What is Spiritual Discipline?

Pray Hand Stamped & Hand Knit Bracelet in my shop! 

What comes to mind when you think about spiritual discipline? 

Do you think of a set rules or things that maybe you don’t think know how to do? Or maybe you don’t even know what spiritual discipline is?  I will share as a young believer I didn’t either. We use these words as we grow in our faith and then we forget that other believers may not know what we are talking about.  

When we became a believer in Jesus Christ, He expected us to continue the road of faith learning more about Him in His Word and through prayer. 

This was something I did for awhile as a young believer then fell off quickly into the mind set of I attend church, I listen to the pastor, and prayer happens there and that’s it.  I never took it farther or read the Bible for myself to dig into it deeper and know what it says for myself instead of what someone else was telling me it says but to grow spiritually we must practice discipline kinda like an athlete training. We can’t grow in our faith or more in love with Jesus if our hearts are only focused on our work places, sports activities any idol that we hold more dear than God. We need to practice the spiritual disciplines such as thankfulness to our Heavenly Father, Meditating on God’s Word, Praying and Fasting(this will look differently for everyone and fasting doesn’t happen as often.)  

As I am ending this weeks #makeyourhomeahaven bible reading Daniel chapter 6 was a good one. Daniel was an extraordinary spirit, trustworthy and without fault. Wow! Daniels character sounds perfect.  I can’t help but want to be called an extraordinary spirit☺️ Don’t you? Daniel’s trust in God through men’s jealousy and then imprisoned in a den of lions😳 well in this chapter it shows us how Daniel did three of the spiritual disciplines. He walked by faith and knew God would rescue and deliver him. How? He was strengthened through prayer and his petitions were heard. It is the same for us. Lord, let us be changed daily and have trust like Daniel. God through our trials and weaknesses will be glorified. I am so thankful there is no lion in my life bigger than my God🙌🏻   

Have a great weekend friends! 

Tracy

Good Morning from the Garden

Good Morning friends! 

As gardeners we love to grow things but we must tend the soil put in good nutrients and give the right amounts of water and plant the seeds.  The plants will grow although each at their own pace and differences.  This parallel to our own lives fascinated me and really gives me new perspective every time I am in the garden. I have learned so much in this first year of gardening and I haven’t arrived at a place where I am “good.”  I see it as a lifetime of tending the soil and growing but the Master gardener who is perfect shares His wisdom with me and I find rest and enjoyment for my soul by the work of my hands and heart.  I grow as the plants grow with stronger roots everyday, little by little.  

Who else is dreaming of the garden? 

What have you learned?  

Lettuce bags are going in today in my very tiny greenhouse.  I will try to share more later. 

If you are interested?  Comment and share your thoughts below 

My mug is from one of my favorite Christian shops  The Daily Grace Co 

Blessings -

tracy

Only Jesus

Custom Design Your Own Bracelet

Only through J E S U S 

can we be changed, 

loved limitlessly, 

be enduringly strong, 

forgiven, 

sanctified, 

and always delivered. 

God the Father sent his son Jesus to suffer for us and redeem us through His resurrection on the cross.  If I am a disciple, I am a reflection of Christ for those here in this life.  This is my time to step up! Jesus is all sufficient and qualifies me to share the gospel.  I have said it before and I will keep #preachingtomyself  to be “salt and light.” Season my community with God’s grace and through His Words share power and light up the darkness.  Beloved child of God there is nothing that disqualifies you other than listening to the enemy.  

I love this latest order in the shop that went out this week!  It inspired me who Jesus is and how that impacts me as a believer 🧡

What about you?   Have you felt disqualified from sharing who Christ is? 

Let’s me encourage you today that your story matters! 

Blessings- 

Tracy 

God’s Promise for the Anxious Heart

Design Your Own Bracelet 

Hello there friends! 

Today I surrender to God, my anxious heart.  I use to struggle more than I do now with anxiety.  

Spiritual growth comes from the Holy Spirit leading us and the discipline of following the Word of God. Over many years, I have learned to surrender those fears, doubts and questions to God daily.  It’s not easy but I don’t want to fall down that pit of lies the enemy tries to feed my mind. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle but now I have a action plan to help me when I do struggle. 

Pray, confess our sins then declare and claim God’s promises like Paul describes in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 

 Here are just a few things I read and noted. 

What afflictions or sufferings are you dealing with today? 

Think on these things...

•God is our comfort 

•God is our hope 

 •God is our deliverer

 •God supplies abundantly 

Go check out 2 Corinthians Ch 1 today and see what God teaches you. 

