Do you ever find yourself wearing a MASK? Join me today at Laced with Grace to chat about that!

We are the Body

Please join me each Monday At the Well for a new Bible Study called "We are the Body". This is being led by my friend, Gina. I am excited to be learning and growing together!

Gina writes this week:

Do you daily study your “reflection” to see if you have “something in your teeth?”

What kind of accountability of believers do you have in your life right now?

This week I would encourage you to take some time to pray and evaluate your life. Spend time in prayer and in the Word and asking God to show you what you need to see. Grab a journal or just a plain notebook and write down your thoughts and prayers. Ask a couple of people who know you well, and who you know will be honest, to take some time to make a list of things that you need to work on. Record these things in your notebook. Then, take the list and bathe it in prayer. It may hurt some, but it will ultimately help you and set you down the path towards holiness.

As you go through this I would like to challenge you to pray about what you are called to and who God would have you reach out to serve and encourage.

Here is an excerpt I have written about MY spiritual mentor/accountability partner, my "spiritual mama", Donna:

Donna is "especially special" to me for so many reasons- she will be truthful with me, not just "tickle my ears," she will grieve with me when I am sad, she makes me laugh, she is so wise, and she is a kind, loving, and caring person. She is a grandma, so she has experienced more life than I have, and she is willing to share her successes and failures, especially in parenting.

Donna is my Spiritual Mom, a true Titus 2 woman. My own dear mom loves God and prays about everything, trusts God, and has a simple faith. But, she doesn't know the Word. She doesn't read the Word. Donna, on the other hand, KNOWS the Word and studies the Word daily, and LOVES the Word.

So, when I need advice, I often ask Donna, instead of my mom, because Donna will give me Godly advice, based on the Word and then we always pray about it! She is so wise! But again, it is Godly wisdom. Truly, much of her advice is "foolishness to the world." Forgive that person???? How could I???? Because in His Word He tells us to and that it will bring His blessing. Be joyful in this situation? It will bring peace. Feeling not at peace about something, then, should you be doing it? The "world" would definitely give me different advice than Donna gives me!

Oh, how thankful I am for my dear friend and mentor. A mentor isn't some distinguished professor, but just someone who is a little "further down the road" than you are. Actually, Lisa Bevere says we DON'T want mentors- we want "mamas." A mentor teaches you what they know, not necessarily wanting you to do better than THEM, so they may hold back a little. (Think of the business world. Would a person want their "underling" to excel?) But, a Mama wants her children not only to do AS WELL as her, but BETTER than her. She wants her children to soar to greater heights than she did. This is Donna- she wants even more for me- especially spiritually.

Do you need a "mama"? Look around. There are many in blogland. I am sure there are many at your church. Be bold- ask a woman to "mama" you. Pray and ask God to bring you one.

Be a "mama". There is always someone who hasn't come as far as you yet. Build relationships. Help one another. Be an example.

"Teach the older women to be reverent in the way they should
live.... and teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to
love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at
home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will
malign the word of God."- Titus 2:3-5

Father, thank you for blessing us with friendships. God, you made us as relational beings to crave companionship, friendship, and fellowship with one another. Thank you, Jehovah Jireh, "The Lord Who Provides" for providing us with mothers and "mamas." Thank you, precious God for caring about us so much that you give us friends, and thank you, Jesus, that you call ME friend! Lord, help me to be a "mama" to those you place in my path. Help me to see when you do. Help me to NOT be so busy that I miss it! Also, Lord, help me to be bold when I need a mama to ask someone. Lord, you are so good, so good. In the Savior's precious Name, the Name above all names, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

I hope you will join us on Mondays to discuss how we can be "The BODY" together!

What mask are YOU wearing?

Do you ever wear masks? Hmmmm....

Please visit me at Laced With Grace today to ponder this devotion with me!

Authenticity.......................

ALTHOUGH THIS IS A REPOST FROM NOVEMBER 2007, IT IS VERY MUCH WHERE MY HEART IS AGAIN.... GOD HAS BEEN DOING AND "NOT DOING" THINGS IN MY MINISTRY...AGAIN PLEASE REMEMBER ME IN PRAYER! BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL...

Okay, God, time to get so honest, to confess the inner parts of my heart….

