Embracing God's Best

Embracing God's Best Through Cooking!

2012-01-29T14:40:00.004-07:00

I love to cook, I enjoy eating and I'm always making up recipes! I whole-heartedly believe that you can embrace God's best that way too! Most of them are healthy, but I allow for some that just give me a little comfort too. Nothing wrong with that in my book. I also adore chocolate! What woman doesn't ... huh? One of my favorite chocolates is dark chocolate. Yes, I even buy them and store them in my fridge for a treat from time to time. Well .. maybe even daily? Dark chocolate is simply delicious cold! I even like the dark chocolate peppermint patties. Mint and chocolate ... oh yeah! It's like coffee and creamer. You can't have one without the other!

I could never say I'm someone who views food as a necessary means to survive and bring nutrition to my body. Although, I also understand that to be true. Me ... I enjoy food and I love to eat! When I was growing up everything my family did revolved around food! When you come from an Italian family ... it just happens that way I guess. (lol) Some of my fondest memories of childhood are going to my Dad's sister's house (my aunt Helen). Oh my, my, my ... every time we'd walk through the door, I could smell homemade pizzelles, biscottis, canollis and strong coffee! She always had something baking! To this day I love all of the above. It's interesting to me how food can trigger such memories?

Food and me ... we jive! We understand each other. I make-up recipes all the time. My husband has been the recipient of all of them! Some good ... some not so good according to his taste-buds. I put together things that I think go well together and I can prepare an entire menu from it. I've decided to make a cookbook. My title: "Cooking Cavelli Style". It will include all of my A+ recipes I've created down through the years. My spaghetti sauce is the best! I took my mom's recipe and my gramma's recipe and turned it into my own recipe. My family loves it!

My oldest daughter, Britney is an excellent cook too! Her spaghetti sauce is her own take off of mine and she makes a mean competition up against her mamma's sauce! I am trying to talk her into doing a cooking show with me in the near future. I think it would be great fun! My daughters are complete opposites and I love that! My youngest daughter, Stefaney is absolutely amazing at organization. Her organizational skills far surpass mine and her house is always clean, organized and tidy! I love the different giftings in my children! God created each of them in such a special way. I love them both dearly. Britney is my favorite oldest daughter and Stefaney is my favorite youngest daughter! haha

I am going to begin using this blog to not only write and share my biblical insights and teachings ... but I'm also going to start talking about food too! I guess a good way to look at it is that I will be talking about spiritual food and physical food! Both are important to our well-being. :)

Well, I'll close for now. But keep checking back, as I will begin writing a WEEKLY blog! Thanks so much and remember to embrace God's best in everything you do!
Rooted In Him,
Tracy ;)

The Effects of Unforgiveness

2012-01-18T10:12:00.003-07:00

When we become offended with another person we open the door to unforgiveness. But does unforgiveness come in alone? Absolutely not! Closely behind unforgiveness is strife, and when strife walks through the door ... all hell breaks loose in our lives. Strife creates an atmosphere. That atmosphere surrounds us; and everywhere we go we take that atmosphere with us. Relationships are severed, anger rises up inside and we begin looking at people through the filter of offense. We become touchy, we begin taking things very personally, we have difficulty giving people the benefit of the doubt. We can even begin slandering and gossiping about the person we're carrying the offense against. We make our lot in life to get as many people mad at them! Pretty soon, others begin carrying our offenses and before we know it, we've unleashed a powerful evil force! The tongue.

Why is it that we don't understand the seriously deeply rooted negative affects of offenses? This poison is deposited in to our spirit, creating bitterness, if it's not immediately dealt with. Bitterness can cause us to do many evil things to another person. We become fixated upon our wound and hurt that's been created by that person and it becomes a top priority of our flesh to reach out and hurt them even more! We seek revenge, we desire to see them pay for what they've done. As Christians, is that really how we're supposed to respond? Not at all! But so many times, then not, we allow our flesh to rise up over our spirit and take the lead. Our mouth always teams up with the contents of our heart. They work together hand in hand. Whatever is in the heart rises up to the tongue and is released.

The Bible says, we will all stand before the Lord and take account for what we've said and done throughout this life we have lived here on earth. The question we should all be asking ourselves is this: "when I stand before the Lord will I hear, 'well done good and faithful servant' or will I hear, 'depart from Me, I never knew you?' I know this sounds very harsh, but if we cannot walk out the commandment of God that tells us to "love one another" and then goes on to say, "by this you will be known as My disciples." If God has commanded us to love each other, then how can we do this if we're carrying offenses and unforgiveness towards another brother or sister in Christ? This past Thursday at my church, I led a discussion panel regarding "offenses". The feedback I have received has been amazing! So many people are struggling with offenses! I also do counseling with people and I see the brokenness that takes place in people's hearts from carrying unforgiveness and bitterness. There are no positive affects of unforgiveness and bitterness, it's all negative!

Let it go! Don't allow to rule over you any longer. You have the power to forgive, you have the power to overcome this through Jesus Christ. Refuse to carry this any longer. It is only hindering your walk with God and blocking you from your divine destiny. Don't permit your tongue to lead you in to an atmosphere of strife!

Words That Bless
(taken from my book: "Poured Out, Spilled and Broken"

Oh the depth of power held by the tongue,
For on it so many emotions are hung.
Relationships severed, reputations destroyed,
All sent out from a heart that's void,
Of love, compassion and an eagerness to bless.
But the heart only holds, what the mind has impressed.
If it's filled with anger, lies and resentment,
Then how can the heart find any contentment?
The world fills our minds with poison and sickness,
Enveloping it in an evil cloud of thickness.
Break free with the Word, use the Sword to pierce,
For the power of the blade is remarkably fierce.
When it's wielded by a hand guided by God,
It's brightness resembles a lightning rod!
Don't allow your words to leave your tongue,
Till you know upon which emotion they will be hung?
Why don't we turn from our self-centered ways?
And open our minds to bless and to praise.
For when we empty our minds of the clutter and mess,
We will begin speaking words of life that bless!

Until next time, be blessed, be favored, be content and most importantly embrace God's best in your life!
Tracy :)

The Gatekeeper of Offenses

2011-12-19T10:13:00.004-07:00

Unfortunately, I think it's suffice to say that we've all stood at the gate of offense. If we're all being honest, none of us can say we haven't. :) Surprisingly enough, the gatekeeper knows every one of our faces. Just for explanation's sake let's go a little deeper in to this. What is an offense? An offense is something that is created when we make the choice to become offended. When we are offended, we are hurt, wounded, angered, annoyed or irritated by something another person has said about us, or done to us. The part where it gets unhealthy is when we allow our emotions the freedom to team up with the offense. Then what we have in our hands ... morphs into something very ugly that we've willingly embraced. Not good.

Now, we are no longer simply standing at the gate, we've opened up the gate and walked through it. The gatekeeper is thrilled, he likes it when we visit! But beware of pertinent danger ahead, because when we walk through the gate it crosses us over into offense. Suddenly, our attitude takes on a very negative connotation and we become saturated in unforgiveness, bitterness and strife. The three amigos! These three amigos can cause some serious damage to our emotions, as well as our outlook regarding our immediate circumstances or situations we are currently facing due to what's been done to us by another person.

Here comes the sticky part. Ready? Offenses have a way of surmounting themselves. How? When we share them with others. See, when we talk about our offenses with other people we poison their spirit towards the person we are offended with. We cast a lot that throws them into a dungeon with bars made of retribution, judgmentalism and retaliation. We bring others into our circle of pain and strip the other person of having any sense of justification on their behalf, because our flesh just wants them to pay for what they said, or did to us. Even though our flesh is convinced that vengeance produces satisfaction, it doesn't. This only drives our flesh into a deeper sense of self-gratification.

Before we know it, we've created a demonic highway for the enemy to freely drive in and out of. Doors and avenues have been swung open for all the demons to tread upon. Who is the gatekeeper? None other than satan himself. The Bible talks about the way he goes to and fro in the earth looking for people he can steal their destiny from and destroy by filling them with offense and unforgiveness. When we are filled with offense, there's no room for the gifts of the Spirit. What are the gifts of the spirit? They are nine endowments given by the Holy Spirit found in first Corinthians chapter twelve. They include:

wisdom
knowledge
faith
healing
working of miracles
prophecy
discernment
tongues
interpretation of tongues

How can we be filled with these wonderful endowments of the Spirit, when strife-unforgiveness and offense have clogged up the pipe? When we choose to carry offenses, we make a deadly spiritual decision. God has given us each a free will and we can choose to use it however we decide. Don't allow the gatekeeper to open that gate! Wisdom shows us the right thing to do. Knowledge beckons us to embrace it. Faith causes us to step out in it. Healing comes when we obey it. Discernment shows us which path to take.

Allow the gifts of the Spirit to guide you to the destiny that God has intended for you. Offense leads to death, but forgiveness leads to life. Make the right choices!

Listen to my shows on blogtalk radio by clicking HERE!

Until next time, Be blessed! Love & Prayers ... Tracy :)

Ways To Develop Your Own Emotional Well-Being

2011-11-14T09:29:00.006-07:00

Please Visit My Website at: www.egbnow.org

I'm a big advocate on becoming proactive in gaining the understanding necessary to develop emotional well-being for our lives. I believe that God is the ultimate answer of course, but I also am not ignorant to the fact that He desires for us to do our part as well. In other words, He doesn't hold a magic wand over our lives removing everything that hinders us. We have been given a part to play too. An easy way to explain this is ... we do our best and God does the rest! :) So what are some things we can do in order to promote our own emotional well-being? Here's some of my thoughts:

First and foremost I believe we need to accept our feelings. Strong emotions have a way of producing anxiety in to our lives. For instance ... anger, fear, sorrow and failure have huge impacts on our emotional state. We attempt to escape things by denying them. Not only is this not good for us, it also doesn't work. We can spend so much energy in denial, we can begin facing things unemotionally which only leads to even more anxiety. When we face things unemotionally we are walking in what's called "detachment" and detachment is destructive. When we suppress emotions or avoid emotions we become susceptible to not being able to experience positive emotions such as joy, happiness, compassion and empathy. Instead of blocking your emotions, allow them to be expressed. If your angry, express that anger in to a channel that's healthy. Ask God to remove the anger. The Bible doesn't say we will never become angry ... it says when we're angry don't sin while going through the process of it.
The second important thing we can do is embrace our vulnerability. When we embrace vulnerability we are taking the steps necessary to overcome insecurity. When you begin to understand and discover that certain situations or circumstances in life cause you to over-react, you can guard against the stress levels they create. When we pinpoint the cause of what's affecting us the most, we can better determine the steps needed in order to see things in a new light or proper perspective ... so to speak. When we reinterpret situations or circumstances that occur in our lives then we are more apt to decrease the stress levels they create.
The third thing we can do is begin focusing on developing our strengths and talents. When you come across people who are bored and unhappy you may find that the direct correlation to this is that they have very few interests or hobbies in their lives. A great way to increase self-confidence and bolster self-esteem is to begin discovering your gifts and talents that God has instilled inside of you. We have all been given gifts and talents, no one is left out of the loop. God has divinely constructed each person in a very unique way. We are all different and we all have our own set of gifts and talents to share with the Body of Christ. Begin discovering and sharing yours!
The fourth thing we can do is instead of isolating ourselves, we can choose to become involved with other people. Believe it or not, isolation and loneliness are two of the main reasons people find themselves experiencing emotional disorders in their lives. Isolation produces loneliness. When we isolate ourselves, we are allowing the enemy to bring us to a point of not having any spiritual reinforcements around us to help carry us through the difficult times we face. People need people. When we are alone and isolated we have the great potential to focus on our problems and become so saturated in them that we can barely function. Depression usually follows close behind. It is a companion to isolation and loneliness. When we share our concerns and cares with others we give ourselves the opportunity to help view them in a clearer perspective. Find someone you trust and share your heart with them. Don't carry it all by yourself.
This last and final thought is carried in by the fourth thought. We must know when to seek help. Don't play games with attempting to become the lone wolf. Some problems are difficult to solve alone and this is when we must bring ourselves to the point of allowing other people that we trust to come in and help us. We need good, solid direction and advice. We all have a tendency to walk in self-deception and this is why we find it difficult to view problems objectively. Whenever you feel as though you're making very little headway in something is probably a good indication that you need outside help. Don't allow pride to stop you from asking for help. Satan wants you to be alone and overwhelmed! A willingness to seek help should never be looked upon as a sign of emotional instability or weakness. Not true. Do not wait until you feel overwhelmed ... seek help immediately!

Well I hope these thoughts I've shared today have helped you! I know they have helped me tremendously in my own life. Until next time ... embrace God's best in your life! Also ... listen to my radio show "Embracing God's Best" here's the direct link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/embracing-gods-best

Praying God's BEST for you!

Tracy Cavelli Trussell :)

Click The Pause Button!

2011-10-28T11:47:00.003-06:00

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? Have you joined: "club overwhelmed?" It's not a good membership and I'm cancelling mine! Are there times in your life when you just want to scream ... "push the pause button!" Me too. Life seems to have a way of putting so many things on our plates that we feel as though we're swimming in a sea of things to do, people to see, plans to make and problems to solve. lol

We juggle so much that at times it can become pretty overwhelming, huh? But does God really intend for us to live life that way? I don't believe so. His Word says in John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. Then we have, John 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

He has given us His peace and it's a peace that is opposite of what the world offers us. The peace the world offers us is conditional, with strings attached. The peace that God offers is simple, yet powerful enough to stand the test of time. As a matter of fact, it's an eternal peace because it never ends! It's easy for us to get ourselves in the current of the world's stream of busyness, while struggling to walk in the ultimate peace of God. Why is that?

Here's some things we can do to increase peace in our lives and the advice is straight out of the Word, imagine that? There's Philippians 4:6-7 that says, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Then there's, Romans 8:6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Wow! How profound. Do you think there is a correlation between thanksgiving and peace? When we step out in to thankfulness in spite of what were going through, does God instill His peace?

Something I do quite frequently is take inventory of my life. I consider the path my life is taking and I place that before God. I ask Him to make the changes He desires to put in to place. After all, my life really doesn't belong to me, it belongs to God. There are times when God shows me to put something aside, free up my time here or there and I'm obedient to listen to His direction. I listen, because I know that He understands much more so than I do ... what I can handle and what I cannot handle.

We are all given 24 hours in our day. What we do with those hours will reveal what's important to us. There are times when I'm life coaching that I give a client a time management sheet to fill in for a week, when they come back I can see what takes up most of their time. To their dismay it is an eye opener ... in a not so positive light. That's how I help them identify changes that must be made and incorporated in to their lives. Proper time management is huge!

So if you're feeling overwhelmed and you want to scream "click the pause button!" maybe you should sit down and do some inventory of what changes you can make in your life too. Trust me, I understand that it's easy to get so busy that we lose sight of many things in our lives that are important. Recognize it and make the appropriate adjustments ... and in the end you will find peace. Whenever we are in God's Will, we rest in the center of His hands and that's where true peace is found.

Until next time,

Tracy Cavelli Trussell :)

The Silver Cord

2011-09-20T22:01:00.001-06:00

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Ecc. 12:6; "Yes, remember your Creator now while you are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken. Don't wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well". (NLT)

Barnes' notes (from his commentary of the Bible) regarding the above Scripture is very interesting to me. They are cited below:

"Be loosed - The termination of life is signified generally by the snapping of the silver cord by which the lamp hangs from the ceiling; by the dashing in pieces of the cup or reservoir of oil; by the shattering of the pitcher used to bring water from the spring; and by the breaking of the wheel by which a bucket is let down into the well. Others discern in the silver cord, the soul which holds the body in life; in the bowl, the body; and in the golden oil (compare Zechariah 4:12) within it, the spirit".

I have to admit that the first time I read this portion of Scripture from Ecclesiastes a few years back, I was quite perplexed by the content. I could not wrap my mind around the spirit being connected to the body (or shell) by a silver cord? I began to do some more research on it and here's what I found:

The "silver cord" is likened to the medulla oblongata. What is the medulla oblongata you ask? :) Well, according to the World English Dictionary it is "the lower stalklike section of the brain, continuous with the spinal cord, containing control centres for the heart and lungs", so it would appear to me that it's the connection points to sustaining life.

Now let's move to the next portion of that verse in Ecclesiastes that speaks of the golden bowl being broken. I have some interesting things to share about that as well. Ready?

The "golden bowl" seems to be a representation of the brain or cranium, hence the reference between the cord (medulla oblongata) hanging from the lamp (the cranium). Following me so far? When the golden bowl is broken it can no longer carry out it's major functions, such as supplying the nervous system with it's functionality.

Okay, now for the next part. This is fun huh? I love learning! Now ... let's talk about the next portion of that Scripture that mentions the water jar.

It states that the "water jar" is smashed at the spring and the pulley is broken at the well. What an interesting concept. What I believe this is actually referring to is the vena cava. What's that? The vena cava according to Webster, are "two large veins that carry blood into the right atrium of the heart (superior vena cava) conveying blood from the head, chest, and upper extremities, while the other large vein (inferior vena cava) conveys blood from all parts below the diaphragm". Pretty cool ... huh? God just thought of everything!

And last but certainly not least, the last part of that Scripture that states the "pulley is broken at the well", what does that mean?

The "pulley" may be the representation of the aorta.What is the function of the aorta? Well, according to Webster once again, it states it's "the main artery of the circulatory system, arising from the left ventricle of the heart carrying blood with high levels of oxygen to all the arteries of the body except those of the lungs."

When the silver cord snaps ... what happens? The body inevitably shuts down and dies. Without the nervous system how can the body function? Could it be that the silver cord releases the spirit from the body? Solomon was a genius beyond measure. God gave him so much wisdom! The sad part is that even with all his wisdom he still fell away from God and worshiped other gods, married women who didn't even believe in the "One True God", and some scholars state that he may have even experienced insanity towards the end of his life.

We can have lots of knowledge and still miss heaven by eight inches, which ironically is the distance between the heart and mind. Head knowledge may get you where you want to go in the corporate world, but in the spiritual world it's based on heart knowledge. It's relationship, not religion. You can quote the entire Bible and still miss heaven.

