Month / June 2017

by tracymauro

The True NeverEnding Story

My stops and my starts…. My failings and successes…. My fears and my faith…. All the pieces of my story – when placed inside HIS Story – are part of a beautiful and eternal Masterpiece.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” –Revelation‬ ‭22:13‬ 

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”‭‭ –Ephesians 2:10

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” -‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬

by tracymauro

What Does Pure Faith Look Like?

Some think God wants us to be rich epitomes of Western culture’s wealth and health. Others think God wants us to be poor servant types – all striving to be Mother Teresa. I think God simply wants us to be His. And being His looks a little different on each of us. 

“And before the world was made, God decided to make us His own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased Him to do it.” -‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭ERV‬‬ (Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read version)

by tracymauro

Simply Stated


So today I started a new reading plan on the YouVersion Bible App, Your Personal Calling by Boris Joaquin.

And this one simple yet profound statement captured me….
“Our lives are about God; they are not about us.”

Because in the end, it is all about God anyway: “And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” – ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭1:17‬ ‭ESV‬‬ (English Standard Version)

Does that make us humans limited or subservient then? Not at all. Because the really cool thing is that this same God…. HE is all about us!

“How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!” – ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (New Living Translation)

by tracymauro

Happiness

““Do not store up for yourselves [material] treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.” -Jesus, Matthew 6:19-21 AMP (Amplified version)

by tracymauro

A Call to Refocus in this Instagram World

So, after posting some God-given encouragement on Instagram this morning, I found myself distracted from the #GoodGoodFather I had been communing with just moments ago by obsessively counting likes on my posts. I was shifting from finding my worth in Him to attempting to ascertain my value from that! Thankfully, He intervened in my soul once again with these words:

“Place your full focus on Me rather than gazing at yourself. Don’t let even My blessings and the beauty I’ve placed in you distract you from the Strength and Hope I AM.  This can block my ability to flow through you to others in need of Me.”

Our Father wrote some words in the Bible a while back as a reminder for moments like these:

“[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].” Hebrews 12:2‬ ‭AMP‬‬ (Amplified Version) 

Let’s continue to listen to the sweet voice of our Father and become who we already are….

by tracymauro

What Do You Hide Behind?

An #InstaPrayer for deliverance from the perfectionism we hide behind….


It’s the messy and imperfect times in our lives that mold us the most and sometimes bring the most beauty. So why is it that we work so hard to create “perfection” (whatever the heck that is)?

These thoughts began during the #WeekendExperience at my Amazing Church. It was a beautiful morning full of #GodEncounters as we took the time to #HearGodSpeak with and through each other. However, I had a little angst when something was spoken to me and in resonated in me instructing me not to “hide behind my words”. As I pondered this (a.k.a. pouted over it) I was thinking, “I don’t hide behind hide words! I’m a communicator and a writer! Of course I use a lot of carefully crafted words! It’s one of my gifts!”. However, the more I thought about it… the more I realized that your gift can become your curse when – rather than using it authentically – you use it as a tool for unhealthy perfectionism in vain attempts to create “perfect” moments or to self-protect (“skirt around” the real issues) during difficult conversations.

I’m blogging about this because I have a feeling I’m not the only one who has struggled in this area. Your gift may not be words. It may be fashion or culinary creating, for instance. But the fashionista becomes a captive of her own craft when it becomes more than her creative expression and she refuses to leave the house or FaceTime with a friend until she has that “perfect” look. And the chef loses joy in his creating when he tosses a well-loved recipe aside because of one harsh review.

Oh, and then there’s the fact that your gift can become a god/idol to you and God’s really not cool with that. (See Exodus 20:3. And while you’re in your #BibleApp, check out all the times in Psalms when God is referred to as our rock and our refuge…. Not anything we do or have or anyone we know…. #GodAlone).

So… let’s just live, love, and share our gifts… perhaps before that 100th rewrite or rework in our heads of that conversation, outfit, or meal. Or, as it’s been said, “Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good”. When you allow your gift to become your source of security – you’re risking it becoming a clumsy, uncomfortable, even destructive crutch rather than the beautiful life-giving blessing it’s meant to be.

And, as I do through my Amazing Church, professional counseling/life-coaching, and in support groups with others on journeys similar to mine, be sure to position yourself in places of authentic connection where you can learn more about yourself through relationship with God and others. It takes the eyes of others to see yourself clearly sometimes.

Ok, that’s enough words shared for now. And this time I’m not hiding behind them – but revealing a part of my heart through them. That’s what words are for.

Let’s become who we already are… together.