by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
A picture from my recent trip to Costa Rica
“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” Matthew 8:2-3
Most of us know that God is able, but did you know that He is also willing? I love the story above because it demonstrates the true heart of God – He was not only able to heal this man of leprosy- He was willing. God longs to touch you, heal you, restore you and move every mountain in your life today. He is an amazing God who loves you and longs to bless you every single day out of His abundant grace.
As I ponder this truth, I am overwhelmed with love and gratitude for God my Father, Jesus my Savior and the Holy Spirit my teacher. The Trinity is able and willing to move on your behalf this day. Whatever you are in need of friend, God is not only able…He is willing. There is not enough space to tell you of the miracles God has done within my life. God has rescued me, healed me, restored me and given me favor beyond my wildest imagination – I boast in the Lord today – He alone is worthy of all glory and honor. Friend, God is not only able…He is willing to do miracles in your life this day.
When the going gets tough – don’t give up, but press into God’s Word. No matter what you are going through, there is a scripture for you to stand on. If you are believing God for a miracle, please send me your prayer request through my “Prayer Button.” I want to stand in agreement with you. You can simply click on the Prayer Button located on the top of my website or click here.
Be encouraged today. God is a God of miracles and NOTHING (No-thing) is impossible with Him! God is able and willing to remove every obstacle before you as you rest in Him and His precious Word.
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for being able and willing to move on my behalf. I declare that every obstacle, which stands before me, must bow at the Name of Jesus! Holy Spirit, show me scriptures to stand on and profess as I walk through difficult situations. Help me to hold onto God’s Word with expectancy. I give You my life and ask that You show me Your truth in every situation, for the Truth sets me free. Amen.”
by Tracy | Practical, Tuesdays With Tracy
“All the days of the afflicted are evil, but he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15
As our days of summer slowly come to an end, it is important that we take the next few weeks to simply have fun! I believe it is time for us to laugh & enjoy our loved ones as never before! Proverbs 17:22 states that laughter is like medicine for our soul, but did you know that it also reduces pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort? Laughter reduces blood sugar levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and non-diabetics alike. Laughter can improve our job performance (as a business woman or stay-at-home mom), especially if our work involves creativity or solving complex problems. Laughter also plays a vital role in all our relationships, especially in marriage.
Bottom Line: Laughter is underestimated!
Let’s change the atmosphere in our home through laughter and fun! I have come up with a few tips, from myRadio Series titled, “Setting the tone in your home” which aired on “The Dottie Coffman Show”. Let us continually feast on laughter and fun with a merry heart!
Tip #1: Set aside time for fun.
Vacations are great, but don’t wait to enjoy your family and friends until then! A colleague of mine did this and a few days before his family ski trip, he broke his leg! Ugh! It is important to make time for fun in your everyday, ordinary life. Host a game night at your home or invite your loved ones over for a dessert night – the key here is to enjoy your family and friends!
Tip #2: Do Something Out of the Ordinary.
Do something unpredictable! All of us tend to be creatures of habit, but I want to encourage you today to break out of the mundane and do something extraordinary! For example, take a day off and go somewhere you have always wanted to go! Take a trip to the zoo, buy a new pair of shoes and strut your stuff or rent a stack of DVD’s and declare a “national pajama day” in your honor! (P.S. – Don’t forget to laugh:)
Tip #3: Find one thing to laugh about each day.
Laughter releases stress and tension in our body and when we laugh, we feel refreshed! It is important to laugh at yourself and at life when possible, especially when difficulties come our way. Whether you find a joke online to giggle about or apply one of the tips from above – it is my prayer that you will allow laughter and fun to change the atmosphere in your home and life!
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for the gift of laughter. Psalm 16 tells us that in Your Presence is the fullness of Joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Please fill me with Your Presence and help me to set aside time for fun and do something extraordinary today that will make me and others laugh! Amen.”
by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past of age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11
“Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a ticket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide…” Genesis 22:8, AMP
Most of us are familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac found in Genesis 18 & 22 and yet I believe there is a message that God wants to impart to us today – THE-LORD-WILL-PROVIDE. If God will provide for Abraham, a man well over a hundred years old with an heir, then God will also do the impossible for you as well. I don’t care what your situation looks like or what the experts have told you, I am here to encourage you today that the Lord will provide.
Just think if Abraham and Sarah lived in the world we live in today….our doctors would laugh at their belief for God to bless them with a son, they would appear foolish (even to church folk) and yet they would be the foolish used to confound the wise of this day. Abraham and Sarah believed that ALL things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26). They had faith for Sarah’s womb to become fruitful – the deadness of her womb was the ALL in their life and God did the impossible when He gave them Isaac!
What is the ALL in your life? Is it your marriage, finances, health, promotion or job? I realize that it may appear that you are in an impossible circumstance, but I am here to declare to you today that just as God provided for Abraham and Sarah, He will also provide for you.
Why is it that we focus on our lack rather than God’s provision anyway? I believe one reason is because we live within our natural senses. If we don’t see it, feel it or smell it, then we don’t have faith for it, yet the Bible clearly tells us in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
God has been speaking to my spirit the past few weeks, “Tracy, get your eyes off of your lack and onto My provision.” I believe that just as God provided a ram in the thicket on the day of worship for Abraham and Isaac, God will provide whatever it is you are in need of today. I want to encourage you to take your eyes off of your lack and begin to meditate on God’s provision for your life. You can rest in the fact that God loves you and He will perfect that thing which concerns you this day (Psalm 138:8).
Prayer:
“Lord, Thank you for supplying ALL of my needs according to Your grace. Please forgive me for always focusing on areas of lack rather than Your Provision for my life. If you can provide a son for Abraham and Sarah and cause a ram to be caught in the thicket for the sacrifice needed that day, then You will also provide for me. Amen.”
