by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Luke 10:27, NKJ
As women we tend to wear a lot of “hats” everyday without even realizing it! We just know that we are exhausted each night – can I get an Amen? Within a twenty-four hour period women often fill the roles of: wife, mother, business woman, chef, chauffeur, counselor, daughter, aunt, bible study leader, school teacher, fashion consultant, friend and this is not comprehensive list by any means! It is no wonder studies have shown that women in America feel overwhelmed and dissatisfied. Needless to say, it is imperative that you take care of yourself!
Notice in the verse above that in addition to loving your neighbor (i.e. preparing meals for a family grieving, volunteering at your local church and listening to a friend in need), we are also commanded to love ourselves!
So let me ask you: Are you good to yourself? Do you take time for you or does everything and everyone else take precedence? I am going to guess that most of us reading this blog (including myself) often fall short in this area. But the truth is, if we don’t take care of ourselves – we will eventually reach the point where we can no longer function! When we find ourselves exhausted and overwhelmed, depression can creep in if we are not careful. So, if you are reading this today please know that I love you and I plead with you to take care of yourself:)
I give you permission to take care of you! Let’s start right now – I want you to think of something that you can do for yourself today… go ahead and think about it and then DO IT!
Prayer:
Lord, forgive me for taking care of everyone else, but me. I choose this day to take better care of me. You have entrusted me with a special purpose while here on earth and by taking care of myself – I WILL fulfill my destiny in Christ! Thank you God for this gentle reminder and I will love my neighbor as I love myself this day.” Amen.
by Tracy | Tuesdays With Tracy, Warfare
“For He (God) foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will (because it pleased Him and was His kind intent).” Ephesians 1:5, Amplified Version
There are times in our lives when we get so bombarded with what the world says about us that we forget who we are in Christ Jesus. Today I want us to declare what God says about us. Pay no attention to your feelings – your feelings will lie to you, but God always tells you the truth. You have a choice today – will you continue to believe your feelings over the Word of God or will you declare and let your faith arise to what God’s Word says about you?
The truth is – we have authority over the devil and his lies – he does not have authority over us! If you are in a battle concerning your self-worth – join me in declaring Ephesians Chapter One over your life.
Let’s say this OUT LOUD together:
According to Ephesians Chapter One, I am:
Blessed (vs. 3)
Chosen (vs. 4)
Holy (vs.4)
Blameless (vs.4)
Predestined (vs. 5)
Redeemed (vs. 7)
Forgiven (vs.7)
In Christ I have:
Wisdom (vs. eight)
Understanding (vs. eight)
I know the mystery of His will (vs. eight)
I am made for God’s glory (vs. eight)
I am seated with the Holy Spirit of Promise (vs. 13)
I have an inheritance (vs. 14)
I am God’s possession (vs. 14)
I have hope (vs. 18)
I am Enlightened (vs. 18)
I have resurrection power (vs. 19)
I have a mighty strength! (vs. 19)
We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! No matter what you are currently going through, remember that in Christ you have everything you need and that your victory is just around the corner!
Prayer:
I am Yours Lord – everything I’ve got and everything I am! Forgive me for believing the lies of the world concerning my worth. I agree with Your Word today that I am blessed, redeemed, forgiven and that I have a hope! I will no longer allow my feelings to dictate my life, but I choose to believe the Word of God. Amen.
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Behold I will do a new thing, and it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19.
– This post is a longer than normal, but I promise you that it is worth the read. Enjoy:)
*When I was a little girl, I loved stuffed animals. I had so many on my bed each night, that I barely had any room for me! I named them all one by one and if any of them fell off the bed during the night I would apologize to them and purposefully place them closest to me the next night. While my obsession of having hundreds of stuffed animals has lessened with my growing age, I will admit to having one stuffed animal, named Brian during my college years. He was a fluffy white bunny with long ears and a smile. I loved him deeply and my bunny saw me through the best and worst of times. I would hold onto him tightly each night and snuggle with him, especially after a long day. During the hard times, he would absorb my tears into his mangled fur as they fell from my face. Needless to say, what started out as a beautiful bunny began to resemble a tattered lamb.
When I married my husband, Michael, we each selected one thing we wanted the other person to get rid of prior to our honeymoon. And can you believe that he chose for me to get rid of my beloved white fluffy bunny? While letting go of Brian was not any easy task, I felt consoled because I would soon hold tightly onto my new husband in this new season of life. I was counting on him to perform all that my bunny had these past eight years.
Unbeknownst to me, with the letting go of Brian, I shifted my hold onto my husband and also my best friend, Kelly. This was all well and good until Kelly moved into her beautiful new home – in Egypt!! Don’t get me wrong – I was thrilled for her, but to my dismay her new home was 45 minutes away from mine! I would never have thought of myself as someone who held tightly onto things. After all, I did move every few years and I considered myself very adaptable. But Kelly and I had planned to get pregnant together and that she would watch my children when I worked a few days each week and her recent move upset our beautiful plans.
