by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Inspirational, Life With Alyssa, Moms, Practical, Tuesdays With Tracy
“God is light, pure light; there is not a trace of darkness in him.” 1 John 1:5
I am becoming more and more confident that our circumstances do not change God’s goodness, but it is God’s goodness that changes our circumstance. I have seen it over and over again in my life and the lives of my clients. For when difficulties come (and they will) the only thing God can do is bring the goodness of His light into our situation.
I had the best time with Dan Ratcliffe and Rick Probst on Faith Talk Live this week and within these 45 minutes (my interview starts 10 minutes in) you will hear about the goodness of God. It is my prayer that you will be encouraged by listening and that you and I learn to rest in the Nature of God. Oh He is good, loving, kind, gracious, faithful, He is light and can be trusted at all times, even when it appears differently. For we walk by faith and not by sight.
Simply push play and if you would be so kind as to “like” and even comment below the video – thank you! Hugs! Tracy
by Tracy | Life With Alyssa, Practical, Tuesdays With Tracy
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; take your everyday ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God – you’ll be changed from the inside out.” Romans 12:1-2, Message Translation
There are days when all I feel like I do is get up, pour myself a cup of coffee, spend a few precious moments in God’s Word, pick up the house, run errands, return emails, make dinner, (pick up the house again!!) and finally fall into bed only to do it all over again the next day! Maybe your days are filled with driving to work, making business calls or taking care of your elderly parents. But, no matter what stage of life we are in – we can become bored with our daily routines and forget to embrace each day as a gift from God.
What stood out to me in the scripture above is the challenge Paul gives us to embrace our everyday, ordinary life as worship to God. I have found that if we choose to worship God everyday (no matter how mundane our tasks may seem) an overflowing joy will fill our hearts. God will help us see that what we do each day is not ordinary – but extraordinary! While, the world may perceive what we do as meaningless, God knows our hearts and He sees our acts of everyday life as worship to Him.
Did you know that as you go about your everyday, ordinary life, that you are changing eternal souls? You are influencing someone’s life today, whether you realize it or not. Your encouragement and heartfelt concern for a co-worker, fellow mom or a grocery store clerk can literally alter their destiny!
Maybe you are a businessperson, minister or teacher. You need to know that every client you encourage, sermon that you preach or child that you impact is shaping an eternal destiny. The truth is, there are thousands of people who need what you do mindlessly each day. It may be your smile, uplifting word or a mastery skill that you perform at your job. But someone, somewhere, is in need of what you do in your everyday, ordinary life. Choosing to worship God through your everyday life will not only change you, but everyone around you as well!
Prayer:
“Lord, I give you my everyday, ordinary life: my sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life as worship to You. I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and what He thinks about me as I go about my daily tasks. Father, open my eyes to see how my life can be a blessing to those around me. Help me to see those who are hurting and need the gift that is within me. Someone, somewhere is in need of what I do in my everyday, ordinary life. May You use my life to glorify You. Take my ordinary and turn it into extraordinary this day.” Amen.
by Tracy | Life With Alyssa, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love.” Ephesians 5:1-2, The Message
Lately, Alyssa has been repeating everything we say. Therefore, my husband and I have been extra careful to mind our “P’s” and “Q’s.” And while our scripture today clearly states that our children learn proper behavior from us, I will admit to a recent “slip-up” with my daughter just this past week. You see, out of nowhere, Alyssa let out a huge burp and without thinking, I began laughing and said out loud (to myself – or so I thought) “Good one Alyssa.” Well, to my dismay, now every time Alyssa lets out a burp (which seems to be a constant occurrence right now), she breaks out into laughter and declares “Good one, Alyssa!” Ugh!
When circumstances come our way and we don’t know what to do – we simply need to look toward Heaven and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” God will always give us proper wisdom and guidance for the situation at hand. The best news for us today is that even when we make wrong decisions, God still loves us! Let that truth sink into your spirit….”God loves me.” No matter how much we mess up or say the wrong thing, God loves us! Depending on the situation, God may encourage us to ask forgiveness or turn away from a wrong behavior, but all the while He loves us! Selah (pause and think about that).