A sneak peek of my book, “Tuesdays With Tracy: Real-life Devotions that Speak to the Heart of A Woman” at a local Family Christian Bookstore…Get your copy today!
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Hear my cry, o God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” Psalm 61:1-2, NKJ
The high place….it’s a place above the chaos that can so easily weigh us down. It’s a place of rest and tranquility for our weary mind. It’s a place where God’s perspective Reigns and where Supernatural peace abounds. Although trials may come our way, there is a higher place to which we can run and receive comfort and grace – it’s the place of God’s Presence.
It is through this high place of God that we are lifted up and out of our circumstances. The emotions and thoughts of our flesh must bow in the high place of God thus allowing our spirit to rule. It was in this high place where David was able to declare in Psalm 46:1-4, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God.” This high place in God quiets our heart and gives us a heavenly vantage point to view our circumstances below.
It is my goal to remain in the high place of God. Some days are easier than others, but even when my emotions and thoughts begin to overwhelm me, I can immediately cry out to God to take me up and out. It is through reading our Bible, worshiping God, praying and spending time with God-centered friendships that we are able to come up and out of our circumstances and enter the high place of God.
Is it time for you to come up and out friend? Has the trials of life been pulling you down? I promise there is a sweet presence of God waiting for you in the high place. God is longing to take you up and out of the bondages that hold you down and show you His wonderful plan for your life. He longs to give you His heavenly perspective and shower you with His wisdom and grace. Will you join me today in going to the high place of God?
Prayer:
“Lord, take me to the high place today. I give you my hurt and disappointment. I run to Your Word and ask that it speak to me for such a time as this. Show me how to go higher in You and give me the strategy for the situations on earth. I declare that You are my refuge and strength and I will not fear. Amen.”
by Tracy | Bad Day Blues, Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret – it only causes harm.” Psalm 37:7
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:9-10
What if I were to tell you that there was a place of rest for you today? Rest for your mind, rest for your body and rest for your spirit. It is in this place where peace and hope abide and where earthly trials cannot touch you. It is a place where you are above every circumstance, emotion, thought and accusation of the enemy. This place is the Presence of God.
When a situation arises in our life, we have a choice to make – we can either rest in God or be tormented through worry. When we choose to rest in God and what He says about our situation – we are immediately swept under the shadow of His wings and no evil can come near our dwelling (Psalm 91). It is in this resting place where the great exchange occurs. We exchange our life, concerns, thoughts, emotions and plans for Christ’s life of peace, favor, strength and wisdom.
Our ability to rest in the Presence of God is freely given to us through the life of Jesus. Jesus conquered death, sickness, lack, unrest and so much more on the cross. Resting in God is by no means an excuse to live a life without purpose, or to become lazy, but it is a place of protection provided by our Heavenly Father through His covenant with His children.
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for providing a place of rest for me. I am so grateful that I do not have to live in fear, worry, doubt or condemnation, but I can go boldly to Your throne of grace to obtain mercy and help in my time of need. I ask for the great exchange today – my life for Your life. I choose to rest under the shadow of Your wings and declare that no evil shall come near me. Amen.”
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by Tracy | Inspirational, Tuesdays With Tracy
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7
“Mommy, I’m scared,” cried my daughter from the back seat of our van after I announced that we were headed to a swimming lesson. With her reaction, you would have thought I was taking her to get a set of shots at the doctor’s office! But I quickly realized that my daughter was struggling with fear. With each tear that fell from her face, I was overwhelmed with compassion and I almost cried myself – LOL! I tried to console her by telling her that Jesus would be right there with her and I immediately began quoting Psalm 91. I prayed for God to remove her fear and to replace it with His power, love and a sound mind.
The instructor had to literally pry my daughter from my arms that day. And as I sat and prayed in the waiting room, I thought about how many times in my own life I had to do it afraid. There was a time in my life when I had to overcome fear by digging into God’s Word. I had to continually meditate on index cards filled with scripture throughout my day. I had to do it afraid while holding onto God’s Word within my heart.
Maybe you are struggling with fear today and if so, I have good news for you. Romans 8:15 states, we do not have to live in bondage to fear but we can cry out, “Abba, Father.” You see, the moment you gave your life to Jesus, you had access to come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy, grace and help in time of trouble (Hebrews 4:16). You do not have to live in the torment of fear any longer – you can cry out “Abba, Father” and receive mercy, grace and help in time of trouble. Just as I was moved to compassion on behalf of my daughter, God is moved into action on your behalf when you cry out to Him. God loves you. He longs to comfort, encourage and give you His power, love and a sound mind.
It does not matter what you are afraid of because God is greater. Jesus conquered fear on the Cross and His perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). You can rest in the fact that God loves you and is moved to compassion when you cry out to Him for help! I am thrilled to share with you that my daughter did it afraid! She not only swam beautifully in her lesson, but she did it with a smile. She left the pool that day with a sense of joy and fulfillment. And the truth is that we can ALL do it afraid as we hold onto God’s Word within our heart.
Prayer:
“Lord, I come boldly to Your throne today to obtain mercy, grace and help. I do not want to live in fear another day. I declare fear is no longer welcome in my mind, body or spirit and I ask that You fill me with your power, love and a sound mind. I will do it afraid while holding Your Word within my heart. Amen.”
Copyright, This entire site © 2006-2009, Tracy Hurst
This site is only for your personal use. You may not distribute, exchange, modify, sell or transmit anything you copy from this site, including but not limited to any text, images, audio and video, for any business, commercial or public purpose without permission.
