by Tracy | General
Dear Friends,
It is with great excitement that I announce to you, National Worship
Leader, Song Writer (of over 1,000 songs), Minister and personal
friend, Tony Sutherland, will be featured on TBN this coming Monday,
January 19th. Please tune in and enjoy the best worship you have
ever heard in your life!! Tony and his wife Sherri, have been one
of our very best friends for over 12 years now. My husband and I
give Tony our highest recommendation and endorsement.
The details are as follows:
Monday, January 19th
Tony Sutherland will be featured on TBN Praise Program hosted by
Jentezen Franklin
5:00 & 10:00 p.m. EST
2:00 & 7:00 p.m. PST
Log onto www.tbn.org for viewing details
I hope you can tune in because I know you will be blessed! For more
information about Tony, log onto his website: http://www.tonysutherland.com
See you tomorrow for "Tuesdays With Tracy!"
Blessings,
Tracy Hurst
by Tracy | General, Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Brethren, I count myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things
where are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
“It is not in good taste to remind God of something that He has forgotten.”
Quote from Kenneth Hagin
“We will never reach our future destination in Christ if we continually drive through our life while looking through the rear view mirror.” Quote from Tracy Hurst
As I think back upon 2008, I am cognizant not only of my good choices and blessings, but also my failures and disappointments. And that is why the scripture above is so important to me as I embark on the New Year. I have a choice of life and death before me and so do you…it is a decision that only we can make ourselves and it will greatly alter our destiny in Christ. The choice is this: Will I allow the enemy to hold me in bondage to the sins and failures of my past or will I embrace Philippians 3:13-14 and move forward to what God has for me in 2009?
Even if we are not proud of our past, the truth is that when we repent to God – we are forgiven. Period. I love what Kenneth Hagin Sr. has said, “It is not in good taste to remind God of something that He has forgotten.” Selah (pause and think about that for a moment). You will either believe the Word of God or the voice of the enemy concerning your future. It is because of the Cross of Jesus that nothing can hold you in your past, but YOU! The enemy was defeated, your destiny was made secure and IT IS TIME for you to move forward.
God has made His plans for you very clear in Ephesians 2:10 (NLT), which states, “For we are Gods masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” The year 2009 will be full of adventure and blessings if you choose to let go of your disappointments of the past and grab onto God’s grace and truth concerning your future.
Just as a trapeze artist must let go of one swing so he can grab onto the next one which leads him to his ultimate destination of the other side, we too much let go of 2008 in order to grab onto 2009. It is time for us to stop swinging back and forth and move forward in the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Prayer:
“Lord, I choose life this day by letting go of my past and grabbing onto my future in You. Thank you for giving Your life on the Cross so that I can receive Your love, acceptance and forgiveness. I rebuke the enemy and his pack of lies concerning my future! I will no longer entertain my past and its failures, but I will press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I declare that 2009 will be the greatest year of my life! Amen.”
by Tracy | General
“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manager. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:11-14
Our tree is up, our lights are twinkling and the joy of Christmas is finally here! My daughter, Alyssa loves rearranging all the ornaments on our tree, making crafts and cookies for family and friends and I am experiencing the wonders of Christmas all over again through the eyes of my precious little girl!
Everyday, Alyssa and I find ourselves singing, “Happy Birthday to Jesus” in anticipation of Christmas morning. We often read books about the true meaning of Christmas and I am teaching her about giving to those who are less fortunate…but then it happened…she saw a guy in a bright red suit named santa claus. Her response was priceless; with a puzzled look on her face, Alyssa turned to me and said defensively, “Whose that mommy…..Christmas is Jesus’ Birthday!” I laughed out loud and thought to myself, “Wow Alyssa, you are right, who is this guy sneaking into our homes on Jesus’ Birthday anyway? Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with playing the “game” of Santa Claus, but our children need to understand that Santa is just a GAME and that Jesus is REAL!
