by Tracy | Inspirational, Life With Alyssa, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 4:20, NKJV
Believe it or not – this is a picture of my daughter’s closet before she was even born! Not to mention that all of her drawers were completely full and I still had one more shower to go! My husband and I laugh because Alyssa still owns more clothes than us even to this day! I have found since becoming a Christian that Alyssa’s bountiful closet is a beautiful picture of God’s goodness. God not only meets our needs, He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we could ever ask, think or even imagine!
What is it that you are in need of today? Peace? Health? Joy? Provision? I promise you that your Heavenly Father will move heaven and earth to bless you this very day. He is a God of more than enough! When it appears that your prayers are going unanswered – you can trust in the nature of God. Even though life may be hard right now, God is good and He is moving on your behalf today. I encourage you to go ahead and thank Him in advance for meeting your needs. Go ahead and praise Him before the provision arrives. He is worthy of all praise. Our Lord is willing and able to provide abundantly for us this day.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank you for being more than enough. I come before you today and ask that you move on my behalf. Please touch me today, heal my body, restore my relationships, provide for me financially and fill me to overflowing with Your joy. No matter what the circumstances may look like in the natural, I declare that You are more than enough! I choose to praise You during the storms of life. You are the Almighty God. I worship You and thank You in advance for moving on my behalf this day. I rest in You, Jesus. You are worthy of all my praise! Amen.
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah (Pause and think about this).” Psalm 16:3-4, NKJV
Did you know that the word “overwhelmed” means “to pour down upon and bury beneath?” Think about this for a minute…. When we are experiencing overwhelming obstacles we often feel anxious and as if something heavy is resting on our chest. When we feel overwhelmed it is as if our problems are pouring down on us and we are buried beneath them. Anyone else been there?
BUT according to the scripture above, when our emotions and thoughts overwhelm us, Jesus(The Rock) is higher than our circumstances! He can take us from overwhelmed to overflowing! He can show us His viewpoint on our situation and guide us on what to do. Jesus and His Word is our shelter from the enemy and in Him we can trust! He is a Rock that is stable and can handle any situation that comes our way.
No matter what you are experiencing right now -Jesus wants to lead you to The Rock (His Word) that is higher than yourself and your circumstances! He can pull you up from the state of being underneath your circumstances to a place high above the earth through His Word! We do not have to live our lives overwhelmed! Jesus is our Rock and He is greater and above ALL circumstances here on earth!
Prayer:
Lord, I commit every overwhelming circumstance in my life to your this day. I entrust my emotions to you and declare that you are greater than my emotions and thoughts and know ALL things. I ask that you lead me to see my problems from Your viewpoint which is above and not beneath. Thank you for being my refuge and shelter this day. You are everything I need. I praise you for being my ALL THAT! Amen.
Photo above is from: www.freefoto.com
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
Hello Precious Friends,
I am in the middle of a move and quite busy, but I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes with you. May you have a Jesus filled day and may God’s love overwhelm you and overtake you today. I love you and bless you!
Tracy
Some of my Favorite Quotes:
“I confess that regardless of how much resistance the devil is trying to bring against my life, I will never surrender to defeat. Others may give up, but not I! As long as I am alive, I will stay the fight. I refuse to relinquish my stand of faith. I am an exceptionally find soldier – exactly the kind other Christian soldiers should be happy to associate with – because I am committed and determined to fight until my victory is complete.” Rick Renner, “Sparkling Gems”
“Instead of waiting for the storm to pass – learn to dance in the rain.” Christina Brunetti
“Whenever it appears that God is withholding something good from you – He is only setting you up to be blessed with His best!” Tracy Hurst, “This To That”
“The people you hang out with today – determine who you will become in 5 years.” Psychology Today
“While there’s nothing wrong with glamour per se, many important activities in life call us to get our hands dirty. Parenting in particular wakes us up from our self-indulgence and invites us to get involved in something bigger than adventure and even greater than glamour – the shaping of a human life and the destiny of an eternal soul. It’s a messy business, but a highly important one.” Gary Thomas, Sacred Parenting
PS:
Did you know that moving is one of the top ten stressors in life? Right now I can totally understand why this is true! Thanks for your prayers and encouraging words. See you next week:)
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
I have always thought of myself as a loving person, but God has been challenging my “love walk” the past few months. He has asked me to give things away that are dear to my heart. He has brought people into my life who are in need of encouragement when I needed encouragement myself. He has asked me to do things out of obedience to bless His people. He has encouraged me to give rather than receive. With all of this occurring, I realized I needed more of God’s love to flow in and through me each day. I am desperate for God to fill me to overflowing that I may be a blessing to those around me. Is anyone else as desperate as I am for God’s love?
According to 1 Corinthians 13, The Message Translation:
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut.
Love doesn’t have a swelled head.
Love doesn’t force itself on others.
Love isn’t always “me first.”
Love doesn’t fly off the handle.
Love doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.
Love doesn’t revel when others grovel.
Love takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.
Love puts up with anything.