Isn't what we find in the Bible amazing? I hope you learned something new today? I did.
Be blessed!
Tracy :)

Listen To My Goldmail!

2011-09-12T13:26:00.001-06:00

This is going to bless you and place the tools in your hand that's necessary to experience God's best for your life right now! Please feel free to share this with your friends! Thanks so much! ;)
Tracy

goldmail slides

I Don't Have to Be Perfect!

2011-09-07T20:09:00.001-06:00

How many of us have the tendency to place extremely high expectations upon ourselves? I am guilty of that. Are you? Why do we do this? God doesn't put these expectations on us, we do it to ourselves. Many times we do this because we have a performance based mentality. Say for instance, that you grew up in a home where you very seldom ever got compliments or encouragement unless you performed at a level that met with your parents expectations and approval. When you performed everything within the specifications or guidelines of what your parents thought were acceptable they gave you positive reinforcement.

Looking at this from a learned behavior perspective, we can agreeably conclude that as we proceeded through life, school, friends, activities, sports and social gatherings we incorporated this mindset, not only into our way of thinking but also into our way of life. In other words, we allowed this to be a learned perspective and not simply just a learned behavior. Cause and effect. We can also become so bent on doing everything the right way that we lose sight of having any balance in our lives. Whatever we do, we go to the extreme of it because our motivation is driven by our performance. The height of our performance is comparable to the height of our success.

Our sense of accomplishment, our well-being and our high assurance in our capabilities becomes the driving force behind all we do and say. We become so engorged in doing everything right that we fail to see ourselves through the eyes of God. God sees us a forgiven, God sees us as accepted, God sees us as His children and He knows full well that we are far from perfect. Now, having said this, I also want to clarify something else for a moment. This also doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for the excellence. We very well should indeed! Here's my point though, don't beat yourself up when you make a mistake, fail or make a wrong decision. See, when we live our lives built upon the foundation of performance = success, we can become very demonstrative in ushering in condemnation whenever we miss that invisible mark that says it's "perfection or nothing."

The key is balance. This gives us the grace to be less than perfect. Here's the truth, we will make mistakes, we will make wrong decisions, we will have failures in our lives at some point and time and we will bounce back. Why? Because God said so. His grace is sufficient for us all, His love is unending and He's patient and long-suffering. What are we? Just the opposite, we are judgmental, we are impatient, we don't approve of people making mistakes or having faults and we certainly don't have unconditional love towards anyone. Do you see the difference? Major difference! How many of us give people the benefit of the doubt? Not very often. What do we normally do? We base acceptance off of compliance.

If a person is compliant then we will give them our acceptance. However, if they travel outside the boundaries of what we have designed for them to stay within ... we can become extremely unreceptive to anything they say or do. Why do we do this? I believe it's due to the fact that we have immersed ourselves so deeply into being performance driven that we don't understand any other concept. Nothing else makes sense to us. It's been ingrained within our minds and we have been programmed to respond to things on the default of "if you cross over my boundary I have established for you, then you will lose my acceptance."

I learned alot from writing this post ... and my hope is that you've learned something reading it. God bless!
Staying In His Grace,
Tracy ;)
http://www.egbnow.org

The Poison of Bitterness

2011-08-11T11:10:00.002-06:00

The biggest hindrance to living a life of blessing is a heart filled with bitterness. The Bible says that out of the heart flows the issues of life. When we don't deal with our feelings and get them under control, we will certainly be entrapped by them. As a certified life coach and prayer counselor, I've listened and helped many people over the years with issues of bitterness and unforgiveness. Honestly, more times than not, they are so deeply entrenched in bitterness that it affects their life on every side.

Bitterness truly is a poison that contaminates us. So how is bitterness described? I find the definition of it to be very interesting. Webster defines it as an "intensity or severity of distress or hatred causing an extremely harsh or cruel feeling". The synonym for bitterness is venom, which we all know is poison! The Bible describes bitterness in Acts 8:23 in stating that to be poisoned by bitterness is also to be bound by iniquity. Yuck! That is not something I desire to be connected to. How about you?

So my next question is this; why do so many of us allow our hearts to be poisoned by such an unhealthy thing? Imagine the depth of spiritual damage this can cause over an extended period of time. It can cause health issues, it can affect our mental state, it can influence us to make bad decisions because we're basing those decisions off of unhealthy emotions. Bottom line ... bitterness and unforgiveness is a direct act of willful disobedience. When we step into bitterness, we step out of God's covering. In essence, we tie God's hands of being able to intervene on our behalf.

God will not move in situations or circumstances that are wrapped in a web of disobedience. We tie God's hands! The result of walking in the flesh is essentially connected to obeying the human nature and embracing sin. God says we are to walk in love and forgiveness because this is His Nature. In our flesh, bitterness is birthed through an offense. When the offense takes place we find ourselves walking out the first step of this offense by continually concentrating on it. We eat, sleep and breathe the offense. It starts to roll over in our minds like a silent movie and then what happens? It begins to fester inside of us.

Then the next step is we begin to talk about this offense with other people. Many times it becomes the hot topic of discussion with everyone we're in close proximity with. Now, we're not only pondering the offense, we're talking about the offense. What started with an offense, has not become a wound. And if this wound is not taken immediately to the foot of the Cross, it has the potential to become infected. The more it progresses, the more powerful it becomes.

The infection begins to surface in many different ways, but the one i"m going to focus on is the outward symptoms of it. Remember, the outward symptoms are only displaying the inward condition. We develop negative attitudes and a condemning spirit. We may even find it difficult to say anything good or positive about the other person we're at odds with. Our words have now become W.O.M.D (weapons of mass destruction). Whenever our mouths are spewing forth bitterness, they cannot minister the love of God. We cannot expect to make a difference in the Kingdom of God if the contents of our words are filled with bitterness, anger and resentment.

We will not speak life, we will speak death. Here's the truth, bitterness and unforgiveness has the potential to erupt every time you are offended, hurt or wronged by someone. All of us have experienced one or more of these feelings, so this makes every one of us candidates for harboring bitterness and unforgiveness. Hurt feelings are a natural response to injustice that's committed against us. I'm not saying that hurt feelings are sinful. What I am saying is that if they are not kept in proper perspective and brought to the Cross, they become sinful.

Be blessed :) and it is my prayer that this has shed a little more light on the effects of bitterness. I pray that every person reading this blog can identify this bitterness and unforgiveness in their own lives, if it exists and take it directly to the Cross. Don't allow this to hinder you and hold you in bondage. God has great things in store for all of you! Shine for Him!
Until next time,
Tracy Cavelli Trussell ;)

Say Yes To Obedient Love

2011-06-12T15:39:00.002-06:00

Love ^<3

¹ If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! ⁹ Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! ¹⁰ But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

It's all about "love". Love brings the orphaned heart home, it heals the brokenness ... yes, love is the climax to obedience. It's more important than faith, it's far greater than knowledge, it's on a higher plane than prophecy, it's deeper than the sacrifice of your body, and it's set as the ultimate act of charity.

Love, love, love. It's patient, it's kind, it's not jealous, it doesn't keep a record of wrongs, it's not rude, it's not full of sarcasm, it's not easily angered or irritated, it always hopes, and it sees the possibility when reality says there's no way out.

Understanding the vital necessity of love, puts a whole new perspective on how we see things and people. We see them through the eyes of our Creator, we see them through the eyes of our Daddy God! Oh God, give us the ability to see things the way You do!

Love brings clarity to our eyes. It opens the chambers of our hearts and allows us to receive God's goodness, His mercy, His extraordinary compassion, and helps us to understand the ultimate sacrifice that He provided for us through His Son. The Bible says three things will last forever ... faith-hope and the greatest of these is love.

Love your neighbor as you would love yourself, cover the heads of your enemies with love ... extend grace and mercy, instead of wrath and judgment. Grow up and put away childish things, allow maturity to stand at the forefront of who you are. Embrace true knowledge that leads us into an awareness of the Father's Heart.

Stop relying upon your own understanding and and in all your ways acknowledge Him and He promises to make your path straight. Say "yes' to obedient love.
Covered by His Love,
Tracy ;)

Dusty Relics In Need of New Life

2011-05-21T11:58:00.002-06:00

Isaiah 42:5

[ The God Who Makes Us Alive with His Own Life ] God's Message, the God who created the cosmos, stretched out the skies, laid out the earth and all that grows from it, Who breathes life into earth's people, makes them alive with his own life: "I am God. I have called you to live right and well. I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe. I have set you among my people to bind them to me, and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations, To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light: opening blind eyes, releasing prisoners from dungeons, emptying the dark prisons. I am God. That's my name. I don't franchise my glory, don't endorse the no-god idols.

How many of us get comfortable in our religion? We close ourselves off to experiencing a newness in the spirit, due to the fact that we don't particularly care for change. With change comes transformation and with transformation comes a responsibility that we may have to gain a more openness inside of our captivated mind. A captivated mind hinders our ability to process new things. We get so accustomed to the complacency, that we buck anything that even resembles a shift in our paradigm or old way of doing things.

Being comfortable can cause us to become passive and stagnant. Our comfort zone stands as our main focus and when that comfort zone gets pulled and stretched ... it thrusts us in to what our mind calls "the danger zone". We fail to allow our spirit to embrace change, because our flesh is in control. Our flesh lords over our spirit. We've strengthened it and we've given it power and authority to rule! Remember, whatever you feed ... will become strong,whatever you starve ... will become weak.

If you feed your flesh day in and day out ... it will get stronger and stronger. How do we feed our flesh? We feed our flesh through worldly food which includes, but is not limited to ... questionable movies, dark music, peer influences, negative mindsets, gossip, slander, vulgarity, profanity, covetousness, jealousy, anger, rage, unbelief,worldly books or magazines. Just to list a few. This list could go on and on ... but I think you get my drift here? ;)

We have to be careful what we allow to take up residence inside of us. It WILL have an impact on us whether we choose to believe it or not. We are not super human! When we open doors that should be nailed shut and sealed by the Blood ... we risk spiritual contamination. The Bible says we are in the world ... but not OF IT. There's a huge difference there. Stand upon the Rock, that ROCK is Jesus Christ! Infuse your spirit with the Word of God, worship, relationship (not religion), and acknowledge Him in all your ways. The Bible says "whether you eat or drink ... whatever you do ... do all of it to the glory of God!"

Be a role model for others. Jesus was a role model when He walked the earth. He never compromised, He didn't hold unforgiveness in His Heart, He resisted temptation, and He wasn't condemning or jealous of anyone. Yes, He was God ... but He was also man when He walked the earth. He was born in to the world ... not to condemn it, but that the world through Him might be saved. That's the bottom line ... Salvation and Reconciliation to Father God! Get off that pedestal before you fall. Honor the people around you. We have no right to judge or condemn. Everyone is different, allow the Holy Spirit to blow that dust off of our spirits and be renewed! :)

Abiding Under the Safety of His Wings,
Tracy :)

2011-05-03T13:31:00.002-06:00

How To Pray And Move The Hand of God

The following is an excerpt taken from my book: "Poured Out, Spilled and Broken", you can purchase my book and all the accompanying study guide materials through my website at www.egbnow,org.

"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up" (Psalm 5:3 KJ21).

Prayer should be a natural part of life when we are communing with our Heavenly Father on a one-on-one basis. It's also an act of worship to Him. It can be done in various settings such as group, formal, private, spontaneous, silent or spoken. The type of prayer I'd like to focus on in this devotional today is our private prayer life. This type of prayer is what we do when we're praying on our own for personal needs, or maybe concerns we have for our children, our spouse, our family members and so on.

It's during these moments of prayer that we can at times, struggle with how to pray, what to pray, or if we believe our prayers are being heard. I remember how frustrating it used to be for me when I would pray and pray for a certain issue or circumstance to change and it felt like my prayers were going about as high as the ceiling! Not fun and definitely not very encouraging to anyone ... huh?

But hang on, I have a solution! I believe that if we can excel in the quality of our prayers, we can save ourselves a lot of grief by lowering the quantity needed for each issue, or circumstance in life that we're bringing to the throne room of God. In other words, pray smart ... not repetitiously. We can wear ourselves out really fast by thinking we have to constantly be praying for something and reminding God over and over because we're afraid He's somehow forgotten what we said the last ten times we told Him in the past hour.

Be assured, God will not forget what you prayed for. The Word says He won't. I promise! The Truth is that He hears our cries for help and even as we speak them out, we are ushered directly in to His Presence for a private audience with him (Psalm 18:6). So let me take a moment to explain what mean by excelling in the quality of our prayers. The next time you pray for situation or circumstance in your life, try incorporating some of the following concepts of what i call the "5 gets" and you will see a transformation take place in the power associated with your prayers. Ready? Here we go!

Get Alone With God- The first step is to make sure you go somewhere that you can get alone with the Lord. It doesn't matter where ... just go where there's no distractions. This is a time for some one-on-one communication between you and your Heavenly Father.
Get Yourself In Right Standing With God- Secondly, get yourself in right standing with your Father. Examine yourself according to the way David did when he asked God to search him and know his heart; and try him in order to determine the intentions of his thoughts, to see if there were any wicked ways in him (Psalm 139:23). David discovered how to open his communication line with God so he would be heard. When you ask God to search you, then you are in essence requesting that He make you aware of the sins in your life that are potentially blocking or hindering your prayers. After He reveals these things to your heart, get them right with Him and immediately confess them and ask for forgiveness. This isn't the time to debate with Him or attempt to justify your sins! Accept the responsibility for what you've done, said, acted or thought and humbly confess, release and move on.
Get Specific- Thirdly, you'll want to focus on what you are specifically asking God to do, as well as how you're praying for Him to intervene. What you need to move away from, is the idea of praying a blanket prayer for everything. You must be specific. When you are specific, you are pin-pointing your objective to what you are interceding for, while you have God's undivided attention.

If you'd like to finish reading the "5 gets", you are welcome to purchase my book: "Poured Out, Spilled and Broken", at my website www.egbnow.org. Thanks so much!

Thanks so much and be blessed!
Tracy ;)

The Poison of Bitterness

2011-03-10T16:45:00.002-07:00

The following is an excerpt taken from my book: "Poured Out, Spilled and Broken", you can purchase my book and all the accompanying study guide materials through my website at www.egbnow,org.

"...looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by this many become defiled." (Hebrews 12:15)

I find the definition of bitterness very interesting in light of the fact that many of us have it in our hearts. According to Webster it means, "An intensity or severity of distress or hatred causing an extremely or cruel feeling." It's also described in the Bible in Acts 8:23 as being, "poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity". Why do so many of us allow ourselves to be poisoned by such an unhealthy thing? Imagine the depth of damage, spiritually as well as physically , that this poison can do to us over the course of an extended amount of time?

Bitterness can poison and contaminate us. Because of it' effects, our spirits become soured and then before we know it, it's progressed to us being at enmity with god. If we continue to allow "bitterness" to stay it's course, it will eventually overtake us to the point of our hearts becoming spiritually desensitized. Oh, but it doesn't stop there either! It can actually lead us in to an emotional and mental collapse. What's nest? As the TV commercials tells us, maybe Zoloft? It doesn't have to be.

When we make a choice to step in to bitterness, we immediately step out of God's covering. This willful act of disobedience on our part ties God's hands from intervening on our behalf. Whenever we choose to disobey any of God's commandments, we are obeying our human nature and embracing sin. Every single time we choose sin over godliness, the effects are harmful to our spirit. We are in effect, replacing God's yoke, which is light and easy (Matthew 11:29), with our own yoke, which is heavy and hard. Is it not any wonder, that when this transfer takes place, we begin sensing a heaviness within our spirits that weighs us down?

Now, let's say we step even further in to bitterness, what can we expect then? Utter desolation.In our flesh, we find ourselves continually concentrating on our offenses. We eat, sleep and drink our "offenses"! We roll them over and over in our minds like a silent movie, continually pushing the replay button. Before we know it, , our mouths have now teamed up with our minds. Now, we're not thinking about the offense, we're talking about the offense! These offenses have now become the new hot topic of conversation with everyone we come in to contact with.

Bitterness has mixed itself with the ingredients of poison, disobedience and desolation and baked itself all together to form a brand new recipe called: "a barren wasteland." As we dig in and eat this entire new-found recipe, we realize our spirits are now dry and parched. So what are we supposed to drink? The only water available to us is contaminated with pollutants? Now, we're really in trouble! Do you see the end result with all of this? It's not worth it.

In our physical bodies, we have been give "physical" senses to taste, touch, smell and see in order to respond and function in our physical world. When any of these senses are dulled, we no longer function properly. We have also been given "spiritual" senses to help us respond and function in the spiritual realm. When we drown ourselves in bitterness, we dull our spiritual senses, which cause us to struggle in finding ways to walk in victory. The path to victory has always been there, it never moved or disappeared. The problem is that we, ourselves, have blocked the path and immobilized ourselves because of our flesh getting in the way.

Bitterness should be looked upon as nothing more than a handicap, sent from hell, to render us powerless in our spiritual walk. Keep that in mind the next time bitterness comes knocking at your minds door. Keep that door shut and bolted, never welcome it in.

If you'd like to read the next three parts of this excerpt: "The Messengers of Bitterness", "The Fruits of Bitterness" and "The Body of Christ", you are welcome to purchase the book through my website at www.egbnow.org

Thanks so much and Be Blessed!
Tracy :)

Time-Words-Ways ... Oh My!

2011-02-20T20:50:00.005-07:00

Where have the years gone? Time certainly has a way of flying by ... doesn't it? You blink and your fifty. My husband just celebrated his fifty-second birthday! It's hard for me to believe he's fifty-two? I remember when he was twenty-five years old and I was a YOUNG and SLIM twenty-one year old! LOL ... Now, twenty-four and a half years later, our girls are grown, Stef is married and we are enjoying our very first grandson! Wow! It seems like yesterday I was just getting engaged to him?

Over the years, I have learned, gained and gleaned so much wisdom. Now ... I finally have come to the conclusion that; "I don't know anything", "I can't do everything", and "I am hardly ever right". The last one was the biggest surprise for me! In all actuality ... I'm wrong, way more than I'm right and that's the whole truth too! :) It absolutely shatters that made up reality that I chose to live in for so many years. I feel as though my bubble has popped and I am sucking air!

