Happy Easter!

In these times...

I could feel hopeless. I could feel depressed. I could be angry. I could blame.

But I can't go there. Some might say I don't care. But...the truth is I care too much. It would be too easy for me to climb into a hole of despair and get stuck.

So...I get up every morning, sip my coffee, check my messages, read, water my garden, walk my dog, greet people, connect with friends, bake a little, work, write, take photos, and I give myself an assignment to look for the good.

I may not be able to control what's happening in my world, but I can control how I respond to it. 

That said - I am believing with all hope and trust that we are going to be OK as a people and a nation. Today we celebrate a day in history when suddenly everything changed. 

Happy Easter everyone. The Lord is Risen and He is indeed good!

Regarding the Headlines:

I'm a career journalist; a born and bred newspaper lover. I have been defending the media lately. The news outlets I watch and read, I believe, are indeed trying to present the facts. 

That said, I also know humans, and hence those in the media, tend to look at the negative; the crisis; expecting the worst. 

These sentiments seem to rise like invisible cream in every report these days. May I suggest that no one really can foresee how this will end? We must not put our faith in reports that stem from a reporter's or "expert's" own fears. I have heard it said that fear is faith in the wrong God. I have also heard it said that we empower the enemy when we believe his lies.

So how can we change how we respond? If we could just re-look at what is happening, could we begin to believe for headlines like these? I'm looking forward to them.

100 Percent Survival Rate!
49 Things the Government Did Right
The Victory our Leaders are Going After
5 Things the President Got Right
Communities Unite to Help Health Workers
The World Unites in the Battle
Defeating the Hidden Enemy
Virus is Losing the Battle
The Intelligence Behind the Victory
Successful Drugs and Vaccines Win the Day
Valiant Health Workers Band in Herculean Battle
and Win
92 Lives Saved Today
Thousands to Volunteer Help
Polls Show 98 percent are Unafraid
No More Fear
Here's to 2020 - The Year the World's Vision Corrected
People More Thankful, More Giving, Kinder, and Full of Joy
The Day We All Hugged Again
Doomsday Thwarted
Could God Really be Real?
Miraculous Departure of Virus Stuns Experts

Let's begin to declare and pray these headlines.

Thank you very much!

Love to all. Praying for every reader - for protection, provision, comfort, connection, healing, and that you would see God's mighty hand and presence in your life today.

Romans 4:17 - (paraphrase) - God calls things which are not as though they are. (We are made in His image. He is Creator. We are creative. He creates things with His Word. We can, too, by our declarations. What will you call into existence today?

Look for the Beauty!

Flowers still bloom. The sun still rises and sets. Butterflies still abound. Birds are still cheerfully singing. The world is still beautiful.

If you look for the good, you'll find it.

Kindness is all around us.

Peace presently rules in our homes.

Love overcomes everything.

How will you release beauty today? 

"Take the carefree birds as your example. Do you ever see them worry? They don't grow their own food or put it in a storehouse for later. Yet God takes care of every one of them, feeding each of them from his love and goodness. Isn't your life more precious to God than a bird? Be carefree in the care of God!
Luke 12:24 - The Passion Translation

My website: www.christinetracy.com

The Far Side of the Moon?

Do you feel like we're about to go around the dark side of the moon?

Remember when we used to send astronauts to orbit the moon? There was a time on the back side where we couldn't communicate with the ship. We had to wait hours before we knew the astronauts were safe; when they could again communicate with Mission Control.

That's how this pandemic seems right now. No one knows for sure what might happen.

Well, I'm going to break that sense of fear in my home and on my blog.

I declare by God's mighty hand of protection we will be alright - physically and economically - and as a people we'll be ready to rebuild and reconnect.

I declare this time in isolation is more about inspiration - for creativity; for strategic ideas; for improved relationships; for being thankful; and for appreciating what we have, realizing what is most important.

I declare this buffoon of a pandemic will quickly blow itself out and that history will show our fears were unwarranted. 

I pray and I declare we will be a nation of celebrators as we rejoice together that we missed a bullet and we learned a lot.

Does this sound crazy? Honestly, I would rather live in expectation of good than dread of bad. It's healthier. It works. Join me?