Love trusts God always.
Love always looks for the best.
Love never looks back.
Love keeps going to the end.
Love never dies.
So, how is your love walk?
Just remember that your Heavenly Father gives you His amazing love freely each day. He will never give up on you. You are the apple of His eye and He is your Daddy:) Relish in His love today. No matter what you are going through – God’s love will see you through!
Prayer:
Lord, fill me with your perfect love this day. Forgive me of my selfishness and help me to love the people You have placed in my life. Make me more like Jesus. Help me to love myself and other people by your definition of love. Thank you Jesus for never giving up on me and for always being with me. I love you! Amen.
by Tracy | Inspirational, Practical, Tuesdays With Tracy
“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness…..This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us, but against the Lord.” Exodus 16:2,8
Recently, I have been under a lot of stress. God is truly blessing my family, but “good stress” – is still stress! My days have been filled with to-do lists, phone calls and never-ending appointments. I realized that I had reached my limit when I broke down crying to my friend, Angel over the phone. I was exhausted and needed rest. The next morning during my quiet time with God, I felt the Lord speak the following to me: “Tracy, I have parted the Red Sea (done a miracle) for you and your husband. I am taking you to your next promise land, but you must stop grumbling and complaining or I will have to take my hand off of you.” Immediately, I repented and asked for God’s grace and strength in order to endure the journey to reach my promise land. He was right – I was being just like the Israelites who praised God when He parted the Red Sea on their behalf, but only a few days later they began to grumble and complain about various obstacles they had to conquer to get to their Promise Land. I had fallen for an old, but familiar trap of grumbling and complaining and I needed to HALT!
You see, because I was overly tired – I let down my spiritual guard and allowed my mouth (through grumbling and complaining) to get me into trouble. As a counselor, I am aware that negative thoughts and speech cause extreme fatigue and frustration! I once heard Pastor Charles Stanley share a powerful acronym with his congregation. He stated the need to H-A-L-T whenever we are:
H-Hungry
A-Angry
L-Lonely
T-Tired.
Pastor Stanley explained that when we are experiencing any of these physical or emotional deficits, the devil will try to pull us into fleshly temptations (i.e. – fear, over-eating, addictions, worry, doubt, negativity, grumbling, etc).
No matter what you are going through at this time: H-A-L-T and take care of you! God is continually taking us from glory to glory! He is leading us each day to greater things. So go ahead, take a nap, eat a big steak, forgive the one who has offended you and ask for God to fill you with His awesome love this day. Trust me, I did all of the above, and I am in a much better place! God can meet whatever need you have today. He promises that He will never leave you or forsake you. Rest in the simple fact that His mighty hand is upon you:)
Prayer:
“Lord, thank You for Your mercy and grace. I ask that You give me wisdom on how to take care of myself. I give You my hunger and ask that You feed me. I give You my anger and ask that You replace it with a heart of forgiveness and love. I give You my loneliness and ask that You pour out Your love upon me this day. I give You my tiredness and ask that You give strength to my mind, body and spirit. Jesus, I want to reach my next promise land and with Your grace and strength, I can even enjoy the journey! I love you Heavenly Father ask that You fill me to over-flowing.” Amen.
Picture above is from: www.freefoto.com
by Tracy | Inspirational, Practical, Tuesdays With Tracy
A picture of Michael & me celebrating 8 years of marriage!
“Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.” Psalm 55:17-18, New King James Version
Is there a place everyday where God knows He can find you? Maybe it’s in your living room as the sunrises or in the evening just before bed. But where can God find you? I know that our lives are hectic and having a dedicated time to spend with God each day can be difficult. But, if we do not have a designated time to spend with God, life circumstances often get in the way. Personally, I love to wake up each morning before my daughter gets up (around 6:30 am). God can find me sitting on my sofa with a cup of coffee in my hand. I usually begin my time just talking and thanking God for His goodness. I lift up the various tasks of my day and I read my Bible and pray. This is my FAVORITE part of the day! There are mornings when Alyssa wakes up early and I have to re-arrange my quiet time. But just having this set time each day helps keep me on track and full of faith.
Depending on your personality type- you are either a morning person (like me) or a night owl. It is never a good idea for a morning person to try and read the Bible just before bed (trust me on this one – you will just find drool marks on your pages) and a night owls should never try and get up at 5:00 am (I have heard that this will put you in a very bad mood)! It is important to find the right time and place for YOU. You do not need to feel that you have to spend your time with God just like “Sister-Suzie-Q!” You may need to try out a few different times and places to discover what works best for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help show you the best time and place to spend time with Him. Trust me, He will show you – He LOVES spending time with you!
Prayer:
“Lord, I want to spend time with each today. Help me to not let life circumstances get in the way. I need You desperately each day and ask that You fill me with Your grace and mercy. Holy Spirit, show me the best time and place to fellowship with You. Open my heart to the Word of God and teach me how to pray and enjoy getting to know You more. I am so thankful that You love spending time with me! You are an amazing God!” Amen.