How many times have we thought our way was the right way, our ideas were the best ideas, our advice was the best advice and our plans were the only ones that made sense? We sure do have a lot to learn ... huh? I lost track of all the times I've had to circle the mountain. It makes perfect sense to me now as to why it took the Israelites forty years to take a week long journey! I get that now! I really do. Revelation!

I'm learning that pride is a real stinker. I'll say this, it can pop up in our lives when we least expect it! Here we are going along in our lives, minding our own business and boom ... suddenly offense rises up, from something someone said or did to us that hurt our feelings and wounded us, boom ... suddenly jealousy rises up because someone is getting more attention than we are, boom ... suddenly bitterness gets lodged in our hearts from unforgiveness that began taking root for an offense.

Boy, we are complicated and peculiar people aren't we? It's ironic how we ourselves can become entangled by the very things that irritate us about someone else. What I have found to be true more times than not, is that what we despise in others, we haven't dealt with ... within ourselves. Ouch! That hurts! See, many of us can't grasp that ... because we haven't come to the point of absolute honesty with God and ourselves, about the feelings inside of us.

Feelings? Those fickle feelings. Can't live with 'em and can't live without 'em ... huh? They can be our worst enemy if not kept in check by our spirit. If it were up to the flesh, our feelings would dictate every choice, every mindset, and every negative disposition we can possibly hold to. Flesh coupled with feelings, equals serious trouble! Most all deep seeded emotional problems are only magnified by our flesh.

God gave us feelings and emotions, but they were never intended to run our lives. But so many times, they do. They are given so much power over what we say, think and do. Before we know it, we're conjuring horrible thoughts that turn in to words, that form on our tongue and proceed from our mouths. Wow! If we could only stop them before they're released.

Words directed by the flesh, can create wars, conflict, wounds, arguments, deception, manipulation and isolation ... just to name a few. But when guided by the spirit, they can also produce good things, such as reconciliation, encouragement, healing, forgiveness and unity. So if we look at both lists .. which one looks better? The first one or the second one? I would venture to say the second list.

Time is of the essence-words must be chosen with wisdom- and ways must be weighed by the spirit.
Until next time,
Tracy :)

"But What About Him/Her?"

2011-02-11T17:54:00.003-07:00

I can't speak for you of course, but the famous line in my childhood was: "But mom, what about him/her?" I used it quite often too! I hated getting into trouble. We never want to take the blame for anything do we? It seems that many of us have this inert desire to always shift the blame onto someone else. It's almost like we're saying "no ... no ... redirect that spotlight on to him or her, not me. I don't want to be in the hot seat!" LOL

Yes, I remember this all to well. To be completely honest ... even to this day I don't like to take the blame for things. But maturity has taught me to face up to it now in my later years. When Bret and I first got married everything was his fault. If the light bulb went out ... it was his fault because he should have changed it sooner. If the car got a flat tire ... it was his fault because he should of had the tires changed before they got so bad. The list goes on and on!

I still blame him for a few things, (chuckling) ... but not near the bulk of what it used to be. See, with age, comes maturity and wisdom. Now, I figure out a way to set him up in order to blame him! Just kidding. He's a great guy! He brings much happiness and joy to my life ... most of the time. :) There are days though when I want to say: "why don't you go golfing for the entire day", when I really need some "me" time. Most of the time we have lots of fun together though!

Blame is a peculiar thing. What it boils down to is a transfer of responsibility. Believe it or not, it can also be a form of criticism and condemnation as well. When we shift blame on to someone else we are making them look bad in order to protect our own pride. Yep, there's that word again, "pride". It's the cause of humanity's fall, it's the reason for Satan being evicted from Heaven and it's the main framework that's encased in why many people don't speak to one another.

It seems we always want to be right. See, when we walk in the flesh, instead of the spirit, our pride prohibits us from being humble or extending grace to another person. Now, before anyone gets upset ... I'm also not saying that we should be doormats either. If people continue to hurt us and wrongly blame us for things all the time, then we must distance ourselves from them. Yet, still love them and pray for them, just as Christ loved us and gave His Son for us, even when we were still sinners and lived in complete darkness.

Now, let's be honest ... sometimes that easier said than done. We all struggle with our flesh. I don't believe any of us are exempt from that? Sorry. But the truth of the matter is that when we live by the spirit, we will learn to walk by the spirit more and more. The spirit must be strengthened and the flesh must be weakened. How do we do that? Here's a few thoughts. First of all, we get ourselves before the Lord and spend some one on one time with Him and share our hurts, our struggles, our feelings and our apprehensions and fears with Him.

Secondly, we let go. Yep, we let go! Stop holding on to things from the past. Refuse to allow that baggage that weighs you down to continue being attached to you like a ball and chain. Let go and let God. There's nothing we can do to change anyone, only God can change their hearts, their attitudes and their mindsets, not us. Here's the deal, many people are so tormented by their own pain, frustration and disappointments in life, that many times they can't see how they hurt others. Trust me, there are some very self-absorbed people in the world ... AND SADLY also in the Body of Christ.

Thirdly, we remove ourselves from the turbulence. I don't know about you ... but I love peace, I hate strife, I hate arguing, and I hate being put on the spot. The turbulence I'm speaking of is the atmosphere surrounding people who are miserable. That old saying "misery loves company" ... it's true! Misery is a "great mental or emotional stress or extreme unhappiness", according to Webster. Many times it can lead to torment and desolation, if not dealt with.

So, there you have it ... three suggestions. Listen, I have my days too, I'm not trying to say I'm above ever shifting blame on to anyone. Truly it boils down to our pride. And until that's dealt with and conquered ... we will always struggle with it in our flesh. Live by the spirit, strengthen the spirit, allow God's manifest glory to come in to your circumstances and bring freedom!

Until next time,
Tracy :)

"Gloom, Despair and Agony On Me"

2011-01-30T10:24:00.002-07:00

Growing up as a kid, I remember my mom being a huge fan of "Hee Haw". I will never forget the song they always played ... that unfortunately still resonates through my head from time to time that goes something like this; "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and agony on me." Do you remember those horrifying lines? Maybe that's why I've always loathed country music? LOL

It's a catchy tune though ... I will give it that! How many of you ever feel that way? Come on ... be honest. I certainly have those days when I feel like everything I do is surrounded by a cloud of gloom ... despair and agony. Yes, I'm actually having one of those days today. As I write this ... I'm laying in bed with my laptop in front of me. I have a horrible head cold, cough, fever and congestion. No, not fun! But to be completely honest, I'm glad this week is over and I can start a brand new week!

Many times you have to keep things to yourself. Yes, I share parts of my life with friends, but I have to say ... It's only the tip of the iceberg. As a matter fact, many times when people ask me how I'm doing I respond with "great!" ... how many of you have ever done that? LOL I find that people have a tendency to not really want to know how your doing ... they just ask out of trying to conjure up some form of nonchalant interest or polite conversation with you.

But here's the thing ... if you start asking them about their lives ... whoa ... you will probably hear more than you'd like to know. I truly don't ask people how their doing, if I really don't care to know. So when I ask someone how their doing ... I really do care and I don't judge them! See, here's the thing that bothers me. People are quick to stereotype others and place a tag on them, and sometimes the least little bit of vulnerability you allow people to see ... watch out ... it may come back to bite you in the backside at a later time.

So here's my take on all of this. I have had more than enough betrayal, slander, woundedness and back-biting that I care to even discuss with anyone for the rest of my life. Trust me, I've had my fill and when I say "I know how you feel ... and I feel your pain" I really do. I'm not just saying that. I know too well how that solid steel feels as it going in to your back. My scars are still there. Healing may come ... but scars remain.

My biggest issue with people is trust. I can't tell you how many times I've let down my guard and trusted people ... only to be sorry for it in the end. If you think what you say about others won't get back to them ... think again. It really will and when it does get back to the person ... it hurts really bad like an ache inside of your heart that won't go away. Many times than not, people who know private things about other people's lives see it as power. Isn't that sad? And seriously ... women are the worst. It just absolutely floors me how women are so prone to jealousy. Let me say ... "it astounds me!"

Well, I'm feeling much better now on an emotional level anyways! LOL On a serious note though ... if the Body of Christ truly desires to see emotional healing and restoration ... then we have to stop wounding our own people with our swords. Here's the deal ... we all have struggles. No one reading this is above anyone else ... whether it's spiritually, emotionally, or mentally. We are all a part of the Body of Christ, if we claim to be Christians. But I have to say that over the past couple decades of my life ... I've seen a lot of damage come through the Body of Christ. There are many wounded soldiers lying in the midst, stabbed in the heart, then stabbed in the back.

A Body that is supposed to represent healing and restoration brings far too much slander, condemnation and gossip and God forbid if we see anyone rising above where we believe they should be according to our scale. Look out! Our mindsets are so wrong. We are so quick to bring someone down. We cannot say something spiritual with our mouths and then turn around and do something totally out of the flesh with our actions. Remember the old saying "actions speak louder than words?" It's true! When will we ever get that?

Jealousy ... what an idol in the Church! It's raised up far above God in may instances. If God is coming back for a spotless Bride ... when are we going to finally get rid of all the blemishes? I'm being very open right now ... and I have to say ... the Church is very disillusioning to me. And I'm not saying we all don't have issues to work through. I have myriads of them. But the bottom line is ... I'm truly working on mine and placing them before the Throne of Grace. What are you doing with yours?

Contention ... what I would call the second biggest idol in the Church. Brothers and sisters in Christ can't seem to get along with one another. We have so much competition in the Body, not to mention what I call church politics. Whenever people have disagreements or differences in opinions ... why does that always lead to being marked or ostracized by a certain group? Everyone is so concerned with their position and title, we neglect to see the damage it does to people's hearts, minds and emotions!

Where is the honor? Where is the love? Where is the heart that thirsts after God beyond anything else? What are we doing? How many spiritual body bags do we have to carry out of the church before we say it's enough? Listen, we are running out of time! We either need to repent and get it together or get out of the way ... so the passion of Christ can arise in the Body. Renounce that spirit of division and disunity. Renounce that spirit of jealousy inside of you. Repent of your contention with another brother or sister in Christ and go to them and repent for your attitude and behavior.

We either feed our strongholds and allow them to become bigger and stronger ... or we tear them down and relinquish them altogether. Do you struggle with jealousy? Do you struggle with contention? Do you justify releasing information that's told to you in confidence? Do you struggle with gossip or slander? Do you seek out to give someone else a bad name who you have issues with? Do you have your own agenda? Are you trying to bring people together, or cause strife and disunity? Only you can answer these questions.

In closing, if you have these struggles ... don't condemn yourself. God is your redeemer, He is your shield and buckler. Don't allow your struggles to become strongholds. Get rid of them and move on!

Thoughtfully written by,
Tracy Cavelli Trussell

The Mirror

2011-01-26T08:59:00.003-07:00

James 1:23-24

"Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like."

Sometimes I get up in the morning and look in the mirror and think ... "wow, I have really aged. Who is this person? Do I know you? Have we officially met?" I feel as though I've just awakened from watching the movie: "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Gone are the days when elasticity was my friend and age spots never even crossed my mind! LOL Denial of reality may also be an option? I can walk away from the mirror and forget all about what I seen and pretend I'm still twenty! Hmm ... I may consider that one very seriously!

The spiritual mirror can also tell us a lot too. Are we listening to the Word, yet failing to execute it? Are we forgetting the Promises that God has given to us? Are we letting what we hear go in one ear and out the other? Do we feel pumped up and ready to take on the world when we leave church, and then get up the next day and feel completely overwhelmed and defeated? Sound familiar? I don't know about you, but I sure can relate!

If we feel this way ... there's a good chance we're forgetting what we heard. In other words, we're not holding on to what we've heard and allowing our faith to take hold of it and create an atmosphere of power and breakthrough. It's easy to sit in church week after week and just absorb more and more sermons and get so full of Religion and knowledge that we can barely get ourselves up to walk out the back door. It's almost like eating and eating until you begin feeling nauseated and sick.

When we continue filling ourselves up, but fail to empty ourselves back out, it doesn't produce a healthy spirit-man at all. It produces an overweight spiritual man who's lethargic, sleepy and slow to action. A warrior is someone who's alert, one who is fine tuning his/her ears and eyes to hear from the Holy Spirit. How do we become empty? What's the secret? Well, frankly, there is no secret. We empty ourselves back out through intercession, helping others get delivered from bondage, strongholds, spiritual oppression and spiritual darkness. Yep, that's right ... I just said spiritual darkness.

We only deceive ourselves if we think that isn't real. It's very real! Oppression and bondage are all part of spiritual darkness and can happen to the best of us. It's not a respecter of persons, it knows no boundaries and it certainly doesn't care how many services you attended this week at your church. The fact of the matter is this: you cannot hide from it, but you CAN stand against it! Jesus gave us the victory ... not at the Cross, but at the resurrection. Sin was defeated, the power of darkness was usurped and here's the really cool part ... we have been given the authority to walk in power over darkness and tread upon the spiritual wickedness!

Here's our part in all of this ... we must act upon what we hear. What does that mean? It means when God is giving us insight or strategies to overcome the powers of darkness, we must take what we've been told and ACT upon it. Don't cower in a corner with fear, no no no ... rise up and stand in authority. "Faith without works is dead". Those are not my words, they are taken right from the Bible.

Remember what you look like spiritually. Spiritually ... you are an overcomer, you are victorious, you are a child of the King, you are an heir of Jesus Christ, you are above and not below, you are the head and not the tail. You have been bought with a price and then instilled with supernatural spiritual weapons. Don't forget what your spirit man looks like. Look in the mirror and then remember!

Until next time,
Tracy Cavelli Trussell :)

What's My Stats?

2011-01-10T09:24:00.003-07:00

Romans 14:12

"Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God".

Back in my high school days, I was the statistician for the guys basketball team. The Heritage Conquerors, that was our team name. I've always been intrigued with basketball, which probably has a lot to do with one of the many reasons I married the big guy (Bret), the man of my dreams. LOL When I first met Bret, he would eat, sleep and breathe basketball. At the beginning of our marriage, I can't even remember how many teams he played on? :) We had games at least four times every week!

As the statistician for the Conquerors, I needed to have the reports for each game up to date and precise. If I missed even one assist, you better believe that the guys would know it. There were a few perks to keeping the stats. The biggest one was that I was able to get out of class early on most of the away games, because I traveled with the team. I loved that! Especially if it was math class! I hated math. Another perk ... I was dating the captain of the team. Always a good perk! But I was honest regarding his stats.

After every game, the guys would pour up in line, wanting to know how many assists they had, how many foul shots they made, how many turnovers took place and how many points did they score? The list goes on and on! That was probably the beginning for my love of basketball. I actually understand the game, which is not the case at all for me with football! I don't think I will ever understand football.

Now, why did I just tell you all about my statistician days? Well, believe it or not, I actually have a spiritual analogy to my story. Here it is. Many times we go through life on auto pilot. We get up every morning and do the same things over and over again. We have a certain schedule or format we follow on a daily basis. But as we go through each day, what are we doing for God? Do we make it a priority to spend time with Him?

How are we reaching people in the marketplace? The marketplace isn't just the workplace. Do we go to the store and never speak to anyone, but quickly get our items, stand in line and then grumble and complain that the line is too long and leave? How many of us take the time to speak to strangers, or even our neighbors? Are we so focused on our own little part of the world, that we fail to see the Harvest?

When we stand before God, we will give account for what we've done, and what we failed to do. What's your stats? How many times do you speak to someone in the store that you don't know? How many times do you go out of your way to take the cart back to it's proper place, instead of leaving it next to your car? How many times have you helped someone, who dropped their groceries as they were putting them in to the car? Do you help out ... or do you proceed to your car and just leave?

I've seen people, (who I happen to know profess to be Christians) stand in a return line and argue and carry on with a clerk by being very nasty in their attitude. Will that person take account before God for that? I believe so. The way we conduct ourselves is a very important matter to consider. How do we treat people outside of church? Do we act one way at church and quite another in the marketplace?

I know to many of you, these are trivial things to consider. But I really don't believe they are trivial to God. We are the light of the world. Our light shines in the darkness and the darkness has to flee. But if we walk around and act-talk and project ourselves to be just like the world ... how will people see the difference between Christians and the World? They won't. They will get a false identity of who we represent. We represent Christ.

Just something for all of us to think about ...
Be blessed,
Tracy :)

For The Love of Christmas!

2010-12-13T13:47:00.002-07:00

Luke 2:7-11
⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

This Scripture always takes me back to a time many years ago when my children were very young and attended school at my old Alma Mater, Heritage Christian School (Britney actually graduated from there) . I choreographed and wrote the Christmas program for the pre-kindergarten children. It was so fun! Back in the day, I had alot more patience ... LOL

I remember teaching the children a song in Telugu, which in English was; "This is the Day That the Lord Has Made". The sad part is that I can't even remember the words to the song in Telugu! The memory always goes next, after the patience! I choreographed the whole program and the children did such a great job. I had little angel costumes made, they held little battery operated candles ... we had a live manger!

I can recall the joy I felt in watching the children sing with all of their hearts and remember all of their lines ... and trust me ... that in itself is a TASK! The children came walking in from the back of the auditorium, quoting the above Scripture in it's entirety. I will never forget the countless hours of practice, practice, practice! :) It was a packed out house and I don't think I had any fingernails left?

The joy and excitement of Christmas radiated in the hearts of the people that were present in the audience ... it was like we could feel their joy and excitement! Everyone had such an anticipation! It was like the angels of God had come to celebrate with all of us. I remember leaving that night thinking: "we did this for the love of Christmas!" God was present, the angels were present, even the little ones with the fake wings! :)

That is one of my favorite memories of Christmas! My other favorite memory is of "John; The Homeless Man" who came to our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I'll leave that story for another time.

Christmas is all about "love" and that Love was swaddled in a manger. His name? Jesus ... Immanuel ... God with us! So this Christmas, walk in the joy, receive the love, and embrace the anticipation. Thank You Jesus, Son of God ... for coming in human form to save us from an eternity apart from God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

Merry Christmas everyone! From my home to yours ... be blessed!

Tracy :)

Embrace God's Divine Impartations and Be The Real You!