Needless to say, I am working with my daughter to say “excuse me” when air expels from her tummy through her windpipe, ? but no matter what Alyssa says or does, I will always love her! I pray that you will receive God’s love for you this day. And may we all continually keep company with Jesus and learn how to love as He loves!
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for loving me no matter what! I get so frustrated with myself when I make wrong choices, but you always love me. Please give me peace while working things out in my life. I am amazed at your grace and mercy! I long to love as You love and give an as You give. I choose this day to look toward heaven and keep company with You. Amen.
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, Life With Alyssa, Tuesdays With Tracy
“As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5
It is hard for me to believe that just a year ago, I was as huge as a house and waiting for my precious daughter to arrive! She was as snug as a bug in my womb. Without the help of my doctor and medication, who knows when Alyssa would have decided to enter this world? Needless to say, Alyssa is here and more wonderful than we could have imagined. We recently celebrated her first birthday and watched with wonder as she dug into her very first “smash cake.” Although she was in a pretty pink dress, we encouraged Alyssa to eat her cake and ice cream with her hands – It was a hoot! Truthfully, we could not get enough pictures. We could not keep our eyes off of our precious daughter. And we are so thankful to be her parents. Today, I rejoice over my sweet Alyssa Lyn.
Although today may not be your birthday, I have some great news to share with you! According to the verse above, God is rejoicing over you this day. He can’t get enough glimpses of you. He can’t imagine this world without you. He is honored to be your Heavenly Father. And He is so in love with you!
While most of us only celebrate those we love once a year, God rejoices over us every single day. So go ahead and grab a sweet treat and know that while you are enjoying your scrumptious dessert God is rejoicing over you this day!
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for loving me. I am amazed that You rejoice over me each day! Help me to drink in this truth deep within my spirit. Open my ears to hear what You want to tell me today. Please silence the voice of the world and everyone around me. I want to only hear Your voice, Jesus. Just knowing that you love me and rejoice over me is going to make this a wonderful day.” Amen.
by Tracy | Life With Alyssa, Practical, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Unto You, O Lord do I bring my life. O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on and am confident in you. Let me not be put to shame or {my hope in You} be disappointed; let not my enemies triumph over me.” – Psalm 25:1-2, Amplified Bible
Just this morning the Holy Spirit informed me that I have not been fully trusting in God. My first reaction was “who me?” After all, I am the one who often speaks on the topic of faith. Ask anyone – I always believe God for the impossible. But of course the Holy Spirit is always right and I can be so wrong! He showed me how recently I was full of worry and concern about my daughter. Alyssa had caught a stomach virus and as I rummaged through some medical books – panic set in. She was showing signs of dehydration. As a new mom I felt utterly helpless! Alyssa cried her first tears of pain and I must admit that I also broke down and cried. My mind was filled with the “what if’s” and formulating a plan to bring quick relief.
Instead of having faith that God loves Alyssa and trusting that He will take care of her, I was full of fear. When fear enters our hearts and minds, faith goes out the window! But the opposite is also true: When faith enters our hearts and minds, fear must leave! Faith and Fear cannot co-exist. We have to make a choice everyday to either live in fear or faith.
It is only through us having confidence in God’s love, that we can remain in perfect peace. No matter what you may be facing today – DO NOT allow fear and the cares of this world to rob your confidence in God! Psalm 138:8 states, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.” We must CHOOSE to believe Jesus at His Word. Needless to say, Alyssa is on her way back to health, and me, well I’m on my way back to faith.
Prayer:
“Lord, forgive me for allowing fear and the cares of this world to rob my faith and confidence in You. I choose to believe Your Word and that You will take care of the things heavy on my heart this day. I submit my thoughts and emotions to you. I thank you that Your Word is greater than my thoughts and emotions and that You know ALL THINGS! Thank you for loving me and taking care of my concerns this day.” Amen.
Image above is from: www.freefotocom