Talking with a dear friend the other day, she confessed to me a “whopper” of a sin (in man’s eyes- sin is sin to God!). She jokingly asked if I still was her friend, did I just think she was an idiot, could I believe the depth of her sin, did I feel sick to be with her, along those lines. And, I told her, that if I shared the ugliness of the deep secrets of my heart, she would be just as shocked. Well, she countered with, “yea, like what?”

I shared with her that I do sin, and sin terribly! I’ve “lost” it and yelled horribly at my kids. I have called Andrew “stupid.” I have terrible jealousy in my heart. I told my husband “I hate you” IN FRONT of the kids! (Boy, is it embarrassing to share all of that….) Well, my friend told me she was glad I shared that. She didn’t think I struggled with sin.

The human heart, no matter who we are, struggles with sin. (Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”) Thank God that He has given me a new heart! (Ezekiel 36:25-26). Man, I needed a complete heart transplant!!!!!! I told her I needed Jesus everyday! I needed to lean on Him, trust Him everyday! Thank God for the Holy Spirit who empowers us to walk in the Spirit NOT in the flesh! Thank God that I am more than a conqueror, more than an overcomer! Sin does not rule over me! I have the power of the Holy Spirit living within me, inside of ME! (Romans 6-8)

But, it struck me that I need to continue to be honest with people God has put in my life. Authenticity………. I want to be an authentic friend who shares her struggles. I don’t want to put on airs. I never want to feel like I can’t share my struggles because I don’t want people to think less of me…..God, forgive me for worrying about others’ opinions. Am I trying to please God or man? So, I can keep trials secret because of my own flesh- not wanting to be embarrassed. But, the enemy also deceives me into keeping them secret because when they are hidden in the dark, they are not exposed to God’s light. He wants us to suffer alone, never helping one another in times of trial. But, God’s Word tells us in James 5:16, “Confess your sins one to another and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Well, here is confession time for me…………

I am struggling with trusting God right now. (I thought about being vague and not really giving details, but, I am going to let it all out!) God has called me to be a women’s speaker. He has placed such a passion and desire to go to women’s events, speaking Truth and sharing my love for Him with other women. When I go, He gives me such an overflowing love for the women. I am able to pray with them, minister to them, worship with them, and just plain exalt the Lord together with them! I know it is Him who has placed such an intense desire to serve Him in this way. Every time I go, I “have it out with Him,” vowing NEVER to speak again because I am nervous about speaking, how could He have called ME because I am not “qualified”…… I have said more than once, “I am never doing this again! How did I get myself in this???” And, then, He shows up, fills me to overflowing with His Spirit and I am able to witness His mighty hand perform great miracles in these women’s lives. I am so blessed by the experience He has so generously allowed me to be part of. And, after each speaking event, I am again filled with great desire to speak again!

Well, here I am. I have such a desire, but waiting for the Lord to call me out again. I don’t have any events planned. I continue to pray. I get frustrated because God hasn’t answered my prayer (in the way I want!!!!!!). I keep telling myself and quoting scripture about waiting on the Lord, trusting in Him, that His plan is perfect, His timing is perfect…. All the things my MIND knows, but trying to get my heart to believe. Am I going to really believe all the things I tell everyone else???????????? And, if waiting/trusting means waiting more than one day, will I wait patiently? You see, I encourage others on this all the time! But, when waiting comes to ME, will I truly believe that my God hears, He loves me, He’s working it out for my good, He has a good plan, and His timing is perfect (God, is Your watch broken?)? Will I trust in Him that “Father knows best?” Or, do I get disappointed and frustrated…. God, why did you place this desire in my heart if You are not going to bring it to fruition????

So, I am in the midst of it…….. Lord, I remind You that I am dust! Please be patient with me, God! Thank You for Your graciousness, goodness, loving kindness……… “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love endures forever- do not abandon the works of Your hands.” –Psalm 138:8

I love You, God! I love You……..

Oh, and please pray for me!
Blessings to you all!!

Cafe Chat....with an HONEST friend!

I love the topic that Kim has chatting about today! It is about AUTHENTIC friendships, and boy do we need them as Christians! We need friends who will be honest with us and help keep us accountable.

Proverbs 27:6

Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.

