My "Word" for 2013

Well, its that time of year again when some of us start thinking about that one "word" that we want to dig deeper into, that one "word" we want to have victory in, that one "word" we want to see growth in.

For me, for 2013, that word is "TRUST".  

Now, in general, I do not have trust issues.  I used to be a very trusting person in the sense that I would give you the benefit of the doubt until you let me down, then I'd give you a second chance, and then, well, I just would not put myself in a position of having to trust you again...  I also am not a woman who does not trust her husband.  Although, after 24 1/2 years of marriage that trust has been modified a little based on emotions and how they go up and down over the years depending on what is going on in our lives.  So, although I "trust" my husband, I choose rather to "trust" God WITH my husband.

However, life has dealt us a hearty dose of "stab you in the back" situations in the last 5 1/2 years which made me second guess everyone's motives.  It made me less willing to believe what others told me!  It made me harder of heart and jaded about whether there were any trustworthy people out there anyway.  This was mainly due to the fact these circumstances, these hardships, these hurts that buckled my trust were thrown at us by family and your mind asks your heart, "If family can do this to you, what are others capable of?"

BUT GOD.....  Yes, God has helped me defrost my frozen, hardened heart!  He has helped me see the good in others who have nothing to do with our situation.  He is helping me see those who hate us through His eyes (and believe me, its a slow process).  He has helped me find my sense of humour again.  And, I trust HIM with others.  Its a process, its a journey!  But with God walking this path with me, this time next year more progress would have been made in my heart and life.

So, why TRUST then?  Well, this is the year that God-willing, this situation we have been battling, comes to an end!  This is the year that we see God work for us in this circumstance.  How can I say that?  Well, this situation has a court date.  The 7th of February to be exact.  I believe that no matter how it looks up to that date, on that date, and beyond that date, I HAVE TO TRUST THAT GOD HAS GOT THIS!

I believe that I will have a good report!
I believe that I will have a testimony that will encourage you!
I believe that God will not allow us to be put to shame.

Because I choose to believe the above - I HAVE TO TRUST - God
Prov 3 v 5:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.

So, that ladies, is that!  My word for 2013, TRUST

What is yours?

God bless
Tracy

Visit Melanie at Only a Breath if you too want to have your

 "word" for 2013 look as beautiful as mine does!

Linking this post with these lovely ladies this week:

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Winsome Wednesday - My Holiday Goal - what is yours?

Holidays are a time to unwind and spend time with family and especially at Christmas time to acknowledge our Christ and His birth.  But we all know how stressful holidays can be with children out of school and visiting family and friends and the malls and shopping centres being over-crowded and and and....

I was reminded by someone recently that it is especially important to spend time with the Lord now.  We forget in all our celebrating and sharing.  So this is my goal for this holiday season....

1 Thes 16-22:

• (16) Rejoice always,
• (17) pray without ceasing,
• (18) in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
• (19) Do not quench the Spirit.
• (20) Do not despise prophesies.
• (21) Test all things; hold fast what is good.
• (22) Abstain from every form of evil.

Well, I'm going to try.   My goal is to enter the new year with more of HIM and less of me!  

What is your spiritual goal these holidays?
God bless
Tracy

BLOGHOP TIME
(This week's linky will be open until the 31st of December 2012)

This is a space to come and be encouraged.  You can link as many posts as you want so long as they bring glory to the Lord.  If you have time, please visit the person ahead of you and I am sure you too will be encouraged.  I look forward to seeing you here.

 Feel free to link up below:

Winsome Wednesday - Why Worry?

You know that saying, "If you worry you die, if you don't worry you die?" Kind of true, so why worry?
Okay, not such a good Christian view point but the Word does tell us many times not to worry.  To place all our concerns in His hands.  So my encouragement to you today is "DON'T WORRY, God has this!"

Matt 6 v 25:  Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; not about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Matt 6 v 33:  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God bless
Tracy

BLOGHOP TIME

This is a space to come and be encouraged.  You can link as many posts as you want so long as they bring glory to the Lord.  If you have time, please visit the person ahead of you and I am sure you too will be encouraged.  I look forward to seeing you here.

 Feel free to link up below:

Negative much?

This last week I discovered my neighbourhood has a facebook page and with great enthusiasm I joined it looking forward to all it promised: neighbourliness, security, an outlet for those who do business in the area and for those who are creative.  An informative forum where we as neighbours can look out for each other!

Boy, was I disappointed.  One negative status after another, all filled with an abundance of negative comments.  Its like my neighbours (and to be fair, not all of them) just cannot see any good in, well, anything....

It has been depressing to say the least to see follow-up comments coming through on my facebook stream.  We have lived here for the last 7 1/2 years and we have never really gotten involved with our neighbours, kept to ourselves and tried to live a responsible life around here.  But I quite looked forward to the opportunity to get involved, get to know my neighbours better etc.  What a let down.

This has taught me a few things about myself and my growth through some tough times.

