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)