2010-11-23T09:58:00.003-07:00

Deuteronomy 34:9, "Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him, doing just as the Lord had commanded Moses."

The spirit of wisdom was imparted to Joshua through the laying on of hands from Moses. Many people hold to the belief that the reason Moses laid hands on Joshua was in order for the children of Israel to accept him as their leader. That may be true, but I also believe there was an even more important reason that Moses laid hands on Joshua and it's enveloped in Moses imparting wisdom to him. Consider this, Moses walked with God and spoke to Him face to face that's validated a few verses later in verse 10 of that same chapter.

God used Moses to impart the Divine attributes and giftings that He instilled in him, so it could be transferred over to Joshua. How awesome is that? The Bible says that Moses carried mighty power. He walked in signs and wonders. It was his true spiritual persona. Every single one of us, who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as our Savior have also been given a spiritual persona. We have been instilled with supernatural gifts and callings from God.

Are you walking in those gifts and callings? Have you embraced your true identity or spiritual persona? Maybe some of you are thinking; "Tracy, what is the world are you talking about? What is a true persona? Okay, fair enough question. Here's what I mean by your true spiritual persona ... ready? Graham Cooke talks about this true persona, and basically in a nut shell ... it's your true identity of who God originally created you to be, before you were even conceived in your mother's womb ... God knew you. The Bible says in Jeremiah; "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart ..."

The world has labeled us with a false persona or false identity. The world labels us ... but God wants to name us! We are called according to God's Divine purpose. God has called us by Name! We are the righteousness of God, we are redeemed, holy and sanctified, we are chosen, we are the apple of God's eye, we are the head and not the tail, we are above and not below, we are special as no one else has our DNA, we are worthy, we are blessed and we are CHOSEN to reign and rule with Christ. How's that sound ... for who you REALLY are?

The Bible says we have been imparted with a measure of faith. God has instilled that inside of us, but it's our choice as to whether or not we use it? Embrace those Divine impartations and be the real you! Take off that mask ... it's a label ... God has already named you!

Happy Thanksgiving! May God's blessings and favor be showered upon you!

Sincerely in His Grace and Love,
Tracy :)

That Sweet Sweet Sound!

2010-11-05T13:15:00.002-07:00

2 Chronicles 5:13, "It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD."

Matthew 24:31; "And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Are we familiar with the sound? There's a sound that the elect of God understands and hears. There's a sound that will be released when with one voice, we begin praising and exalting our Lord! We will gather together from one end of heaven to the other. Everyone from the four winds of the Earth will send up a sound of one voice crying out to God. Oh what a sound that will be! I was doing a word study on "sound" the other day and learned so much from that study.

The word "sound" comes from the Greek word "echos" and echos is a form of our English word "echo". In Acts 2:2 it's used in that very form when it says, "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." The echo of Heaven entered the room! Could it be that the echo they heard was coming from Heaven, as the Lord and all of the angels rejoiced in what happened at Pentecost? I started to think about that and the Lord gave me a little insight in to this.

First of all, the sound came because they were in one accord. There was unity! In other words, they all had the same agenda ... God's, not their own. And what happened next? In verse 3 it says there appeared cloven tongues of fire that sat upon them. That gives me Holy Ghost goose-bumps right there! Imagine sitting in the room with these people and SUDDENLY cloven tongues of fire begin to sit upon each person? What would that feel like? What are cloven tongues? I can't pronounce it, but here's the name of it ... glossai hosei puros.

There was a supernatural manifestation of the Gift of the Holy Spirit! This was the purest of purest, of divine power and impartation. Wow! Can you imagine being there? The Holy Spirit must have been so powerful in their midst, because everyone in the room began to speak in languages they had never learned. Amazing! They didn't make up these words ... the Spirit gave them utterance. It was a heavenly language!

Now, we can say all we want to ... that this isn't for today, but the Scriptures don't tell us that. It is for today ... the Holy Spirit hasn't changed. Has He? The Bible says He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes. He stays the same. His power is still there and available to us. When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit ... I began to speak in other tongues! And now many years later (almost twenty years now) ... I'm still speaking in that same tongue I was given at the time of my baptism in the Holy Spirit! Can I explain that away? No. All I can testify to is that there is power in it.

That sweet, sweet sound comes in the midst of unity and one accord. What does that tell us? It tells us how pleasant and glorious it is for the saints of God to come together and stand in one accord and hear the sound of Heaven. Let's lay our differences aside and become one! Let's focus on the sound that the elect of God will indeed hear. Let's concentrate on the things that bring us together, instead of the things that divide us. Let's listen for the sound. God give us ears to hear Your sound.

Listen and Be Ready!
Tracy :)

What Are We Laying Up Treasures For?

2010-10-25T12:09:00.003-06:00

This morning, I was reading the sermon by Jonathon Edwards titled: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". I have to admit that I had never read it before today. I'd only heard about it from various family members. After reading it, I literally wanted to lay on the ground sobbing and interceding for the lost to come to Christ! The strings of my heart were pulled BIG TIME! I was so overwhelmed and awakened by the Truth inscribed in that sermon. The key Scripture for that message is Duet. 32:35; "Their foot shall slide in due time." The New Living Translation says it like this: "I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them."

The application to this sermon is showing us that the flood of God's vengeance is piling up day by day, year after year. Every day a sinner is treasuring up more and more potential wrath. When the dam breaks, a flood ...(or maybe the word tsunami is a better word to describe what will happen) will rise up and literally overpower and destroy them. What's holding the waters back right now? It is the mercy and grace of God, it is only by His Hand. If God were to remove His Hand it would surely bring fierce destruction upon all sinners.

Just imagine the fury that will be released? Just imagine the damnation that will be executed? But it doesn't have to be that way! God doesn't desire for anyone to perish. Hell was never created for humans, it was for satan and his fallen angels! It is absolutely inconceivable to me why anyone would choose Hell? It reminds me of the monopoly game I played as a kid. Everyone used their "get out of jail" pass. Nobody held on to it. And yet, we ignore God's pass to stay out of Hell? Why on earth would anyone do that?

God provided Jesus as our pass from Hell. All we have to do is accept Him, confess our sins and receive His forgiveness and salvation. Our Salvation is simple, but not at all cheap! There was a high cost paid for it to be provided for us. But we have a responsibility in this ... we must accept it! It's being handed to every person ... but they have to reach out and take it! It's like when someone hands you a gift ... do you stand there and look at it in the other person's hand ... or do you reach out and take it? You take it .... of course!

Jonathon Edwards says it like this: "The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood. Thus all of you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God."

Oh Father please help us to see Your Truth like never before! Place upon every Christian's heart a deep longing to spread Your Gospel --- Your Truth --- Your Peace to a world that is lost and dying. So many times we hear people talk of peace and safety, but the things that the world depends upon for peace and safety are of no use in a spiritual sense. They are nothing but empty promises and shadows of deception. Open our eyes that we may see You, open our ears that we may hear what the Spirit is saying to us. Give us a heart that longs to bring Salvation to the lost. Place a fire within our hearts! Place an urgency within our spirits so that we may rise to the responsibility of setting the captives free! In Jesus Mighty Name ... amen

Sincerely Seeking God's Heart,
Tracy :)

Simplify Simplify Simplify!

2010-10-14T14:25:00.003-06:00

I was sitting here at my desk and was pretty much at a loss as to what I should write about today. So I asked the Lord what He thought I should write about and in my spirit I immediately felt Him say one word; "simplify". Imagine that ... God actually answering me? Who'd of thought? So ... that's what I'm writing about today! :)

As I sat here contemplating the concept of simplicity ... or simplifying our lives, I began to remember back years ago when Bret and I were first married. Long time ago! Everything was simple then. We had hardly any bills, we lived in a little two bedroom apartment, paying $295.00 per month and we had a car that was paid off. Could life be any easier than that? Then we began having children ... LOL ... wake up call! Just kidding, I love my children very much!

It was a struggle for me, for many years ... to become focused on what's truly important though. I watched everyone else get blessed, yet our family always stayed in lack. That was so hard. I hated having those feelings. Now, we are blessed beyond measure. But even so, I still have to pull myself in and re-evaluate my motives, my wants ... compared to my needs, my desire to have nice things and my focus to remain on the Kingdom.

So many times than not, we can have such tunnel vision, if we aren't careful. It's easy to get off on the track of what's in it for me ... but I realize that's not just a struggle for me ... it seems to be the struggle for many others as well. See, there's a fine line between being in the world, but not of it.

This is where we need balance and spiritual insight. The world has alot to offer in terms of things, but that's where we must use wisdom and discernment. Greed and prosperity are not the same. I can say just as Paul did ... I know what it's like to be without and have nothing; and I know what it's like to have an abundance.

The important lesson in all of this is understanding that our happiness and satisfaction doesn't rest in our things, our comforts, our clothing, our cars, our houses ... all of that pales in comparison to God. The Bible says to "seek first the Kingdom of God and then all these things will be added unto you". I think in order to simplify ... we must first of all clarify within ourselves what's truly important to us? What are we living for? What makes our heart skip a beat? Is it God" ... or is it something else?

Something to think about ... huh?
Simplifying my life,
Tracy :)

Exciting News! Brand New Website!

2010-10-11T15:10:00.002-06:00

Please be sure and visit my newly developed website, where you can order all of my materials, email me and directly connect to my radio show links. I will also be updating the "news and events" page periodically to keep everyone informed! Thanks so much and here's the direct link to the website:

Please Click HERE for Embracing God's Best website link.

Blessings to all of you!
Tracy :)

Taking a Break From Facebook

2010-10-07T14:57:00.001-06:00

For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook. I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to take a break from it for a while, but I will be back! :)

I will still be writing my blogs and I will also continue doing my radio shows!

Thanks so much! Be blessed!
Tracy :)

Freedom Reigns In This Temple

2010-10-04T11:05:00.002-06:00

Many have paid a very high price for freedom, in other words in most cases ... freedom isn't really free. This past weekend I just returned from a retreat called "Freedom For Life", notice the title of the retreat says life, not week, not month, not year. I came away from this past weekend literally being emotionally and physically drained ... but in a good way. :) I experienced Daddy God in ways that I never have before. I didn't go with the mindset or intention of making friends or gathering my spot in a clique ... nope ... I went with the intention of doing business with God, and God alone!

I knew that I had to get the pain out and get the healing in. That was truly and honestly ... my entire focus. I had finally arrived at a place in my life that I had to make a critical choice. The choice was only mine to make, no one else could make it for me. My choice was freedom! I had been given the opportunity to either stay where I was at ... which was a very scary place of defeat, frustration and hopelessness, or I could break out of that shell and experience true freedom, joy and healing in the Holy Ghost!

Now ... freedom reigns in this temple! I have dropped twenty pounds in a spiritual sense! LOL The baggage that used to bog me down, hinder my breakthroughs, exacerbate my emotions and make me frozen with fear, distress and doubt .... is GONE! I have been set free from the ties that bind and have held me in captivity. In my life, there has been some healing that has taken place throughout the years ... but there was still that feeling of knowing there's more to get rid of, still more to break free from, still more to push through in order to get me to complete FREEDOM.

I almost caved in by not going to this retreat. I knew it was Satan trying to get me to reason everything out in my flesh, so I wouldn't give my spirit the chance to be set free. I was attacked in so many ways ... and I refused to look at things in a spiritual mindset and they really affected my flesh tremendously! I struggled with condemnation, shame, remorse, anger, unworthiness and so many other emotions. And it ALMOST succeeded in getting me to cancel this retreat and not go and participate in it.

But God is good ... He encouraged me and pushed me to have the strength and determination to go! He helped me to see it through, because He knew how much freedom would come in to my life, if I went. See, God never desired for me to be stuck in the pit of pain, turmoil and remorse ... no ... His plan for me is to be FREE and I'm free indeed! I've been released from the ball and chain of bondage. Those mind binding spirits can come in to your life and cause absolute unrest, chaos and captivity, if they are not dealt with and removed!

Well, they are gone, I am free and I will walk out this life with a much different outlook and through a much clearer vision and focus. The veil is gone ... the earplugs have been pulled out! I've renounced and disowned those terrible binding spirits of oppression ... and I've abandoned them by making that formal declaration that has replaced them with freedom inside of my heart, mind and emotions. The results of a free mind .... is a mind free from worry, anxiety and self destructive shame and condemnation. Yes, because of the love of my Daddy God, I have been set free! "No more shackles, no more pain, no more bondage ... I am free"!

Freedom reigns in this temple.
Sincerely and truly living inside of the cleft of the Rock,
Tracy :)

Floating Through the Rapids of Life

2010-09-27T09:39:00.004-06:00

I guess we've all encountered them? You know ... those things in life that turn your world upside down? Life can not only be very difficult and hard to walk through ... but the emotional stress and pain that we encounter can take a real toll on us as well. I've had to walk through some really tough things over the course of my life and what I've found is that the only way to get through sometimes ... is to float through. Life reminds me of a river rafting expedition ... here you are in this plastic raft with a wooden orr in your hand and your floating down-stream on what you perceive to be ... this beautiful river of tranquility LOL then all of a sudden, out of no-where, you look up around the corner; and you see these huge rapids just waiting to knock you out of your raft, or crash you into the rocks.

You try to hold on ... you hold your straps with a death grip and when you find that's not working ... you even attempt to use your orr to navigate through those torrential ... crashing waves, but to your dismay, your raft topples over and you end up falling out of the raft and floating downstream, with only a life jacket between you and the rapids. Well, my life jacket (Jesus Christ) continually holds me up and I know He won't allow me to drown. He is my refuge and my deliverer, my strong tower ... that One who I run to in times of crisis. The shelter in the time of storms.

If I had a penny for every time I encountered a painful or traumatic experience throughout the course of my life here on earth ... wow ... I can only imagine how much money I would have right now in that account? LOL It may be enough to buy my own island and go live on it with Bret, in complete isolation? Just kidding! But it's a nice thought anyway. The truth is ... we all go through things that seem like the end of the world to us, during the time we're in the midst of it ... only to find that we made it through by the grace and power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What would we do without Him? Where would be? ... if not for His grace and mercy being new every morning?

I don't think there's anything we can do about the storms that come? ... sometimes ... they just come and the high winds spin us in to an emotional whirlwind, the hail beats down on our spirit-man, and the hurricanes try to engulf us and drown us .... but God hasn't left us alone. He either calms the storm ... or He calms the child as the storm rages. Either way, we know that He's there. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He's wrapped us with His life-jacket ... He's sheltering us in His umbrella of grace and mercy. He hides us in the cleft of the rock ... and through it all, He either calms the storm or calms His child.

I say all of this to encourage all of you to never give up. Don't allow your circumstances to drown you ... and trust me when I say ... it's easy to stop fighting sometimes. But the Truth I want you to hear is that through it all He's more than enough. We are tested and we are tried and during those times we can either bend with the situations and circumstances and be stretched, or we can break and snap. It's our choice ... but we also must understand that with choices ... come consequences and those are the times when we find it hardest to succumb to what must take place. Yet, through obedience and a willingness to bend and be stretched, we see God move on our behalf.

Yep, life is hard ... yep, we sometimes face things that we believe will take us under .. yep, so many times we don't understand all the "whys". But the final outcome ... is when God works all things to the good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. I'm floating through the rapids and I'm holding on to the life jacket.

Be blessed!
In His Grace and Mercy,
Tracy :)

Spiritual Manifestations?

2010-09-20T10:30:00.003-06:00

Okay, I'll admit it ... I've been struggling with understanding spiritual manifestations. They happen all around me at church and as I observe these things from a distance, they end up becoming so distracting to me, that I close my eyes and begin asking God to help me understand what's happening to these people? It's not that I never experience God ... I do ... I'm spirit filled with the evidence of speaking in tongues, but I've never experienced alot of the things that I see some of the people around me physically manifesting from their bodies.

Sometimes it's during corporate worship as I look up and notice people bending over or jerking and other times it's during a class I'm currently taking. In class, there's a person who constantly startles me, by yelling and hollering and jumping up out of her seat during class and pointing at people. Please understand, I'm not judging or criticizing this ... I just don't understand it? I mean ... I've been slain in the spirit before, so I have experienced that on two occasions in my life. I've experienced the fire tunnel, which I absolutely loved and as I walked through it I experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, but I still didn't experience any manifestations ... so to speak?

I'll have to confess that at times, I feel like I'm just not as spiritual as they are , or maybe they are all just alot further along than I am in their walk with God? I don't know? I do hear from God in my quiet time and I even write things down that I feel He's speaking to my spirit about, but I have to say that these manifestations really have me puzzled. I know if it ever did happen to me it would be totally out of my personality. I love having fun and I laugh alot, and I'm definitely not an introvert anymore, but this has me thinking out of the box, big time.

I want more of God and I desire to experience these manifestations ... but I also never want to try and conjure this up on my own ... I desire for it to be completely spirit-led. Now, please understand I'm also in no way trying to suggest that these manifestations are conjured up, because I know many of these people personally and I see their lives. So I'm not trying to insinuate that at all. I just don't get it? I'm getting ready to leave for a "Freedom For Life" ladies retreat at the end of the month and I gotta say ... I'm going with an expectation to experience God in ways that I have never experienced Him before. I desire that! I want that! I'm yielded, yet cautious due to my lack of trust. So I guess you could say my cautious side is stronger?

Wow! Can I be any more difficult? LOL That's truly not my intention either, but I'm believing that the healing that's left to take place in my life; will indeed occur and then I will be free to move and breath and have my way be made in to His way, through Him. He's teaching me and showing me things and I'm so grateful for that! Alot of healing has already taken place in my life, but I know there are still things that I'm trying to let go of and be free from at present. I get very frustrated with myself sometimes though because I don't want to hold on to things, but I find myself battling with things so often. I've broken off generational curses, but at times, I find they still try and creep in to my life?

I need avenues of exit. Many people probably have no idea what I'm referring to here, but it's something that I need to exercise in my life in order to get things out. One of my avenues of exit is writing. I know that's shocking, isn't it? :) I have worked through many things in my past with the Lord and my journals. My journals encapsulate my life and how far God has brought me to this day and in my life. Many people are shocked when I tell them that I would cross the street in order to avoid contact with people. Strange ... huh? When the Bible talks about being peculiar people ... I believe God was probably referring to one of them as me in that verse, since He knew me even before I was born or thought of. LOL

I could just hear God saying ... "What about Tracy? ... Now, she is a very peculiar person indeed!" I also know I am set apart though too. All of us are masterpieces and none of us are mistakes. Praise God for that!