Blessings - 

tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 19

Today is Day 19 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭19:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I love this verse! It is a prayer for me and you everyday.  I believe we want our words and actions to be acceptable to the Lord. Our hearts are actually where it all starts.  Our heart must be filled with God’s love and all the goodness of Him so that our life will overflow to others. 

If you are in a place of doubt or sin, repent and pray this verse today.   Jesus is pursuing our hearts and wants devotion to Him. 

Blessings friends! 

Tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 18

Welcome to the last few posts of the September scripture challenge!  It has been good to read and write a devotional each day. I have been challenged and God has spoken to me for sure.  I hope you have enjoyed it too!

Today is Day 18 of the September Scripture Challenge


“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:13‬ ‭ESV

Y’all I have felt alone.  I have been the one longing to be included in the conversations. I have been the one who wanted to be invited to the evening get togethers. I have been the one who wanted to go shopping with the girls or have your kids play together while we chatted. 

I have been the girl longing for friendship.  I have also been the girl who threw friends aside to pursue selfish desires. 

God designed friendship and somewhere along the years I have learned though I have friends and instead of wishing for a particular kind of friendship because what friendship looked like wasn’t what I thought it should be or wanted it to be. I needed to be that friend I was looking for.  I am to love others more than myself. God speaks to us about loving others more than ourselves. (See Matthew 22:35-39)  I am to make others feel like they aren’t alone or as a Mom our job and ministry is to raise and teach those little hearts to love God and others too! .

.

So if you think you are alone. You are not! God is with you in every season.  God is the best friend to pray with and talk to. I know because as a pastors wife He has been my constant friend when moving town to town and change occurred so much raising my little ones.  I hope if you are feeling alone, you will seek out the girl or mom who might need encouragement today❤️

Blessings-

tracy

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 17

Today is Day 17 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge ‬‬

“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God’s plan can’t be thwarted by our actions.  Even in the midst of our lives we make decisions and God already knew and does knows what will happen.  We still are to pray and to be used by Him to fulfill His purposes.  I have felt like the decisions I have made have really messed things up before and that’s just not the case.  Jesus called us to walk by faith so in that we are to trust Him and know that good will be the end result for us. 

Have a blessed day friends! 

Tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 16

Today is Day 16 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge 

“Whoever speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:17‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Speaking has always made me nervous.  I think it makes a lot of us nervous but is there anyone who doesn’t get nervous about public speaking? 

I use to never want to be the one who spoke up.  I was saved at a 13 but was never a confident girl. So speaking about God’s Word or my faith was something I wanted to do but like some of us we hide it in a compartment in our lives and don’t speak up much about it.  I mean when we aren’t confident in an area we usually aren’t the first ones to jump up to speak. 

As the years have passed and with the Holy Spirits guidance in my life, wisdom from the Word of God has filled me with Christ confidence to speak about God’s love for me and how He changes us.  

For years I lived in bondage to shame of my past sins, I knew I was forgiven but still couldn’t get beyond the lies of shame and guilt.  I wasn’t good enough to do the job God has given me.  I wasn’t equipped. I was a terrible person for the things in my past.   These are the lies I would replay in my mind.  

The lies I heard kept me quiet. I wanted to be hidden and it seen.  When I went through a time of prayer for one my children was when I realized God had a purpose for me that I wasn’t fulfilling. I saw God work in my life because I was praying for my child. I was praying for change in him but Jesus changed me! 

I believe God is working in our lives everyday and speaking Truth and believing God changes everything.  

So today I am a woman who wants you to know we can have the confidence to speak up for Christ when we are grounded in the Word. Dig deep into the Word and daily you will grow wisdom and be watered by the living water, Jesus Christ. 

One thing that I know is that God calls us to a purpose. It is as a Christ follower to share about His great love, forgiveness and the salvation we have through Jesus Christ. 

Blessings friends! 

Tracy 

Blessings -

Tracy 

September Positive Scripture Challenge Day 15

Today is Day 15  of the Positivity Scripture Challenge 

“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Today I am in awe of the things God has done in my life.  I once never thought I would be good enough to share anything about God because of my past.  My sins and the enemies lies had kept me in bondage. I believed the enemy over God.  

It wasn’t until I started listening to God’s truth that I realized He loved me more than anything, He chose me and makes me holy as I walk with Him. 

God calls me His!  He calls you His if you are a child of God.  Jesus sanctifies is daily and as we repent of sin, we can be assured of our salvation and it is forgotten.  