We live in a world that wants to take Christ out of Christmas, but my prayer is that all of us will respond with a loud shout, “Not on our watch.” Let us all enjoy the festivities of this Holiday season, even play the game of santa claus, but not forget what Christmas is about – to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. After all how would you feel if someone else took all the attention away from your birthday?
How can we keep Christ the focus? I would love to hear all of your ideas. One way that we are able to focus on the birth of Jesus is every Christmas Eve, we make Jesus a birthday cake. I asked my daughter what Jesus’ favorite kind of cake is and she replied, “Chocolate!”
Prayer:
Lord, help us to always celebrate Your birth on Christmas morning! Forgive us for allowing the world to replace Your miraculous birth with business and gift buying. You are the greatest gift we could ever receive. As I enjoy the parties, games and joys of Christmas, help me to remember that You are the Reason for the Season! I will declare proudly everywhere I go, “Merry Christmas!” This is Your special day and we wish You a very Happy Birthday! Amen.”
Tip #1 on how to keep Christ in your Christmas:
Make Jesus a birthday cake on Christmas Eve. Alyssa and I are going to make Jesus’ Birthday cake together and she is going to decorate it with her favorite treat, M&M’s! Our plan is to wake up Christmas morning and sing “Happy Birthday to Jesus” and then eat a piece of cake for breakfast (now how much fun is that)? ? If you have ideas on how to keep Christ in Christmas, please click on the comment button and share them – I may even post your idea in the comings weeks!
by Tracy | General
Please welcome our guest writer for “Tuesdays With Tracy” today, Carol Abersold. Carol is the best selling author of “The Elf On The Shelf: A Christmas Tradition.” She is currently traveling throughout America signing books and bringing smiles to children everywhere. Please check out her wonderful website at: www.elfontheshelf.com. My daughter, Alyssa goes onto her website daily to make cookies for Santa. I know you will be blessed by Carol’s devotional today. Does anyone have a light?
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and give praise to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
Although I had tried to faithfully serve the Lord for more than fifty years, my light, for all intents and purposes, was out. I found myself in the blackest of pits mentally, physically and spiritually. I had been physically suffering with three herniated discs in my neck, my husband’s business was failing, and my in-laws let me know how much they disliked me after thirty-four years of pretense. I found myself curled up in a ball weeping and crying out to God for help, healing and deliverance. All hope seemed gone. Why was I, a Sunday school teacher, amateur Bible scholar, a word believing, walking, talking Christian suffering from hopelessness?!! My usually strong husband was suffering from his own worries ( I was one of them), and I “turned to God” but He seemed to be on vacation. What was the deal!
My oldest daughter came over to pray for me. She took action and made an appointment for me to get professional Christian counseling, and she encouraged me to start writing. My Eeyore-like reply was, “I have nothing to say.” Determined child (adult) that she is, she looked up on a shelf in my kitchen where my little pixie elf from childhood still remained even though the holidays were past. “Why don’t we write a book about the elf tradition?” she said. My reply was, “Oh, Chanda, nobody would want to read that……Okay.”
And so we began writing what turned out to be The Elf On The Shelf: A Christmas Tradition. While we were in the process of writing the story, I received the professional help I needed from Tracy Hurst. These two women, Chanda and Tracy, let the Lord use them to shine His light upon me. He graciously healed me from my pain, the source of our financial drain was revealed to us, and most importantly… I got my light back. The point is this: a Christian woman’s light never completely goes out, but it can grow extremely dim. Perhaps, you, like I, need someone to shine their light on you until you can get your “batteries recharged.” Don’t be afraid, just receive it. In turn, when darkness seems present in another’s life do not hesitate to shine your God-given light.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, let me be equally as willing to be set alight, as to shed light. Let the Holy Spirit remind me not to lose heart, because I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Let me not be ashamed to seek proper help when my light seems to dim, and let me be a beacon shedding Your light on everyone I meet today. Amen.
