Who Can I Help Today?

The other day I was unpacking boxes and found a bunch of old journals. While there were delightful memories of cute things my children said; adventures we shared; and wonderful prayers I penned; there were also some dark passages. My journals served as a wilderness therapist on my mountain in Colorado. I brought to them my uncertainties, my griefs, and my dark thoughts, along with my ideas, dreams, and goals. 

The tapestries of our lives are made up of good and bad; light and dark; rough and smooth; aren't they? 

My journals exposed some new truths to me, and reminded me of prayers that were never answered, highlighted by many cries to my God: "Will you please help me?"

I have heard it said God doesn't hide His promises and gifts from us; but He hides them for us to search out and find. So this week God gently, through my imagination, told me that I had been asking the wrong question. Instead of the "help me" prayer, I should try asking "Who can we help today?" In so doing, he showed me, I would find the answer to my first prayer, because as He helps others through me - He opens up my own spirit and soul to receive so much more "help" from Him. The flow is like a living stream that brings color and light and refreshing to not only my own soul - but to that of the person He shows me to bless.

My book, "Tapestry, The Divine Design for Your Life," is available for print and Kindle: https://amzn.to/3tplkBN

The Holes in My Heart

I've had several holes in my heart. They appear when loved ones pass; when my children have been hurt; when I feel fear, or lose a sense of what I was created for. 

Holes have been repaired, filled, and stitched back together when there has been resolution, joy, peace, and solutions...when time has passed and healing has prevailed.

Today, even with the tumultuous year we have all had, I don't feel any holes or any stitches torn. It may be because I keep tuning into and praying for the truth of my being so that I can walk in that truth. I'm not there yet, but my focus is in the right place. I'm so thankful for the One who brings healing and strength; purpose and solitude; grace and forgiveness; purpose and identity.

I am not flailing in the abyss of virus or politics. But I do see the need for extra peace right now that can only come from the presence of God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. 

The enemy would have us believe his lies and deception as we revel in controversy so that we become ineffective to fix what is broken. I don't want to go there. I want to rise above and stay connected heart to beating heart to the One - the only one - that is able to overcome.

I love you, my readers. I pray you, too, have a whole heart - free of confusion. I pray you are able to repel deception, walk in love and kindness, and trust in your Father in Heaven. I pray you are able to overcome and see clearly as I pray the same for myself.

www.christinetracy.com

Find my book, "Tapestry - The Divine Design for Your Life,"on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3iavMYH

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

Of Fuel Pumps, Spark Plugs, Glitches, and Grace

I can't figure it out. Either Colorado doesn't want to let us go back to Texas...or our truck really doesn't like Colorado. So...what to do when you're carless and have five days in one of your favorite cities? Here are 5 things.
1 - Learn to use the very cool apps called Uber and Uber Eats. (Thank you, Bess Tracy, for tutoring us.
2 - Watch all the episodes of Manifest you've missed while on vacation by using your phone's DirecTV app.
3 - Enjoy Blarney on Belmar - including amazing Irish bagpipe, stepdancing, and  Irish pub rock in the Belmar shopping neighborhood. Awesome.
4 - Try Vietnamese food. Yum.
5 - Spend downtime outside in the cool air and warm sun - talking, reading, and resting. Oh Colorado!
A few days ago, I read a Facebook meme from Brene Brown that read: "Assume others are doing the best they can." I love that - both for others and for ourselves. We are indeed doing the best we can. Lord, help me find the goodness, hope, and thankfulness in every situation.

- Even at the Ford service center.

"Live inside the grace of one day." - Wm. Paul Young