A word from Bethel Church senior leader Bill Johnson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNydBTwgoys

Remind Your Friends Who They Are

I woke in the middle of the night with the vision of a little boy who had fallen. His mama lovingly picked him up, dusted him off, set him back on his feet, and with a kiss and a pat, sent him on his way.

I feel this is a picture of what everyone needs today. We need to encourage one another, pick each other up, dust each other off, and send each other forward. How? We can do this with the power of our words. Let's call out the gold in each other; remind our friends of their dreams; help them remember who they are and the One they belong to; and speak life into their weary bones and minds.

Our words and encouragement shine like diamonds. Sometimes we can't see for ourselves who we really are. We need someone to tell us.

Perhaps part of our own identity is to be that one that helps another see theirs.

Isaiah 60:1 - Rise up in splendor and be radiant, for your light has dawned and Yahweh's glory now streams from you!

The glory of God is man (and woman) fully alive. St. Irenaeus

Love to all. I'm praying for every one of my readers wherever you are in the world. Let peace reign. You are healed in the mighty Name of Jesus. You are loved by the Love that created this world - the mighty One that will overcome. Just wait and see!

My Prayer This Morning

Papa God...

I have trouble concentrating lately...trouble focusing on a prayer...so much happening...so much to think about.

But this morning, I lift up my beautiful world to you...my family...my friends...into your embrace and powerful hands.

You are sovereign. We will follow your lead in great anticipation of your goodness.

Today and this season are but a blip in your great plan for us. We will not fear. We will hunker down in a loving home and we will hope. Yes hope.

In 2020, the best is still yet to come. And it will. May your healing touch be with those who are fearful, sick, and hopeless. Let us be a light that shines in this present darkness.

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Isaiah 60:1 (NKJV)

A Global Reset?

You know how you have to sometimes unplug the internet or TV cable and wait five minutes before you plug it back in? This causes a reset and causes a system that has gone awry to magically return to proper working order.

Well, what if that's what is happening in our world today?

A GLOBAL RESET.

Could this be our collective chance to let our wise response to a virus result in a divine reset of who we are as a culture and people?

I propose we just accept the imposed quiet right now. Let's unplug, find peace, read, bake, and get re-aquainted with each other and with nature. Let's find God, talk to Him, listen to Him, and do what He says.

Let's enjoy the five minutes, five days, five weeks, even five months of the unplug in great and joyous anticipation of the coming new calibration and reset of our times, world, and life.

Fear not. Be cautious, be smart, be healthy, be loving...and just be.

Love to all during this very strange time of pandemic. We pray for the sick for complete healing and tell the virus to go back where it came from. Trust that God will keep you safe. 

Isaiah 40:5 - And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

Prayer - Not Fear - Will Overcome!

When my brother and I were about ages three and five in the early 1950s, a polio epidemic struck terror in our mom, who would not let us go out in public. What really saddened me was our beloved Wisconsin beach was off limits to us due to the uncertainty and lack of knowledge of how the disease was spreading. People stayed home. In those days, there was no vaccine. We all knew people who became infected with the paralyzing disease. The fear in my mother's face and her strict actions to keep us safe are what I remember most about this enemy that was attacking mostly children. In later years, I would lose a good friend to polio in spite of the large strides in medicine that were made to treat and prevent it.

In this time, when we face a worldwide pandemic, we are wise to take precautions, wait it out, and be diligent as we learn more. We are also wise to not get caught up in frenzy and fear. Media is not the fear generator. It is our response to it that is causing unrest.

I would like to post portions of Psalm 91 that we can be praying over ourselves and our world right now. There is a light and power much greater than this present darkness. Prayer - not fear - will overcome.

When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai,

you are hidden in the strength of God Most High.

He's the hope that holds me and the stronghold to shelter me,

the only God for me, and my great confidence.

He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy,

and he will protect you from false accusation

and the deadly curse.

His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you.

You can run under his covering of majesty and hide.

His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm.

Don't fear a thing!

When we live our lives within the shadow of God Most High,

our secret hiding place, we will always be shielded from harm.

How then could evil prevail against us or disease infect us?

Psalm 91:1-4; 6; 9-10 (The Passion Translation)