Well, I have nothing more to talk about right now so I guess I will close ...
Be blessed and be content,
Tracy :)

Hypocritical Self Righteousness Forms A Spiritual Void

2010-09-10T09:41:00.004-06:00

Matthew chapter 23:1-36 is a great passage of Scripture describing the spiritual void created by hypocritical self righteousness. The majority of the passage is in red, which establishes the context being spoken by Jesus Himself. This is a full blown rebuke to the Scribes and Pharisees condemning their actions, attitudes and motives.The Pharisees were looked upon as the authoritative teachers of the Mosaic Law. They lived and breathed the Torah. The Scribes were those who copied the Scriptures professionally and most of them were members of the Pharisee religious group. Now even though the Sadducees aren't mentioned in this particular passage of Scripture .. they were looked upon as being very closely related to the Pharisee sect, but the biggest difference between them was that they did not believe in any type of resurrection. So they were "sad--u-see"! LOL

Jesus begins His rebuke by identifying several key points as to why they were void of any true spirituality. He starts out by explaining how they are quick to tell people how to live, what to do ... and not to do, yet they themselves never followed any of their own rules and regulations that they set forth for others to follow. They were hypocrites. Then Jesus goes on the explain how they paraded their piety through the streets looking for admiration, accolades, partiality and status among their society. They had an air of superiority and pride engulfing their sense of being. They sought public praise and displayed their tassels for all to see and admire.

They exemplified themselves with titles of authority which placed them in a place of prominence and respect. See, the attitude behind their appetite for recognition, was really what Jesus was most concerned about. They felt they deserved the best tables to sit at during the feasts, the best seats in the synagogue, and they wanted their greeting from others to be "Rabbi, Rabbi". Which in our day and age would mean "oh great teacher and authority of Scripture". Thy loved being held in high esteem before all people. They failed to understand that the first shall be last and whoever is the greatest among you shall be your servant. They didn't understand those Truths. They didn't know that he who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

These were people who took advantage of widows and extorted money from the poor, needy and helpless. They held the appearance of righteousness on the outside, but inside they were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Jesus called them whitewashed tombs ... for they appeared beautiful outwardly but on the inside they were full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. He also told them that they were witnesses against themselves. In other words ... be certain their sin would find them out. He also accused them of paying their tithe ... yet neglecting the weightier matters. So what were the "weightier matters"? I believe they are justice, mercy and faith, and they are actually mentioned right there in the second part of verse 23.

Justice is in the law of liberty that we have in Jesus. If we recognize, acknowledge and repent of our sins, then we are liberated from them because we are rendered forgiven by God through Jesus Christ. Mercy is what we receive instead of cruelty and faith is exercised by our conviction, confession and connection to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. It's all about Jesus! It has nothing to do with us! We could never have attained anything on our own, outside of God's Son. See, when we finally realize that our self righteousness is nothing but filthy rags .. then we will begin to experience the depth of spirituality that God designed for each one of us to experience and embrace. Fill up that spiritual void through relationship and intimacy with God the Father through none other ... than Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Secure in Him,
Tracy :)

U.S. Capitol Tour with David Barton

2010-09-08T14:42:00.000-06:00

"Change" Happens For Our Benefit-- Embrace It!

2010-09-05T17:26:00.003-06:00

I am not a real fan of change. I like everything to stay the same! I guess I'm a little naive ... huh? I used to view "change" as an unknown event that was out of my realm of control. Yes, I have issues. LOL I remember going to bed at night when I just a little girl and becoming so fearful of my parents dying. I would worry so much about it, that I would end up crying myself to sleep. My mom was 40 when I was born and my dad, he was even older ... he was 46! I was always so scared of being left alone. I went through life with rose colored glasses on and attempted to create my own reality and stay within the boundaries of my picture perfect made up little world. In my world, things were simple and life was secure. I I had all my ducks lined up in a nice and tidy little row ... so to speak. Only to find out later, that was not the case at all! To be honest, I was a mess ... and a big part of me today, probably still is? LOL

When I was a senior in high school my world came crashing down around me. My parents had finally split up and I stayed living with my Dad in our home to finish out the school year. CHANGE had happened big time. My parents had always threatened separation ... but never actually did it. My mom moved in with my aunt in to an apartment and my dad started living like he and his ex-wife were back together again. Here I was ... stuck in the middle and wondering "why was this happening? What did I do to deserve this?" That was an exceptionally terrible year for me ... I was so done with life. Alot of other not so pleasant things also happened that year. I hated change and I envied the people around me who had what I called; "a normal life". I felt far from normal. I experienced all kinds of different emotions ... anger, resentment, jealousy, bitterness ... you name it, I experienced it! Yep, I pretty much have all the emotions nailed down.

I remember saying to myself "as soon as I graduate I'm out of here!" Well, as soon as I turned 18, I moved out and rented an apartment with a co-worker friend of mine. I'd had a job since I was about 15 years old. At this point, I was making around $9 an hour and back then, that was considered pretty decent money. So out I moved! Prior to moving out though, my parents sold our home, got back together again and moved in to an apartment complex by my gramma. I lived with them for about six months until I turned 18 and then I moved out. Free at last, I thought! Only to realize that life was not so easy when trying to pay for half the rent, make my own car payment on my beautiful mustang with a sun-roof ... , pay for car insurance and fork up half the money for utilities and groceries. Low and behold, another RUDE awakening had occurred in accordance with "change" occurring in my life!

As I recall every time "change" happened in my life, I can also recall a time of pain and turmoil taking place in my life. So I began to view change as something bad and unacceptable and decided it should be avoided at all costs! So onward through life I went trying to make sure nothing changed. That didn't work so good! Change still happened. I began dating ... my now husband ... when I was about 19 years old and that was the beginning of a good change occurring in my life. Now, don't get me wrong ... there are still bad changes that have taken place down through the years, but now I have come to understand that God can actually use "change" in a positive way in our lives. Age really does bring wisdom and discernment, at least in my case I can say it has. The older I get, the more I realize that "change" can be good! I also understand that the reason for change in our Christian walk, leads us in to a deeper intimate walk with our heavenly Father.

Change is now becoming a welcome friend in my life ... only because I know God has something better in store for me. I have been on this journey for quite some time now and trust me when I say ... it's been a long and treacherous trail at times. To be honest, sometimes the road gets so steep and slippery I feel like I'm going to fall off over the edge, but I know that God will catch me if I do fall. He's bringing me in to a time of change once again, and this time it's been pretty painful and scary for me. He's calling me to trust, He's calling me to tear down my walls, He's calling me to open my door and allow people into my house ... instead of leaving them on my porch with the door locked! LOL This has been difficult, and I know God is trying to help me be all that He's created me to be. I know His plans for me are good and full of life, not death. I know He desires to give me hope, not despair and the more I allow His Spirit to abide in my spirit ... the more LIKE HIM I'll become.

I am determined to break out of this mold of false identity and become the person that God always meant for me to be. The real me is someone pretty cool who's made in the image and likeness of God. The real me is someone who has alot to offer and much love and compassion to give away to those who are hurting and wounded. The real me doesn't have to rely on anything other than Christ in me, the Hope of Glory! The real me is dying to come out and live for Christ and put on those new clothes of righteousness, joy and peace. For He truly has given me beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning. He has given me the garment of praise to replace that spirit of heaviness. It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me the Hope of Glory! I still have a long road haul ... but I'm staying on the path. Why? Because I know in my heart, God desires to heal, deliver and set me free from the ties that bind me to hurt and pain. I am loved by God and He's crazy about me! He's crazy about you too! I'm gonna venture to say ... He's crazy about all of us! His Eyes are on the sparrow ... and His Eyes are upon us and He watches over you and me.

You and I hold a special place in God's heart, that no one else can fill.

Embrace change! Change is good when it's wrapped in God's Plan for your life!
Sincerely in Him,
Tracy :)

Whoever Is Free From Personal Issues ... Please Stand Up!

2010-08-22T18:05:00.005-06:00

I'm pretty hard on myself and at times I can get so consumed with what's wrong with me ... that I forget all the good qualities and giftings that God has instilled inside of me. I overlook the good and highlight the bad ... so to speak. Now, don't get me wrong here, I think there's a need for a proper and balanced inventory to be taken in all of our lives. But so many times than not, It's very easy for me to emphasize all the negative personality quirks, stupid comments and insensitivity that sometimes flows out of me, in the absence of very little effort. Yes, I guess I'm being rather transparent today. Maybe I should of waited to write a new blog ... tomorrow? LOL

What does it mean to belong to God? And what are the ways we can positively express this truth as we carry out our lives here on earth? I'll be the first to admit, I struggle with so many issues ... and what shocks me the most ... is how taken back people are when I share that about myself. I cannot count the number of times I have caught people totally by surprise whenever I uncover any issue I struggle with. I don't understand it? So right here and now ... I just want everyone to know that I'm not perfect, I have many flaws, I don't always do the right thing, I am very mistrusting and I have so many personality quirks it's exhausting for me to even count them! :) Okay, I feel so much better now! I guess that's a step in the right direction!

Something I hold very dear to my heart is that in belonging to God, I can also be real with Him. He owns me ... I don't own myself anymore. It is God who gives me the grace and the mercy to get through each day, and trust me when I say ... some days are much harder to get through than others. Sometimes my head hits the pillow and I say ... "Lord, can I wake up in Heaven tomorrow morning?" There are times when I feel like such a foreigner in this land, and I battle with feelings of anger towards what's taking place around us in our world. Nothing can weigh me down faster than watching the news or reading msn.com. Now, I try to keep my distance from both. I believe this creates a better atmosphere for my emotional well being. LOL

I'm an easy person to sit down and chat with. I carry no false pretenses of ever thinking I'm better or more put together, than anyone else. The truth of the matter is that we all have our issues and we all have our struggles. No matter how put together a person may look on the outside ... make no mistake that there's probably some not so tidily wrapped issues going on inside. That's why we need each other, but so many times, than not ... the problem with that is we're too afraid to be vulnerable enough and trust people enough to open ourselves up to them. Oh what a tangled web we weave ... huh? I for one, am notorious for letting people in so far and then shutting the gate and locking it with a double bolt, due to the fear of becoming hurt or betrayed. Wow! I actually just wrote that?

As many of you know, my way of escape is through writing and I've been journaling for years. I look back at my old journals and I am quite relieved, not to mention grateful to see how far God has brought me from where I used to be. I relish in the small victories and obstacles I overcome ... just as much as the big ones. Progress is progress and I desire to keep moving forward and reaching for that prize of the high calling of Jesus Christ in my life. By God's grace and mercy ... I will arrive!
Be blessed!
Sincerely and Transparently,
Tracy :)

Who Am I?

2010-08-11T18:00:00.002-06:00

Romans 9:20:

^{20 -33}Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn't talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn't it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn't that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well:

I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
I'll call the unloved and make them beloved.
In the place where they yelled out, "You're nobody!"
they're calling you "God's living children."

Isaiah maintained this same emphasis:
If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
and the sum labeled "chosen of God,"
They'd be numbers still, not names;
salvation comes by personal selection.
God doesn't count us; he calls us by name.
Arithmetic is not his focus. Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
If our powerful God
had not provided us a legacy of living children,
We would have ended up like ghost towns,
like Sodom and Gomorrah. How can we sum this up? All those people who didn't seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their "God projects" that they didn't notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:

Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can't get around.
But the stone is me! If you're looking for me,
you'll find me on the way, not in the way.

After reading this passage all I can is "WOW"! Good question .. who in the world do we think we are? Are we the clay talking back to the fingers that mold it? Do we think we know more than God? Are we nobodies ... that God's turning in to somebodies? I believe so! As I was thinking about this Scripture today I was in awe of God, contemplating the sovereignty of Who He is, and who we are.

How many of us can relate to that huge stone that we try so hard to get around ... and here all along it may just have been God? We can't get around it and God is calling us to take notice and find Him! There He is! But so often times than not .. we bypass the Rock ... we maneuver around it and attempt to get it out of our way. Interesting huh? Obstacles and opportunities ... are quite different from one another, and yet God says ... "find me on the way ... not in the way".

So who am I? I am created in the image and likeness of God the Father and Jesus Christ , my Lord and Savior. I am not a god ... I am created in the likeness of THE God. There's a distinct difference in this statement. False religions say we can become gods ... Christianity says we have already been created in the image and likeness of the ONE TRUE God.

Be blessed and KNOW WHO YOU ARE! :)

Tracy ;)

The More I Look ... The More I See You!

2010-08-05T10:12:00.002-06:00

I cannot count the times I've struggled to see God clearly, but the good news is that I have come to find that the more I look ... the more I see His beautiful face! It's full of love and compassion as He gazes at me! That in and of itself was a very difficult destination for me to finally arrive at. The depth of His Love far surpasses the mistrust that my heart holds inside towards people. Mistrust can lead us to blindness, wrong decisions and stumbling through the dark with no light on the path we're beckoned to follow. It's a a very uneasy ... and not to mention difficult place to be! It can lead us to isolation and even a prison of darkness that strips of us of our ability to overcome obstacles and advance through to victory.

But the wonder of God is that He opens our eyes and He helps us to see Him for who He truly is. He lifts that veil and removes the dis-clarity. My mind cannot begin to understand all of this? It cannot comprehend the loyalty, the unconditional love, the vastness of Grace and Mercy that He showers over my life. My mind cannot understand it ... nor can my heart believe it. When scars are upon your heart ... it has the tendency to make the simple ... seem strange. Transparency is scary ... it's one of those things where you never know what to expect after-wards? The questions that run through the mind are "will they like me if they really knew me?" ... "will they abandon me?" ... "will they dis-clude me when I have nothing more to give or offer?"

Transparency is not easy for me! And I will be the first to admit it! But I understand that I need to be walk this out in order to get past the blockade. LOL I was sharing my heart with God the other day and I told Him that so often times I battle feeling disconnected and hesitant to open my heart up to people ... I asked Him if the reason for this is due to the fact of experiencing so many betrayals and misguided emotions that have led me to the point of mistrust and suspicion, wrapped up in a tidy little box of hurt? He showed me that I never have to be fearful of those things with Him. He reminded me of His Promise that He will never leave me ... nor forsake me. That's a difficult truth for me to wrap my mind around though.

I struggle with being vulnerable ... I battle with the idea of letting people in very far ... it's like "only this far and no further, do not pass go and do not collect $100"! I guess maybe I could call that my monopoly mindset? ha ha What was a little startling to me through all of this, was that I began to see how much I am in bondage to fear ... fear of being hurt ... fear of being lied to ... fear of being taken advantage of ... fear of being betrayed ... fear of being forgotten ... fear of being kicked to the curb and abandoned. Fear ... fear ... fear! What is FEAR? It's a False Evidence Appearing Real! It's absolutely destructive to our perception. Why? Because we base things on a past experience and we bring in to our future events that we encounter in our lives.

It paralyzes us in to making a decision based off of a false perception! When we experience negative circumstances that occur in our lives ... our brain uses the outcome of what takes place in these circumstances to establish a foundational basis to build upon. So the next time we experience something similar to what we've already gone through ... we have a tendency to fall in to the chasm of default. We default back to what transpired as the outcome that took place in our lives when we went through it before. Our minds are like computers ... we must reprogram them! What I have found is that the more I look to Christ ... the more clearly I see what I must do in order to change and reprogram my mind, based upon God's Word.

If we don't really believe that Jesus Christ loves us and accepts us ... then we will struggle with embracing the love and acceptance from other people. The importance of believing this is truly the underlying basis that develops the foundational ground on which we build our transparency upon. Another thing that really holds alot of relevance in our lives is the imprint of the way we were raised. It has left it's mark upon us, whether we want to admit it or not. That can be a very difficult obstacle to overcome! Especially if it's caused negativity, inferiority and unacceptance being established as a barrier during our young impressionable years of childhood and adolescence. Big barrier and big obstacle ... but not impossible to overcome. Why? Because nothing is impossible with God! Have I arrived? Nope. Am I walking towards victory? Yes ... and so can you. :)

Be blessed, be favored, be content and most importantly ... embrace God's best in your life! Listen to my radio show by clicking HERE for the direct link!
Tracy :)

Are You Sold Out To Christ ... Or Sold Into Self?

2010-07-14T09:22:00.005-06:00

2 Timothy 3:2; "For people will be lovers of self and (utterly) self centered, lovers of money and aroused by an inordinate greedy desire for wealth, proud and arrogant and contemptuous boasters."

Galatians 5:13; "For you brethren, were (indeed) called to freedom; only do not let your freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse for selfishness, but through love you should serve one another."

James 4:3; (Or) do you ask (God for them) and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purposes and evil, selfish motives. Your intentions (when you get what you desire) to spend it on sensual pleasures."

The Bible expresses to us that we are to crucify our self-lives. I can't speak for you, but I find that to be very difficult at times ... actually even impossible to accomplish in my own strength. The problem arises due to the crutch of having a divided heart. Many of us, (and I'm referring to Christians here) carry a divided heart. What is a divided heart? It's reflected very concisely within the context of the Scripture found in James 1:5-8, where it talks about the double-minded man who is unstable in all of his ways. Instability will always find a way to raise it's ugly head ... whenever there is an double mind or divided heart. Double or Divided gives us the understanding of being composed of two parts. It's almost as if the mind bends or folds over becoming two parts, instead of one.

When we encounter a dividing of the heart/mind ... we will assuredly find ourselves struggling with double interests, double desires and double affections. What this means is that our focus is split between two different components, both of which are fighting for our undivided attention. The flesh, on one hand, is pulling us one way ... and the spirit, on the other hand ... is directing us to go the opposite way. This is where the quandary begins, due to the fact that we begin to experience confusion, instability and difficulty in making the right choices. King Saul, for instance ... was a man who was driven by his emotions. Which resulted in him being divided in his interests, desires and affections. We too, can easily be driven by our emotions ... and sometimes not even be aware of it. Emotions are connected to the heart. If our heart isn't lined up with the Truth that brings us clarity from God's Word, then it will waiver between two parts as well. Emotions are based within the soul, which is also where the mind and will reside.

