Month / August 2016

by tracymauro

Don’t Let Disconnection Silence Your Song (A Parable from #AmazingBand Practice)

So…because I knew I was going to have to go directly from work to band practice at Amazing Church tonight, I loaded my keyboard and amp into my Jeep this morning. I thought I was so prepared.

However, when I arrived at rehearsal – I was unable to add any sound to the beautiful music coming from the other team members. 

Why? I had prepared everything – except what I needed to be connected. I left just one little bag at home. But that bag contained the power adapter for my keyboard along with the cables that connect it into the speakers. And without those connections, the keyboard and amp I had with me were absolutely useless.

Isn’t that how it is with life sometimes? We run around focusing on what we think is important. We think we’re prepared because of the big important-looking things we carry with us. However, when it’s our turn to play our part – we end up with an emptiness and a disconnected silence that chills the soul. When we stop doing what we need to do to stay connected to God and to each other, everything else is absolutely empty.

So, just like I am going to make sure I have everything I need to be connected to power and sound at the next rehearsal – let’s not forget the things we need to stay connected in life. Those little connectors can seem like the smallest things – like the offering of a smile, a listening ear, or a few moments of your time. But the result of taking the time to make sure you aren’t disconnected is absolutely worth the effort.

by tracymauro

It’s Time for the Dead to Be Raised

We all know people who are breathing but are so very far from alive. Maybe we’ve even lived that way ourselves for a season – in a kind of sleepwalking state where we are practically corpses but still forging through the motions of life. In some ways, this is more heartbreaking than actual physical death because it doesn’t have to be that way.

Jesus died and lives again so it doesn’t have to be that way….

Today my heart is heavy for people living but not fully alive. I am praying for the “same power that raised Christ from the dead” to resurrect the living dead from the spirits of lethargy, apathy, and hopelessness that have been preventing them from living the abundant, powerful, hope-filled life Christ died to give them. 

May we all live as ones fully alive so the life in us can resurrect others who so desperately need to experience life… real LIFE (Living In Freedom Everyday).

As the prophet Ezekiel did when he was faced with a vision of of hundreds of corpses (Ezekiel 37:1-14, I speak life into “dry bones”. And, in Jesus Name, those weary souls will have no choice but to dance with joy again because my God has given me power to raise the dead!

So if you’ve been feeling dead inside, you’re not reading this blog by I accident. I speak life to you now in Jesus Name. And open your mouth and use your own words to speak life to yourself. No more corpse-like living! It’s time for your resurrection.