Monday, September 30, 2013

You Are Woven Into a Tapestry


"You are way more than you think you are. 
The ups and downs, crises and fun times, sad and happy experiences, your dreams and goals, relationships and thoughts are all part of the tapestry of your life.
The dark times contrast the bright times, making them more beautiful. The high places wouldn’t be so lovely without the low places. Like a mountain wildflower that can only exist in extreme weather areas, you are an exquisite creation that is becoming more beautiful as the years and experiences go by.
As you read this book, you will discover your own life’s design, and learn new things about your Creator, whose light invades your darkness and whose imagination has fashioned you to be unique and amazing."
Are you ready to discover what God had in mind when He imagined you?
This is an excerpt from the introduction to my book, Tapestry - The Divine Design For Your Life. I think you will like it. I wrote it for you. It is about YOU! This book will change you. It will help you see God's ever-present hand in your life. There are blessings for you and prayers for you. God has anointed it to touch you in a special way. This book is my dream and I pray it will help you reach your dreams!
Love, Chris
"I want you woven into a tapestry of love; in touch with everything there is to know of God."(Colossians 2:2-4 - The Message)

Available in paperback and digital formats from:

Sunday, September 22, 2013

How Can We Make a Difference in This World?

My daughter, Bess Tracy, painted this for her niece
(my granddaughter), Samantha Tracy to encourage her
destiny and dreams. "Let her sleep, for when she
wakes, she will move mountains." What a
declaration to wake up to every day!
(Author of quote is unknown.)

I think most of us want our lives to count for something. We truly want to make a difference… to make life better for someone… to be remembered… to do good with our talents and possessions.
One night I could not sleep. Thunder and a full moon had me wide awake at 2:30 a.m.. I ended up “talking”on Facebook with Tom, a friend from the United Kingdom we met at Bethel Church where my husband and I attended ministry school. It was mid-morning in London, and Tom, a young dad, was writing an essay and studying for his degree in Theology. He told me he was struggling due to dyslexia. I simply told Tom in my text that he had a kind heart and the world needed him. We made declarations of healing over his problem. We wrote a bit more and then signed off. He told me he knew why I wasn’t sleeping…that I was awakened to minister to him. He needed encouragement. My part was so simple. The Holy Spirit, (who hangs around Facebook, don’t ya know?), did the rest.
Few of us are called to be missionaries or traveling evangelists or pastors of a local church. Most of us work in the marketplace, we're raising children at home, and we gather with friends who are believers as well as pre-believers.
So…what can we do to make a difference in this world? How can we bring the beautiful light of heaven into people's lives?
The answer? Just be available. Listen to and watch what God is doing. Encourage a child. Help a neighbor. Show Jesus’ love and compassion to a hurting person. Use your culinary or athletic gift to gather friends. Build relationships. Give a $20 bill to a corner homeless person. Support a missionary. Give an unexpected gift. Make a new friend. If you're young, bless an older person. If you're old, encourage a young person. Pray silently for someone next to you on the highway.
You may never know how far your acts of love and compassion may go. You could be making a big difference to a person who will make a difference to his daughter who will make a decision for her own life that will change the world.
Inventor, dreamer, artist, writer, carpenter, friend, sibling, parent, grandparent…you already make a difference. Now do it some more! Do it intentionally. You have been blessed to be a blessing!
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose!” - Dolly Parton

I hope you will find out who you are and what you are called to when you read my book Tapestry - The Divine Design for Your Life. Be encouraged. God will meet you when you seek Him. 
Available now in digital download and print. Click here to order

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

When Prayer Goes "Unanswered"

"Hope Survives"
Aspen trees begin to flourish in a forest that
burned a decade ago at Trappers Lake, Colorado.
Photo by Chris Tracy

What do we do when we pray, yet it seems like the answers aren't coming?
We pray for rain during a forest fire… it finally comes, but sometimes too late.
We pray for torrents to stop so floods can subside...they eventually stop, but sometimes too late.
We pray for safety on roads, but sometimes… we don’t feel very safe.
We pray for healing… and we wait and wait for its manifestation.
And what about disasters--natural and man-induced--where death and destruction seem to prevail? Where is the hand of God?
How do we cope with "unanswered" prayer? Do we give up and decide God’s will is not to answer or that his answer is “no”? Or do we blame ourselves for not being deserving enough or holy enough to pray and expect an answer?
All I know is I have seen miracles, experienced healings, and come to know God's nature through His Word, enough to be completely convinced of His goodness. I know His answers and solutions are better than my own.I know there is a spirit realm where God moves in ways I may never see. I know there are angels who guard us and go to battle for us. I know God is always for us and His answers are “yes and amen.” I remember my testimonies. I know that what matters to me, matters to Him. I have learned that trusting God--having that peace that passes understanding--means I must give up my right to understand.
My prayer for you is that you, too, will know His goodness--and that you will always trust Him.
Never stop praying. He hears. He is close.
May you always wear hope like a badge that you never take off.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Find some of my testimonies of miracles in my book, Tapestry, The Divine Design For Your Life, available now at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, or Tate Publishing: http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-62295-762-0