Fortunately, as Christians we have been given the Grace and Mercy from God that is needed to change that within ourselves. We have been blessed with the awesome opportunity to partner with our Lord as He gently leads us through the process of re-evaluation and contemplation. This is where we focus on God, instead of introspection. This is where God shows us what needs to be changed, but avoid the temptation of making impulsive decisions, instead ... wait patiently for the Lord's instructions. Another key factor is refusing to have a critical spirit. Disengage yourself from speaking of someone with a negative or critical connotation attached to your words. We only hinder ourselves when we do that. Then lastly, worship the Lord with abandonment. Forget your own needs for a moment and press in to God. Read the Word! Allow it to permeate your inner being. If you are a Christian, then the Bible should certainly be the most important book in your life.

Our faith is based upon the Truth that is in the Word. Only the Truth has the power and the ability to set you free, nothing else on this side of Heaven has enough power to accomplish that. Not a Pastor ... not a Counselor ... not a Life Coach ... not even your spouse or a self-help book ... nothing. Only the Word. Read it ... speak it over your life ... and most of all, believe it! Faith brings power. Be sold out for Christ, not sold in to self. Renounce a divided mind/heart and the results will completely transform your life! Why? Because there's POWER and DELIVERANCE in the Word.

Until next time:

Be empowered by the Word
Be determined to change
Be transformed in your mind

Standing in His Grace, Tracy :)
Listen to my radio show "Embracing God's Best" every week! Click HERE for the direct link! Thanks so much!

Hope Is Never Gone

2010-07-08T17:52:00.005-06:00

Do you ever ponder over the course of your life and think ... "wow, the years have just flown by?" Well, a short time ago I had one of those days of pondering. As I thought about the last six years, I realized that there has been many instances in my life that involved that "wow" factor and the "suddenly" instance. Six years ago, I was still in Ohio and living a very different kind of life than I'm living now in Arizona. Not just in a physical sense ... but also in an emotional and mental state of mind as well. I can actually say I feel like a different person. In a positive way of course! I guess that's a good thing ... huh? :)

I began thinking about all the tough times we faced as a family in Ohio and it brought tears to my eyes. I can remember not having enough money to buy groceries, let alone pay our electric bills and gas bills in the winter. See, we had this octopus furnace in our basement that was as old as Methuselah and it would literally cost us a small fortune to heat our home in the winter. Our gas bill would skyrocket to sometimes up to $800 per month, in a bad winter. Yeah, it can get pretty cold in Ohio.Then my mind went to a time when we couldn't make our car payments and actually had two cars repossessed. Soon after that, we were faced with bankruptcy and it seriously was one thing right after another, every time I turned around something else was being shut off or taken away. One year for Christmas, Bret went out and shoveled driveways to give our girls some presents under the tree. I was so devastated. I remember feeling so forsaken and forgotten by God. I couldn't understand why this was happening to my family? I can remember crying my heart out and questioning God as to why He was allowing this to happen? I reached the end of my rope and I felt like there was nothing left for me to hope in, but low and behold, God stepped in ...

Shortly after that occurred, we had gone to a prophetic conference in Marion, OH. Mahesh Chavda was having a prophetic conference there and Jim and Judy Stevens were ministering with him. I remember Jim Stevens calling Bret and I out the congregation to come up front because he said that the Lord had some things he wanted to say to us, (this man didn't know us from adam ... we'd never even met him before this night). I can recall being scared to death, because I thought, "wow, what have we done now ... must be pretty serious for God to wanna talk to us through another person?" At this point and time in my life I always thought the worst of everything. So as Bret and I made our way to the front ... I was shaking in my shoes! LITERALLY! If it hadn't been for Bret holding my hand and leading me up there, I don't even know if I would of made it? Probably would have passed out ... and not in the spirit either. LOL

When we got to the front, he laid hands on us and immediately began prophesying over us. (I have it written down and it's tucked away in my Bible to this day). He looked us right in the eyes and his words sounded like thunder; "The Lord says that there is a release TODAY for the two of you, that has not been there before. There is a freedom that is about to be released in front of you. And God says, you've been questioning and asking 'Lord, how long will we stay in this certain place?' And the Lord says you have been bound, but God says I'm cutting the chains today! And God says that there's a freedom coming to the two of you to step out in the spirit. And God says that there is going to come a change in your geographical position for your family. And God says that there's going to be a release of His blessing that will come upon you like never before, even in the workplace, says God. There's going to come a new anointing, a new release. And God says there's coming a promotion, just like Joseph coming from the dungeon, into Pharaohs house. And God says I'm going to move you both up in to new levels of authority. For I've ordained the two of you to prosper, to become entrepreneurs, to be blessers in the house of the Lord. And God says many will be touched by your words" ... (there's more but I'll stop here.)

Why have I shared all of this? I shared all of this because I want you to know there is ALWAYS hope! Maybe you're reading this and identifying with everything I've just shared during our times of crisis and lack. Maybe you've even faced worse things in your life. I don't know? No matter what, there's always hope! God is the keeper of our faith and He knows the exact moment that breakthrough will occur. And when He says you are blessed ... YOU ARE BLESSED! God will not ever forsake you and He hasn't forgotten you. There is a time and a purpose for everything under Heaven and many times than not, we don't understand His timing. I still don't! But one thing I know ... He never changes and He gives me the grace and the mercy to endure until His timing takes place. God knew I had reached my limit ... and the Bible says "He will never give us more than what we can handle". Sometimes, don't you wish He didn't trust you to handle so darn much? Yeah, me too! :)
Be blessed my friends!
Tracy :)
Listen to "Embracing God's Best" Radio Show that I host every week. Click HERE for the link!

Nehemiah's Principles Are Still Relevant For Us Today!

2010-06-02T10:45:00.002-06:00

Nehemiah 8:6, "And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen!' while lifting up their hands , and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground."

Ezra was the priest and scribe and Nehemiah was in the position of Governor. Nehemiah used his authority and influence of office, to help Ezra establish revival and proper teaching regarding temple worship. Nehemiah is actually looked upon by many scholars as the "James" of the Old Testament. He talks alot about the practical everyday faith of the believer. Ezra on the other hand, had led a spiritual renewal in Jerusalem and was attempting to reinstate the importance of the Jewish laws and ordinances. They used teamwork in trying to re-establish the people's security through the rebuilding of the protective walls that surrounded the villages of Jerusalem.

The book of Nehemiah has four principles that stand out to us; 1) Compassion, 2) Cooperation, 3)Confidence, and 4) Courage. Each principle is based within one thing ... that being God's Will. Now let's touch briefly on each one of these principles for a moment. The first one is "compassion" and I believe this is in regard to being obedient to the Lord, because we have established that bond of love and intimacy, as the foundational basis of our relationship with Him. Compassion comes through love ... and obedience comes through the avenue of compassion.

The second principle is "cooperation", and it's through cooperation, that we partner with God to bring forth His Kingdom Principles. See, we are citizens of Heaven, not Earth. We pass through this temporary life and walk into eternal life, which is where we will ultimately spend eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ. Once again God's Will is established in this temporary realm where we currently reside. Remember ... whatever we bind on Earth, is also bound in Heaven and whatever we loose on Earth, is also loosed in the heavenly realms. We cooperate with God's purposes and plans and we see His Will brought forth.

The third principle is "confidence", and this is a very important key necessary to walk out His Will. This doesn't only entail confidence in ourselves though .. it also includes confidence that we hold in other believers as we co-partner and labor for the harvest of souls. The Bible says "the harvest is ripe, but the workers are few" ... what does that mean? It means we are nearing the end of the growing season and the souls are ready to be harvested for the Kingdom of God. It attributes to the idea that time is running out.Sometimes we can become so busy with our own little part of the world and our ministries that we lose sight of the big picture! What is the common bond between every believer? It's to win souls for Christ. Souls are the only tangible thing we can take with us to Heaven ... nothing but souls.

The fourth principle is "courage", and why do we need courage? We need courage in order to face our convictions and keep them at the forefront of our hearts and minds, so we will never compromise our faith, no matter what it costs us. And it MAY cost us our lives. Are we prepared for that? Have we deepened our walk with God to the point that we will trust in our faith ... even to the point of death? Wow! That's not easily embraced ... but are we strong enough in our convictions, that it ignites our compassion, which engulfs our cooperation, to embrace the courage needed in order to face death? That's a mouthful! But it's filled with much Truth!

In closing, I exhort every believer to take inventory of their own spiritual lives and ask God where you need to gain more revelation, to establish the proper foundation, that will hold up under allegations made against you by this world. More and more I am seeing Christians being persecuted for their faith and belief in Jesus Christ ... and one thing we must all understand is that it's only going to escalate. The spirit of the Antichrist is alive and well on planet earth. One doesn't have to look very far to see it manifesting in the various realms of influence surrounding us.

Stay focused and stay alert! It's time for the Body of Christ to pull together and stop allowing mole hills divide and separate us! That's what this world wants is for Christians to get in to their own little camps and stay there, instead of coming together as the Army Of God, united for one purpose ... to protect and further the Kingdom of God.

Be blessed! Please join me for my weekly radio show "Embracing God's Best" every Tuesday and click HERE for the direct link!

Thanks so much!
In Him,
Tracy :)

Glorious Inexpressible Joy!

2010-05-20T14:53:00.009-06:00

We are celebrating the birth of our first grandchild, his name is Rylind John and he is our little treasure. He gives us glorious inexpressible joy! I was given the blessed opportunity by my daughter and son-in-law, of watching him being born and was absolutely enthralled by the miraculous wonder of his birth! He is only a few days old now and the love we have for him is immeasurable. So many people told me: "oh my, if you think you love your children? ... wait until you have grandchildren!" I have to admit that statement is VERY accurate! Our love that we have for this small little boy is amazing! He just has a way of brightening our day. I have this picture as my background on my phone and I find myself just gazing at it throughout the day. He has stolen our hearts big time! We adore him.

The Bible talks about glorious inexpressible joy. I Peter 1:8 says it like this; "You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy." In this particular passage we understand that the genuineness of our faith rests in the glory and revelation of Jesus Christ. He is our portion, He is our Joy and He is our strength. So many times we can overlook the importance of loving Him and trusting Him even though we cannot see Him. I look so forward to the Day when I shall gaze upon His wonderful Face and see Him in all of His glory and majesty. What an exciting moment in eternity to look forward to as a Believer!

According to Psalm 3:3 He's also our shield and glory and the lifter of our head. Ever have those days when frustration and disappointment makes your head hang low? Chin up, my friend ... He's our shield, glory and the lifter of our head! He's waiting to lift you above your circumstances, He's waiting to lift you above your mindsets, He's waiting to lift you above mediocrity, He's waiting to lift you above impossibilities that are standing in your way of success and promotion!

Remember ... out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Are your words expressing joy? Are they acknowledging His goodness and His mercy that endures forever? If that's not the case ... what are the contents of your words filled with then? Whatever we fill up our hearts with ... will flow out of our mouths and create words that fill the atmosphere around us. Be careful with the words you speak, for they carry great power and authority in them.

We have been given an abundance of Grace and the gift of Righteousness. Beware of covetousness, for a man's life isn't about the things that he collects through out his life and possesses, it's about what he has done for the Lord in the concept of eternity. How many people have you witnessed to with your life? You don't have to say a word ... many times the way that you conduct your life in front of others, speaks much louder than any words you could ever speak.

Psalm 37:11 says that "the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace". What does that mean? Meekness exudes humility and humility produces peace. When we are walking in meekness, we are walking out our lives in a way that is unassuming. What I mean by that, is we don't carry preconceived ideas or opinions of others, we don't make judgment calls and we remove ourselves from strife and bitterness. When we hold on to unforgiveness, we are injecting poison in to our spirit. But where the Spirit of the Lord is ... there is peace.

Embrace that glorious, inexpressible joy deep down in your heart and watch and see God move in miraculous ways on your behalf!

Tune in to "Embracing God's Best" Radio Show every Tuesday at 1pm AZ time! Click HERE for the direct link!

God bless you and I pray you experience God in many new ways ... in YOUR life!
Tracy :)

Don't Look For Evil Spirits and Demons Around Every Corner

2010-05-18T09:21:00.005-06:00

It's frustrating to see so many Christians running around looking for a spiritual answer to many things that are simply, a part of life sometimes. We must see the ramifications of walking around looking for a demon or evil spirit behind every corner ... whether it be in a person ... in someones house, surrounding an object ... whatever the case may be? Well, I'm going to be very blunt in saying ... "that's a very dangerous and unwise thing to do". We are not ghost busters, we are believers in Jesus Christ and we're furthering His Kingdom, not ours. Believe it or not, there may not be a spiritual significance behind EVERYTHING we experience in life ... sometimes ... it's JUST LIFE!

What does the Bible say? It tells us we have been given authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions (talking about the spirit realm) and whenever we are faced with something ... we certainly don't run the other way, but we stand in our authority and take dominion over it. Now, that being said ... it's one thing to stand and take dominion over something that God has shown us, and quite another to go walking around looking for some spiritual significance in everything we see, hear and come in contact with. The Bible tells us to be wise as serpents ... yet gentle as doves. Wise .. yet gentle.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Isaiah 61:11, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me... the Lord hath anointed me to preach... to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." I believe this with all of my heart, but in so believing this ... I also hold to a balance of how I walk in it. I've often heard my Pastor say; "don't become so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good." That has so much truth in it! See, the beginning of that Scripture gives us the foundation ... it says "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me", what that means, is that God is giving us the power through His Spirit. And it through His power and His anointing, that we proclaim liberty and freedom to those who are held in bondage.

I am a believer and follower of Christ. I stand in that place and when God shows me something through my spirit ... I understand it and I listen to what He says to me. God has my ear ... He speaks to my heart and He tells me what I need to deal with. That's why we must all be very careful in making pre-conceived judgment calls on someone else's life, or the atmospheres surrounding them. That's not walking in unity with fellow believers. Unless a person comes to you and asks for your insight or advice and gives you permission to speak in to their lives ... never do it on your own. I look at this way ... God will never give my mail to someone else, unless He has first of all has shared it with me.

My friends, we have to get rid of this deceitful mindset of thinking we are more spiritual than another person, or that we hear God more than they do, or our plateau of spiritual insight, is much higher than someone else's. That's walking in arrogance and religion! We must understand that when we do these things, we can really cause another believer ... who may not be as far along as we think we are, to stumble. What do I mean by that? We must use discernment in the things we say. If someone has a headache ... you don't go around making insinuations about it being something spiritual! A person could have headache for many different reasons ... especially living in AZ! LOL It could simply be from not drinking enough water! (which was by the way ... the reason for mine) Never make those calls ... they're not yours to make.

The point I'm trying to get across here, is if someone is pretty mature in their faith ... don't start to attempt making accusations that you think is the reason behind someones ailment. That's just not a wise thing to do. When we do things such as this, what we are really doing is giving the enemy an open door in to their lives. Don't be a part of that! Trust people who are walking with the Lord and hold a strong fellowship with Him in their lives, to make that call themselves. Another good point to keep in mind, is that we aren't given the right to just walk in to someones house and start making spiritual observations and assumptions that have no foundational basis to them.

There must be a balance in everything we do. Why do we need balance? Balance keeps us grounded. It keeps us stabilized. If we truly believe God's Promises to us, and we all should if we are Christians ... then we will not go around looking for spiritual warfare. God has never told us to do that and Jesus Himself never did it. When He came in to contact with it ... He quickly dealt with it ... but He never walked around seeking it out. Jesus gave us His example as a model for us to follow after. I don't know about you ... but I'm certainly not more knowledgeable about spiritual warfare than Jesus is.

Even when He was in the desert being tempted by satan ... He never debated ... He never argued ... He never screamed ... and He never cowered back ... He simply used the Word as His Sword and He broke through the Darkness, penetrating it with the Light. Religious spirits play a huge role in getting people to think they are much more spiritual or righteous than another believer ... remember that. Don't allow a religious spirit to come upon you, stay humble and rest in God's authority and power that emulates through you. We cannot do anything on our own accord, but through Christ ... we are more than conquerors!

Join me on my radio show "Embracing God's Best" every Tuesday at 1pm AZ time Just click HERE for the direct link!
Thanks so much and embrace God's absolute best in your life!
Tracy :)

Take Strife Out of Your Life!

2010-05-09T18:28:00.004-06:00

Ever have those days when you just wanna go back to bed and get up again to start your day all over? I don't know about you? ... but I had one of those days just recently. They are not fun days at all ... let me tell ya! It's like you're stuck in this vortex spinning around and around at horrific speeds stranded smack dab in the middle of it. At least that's how strife feels to me. There's nothing worse than having to deal with strife in your life. It seems no matter how hard you try to stay away from it ... it still has a tendency to seek you out and find you.

I believe the first step is to acknowledge it, in order to expose it. Strife normally enters through a person ... but remember something very important ... it's not the person we're warring against. It's a spirit. The spirit of strife can rise it's ugly head and catch us by surprise. When it comes in like a flood it seeks to devour all that's in it's path. Now granted ... humans allow their tempers to flare up ... so I'm sure that doesn't help matters either.

Many times than not, we fall to our flesh and allow what we call "emotions" to overtake us and before we even realize what has come out of our mouths, we find we have done much damage with our tongue. It's very difficult to ignore insults, it's also very difficult to overlook people who feel as though they have a right to say hurtful things to you. Let's face the facts here, this life we're living here on the earth ... isn't easy. As a matter of fact, it's extremely difficult!

I think something very important to always keep at the forefront of our minds, is that we must speak out of wisdom rather than our emotions. Not so easy! Especially if we feel we have been attacked or assaulted unjustly. Wow! That's a tough one huh? I'm not here to say we should never confront ... I'm here to say that make sure you're being led by the Spirit and not the flesh. In other words, what's your motive for confronting? Is it to give them a piece of your mind and tell them off and release that pent up bitterness and unforgiveness you've been carrying and holding against them? Or ... is it to make things right with that other person and extend God's Love to them?

