"Get Up!" He said.

Photo on the streets of New York City.
Just imagine
what this little boy is dreaming!
Photo by Chris Tracy

Do verses jump out at you sometimes when you read your Bible? It is happening more frequently to me and I am loving these ways that God is speaking into my circumstances.

One example this week was John 5:8 - “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’” He was speaking to a man who had waited many years to be helped into a pool to be healed. He blamed others who would always get in ahead of him. Jesus asked him if he even desired to be healed. This reminded me of my Dad when he would come wake me up and get me going on a weekend day when I would have rather been lazy. He’d have me out participating in life, in family, in chores - mowing the lawn, weeding dandelions, shoveling snow, helping clean, or just being part of the family fun. So, when I read - “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk “- I heard my Dad’s voice. “Get going! Follow your dreams! Seize the day! Conquer your fear! Slay the giant! Gain the victory!”

I have a dream. It’s a big one. And there are scary things between that dream and me. It is easy to make excuses. But that is not who my Father in Heaven made me to be. The next verse says that "at once" the man was cured. So I am to get up and expect that “at once” God is right there curing my fears - being strong in me - and being my cheerleader as I walk into my destiny. Quite a picture! Just wait till you see what I am about to do!

Bless you all today!

To Our "Home" Church Family

Walking Into Our Destiny
Oil Pastel by Chris Tracy

There once was a little boy and a little girl.

They loved playing in creeks and walking mountain trails.

She loved writing and taking pictures. He loved building things and blowing things up.

They grew up and got married and had a family. They lived in a little home they built themselves and raised their babies – human and animal. They loved and loved and loved – each other, their children, their friends.

They dreamed about building cozy log cabins for happy people who wanted to live a simpler life on mountain creeks and in colorful canyons.

Their dream came true, but after a while, it was taken from them. 

Sad and confused, they turned to the One who created them.

Slowly, he restored them. Lovingly, he healed their hearts. Happily, He loved them back to wholeness, dreaming new dreams with them.

And there were people who believed in their new dreams. The people loved them and cheered for them and sent them to where God was calling them.

Today, the girl still loves writing and taking pictures. The boy still loves building things and blowing things up. But now, they know who they are and Who they belong to. They know how to listen to the still small voice. They can’t help but tell others how good their Papa is.

The boy and girl are happy. They are filled, blessed, fed, clothed, healed and warmed. They are ready for more adventures – confident in the One who knows them best and trusting His purposes for them. Life is good.

(This story is dedicated with thanks to the Christ Followers at Kremmling Community Church in the small mountain town of Kremmling, Colorado - our home church for 30 years.)

My book: Tapestry - The Divine Design For Your Life will bring you new hope of your purpose and your identity. You can buy a paperback or digital download at www.christinetracy.tateauthor.com or Amazon.com. Preview my book free right here: Click on the picture of the book.

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:

Amazon.Com;

Barnes and Noble.com

Tate Publishing.

My St. Patrick's Day Miracle

Angel Kisses

The wind howled as the snow piled up on the dark highway, blinding the young driver who strained to see beyond the headlights. Interstate 70 remained open just for her as she maneuvered the ambulance through the storm. My husband sat next to her, encouraging her, and I sat in the back, hooked to machines while an EMT kept me awake till we got to St. Anthony Hospital in Denver.
That was 10 years ago today – St. Patrick’s Day – when a car accident tried to take my life.  Highways were closed and Denver was at a standstill with accumulations of 6 feet of snow in some areas.

While in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit in a daze of shock and morphine, I remembered driving alone, falling asleep, careening off the highway, and tumbling end for end through a rancher’s field – all the while hearing someone who wasn’t there telling me “you’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay.” Though my vital signs dipped, I had no feeling of not being okay. Loved ones waiting at the hospital prayed. Soon the surprised doctor would mention something about the prayers working.
The ensuing days and weeks were met with painful healing, therapies, and efforts to overcome a concussion. Other life events threatened my sanity. But slowly...surely...the wholeness returned. I was "okay." I was alive. I would see my children grow. I would hold and hug my grandchildren.

Today, I am still certain I was miraculously saved. Not only that, but I was saved for a purpose. Hence, I now have a fun goal to live out the dreams God has placed in me. And I am so blessed by and thankful for my friends and family who I, in turn, hope to bless in the years I have left.

So...do I now know my destiny...my purpose? Well, I'm closer. I believe it has everything to do with my dreams. And it also has to do with communicating three simple, profound words. GOD IS GOOD! Jeremiah 29:11 (What dreams has God placed in you?)
Order my book, Tapestry - The Divine Design for Your Life

Enter in!!!!

If God made this - and we are made in
the image and likeness of Him, Jesus, and
the Holy Spirit - then we must
be simply amazing!

If we are made in the image and likeness of the Godhead, then are we made for greatness, and goodness, and with purpose? Or not? Were we given a life for no reason?

I know I have sabotaged my life. I have been my own worst enemy at times. My own voice hurls insults at me. “Stupid, clumsy, dumb!” My own odd sense of humility has turned down opportunities that would have launched me into my destiny and my family quite possibly into prosperity. 

Many of us, believing lies about our abilities, or trying to stay humble under the wrong belief that we should not promote ourselves, have taken a wrong route, or stayed stuck where we are instead of heeding the wonderful life God wants us to step into.

David understood this life when he boldly challenged Goliath. Weak and insecure Gideon learned about it when God called him a “mighty man of valor.” Can you hear the voice of God? Can you hear him calling you out, asking you to take a risk, a step toward the purpose for which He has called you?

When we rise up, believe, and step forward, confident in what He is doing in us, that is not self-promoting. It is God-promoting. We dishonor Him when we hold back under the guise of false humility. We honor Him when we step into the abundant life His Son died to allow us to enter.

It’s time. Enter in!

Baby Wisdom

My baby grandson, Cord Toft, was born yesterday. His little sister, Mesa, and I stood outside the delivery room giggling at the cries we heard coming from his little lungs in his first seconds of meeting the world.

Looking at his little face and eyes of wonder, I was filled with that love once again at the birth of a child—the kind of love that is giddy and bursting with joy. The Bible says that heaven rejoices at the birth of every child. What a wonderful welcome little Cord had yesterday!

I wonder who he will become? What are God’s plans for him?

From my classes on leadership, I wanted to share a few quotes to encourage you to discover your own identity and destiny with God. Some things we can learn from babies:

“A baby cannot get its identity by looking at its past.”

“A baby knows that it can do what its parents can do because he/she was made in their image.”

“Stop trying to fix yourself; become something.”

(Quotes from Wendy Backlund - Bethel Church and Global Legacy)

May this spring and this season bring a new joy to your house – that same joy the Father felt the day you were born!