Kim says, "So today, I ask you to share a time when a friend may have wounded you by speaking hard words to you, and even though you were hurt you realized it was the best and most loving thing he/she could have done. (If you can share the specifics that would be great, but if not feel free to use generalities). "

I have one friend, Donna (my spiritual "mama") who will ALWAYS be honest with me! I call her because I WANT a friend to be honest. I have many friends that I could call when I want to whine and hear them say, "Poor Tracy." But not Donna.... She will tell me I need to apologize to Brian. She will tell me that I can't wallow in self-pity. She knows the Word and doesn't "tickle my ears", telling me what I would LIKE to hear! We need to be AUTHENTIC in friendships. I wrote about authenticity here and here. I wrote about Donna here.

What I would like to chat about though, is a time when God called ME to tell something to a friend that I didn't want to! I am not a person who easily tells people when they are doing something wrong (except for my hubby- OOPS! That would be another post!). I don't like conflict. Don't like debate. Don't like to argue. I certainly don't feel comfortable bringing up something UNCOMFORTABLE!

But sometimes God calls us to do just this! With Donna, we have an open agreement to tell each other these things. And usually, I am coming TO HER, asking her to help me through it. For instance, I already know that my heart is being selfish....I need to talk through it/pray about it. But, there are times God will call us to confront our sisters (or brothers) in Christ, "wounding them with sincere words." (Proverbs verse). Also see 1Corinthians 4 and 5.

I have a friend who had a baby out of wedlock and lives off/on with her boyfriend. We are close and she is a Christian. Right after she had her baby, God began laying on my heart to talk to her. I knew she knew that she was living in a sinful relationship. It was becoming hard to be around her because we weren't talking about it. It was like "the elephant in the room." It was like were just ignoring the obvious.

So, God, being relentless, not letting me stick my head in the sand, make sure I had NO PEACE until I "dealt with it."

So, after much PRAYER, I invited my friend over for lunch. Through tears, I shared with her how God laid this on my heart. I shared that God wanted so much more for her....how living together wasn't God's plan. We talked about sin. All these things she already "knew". We both CRIED and CRIED. I talked to her IN LOVE.

And, it made our friendship even stronger! She knew I cared about her enough to do something hard, even risking our friendship, for her greater good. I truly cared about HER. She knows that I will talk straight with her. There is no longer an uncomfortable "elephant in the room."

Please visit the Cafe to chat about friendships and loving our friends enough to be honest with them!

Are you wearing a MASK???

Isn’t it fun to watch kids dress up at Halloween? They’re so excited to pretend to be someone else. Some choose dragons. Others princesses. Some want to be dressed as courageous heroes while others choose to be something ferocious.

Do you ever feel like you are wearing a mask? Do you ever find yourself pretending to be someone you're not? Pretending to “have it all together," but in reality, your "all togethers" are falling apart? You would never want people to see the “real you”, the person behind the mask. You would be embarrassed if you were ever "found out."

So....we put on our masks, go about our business, and when friends ask how we are, we smile and declare, "Great! How are you?"

Because so many of us are wearing these perfection masks, we look around and think that we are the only Christian mom or wife or daughter who is "messing up." We feel like failures. We would never admit to needing help, let alone actually asking for it! Instead of building one another up and encouraging each other in our faith, we pretend that we are just fine and hide behind our masks.

But, God sees through the mask right down to the “real you”. He sees all the flaws and mistakes and failures and yet loves us completely and unconditionally. Isn't it comforting to know how much He loves us? Psalm 139 tells us that God searches us and knows us. He knows us completely, from the inside out. He knows a word before it even reaches our tongue. He is familiar with our ways. He isn't surprised by us. He knows every thought, every worry, every joy, every hurt. There is no where we can run from His Spirit, no where to escape His love, no mask to hide our person from Him. With God, we can stop pretending, take off our mask, and allow Him to love us.

And, I believe that we can also take off our masks with our sisters in Christ, allow them to love us, and share authentic relationships with them. We might find that we all make mistakes, not one of us is perfect, and we are not the only one in the carpool with a dirty minivan!

Father God, thank You for loving me unconditionally. Thank You, Lord that I don't have to hide anything from You, that I CAN'T hide anything from You because You know me completely. Thank You that I can take off my mask. Help me Lord to be honest, authentic and real with those around me. Help me to encourage others so that they, too feel comfortable taking off their masks. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.