Now ... I probably don't have to tell you which one is the right motive. I'm confident you already know which one is right. :) See, the problem is that we can have the potential to view things with tunnel vision. What I mean by that, is that we forget anything that we've ever done wrong and focus completely on the other person and what they've done to us. There is always two sides to every story. Trust me ... I learned that the hard way. Whether we want to admit what we've done anything or not, is between us and God ... but the bottom line is that it takes two people to create an atmosphere of strife.

Remember ... it's the proud heart that refuses to remain silent in order to have peace. It is pride that says "I demand to have my say and I demand to present my case against you" ... but what we fail to recognize is that by having this kind of attitude ... whether knowingly or unknowingly, we have just participated in creating strife. We have to be careful that we're not being deceived in to thinking that we're always right ... when we truly aren't.

Jesus was accused of doing the wrong things and walking in heresy. But did He demand His rights? No. Did He even defend Himself? No. Did He attempt to prove His innocence? No. What did He do? He trusted in His heavenly Father to defend Him and allowed the Father to stand as His vindicator. That's what Jesus did. He came to bring freedom to the captives ... He came to bring healing to the sick ... He came to bring joy to the mourning. His focus was not on Himself ... it was on others. He wasn't concerned with being right ... He was concerned with souls being saved from an eternal separation apart from God.

Let me just say that God is delivering me more and more from the bondage of proving I'm right all the time. The fact of the matter is that I'm NOT right alot of the time! I used to be so consumed with proving to people that I was right, that I would go to any lengths in order to see it through to the end. I was like a dog with a bone. Why? Because I found my worth and self esteem in people, and appearing to be right and all knowing, instead of God. The truth I've come to find is that there's many things I don't know anything about ... and the beauty of it is that I don't have to prove anything anymore! Boy, that sure came as a relief to me when I embraced that kind of freeing mindset! LOL

Here's what I know ....

Jesus loves me unconditionally and He died for my sins
Jesus accepts me just the way I am
I don't have to always be right
I don't have to know everything
I'm not responsible for what others think
I'm free to be who God created me to be
I have a destiny in Christ
I'm called to love others, not be in strife with others
I have been forgiven of much and I am to forgive much, instead of keeping score of what others have done to me
The harvest is ripe, but the workers are few

I love Jesus and I will do whatever glorifies Him. We must all set "self" aside and live for Him. Join me weekly as I share a fresh word and teaching on my radio show "Embracing God's Best" every Tuesday!

click HERE to listen right now!

Be blessed- be favored - be content and most importantly embrace God's best in your life! Tracy :)

Listen to Embracing God's Best on Salem Christian Broadcasting Network!

2010-04-21T15:57:00.003-06:00

CLICK HERE

Growing Pains

2010-04-05T16:37:00.002-06:00

We all experience them ... they're called "growing pains". Whether it's moving from adolescence to adulthood, or moving from one level of our Christianity to another ... it's encompassed with growing pains. I remember when I I graduated from being a casual Christian ... to a committed Christian. The pains that I experienced in that transition, was incredulous. My flesh really hated it and experienced MUCH discomfort!

It all began back in High School, when I attended my first Bill Gothard Seminar and was totally unprepared for the effect that it would have upon my flesh. I learned so much from that week long Christian conference, and pretty soon, there was a battle that began raging inside of me. It made such a dramatic impact on my life at the time that I came home with a splitting headache! LOL

I realized very quickly that I was a casual Christian. There's actually an old school song "Casual Christian" by Degarmo & Key and it described me to a tee! I was one of those Christians who lived a lukewarm life. My life was so full of distractions that it kept my head spinning! And just as the song goes I was being pulled from every side. Until one day, I finally came to the determination and made up my mind that I was "gonna leave this world behind and live my life as a sacrifice". so I thought?

That was much easier said, than done. I still had all the pulls from my friends who weren't saved. They weren't very fond of my conscious awakening to being a surface/casual Christian. So all through the rest of my high school years ... I just sat on the fence ... it made everyone happy ... except for me. I had no peace ... I felt like such a hypocrite and condemnation began building up on every side!

So when did I FINALLY change? It wasn't until after I married my husband ... yeah it took me a while to get out of that huge web of deceit ... I WAS ENTANGLED IN. I began to reflect upon my life, and this reflection only compiled to the misery and emptiness I was already experiencing. I had to make a decision, and this decision had nothing to do with my flesh ... but everything to do with my spirit.

See, I actually accepted Christ at the young age of 8 years old, yet never really knew Him until I was in my late teens and early twenties. I always had a conscience ... and I knew what was wrong and what was right ... the problem was that I kept making all the wrong choices over and over again!

Praise God that He never gave up on me! That's because He never looked on the outward appearance .. He had a bird's eye view of the contents of my heart! My heart was hurting ... I experienced alot of emotional trauma in my childhood and I was scared to ever trust anyone. I thought if I had control ... then I had the upper hand ... not true, that's just a lie from the pit of Hell. None of us are really in control of anything. Only God is.

Are you struggling with growing pains? They're no fun ... trust me I know! But hang on to Jesus and He'll heal those pains that are hurting your heart. He understands the confusion, He understand the turmoil, He sees the damaging effects of the scars that have placed their signature upon your heart. He will heal them. I know this ... because He healed mine. I am a walking testimony of someone who should have never survived, starting from birth!

Trust Him, embrace His Love and release your pain ... take on His yoke, it so much lighter than the one your carrying right now. Do you need prayer ... drop me a line, I 'd love to hold you up! Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! You are more than a conqueror!

Be blessed-be favored-be content and most importantly ... embrace God's Best in your life!
Listen to my radio show ... just click HERE!
Until next time ...
Tracy :)

The Neccesity of Waiting and Trusting In The Lord

2010-03-12T08:51:00.004-07:00

Habakkuk 2:1-4, "[OH, I know, I have been rash to talk out plainly this way to God!] I will [in my thinking] stand upon my post of observation and station myself on the tower or fortress, and will watch to see what He will say within me and what answer I will make [as His mouthpiece] to the perplexities of my complaint against Him.

²And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read [it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.

³For the vision is yet for an appointed time and it hastens to the end [fulfillment]; it will not deceive or disappoint. Though it tarry, wait [earnestly] for it, because it will surely come; it will not be behindhand on its appointed day.

⁴Look at the proud; his soul is not straight or right within him, but the [rigidly] just and the [uncompromisingly] righteous man shall live by his faith and in his faithfulness."

Have you ever stood in great expectation waiting for God to answer your prayers? I lost count as to how many times I've done that. What I have found is that the answers may not come immediately ... but in due time, it will indeed be revealed and answered. However, there is a great enticement to become impatient within ourselves in the process of waiting on the Lord.

Let's be real ... we all hate to wait. Our society has mastered the "getting it done now" stance to the point that drive through divorces have been established and set in to place throughout California. Grocery stores have set up self checkout lines in their stores so people don't have to stand in line and wait for a cashier to wait on them.

Yes, our society is a "get it done now" rat race. We have a gas station down the street from our house and during several intervals throughout the day it's really packed and it's interesting to observe the way people act as they are waiting on an open space for their car to pull in and get gas.

We've watched people cut others off to get in to the the empty spot first. We've witnessed horns being blown to get people out the way and at times it can get quite intense at our neighborhood gas station! LOL

See, the more instilled we become with the "hurry up" mentality, the more it begins affecting every aspect of our lives, including the spiritual aspect. Prayer becomes an on the run exercise that fits into the fast lane of life. We forget what it means to "wait on the Lord" or "sit in His presence" in silence and listen for His voice to speak to our hearts.

The truth of the matter is that many of us have way too many things going on and a myriad of things to get accomplished for the day, to just sit still, do nothing, and wait. We begin creating a junction between the words wait and waste, as having the same contextual meaning. If we wait around, we are wasting time.

How quickly we can begin relying upon ourselves, becoming so independent of God in our lives. The meaning of life takes on a whole new perspective in that it becomes based within our own fleeting ability to create any substantial stability within our lives. This leads to unfulfilled, frivolous attempts in establishing any solid basis as to what the meaning of life truly is.

The above verse describes the proud as not having an upright soul. What does that mean? The soul is the seat of our mind-will-emotions, this brings us to the conclusion that pride corrupts the seat of the soul. We become prideful in our false premise of being able to conduct our lives in the fast lane and still find depth in our relationship with God.

The truth is that if we rush through our time with God we are actually putting up parameters that place time limits on God's being given the opportunity to speak to our hearts. Now ... with that being said, let me also state that I'm also not saying that we should all call off work and spend the day in prayer. That's not what I'm referring to at all,we all have lives to lead and we all have responsibilities to take care of, but what I'm attempting to present is a balance being established in our lives.

Our spiritual lives need time spent with God in order to be filled up, so we can pour out in to others. The problem is that so many of us are running on empty that we have nothing give out. Our spiritual wells are dried up, due to lack of being refilled through the Word and time spent with God.

The end of the above verse says that the righteous shall live by their faith and in his faithfulness. Simply stated, I believe that entails walking in the confidence and trustworthiness of who God says He is and through the vein of that truth we know that His answers will indeed come even though they may not come on basis of our time line. But we have full confidence that God's timing really is the best timing.

Relax, take a deep breath and rest in the fact that God really does hold the world in His Hands. If He can hold the entire world? ... He can hold our lives together with no problem. :) Let go and believe! It seems like whenever we finally arrive at the place of letting go of the REINS of our lives, He grabs hold of them and REIGNS supreme over every circumstance and situation!

Listen to my radio show "Embracing God's Best" HERE!
Until next time ...
Rest-Release-Recharge!
Tracy :)

The Prayer of Ephesians Chapter 6!

2010-02-26T09:56:00.004-07:00

Here's chapter 6, the last and final chapter of Ephesians!! I encourage you to pray this entire prayer over your life, your family and your children. God desires for us to speak the word and trust in His promises. He will never leave us or forsake us. Walk in your God-given authority and right. Bless all of you! ;)

Chapter 6
I proclaim that our children will respect us and honor us, for this is right in the sight of the Lord. Their lives will be blessed and they will live in prosperity and abundance while they are upon this earth. My husband dos not provoke them to anger, but he brings them up in the training and admonition of the Lord and stand as an example for them to follow after. Our family will always honor Christ and be His bond-servant. We will not simply give eye-service, but we will serve Him with sincerity of heart.

I will be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. I will put on the whole armor of God so that I may be able to stand against the schemes of the enemy. I do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but I wrestle and overcome principalities and powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, I will take up the full and complete armor of God and I will withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand and be strong and not be moved.

I will stand firmly and gird my waist with truth. I put on the breastplate of righteousness and I shod my feet in the gospel of peace. Above all else, I take up the shield of faith, so that I may quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. I put on the helmet of salvation, which covers my head and protects my mind. I also take up the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. I will pray continually in the spirit and I will be watchful unto the end with all perseverance and supplication for not only myself, but for the entire Body of Christ.

I pray for utterance to be give to me, so that when I open my mouth, I will boldly proclaim the mystery of the gospel, because I am an ambassador in chains, that I may speak boldly with no reservations. The Lord, my God will make all things known to me, for He has given me purpose to comfort people's hearts and instill love with faith from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ with all sincerity. Amen (so be it)

Listen to my radio show "Embracing God's Best" by clicking HERE!
Be blessed-be favored-be content and most importantly ... embrace God's best in your life!
Tracy Cavelli Trussell ;)

The Prayer of Ephesians Chapter 5!

2010-02-15T09:33:00.003-07:00

As we continue on in our personalized prayer of Ephesians, we will proceed to chapter 5! I pray this is blessing you and giving you a new strength and insight in to the promises and love of God! You are accepted in Him, He loves you so much! ;)

Chapter 5

I am an imitator of God, because I am His child. I will walk in love as Christ also has loved me and gave Himself for me as an offering and sacrifice to God. I am a sweet smelling aroma because of Jesus. I will not allow idols to be raised up in my life. Sin has no hold upon me because Christ has set me free from the entanglements of sin. I will not be deceived by empty words and I will not be partakers with people who speak this way. I was once in darkness, but now I have been transferred by the Light of the Lord and I will walk in that Light. Darkness no longer has a hold upon me. I will embrace the fruit of the Spirit, which produces goodness, righteousness and truth. These things are acceptable to the Lord.

I will have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but I will expose them and the shameful secrets they carry. All things are exposed by the Light and because God's Light resides in me, all darkness will be exposed and rendered powerless. I will be awake in the spirit and project God's Light. I will walk in the wisdom of the Lord and I will understand His Will. I will not be drunk with alcohol, because I am filled with the Spirit of God. I will guard my steps and walk accordingly to God's prudence. I will make melody in my heart to God, praising Him for His Love and Mercy He has towards me.

I will give thanks always for His provision for me and for my family and I will submit willingly to Him out of reverential fear. I will always willingly submit to my husband and treat him with respect, because in doing so, I am walking in obedience to God's Word. My husband is the head of our home and he willingly submits to God, who sits as the Head of our lives. My husband will love me, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. My husband will love me, just as I am part of his own body, for we are one in the Lord. Our family and our home are secured upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and because of this solid foundation, it will never falter or waiver.

Listen to my radio show "Embracing God's Best" every Monday night at 7pm AZ time! If you miss the "live show" ... you can always download and listen to the archive! Click HERE to listen to the show! God bless you and remember to always embrace God's best in your life!
Tracy :)

The Prayer of Ephesians Chapter 4!

2010-02-02T15:54:00.002-07:00

Okay .... continuing on with chapter 4! I'd love for you to listen to my radio show: Embracing God's Best! Here's the direct link! Click HERE! Be blessed! ;)

Ephesians Chapter 4

I am a prisoner of the Lord and I will beseech myself to walk worthy of my calling that God has called me to walk in. I will do this with all lowliness, gentleness and long suffering, beating with others in love. I will endeavor to keep the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace. For there is only one body and one Spirit, just as I have been called to walk in one Hope. I only believe in one true faith, one baptism and one God and Father over all of it. He is above all, in all and through all and I will serve Him alone. I have been given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. He provided my freedom and led captivity captive and instilled gifts inside of me to use for His glory. I will stand in the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.

I am maturing in my faith. I will no longer be as a child that is tossed to and fro and carried away by every wind of doctrine due to the trickery of man. I will speak the truth in love that I may focus on my growth in Jesus Christ, who is the head of my faith. I will no longer walk in the ineffectiveness that my produces by blinding my heart. I will walk in the Spirit, be empowering the spirit man and putt off the old man that is corrupt. My mind is renewed and I will put on the new man which was created according to God, based in true righteousness and holiness. I will put away lying and deceitfulness and always speak the truth.

I will not sin in my anger, and I will not allow it to become a bondage to me. I will take care of issues before the sun goes down and walk in love with others. I will not permit any corrupt word to proceed from my mouth, but I will only speak of what is good for necessary edification so that my words may impart grace to the hearers. I will not grieve the Holy Spirit who has sealed me for the day of redemption. I will confess any bitterness, wrath, anger, and evil speaking and I will be kind to others, being tenderhearted and forgiving because Christ has forgiven me of so much!

Until next time ... be blessed-be favored and be content!
Tracy :)

Prayer of Ephesians: Chapter 3

2010-01-26T09:25:00.002-07:00

As I stated in the first post ... I actually made the entire book of Ephesians in to a personalized prayer ... now here's Part 3! I pray it blesses you and brings you peace and joy!

Chapter 3

I am a prisoner of Jesus Christ. The dispensation of God's Grace has been given to me. By revelation, He makes known to me the mystery of Christ and as I read His Word, I will understand and be a partaker of His Promise in Christ through the Gospel. I am a minister of God's grace and I will effectively walk in His power. I will spread the good news and the unsearchable riches of Christ, so that others may come to know Him. I have an eternal purpose, which has been accomplished through me by Christ Jesus, my Lord.

I come boldly to the Throne and receive unlimited access with confidence, through my faith in Him. I will not lose heart when I go through tribulations. I will bow my knees to the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family of God in heaven and earth are named. I pray that He would grant me the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might through His Spirit to my inner man. I ask that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith and that I may be rooted and grounded in His Love.

I pray that I may be able to comprehend the width-length-depth-height of the awesome Love of Christ, which passes all knowledge and that I may be filled with all the fullness of God. My praise belongs only to Him, who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly all that I could ever ask or think according to the Power that works in me, through Christ. I give Him all the glory forever and ever.

Be blessed-be favored-be content and most importantly ... embrace God's best in your life!
Until next time!
Tracy ;)
Click HERE to listen to my radio show!

Prayer of Ephesians Chapter 2

2010-01-21T09:15:00.004-07:00

Here's part two!

Chapter 2

I was dead in the trespasses of sin, but now I am made alive in Him. I once walked according to the course of this world and the prince and power of the air; who is the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. I used to conduct myself in the lusts of my flesh, fulfilling the desires of my flesh and mind, and was according to my old nature ... I was a child of wrath. But God, who is rich in mercy and because of His great Love that He has for me, made me alive with Christ. It's only by His grace that I have been saved and raised up with Him to sit together with Him in heavenly places.

I am in Christ Jesus and God's mercy and kindness are towards me. For by His grace I have been saved through faith and not through myself. I have received a gift from God that has nothing to do with any works I could ever boast about. I am His workmanship, I am created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared for me beforehand to walk in. I was once a Gentile (an outsider) who was far off, but now I have been brought near to God by the Blood of Jesus.

For He is my peace, He has broken down the wall of separation that once existed between me and God. Jesus abolished in His own flesh, the enmity that stood between me and my heavenly Father. I have now been reconciled to God through the Cross. Through Him, I now have peace and complete access by His Spirit to my my Father. I am no longer a stranger or foreigner, but now I have been given citizenship as being a member of the household of God. Jesus Christ is my chief cornerstone upon which my foundation has been built. I am the dwelling place of God and His Spirit resides inside of me.

Until next time,
Be blessed-be favored-be content and most importantly embrace God's best in your life!
Tracy :)

Listen to my radio show: "Embracing God's Best" on Blogtalk Radio every week!
Click HERE for the link to my show!

The Prayer of Ephesians Part 1

2010-01-15T09:25:00.002-07:00

A while back, I wrote the book of Ephesians into a personalized prayer for myself and my family. I have been so blessed by reading and praying this, that I felt led to share the prayer with all of you! I pray it also blesses you and your family as well.

