step out and just be and do your dream?

I will answer for you. "Yes, it's time!" Have fun!

Find Chris Tracy's books on Amazon.

“Is This Enough?”

I was walking through the woods, mist in the warm Texas air, and was thinking how beautiful it was and how thankful I felt to be walking at this moment. It was 25 degrees cooler than it had been the past sweltering week. I was reveling in it and so was Daisy. Suddenly a voice spoke in my imagination saying: “if this is all you had; right now; forever…if your dreams don’t happen and your hopes aren’t realized…is this enough?”

I knew it was Papa God talking to me. I looked at the ducks swimming in the Pecan Bayou and the trees drooping heavy over the path and felt the warmth on my cheeks and the true joy in my heart. I did not hesitate.

“Yes!” I answered. “This is definitely enough.” 

Then I began to sing to Daisy one of my favorite songs. (Attached here.)

“Poems and Prayers and Promises” by John Denver.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuP1kMRyKOY

Find my books on Amazon.

Still This Little Girl

This is me! My bike is decorated for the Fourth of July with crepe paper streamers and a 48-star flag.

I was called Kiki. I grew up in this home on Lake Bluff Boulevard in Shorewood, Wisconsin. It was the house my grandpa purchased new in 1926 and where my mom and my aunt grew up and where their young mom tragically succumbed to spinal meningitis .

This picture was taken within 10 years of my dad fighting in World War II. The Korean War, the Cold War, and the polio epidemic were all happening at the time this picture was taken. Sonic booms were normal. The threat of nuclear war was imminent. These were threats this little girl was thankfully oblivious to.

Soon we would get our first television. After it rained, my little brother and I would play with sticks in the sidewalk cracks and make mud pies. Summers were spent at Atwater Beach where my mom and I loved to find colorful smooth stones washed up by the waves of Lake Michigan.

My grandma lived downtown and took the bus to visit us on weekends. My grandpa lived two blocks away.

At the age of 3, my family was my world. Now, at 72, my family is still my world.

I keep this little picture on my desk to remind me of who I am. I'm still this little one - full of dreams and play and hope and imagination.  If I could speak to her from 2023, I would tell her:

• Keep looking forward.
• You will fail and mess up, but you will be ok.
• Never stop learning.
• Be thankful.
• Life goes by fast. Embrace every moment.
• Be kind.
• Don't be afraid to be who you are.
• You are special.
• You have never been alone.
• You are greatly loved.
• You are brave and strong.
• Follow your heart.
• Stand for what you believe.
• You are a gentle, quiet warrior.
• You will have adventures.
• Dream big and bigger.
• God already knows you.

Check my website for information about my books and blogs and life. www.christinetracy.com

Poem: Friends Who Dream

Dreaming with friends

The shouts of revelation

The laughter of wild ideas

The hope of what could be.

"What ifs?" are answered

Imagination grows wings

And something takes shape

And is released and gives joy.

This is the happy place I find myself

Where anything seems possible

A little wine opens new lands

And what was deep

in only one person’s mind

Comes to surface amidst cheers.

And goes farther than any

one friend thought possible.

We are not meant to dream alone.

Find my books on Amazon

Never Alone

"How did you meet Jesus?” the radio host asked me on his live morning show. I wasn’t expecting the question, but I had a ready answer that I have never said before.

“It’s more like Jesus met me,” I said, “when I was little and special.”

He had always been right there. There on the beach. There in my garden. There in my school room. There in the snow fort. There in the sweet joys of childhood and nature. I may not have realized it then, but now, thinking back, I can see.

Thank you for reading my blogs. I have two. The other blog is www.bssmadventures.blogspot.com. Also, find my books at https://www.amazon.com/stores/Christine-Tracy

You Are Much More Than a "Friend"

I'm lucky to have many creative friends. My brain wants to plan things for them and help them grow and reach people with their delightful gifts. Most of these friends don’t even realize the power and beauty of what they carry. I want to celebrate them and tell them "you not only do and create, but you ARE!"

You ARE poetry.

You ARE a song.

You ARE your book.

You ARE an event.

You ARE a word.

You ARE love.

You ARE hope.

You ARE beauty.

You ARE story.

You ARE music.

You ARE strength.

My friends, you give all of these to me in the relationship of friendship and I am so grateful.