• I have learnt that the positive, happy-go-lucky person I was as a youngster is alive and well and returning renewed and restored in Christ
• I have learnt that I need to surround myself with positive people because it certainly does not take much to be sucked into negativity (My inner-self is still a little fragile but getting stronger)

This leaves me with a few choices:

• Remove myself from the group?  I don't know, I'm curious about what all is going on around here :)
• Comment where I can in a positive uplifting way?  I know this will bring out the nay-sayers and unhappiness generators
• Remain in the group and just observe?  

Its at this juncture I need to ask myself, "What Would Jesus Do?"   I certainly don't want to add to the negativity.  The encourager in me wants to post happiness and sunshine but the realist in me thinks this is a waste of time.  However, the optimist in me does not agree!  The optimist in me thinks any encouragement is better than no encouragement at all.  So.... watch this space!  I may have a testimony to share in the future.

Heb 10 v 25:  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

How true is that?  The day is certainly nearing so encourage all the more... Hmmm, think I have my answer!

God bless

Tracy

Linking this week with these lovely ladies:
(You will find links to their hops HERE:)

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Winsome Wednesday - ELHANAN

ELHANAN - it means God has been gracious.  In my life I am very aware of how gracious God has been with me, with my family, in my marriage!  I am even more aware of the fact that I do not have the slightest clue HOW gracious GOD has been with me.

I don't know of all He has saved me from, but I have no doubt He has saved me from stuff I am unaware of.  I know His grace extends way past what I can see or imagine.

This word, ELHANAN, is so precious to us for where we have seen God's grace in our lives that we personalized our number plate of our car and when I finally get around to it, I will be putting it up at the gate of our property.  It is a reminder to us daily, that God is gracious with us, has been gracious, and will be gracious with us in the time to come.

Our number plate is also something people ask us about which gives us opportunities to give testimony for things God has done in our lives.

So, my encouragement to you today is that no matter what you are going through, KNOW God is being gracious with you.  We will never know this side of heaven why 'stuff' happens to us, or why it's unfair, but we have to believe that God has a plan and purpose for all that 'stuff' in our lives and KNOW He is being gracious with us.

1 Pet 2 v 1-3:  Therefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, (2) as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, (3) if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 

God bless
Tracy

BLOGHOP TIME

This is a space to come and be encouraged.  You can link as many posts as you want so long as they bring glory to the Lord.  If you have time, please visit the person ahead of you and I am sure you too will be encouraged.  I look forward to seeing you here.

 Feel free to link up below:

Timely Reminders

In February next year we will be facing what we hope is the tip of our mountain.  You know, those you have to overcome and move in the name of the Lord.  The date is the 7th of Feruary 2013.  Next year!  Literally 2 and a bit months to go.  Can you tell this is fixated in my mind just a little?

Over the last 5 1/2 years God has given us so much scripture that tells us:

• They will know you and them by yours and their fruits (Matt 7 v 16), with regards to those who have lied about us and listened to lies about us.
• The man that digs a hole for another man, he himself will fall into it (Prov 26v27), with regards to all the harm this man has done to us and continues to do.
• God is our fortress, our rock, our deliverer (Psalm 18v2) for all those times we needed His protection and still do, He is our hiding place.
• We will not be put to shame (Rom 10v11) reminding us that no matter how it looks in the world God will not allow us to be put to shame.

God has reminded me about the story of Daniel, it sure looked like he was going to be eaten, those who put him there thought so too. And what happened?  Daniel was bite-free the following morning and everyone of those who had a hand in putting him there, and all their family, were chucked in with the somewhat hungry lions.  Look what the word says happened to them:  Daniel 6 v 24:  And the king gave the command, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions - them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.  (Insert whistle here....WOW)

God reminded me of the story of Mordecai, and how a gallows was prepared for him to be hung and the very man, Haman, who had organised it, who had lied about him to the king, who hated him more than anything, he himself, and his family, were hung on that very gallows themselves on the day Mordecai was to be hung (The book of Esther).  

God has reminded my husband consistently and regularly of the story of Joseph, because of all the harm his brothers caused him, and look how that turned out!!!

My point is, no matter how it looks, no matter what the outcome looks like to us, no matter how many hungry lions, how high the gallows, how angry and jealous the brothers, none of it matters in the face of our Almighty Father.  HE PROTECTS, HE LOVES and HE will NEVER LET YOU DOWN!!!

A scripture the Lord gave me this weekend:  Nahum 1 v 3:  The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.  The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.  

My encouragement to you today, is no matter what you are going through, no matter what it looks like to you or the world, Num 23 v 19:  God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent, has He said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 

In other words, GOD WILL DO AS HIS WORD SAYS HE WILL DO....not only for you and your protection, but to those who harm His children.  They will not escape the consequences of their actions.  

(Having said that my husband and I feel that should this man repent and give his heart to the Lord, all the pain, all the harm, all that we have lost, would have been worth it for his salvation.)

God bless

Tracy

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