Chapter 1

Grace and peace are given to me from God, my Father and my Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. He chose me in Him before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and without blame before Him in love. He predestined me in to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His Will. He made me accepted in the Beloved.

In Him, I have redemption through His Blood and the forgiveness of sins according to the richness of His Grace, which He has made abound towards me in all wisdom and prudence. He makes known to me the mystery of His Will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself. In the dispensation of the fullness of time, He will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and on earth in Him.

In Him, I have obtained an inheritance. I have been predestined according to the counsel of His Will. In Him, I have trusted and heard the word of Truth, the gospel of my salvation. I have believed and I am sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise, who has guaranteed my inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of His Glory.

I do not cease to give thanks for my faith. I make mention of myself in my prayers so that the God of my Lord Jesus Christ, my Father of Glory, may give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. I pray for the eyes of my understanding to be unveiled so that I may know the hope of His calling in my life and the riches of the Glory of His inheritance to me. His exceeding power is working in me because I believe. This same power is what raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the Right Hand of the Father in heavenly places.

He is far above every principality, power, might and dominion, as well as every name that is named not only in this age, but even in the ages to come. He has put all things under His feet and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His Body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Until next time,
Be blessed ... be favored ... be content and most importantly, embrace God's best in your life!
Tracy ;)

Listen to my radio show "Embracing God's Best" every Saturday morning! Here's the link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/embracing-gods-best

Our Heart Reveals Our True Passions

2009-09-25T16:52:00.002-06:00

What is your heart revealing about your passions? It's not even like we have to try to get them in there ... they just are! But not only are they in there ... something is making them grow. They are being nurtured by a source. What's your source? It doesn't matter if our passions are good or bad the fact of the matter is this ... the fruits of it will show up in our lives in an outward expression. Whether it be desires ... likes ... dislikes ... habits ... fantasies ... whatever the case may be? Rest assured they will emerge.

That's why it's so vital to do some honest to goodness inventory on our lives. Speaking from a personal perspective, I can tell you that I've had to purge myself many times from the things that were hindering me instead of helping me. Many of us struggle with this. Our flesh loves to cling to things that are not in any way --shape or form of godliness. Remember ... the Bible tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain (I Tim. 6:6) . If we drop down to verse eleven we will be exhorted on what things we absolutely should follow after:

Righteousness
Godliness
Faith
Love
Patience
Meekness

So the question is this. What is our hearts revealing to us? Set aside time to do an inventory and you'll be surprised at what you'll find.

Until next time,

Be blessed-Be favored-Be content and most importantly ... Embrace God's Best in Your Life!

Listen to Embracing God's Best Radio Show on www.worldtalkradio.com every Tuesday at 12:00 PT!!! I'll meet you there on the airwaves!!

Sincerely for Him,

Tracy Cavelli Trussell :)

Under Pressure!

2009-08-02T19:31:00.002-06:00

Remember the old song by David Bowie & Queen titled: "Under Pressure". Many of you from my era may remember that song? Some of you who are younger ... probably not. It was a very popular song back in the 80's, okay ... I'm giving away my age now! Although I don't listen to this kind of music anymore ( my genre is christian and jazz now!) ... but the lyrics in this song is quite intuitive.

Pressure is explained ... actually ... pretty thoroughly in the lyrics of this song. At one point in the song it says "It's the terror of knowing what this world is about watching some good friends screaming 'Let me out'." Then it goes on to say: "Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking. Can't we give ourselves one more chance? Why can't we give love that one more chance?" My favorite part of the song is at the end where it says: "'Cause love's such an old fashioned word and love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night. And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves." I don't know about you ... but I think that's pretty profound.

How many of us feel as though we're ready to crack? This world beats down upon our hearts and minds and it's in the terror of knowing what this world is about, that we hear people scream in their pain and remorse to "let me out"! Pressure can be an unbearable thing. In the time we're living in, it's hard not to crack under the pressure. People are losing their jobs, losing their homes, and losing their families. But the last part of that song is what I want to focus on ... where it says; "'love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night. And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves." See, this is the part that changes it all! When love dares us to care about the people who are living on the edge of the night, it is in essence revealing to us that in caring about them ... we must bring LIGHT. People living on the edge of darkness lose clarity and focus due to the lack of light. When we bring the Light of God in to their lives ... we bring HOPE-STRENGTH-PERSEVERANCE and POWER!

If we don't learn how to respond to pressure, then Satan will always have a secret weapon to use against us. The world is controlled by pressure and many of us develop the custom of running away from it, whenever we feel we are under pressure. The last day church will live in the spirit of Job. What do I mean by that? I am talking about the power to not only endure ... but to experience supernatural perseverance, that enables spiritual character and strength to be developed. We must remember something very important here ... patience and perseverance are both characteristic of the Spirit of God! No matter what kind of pressure shows up ... we have the strength to face it. Not in ourselves of course ... but through Christ. Live in the Spirit! Here's some keys to overcoming pressure:

Prayer- I say this all the time ... because it's not only vital ... it's empowering! The Bible says be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God. (Phil. 4:6)
Re-New Your Mind- The Bible also tells us to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is ... which consists of being good, perfect, and acceptable. ( Rom. 12:2) Never allow your mind to go wandering. That's not only dangerous, but very unproductive. The Word of God brings REAL victory and it will change the way we think.

Until next time .... be blessed-be content-be favored ... and most importantly, embrace God's best in your life!

Tracy :)

Let Go Of Your History -- To Embrace Your Destiny!

2009-07-26T14:41:00.003-06:00

Many of you know that I write whenever God stirs my heart to do so. He has been impressing this upon my heart for almost a week now and I've got to share it!

Many people are so suppressed by their history, that they fail to engage in their destiny. Here's what Paul said he was going to do:

Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before me. (Phil. 3:13)

Paul had the right attitude! He knew that focusing on past disappointments,mistakes, short comings and flaws from his past ... (or his history of who he used to be), wasn't doing him any good at all! So he began changing his mindset, realigning his thought processes and tearing down the strongholds of being chained to his past and broke free to embrace his future in Christ!

Trust me, Paul had alot to forget from his past. The Bible tells us how Paul persecuted the church and killed the Christians. He even held the coats of the men who stoned Stephen (the first martyr). Paul had alot to forget about. He could have allowed it to haunt him, condemn him and hold him back or worse yet ... rob him of his destiny ... but he chose not to do that!

That what's you must chose to do too! Stop allowing your history to stand in the way of your destiny. Be like Paul ... allow your history to change your destiny and refuse to be caught in it's web! You have a choice. What choice will you make today? Choose destiny and forget your history! God's already forgiven you for it and now it's time to forgive yourself.

Until next time ...

Be blessed and may His Grace rest upon you! Tracy ;)

The Three End-Time Anointings

2009-07-01T15:05:00.002-06:00

A few years back, I heard an awesome teaching on the three end time anointings that will come upon the Body of Christ in the last day and age before Christ's return. I was so enthralled with it, that I began to study it even further and I'd like to share with all of you what I believe will occur.

First of all, I want to explain what "anointing" means; so we can all be on the same frame of mind of what I'm referring to as we read this excerpt. To bring all the definitions together that I've studied, we could say it's a "supernatural interference that is consecrated and proceeding from God to give us divine enablement". If you break this down, it simply means ... God enables us to do things we could not normally do within our own limited capacity.

Many of us are seeing Bible Prophecy coming to life like never before, over the course of the past few years. I believe there is a time coming very soon where we will see these three anointings come full circle. I'm not attempting to bring gloom and doom ... I'm trying to open the eyes of our hearts, so we can become prepared for what's ahead. Here are the three anointings I'm referring to:

The Noah Anointing- This anointing deals with relationship. Whether it's relationship with one another or relationship with God, this anointing is going to become even more powerful in the days ahead. We must lay aside the things that divide us and come together with the common bond of furthering the Kingdom of God and harvesting the lost souls. We must begin laying aside our differences, disagreements and stubbornness and uniting together in strength to face what's ahead.
The Daniel Anointing- This anointing deals with revelation that is invoking the Body of Christ. Right now, more than any other time in History, we are experiencing more and more of this divine enablement occurring in the Body of Christ. Why is that? I believe it's because the Church is getting ready to face some serious times ahead, times that may not be very comfortable. God desires of us to have understanding, in order to understand the times we're living in right now!
The Job Anointing- This anointing deals with perseverance. I know many of us don't really like to discuss this issue ... we'd rather bypass it ... but it's high time the Body of Christ starts to acknowledge it. The Church needs to prepare herself for the times ahead. We are not living in an era anymore that acknowledges the Bible as the basis for all Truth and Morality. We are now living in an era that has dislodged the Bible as being the foundation of our nation. Christianity is now being looked upon as a hindrance to the progression of socialism.

Unfortunately our nation is straying further and further from it's inception of being founded upon Biblical principles. The reason America has experienced so much health, wealth and prosperity in it's past, is due to the fact that we had a covenant with God. He protected America , He prospered America and He gave America center stage in the world as a Nation with integrity and morality. What is happening now is a very different picture of who America is today. Today we are viewed as a Nation that is:

In a vast amount of debt that will take years and years and years to pay off. We use to lend to other nations ... now we are borrowing from other nations.
Stopped promoting morality ... now pretty much anything goes.
Becoming intimidated by our enemies.... we're negotiating with terrorists.
Disengaging more and more provision and security in the middle east, as well as setting more and more contingencies upon Israel in order to continue our support.
Against spreading the Gospel. We allow other religions to be taught in schools, but not Christianity and Judaism.
Consistently removing God from every part of society. We don't even say "Christmas" any more ... the politically correct way to say it is ... "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays". Mangers are no longer permitted to be displayed in public areas. Santa Clause is acceptable, not Jesus. Easter is beginning to be removed from many calendars. What is happening here?

The Church must begin embracing these three end time anointings and unite as never before. We must lay aside the things that so easily entangles us to divide with one another. Now is not the time to separate ourselves through denominations, but unite under the umbrella of Jehovah God! Are you ready for what's ahead?

Thanks for your time!

Tracy

Damaged Goods

2009-06-10T13:24:00.004-06:00

I don't think there's anything more frustrating to me, then to receive a package in the mail and find out it's damaged, beyond repair. A short time ago, we sent some items through the mail to my brother-in-law and when he and his wife received the package, they couldn't even hardly identify what it originally was! Have you ever experienced that? If you have, then you understand how frustrating that can be! Damage can certainly reduce the value of something and many times may even cause it to become useless.

But is this a true concept even in regards to people? Absolutely not!

I was amazed as to the number of people that actually view themselves as "damaged goods". They feel they have no value or usefulness in the Kingdom of God or many times ... even the world. What is it that brings people to such an impaired mindset of considering themselves, damaged goods? The insight I've gathered in talking with people, is that most of time it involves holding to a false perception of who they believe they really are?

Satan has a way, (that he has almost perfected), with progressing inward, causing extreme agony and turmoil in the hearts of so many people. He brings condemnation upon their lives. This condemnation locks them in a cell of unworthiness and leaves them feeling as though there is no means of escape. He sends lying spirits to whisper in their ears and he covers their hearts with darkness. Pretty soon he proceeds in taking his next step. This step involves the invasion of their spirits, causing even more hostile and damaging effects to come forth.

It's at this point that people succumb to the debilitating mindset of believing they are nothing more than damaged goods. No matter what has happened, no matter what you've been through ... you are not damaged goods! You are a masterpiece created by God and there is a plan and purpose for your life. God has never made mistakes and He is not in the business of creating blunders.

The Bible says you are the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8), He chose you (Ephesians 1:4), He knew you even before you were born and He set you apart and appointed you (Jeremiah 1:5), He made all the delicate inner parts of your body in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13), you are God's masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10), His thoughts are filled with hope for you and He desires good things to occur in your life (Jeremiah 29:11). Stand upon those promises in the Word ... believe that God is going to raise you up out of that pit of despair and place you upon the Rock that never falters or shifts beneath your feet!

There is not another person on this Earth that's quite as special as you! :)
Until next time ...
*Be Blessed
*Be Favored
*Be Content
AND MOST OF ALL ... Embrace God's Best for your life!
Remember to listen to the show ... June 30th @ 12 PST on www.worldtalkradio.com
Tracy ;)

Waiting For The Promise!

2009-05-14T15:22:00.004-06:00

2 Peter 3:13-14:13 "But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight".

Isn't it amazing that, as Christians, we have so much to look forward to? The Bible says that there is going to be new heavens and a new earth and it will be filled with God's righteousness! I like the sound of that. Don't you? Imagine with me for a moment, a world very differently from what we know today. This new world will be filled with upright morality, virtue and purity and even better ... God will be overseeing all of it. Wow! That's a far cry from what we are seeing today. Huh?

As we look around us today, we see turmoil, wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes in diverse places, and natural disasters occurring everywhere. Just about every time we turn on the news, we see another devastation, another plunge with the stock market, another company filing for bankruptcy as we see the economy and governments moving more and more towards a one world society. We see Israel struggling with their borders, due to the fact that they are experiencing more and more abandonment from Nations around the world.

Our world today looks glib, but Hope is on the horizon my friend! One thing we must keep in mind ... Jesus said in Matthew 24, "Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, 'I am Christ, the Messiah.' They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming".

"They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry My name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other's throat, everyone hating each other. "In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

"Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the Kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

Okay ...
Now at first, we read the above passage and think ... "OH LORD, how will we endure all this? Can I just come home now?" But I want to encourage you to stay focused. Keep the end of the race in the forefront of your mind. Don't allow the world to take you off course. Don't veer to the right or to the left ... remain balanced and remain steadfast in your conviction and faith in God's unending Love for His people. God will never abandon us and He will never give us more than we can handle. Through it all ... keep your eyes on Him.

I truly believe that God is going to allow His Spirit to move in a very powerful way all over the Earth very soon. During this time ... I am convinced that His Glory will be unveiled, His Sovereignty will be unleashed and His Divine purpose will come forth. People and governments are not in control of our future ... God is. He is allowing things to take place that will lead to His perfect Will being accomplished through out the Universe! Rest in the Truth of the Word. We have already been told what the end result will create. A new heaven and a new earth filled with upright morality, and purity all overseen by God Himself!

Stay strong.
Stay focused.
Stay peaceful.
Bless you!
Tracy :)
http://www.tracycavellitrussell.com/
Jeremiah 29:11

Faith Is God's Gift To Us!

2009-05-05T13:58:00.000-06:00

It is true that the faith, which I am enabled to exercise, is altogether God's own gift; it is true that He alone supports it, and that He alone can increase it; it is true that, moment by moment, I depend upon Him for it, and that, if I were only one moment left to myself, my faith would utterly fail...
George Muller

Are You Branded With The Cross?

2009-05-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

We may not preach a crucified Saviour without being also crucified men and women. It is not enough to wear an ornamental cross as a pretty decoration. The cross that Paul speaks about was burned into his very flesh, was branded into his being, and only the Holy Spirit can burn the true cross into our innermost life....

A. B. Simpson

Be open to His leading! Make decisions based upon eternity.
Bless you all!
Tracy :)

2009-05-01T15:19:00.001-06:00

The most authentic witnesses of any man's character are those who know him in his own family, and see him without any restraint or rule of conduct, but such as he voluntarily prescribes to himself. If a man carries virtue with him into his private apartments, and takes no advantage of unlimited power or probable secrecy; if we trace him through the round of time, and find that his character, with those allowances which mortal frailty must always want, is uniform and regular, we have all the evidence of his sincerity that one man can have with regard to another; and, indeed, as hypocrisy cannot be its own reward, we may, without hesitation, determine that his heart is pure.

Samuel Johnson

Visit my website at:
www,tracycavellitrussell.com

And my Life Coach page at:
www.tracyslifecoaching4you.blogspot.com

Thanks so much! Have a blessed day! Tracy :)

Self Sins Revealed By God's Light

2009-04-26T14:49:00.002-06:00

The self-sins ... dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestations of these sins - egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion - are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy.

They are so much in evidence as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.
A. W. Tozer

Visit my website at http://www.tracycavellitrussell.com/
Visit my Life Coach Blog at http://www.tracyslifecoaching4you.blogspot.com/
Tracy :)
LCI Certified Life Coach

Are You Praying For People or Disputing With Them?

2009-04-22T09:44:00.001-06:00

Job's friends chose the right time to visit him, but took not the right course of improving their visit; had they spent the time in praying for him which they did in hot disputes with him, they would have profited him, and pleased God more.

William Gurnall

Check out my sites:
www.tracycavellitrussell.com
www.tracyslifecoaching4you.blogspot.com

Thank so much!
Tracy :)

Are You True To Your Savior?

2009-04-21T11:31:00.001-06:00

There are those who can venture far into the world and yet everywhere be true to their Saviour; they are known as Christians wherever they appear, and people respect their position; they would not go anywhere if they knew that their mouths were to be stopped on the subjects lying nearest their hearts; the energy of Christ in them is so glowing and victorious a force that they mould the society in which they are, instead of being moulded by it.

James Stalker

Be sure and visits my sites:
www.tracycavellitrussell.com
www.tracyslifecoaching4you.blogspot.com

Have a blessed day!
Tracy :)

Examine Our Experiences In Light Of Scripture

2009-04-20T09:27:00.001-06:00

We should not interpret Scripture in the light of our experiences, but
we should examine our experiences in the light of the teaching of Scripture.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Check out my Coaching Page at:
www.tracyslifecoaching4you.blogspot.com

View my website at:
www.tracycavellitrussell.com

What Is Your Character?

2009-04-17T22:55:00.000-06:00

We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark- the imaginations of our minds, the thoughts of our heart, the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God's sight. Character is what you are in the dark.

Oswald Chambers

Are You A Tea Kettle Christian?

2009-04-13T22:06:00.002-06:00

I've always admired tea kettle Christians. They can be up to their necks
in hot water and still sing! The world wants to know how this God you
talk about makes a difference in your life when you're sitting on the
burner. They want to see the reality of a life within you beyond
anything they've ever experienced. Peter had it nailed pretty good when
he wrote, Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you
a reason for the hope that is in you.

Ken Hutcherson