It was at this point that God began to speak to me that I had been holding tightly onto things throughout my entire life. God graciously revealed to me that the only thing I am to hold tightly onto is Him. People will move, relationships will change, but God never does! I finally told Kelly of my struggles and asked for her forgiveness for being selfish. She of course was wonderful, and reaffirmed that no one could ever replace me in her life. Our heart-to-heart talk was a blessing and we made a pact to work hard at getting together even with the new distance between our homes. I then hung up the phone with her and prayed for the Lord to bless her new home and our friendship.
Next, I had a heart-to-heart talk with God. He showed me that by holding onto things tightly, He wasn’t able to bring new blessings into my life. Tears filled my eyes as He spoke this truth to me. Then I happened to look over at my little Maltese dog, Noah, and it hit me just how much he looked like my old bunny “Brian.” He was soft and white with fluffy ears. Yet, I love Noah so much more! I also found out that a new friend of mine is moving into a neighborhood down the street from me. I began to realize that God has many new blessings to bring my way, if I will just let go and trust Him to bring them to me.
We can easily hold onto Jesus because He is already holding onto us!
Truth be told, I still miss my mangled bunny and I will forever miss the close proximity of my best friend, but I now know that I must let go and “Behold I (the Lord) will do a new thing, and it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19). You see, if we will just let go and grab onto Christ, a new thing will appear. So, let me ask you, Is there anything you are holding onto tightly? If so, I encourage you to let go and hold tightly to God’s Word and His promises for you this New Year because if you do -The best is yet ahead!
*Published Article by Tracy Hurst: Christian Chronicle/2003
by Tracy | Tuesdays With Tracy, Warfare
“The Lord also will ROAR from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the Lord will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.” Joel 3:16, NKJ
The roar of a lion will stop you dead in your tracks and bring a chill down you spine – trust me on this! I was able a few years back to go behind the scenes at the Atlanta Zoo and I will never forget my encounter with the lion! I was so thankful for the steel bars that were present between this massive creature and me!
According to the scripture above, God is a ROARING lion and if you feel like you are in a battle – hold tight – because God will ROAR from Zion on your behalf!
When God speaks, the earth cannot help but tremble. So can you imagine the impact on the earth and the enemies of God when He ROARS? I believe that when God ROARS from Zion on our behalf, everything that is standing between us and God will be shaken down! God is our shelter during the storms of life and He is our strength when we are weak. Be encouraged friend – If you are currently in a battle – run to the shelter of God’s love and know that He will protect you. Make no mistake that the enemies of God will not prosper much longer. God is fighting on behalf of His chosen people!
Prayer:
Lord, I run to you for shelter this day. You are my refuge and my present help in trouble. No weapon formed against me shall prosper and I declare, “If God is for me – who can be against me?” Father, I thank you for your ROAR from Zion concerning your people and Israel this day! I know the end of the story – WE WIN! I love you God and I trust that goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Amen.
Photo Above is from: www.freefoto.com
by Tracy | Tuesdays With Tracy
“He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly.” Luke 1:51b-52
Grab a cup of coffee and sit back because I have some good news to share with you! Today we are going to dig a little deeper into the scripture above and I think what we discover just might make you want to shout!
The word “proud” according to the scripture above is defined as one whom “appears to be above others, haughty and proud.” These are individuals whom the world would call “powerful,” yet it is through their imagination and faulty perception of themselves that God is able to pull them down! The proud believe that they are worthy to sit on a mighty throne, but you and I know differently – only Yahweh is worthy of such a position!
So, here is what God is saying to us today: I (God) am removing those who think they are exceedingly, abundantly better than their fellow man and even Me and it is through their own egotistical thinking that I will pull them down from their high positions on earth. I (God) will personally lift them out of their high places and replace them with those who have a humble and contrite heart.
Here is the best part for you and me: While God is pulling down the proud – He is looking for those of a humble heart to replace them and friends that can be you and me!!! So, let me ask you: Do you daily seek God’s will? Are you quick to repent when you are wrong? Are you a person after God’s own heart? If you answered, “yes” to these questions, then God is going to exalt you in 2008! So, go ahead and give a shout!
Prayer:
“Lord I thank you for pulling down the proud and exalting me in their place. If you can choose anyone Jesus, please do not overlook me. I choose to use my position to promote You and I refuse to give into pride. I declare that 2008 is going to be great! I declare God’s choice for our next President. I silence the voice of the media and man from bringing confusion to our minds. Lord, show us Your choice. And as we hear Your voice, I declare that on election day there will be a BLOWOUT in the polls as never before! It is time for unity. It is time to unite and bring forth God’s choice! May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Amen.