Jesus Christ died for all of our sins and brings us out of the darkness of this world into His light.  That is good news!  

Have a beautiful day friends! 

Blessings -

Tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 14

Hello friends! 

The month is almost gone but we are still plugging away at scripture and I hope you are learning and meditating on these verses this month.  I have enjoyed writing and digging into them with you all! 

Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 14 

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.””

Romans1:17NASB

As a believer and follower of Jesus, we are made righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ.  There is not anything in me that is good.  Jesus Christ makes me good. 

God is who we must learn about in order to know who we should be and how we can through faith grow.  I use to think since God saved me from sin, I didn’t have to worry about anything else.  I could just sit back and not really do anything else.  My faith would just be there.  My knowledge was still second hand from the Pastor.  My knowledge came from the world more than the Bible and as a result my faith was weak. 

I since have learned my faith can not grow without more knowledge of God than anything else.  I can not expect to know how to walk in faith if my faith is still only what others tell me.  

The Bible is for every one of us.  God expects us to learn and become His partner in growing our faith together. Today will you open the Word with me and pray that the Holy Spirit will fill us and help us to learn more about who God is?   

Blessings- 

Tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Day 13

Today is Day 13 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge 

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭16:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬

Who else needs a pep talk?  This verse seems like a pep talk at this moment while reading it except in and of myself there is weakness.  There isn’t much courage without God in me. 

As I have grown deeper in studying who God is in the Bible, I know that even when I give my all there is still God working to make me strong. Standing firm is easier when I am reminded who Hod is.  In my weakest moments in life, God gives me strength to keep going.  He also has given me courage to step in faith without knowing what’s on the other side of the decision being made.  He gives discernment to the believer when we grow in knowledge of Him.  

Who is God to you?  

If you can’t answer this question, I urge you to find your bible and dig in!  Bible study doesn’t have to be complicated. We can read a few verses a day like this scripture challenge and search it out and His Word will reveal who God is for us. 

To bear the image of Christ is to know who He is! 

Lord Jesus thank you for giving us a courageous heart of faith.  I pray we seek you for the decisions being made in our life.  Forgive us of doubts and fears but give us a spirit of positivity and confidence in you Jesus🙌🏻  Amen 

Blessings-

Tracy

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 12

Hello friends!

Today is Day 12 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge 

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This world fades alway as well as this body we have been given.  As much as we try to use the anti aging creams and etc, the fact is we can’t stay the same as we once were. 

Unlike this body, God is unchanging and never fades away.  God promises to renew us. He gives us a mind like Him when we follow Him. He promises a new body when die.  

No matter the discouragement we face today we can be assured God is our joy. 

So don’t lose heart today friend! Jesus is giving us a new perspective. 

Have a great day! 

Blessings-

tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 11

Hello Friends! 

 If you are just joining me this month, you can find all the daily devotionals and more here so far 

http://handmadeknitsbytracy.blogspot.com/?m=1

Today’s Positivity Scripture day 11

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-23‬ ‭NIV 

Praising God is a posture of the heart.  It sometimes can be hard if where we are isn’t a good place. God is faithful and worthy of our praise even in the bad as well as the good. 

Today no matter where you are currently, stop and find praise toward God. Can you think of things maybe we take for granted each day?  

There are things like the car ride with my son I thank God for each morning. Those precious few minutes go by  fast and one day I will wish I could have them again.  Maybe it’s as simple as having just enough money for the week ahead.  God provides for us in every way and gives mercy when we don’t deserve it. 

Praise Him for His faithfulness in our life today!  Amen 

Have a great day!  Talk to you soon! 

Tag me on social with #knitthegospelintoyourheart  

Blessings -

Tracy 

September Positivity Scripture Challenge Day 10

Happy Friday friends! 

It is Day 10 of the Positivity Scripture Challenge 

“Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, For You are my praise.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17:14‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Another verse that tells us we have so much to give praise to God for.  Praise is something we can do to show our love and honor to God but it also helps our attitude.  Just this week, I gave praise to God because I have seen His goodness shown through healing of a loved one and the healing of my brokenness. This may not be a physical healing for some But Jesus is still good. He provides exactly what we need.  Jesus brings us closer to Himself through the weakness and suffering we face.  

What are you struggling with today?  

Pause & Praise Jesus for the strength He provides! 

My prayer is that we have an attitude of praise today.   Praise and Glory to the King of our lives!  

Truths to remember about God-

•God is healer

•God is provider 

•God is faithful 

•God saves and sanctifies us

•God is holy 

•God is constant, never changing 

Blessings this weekend to you!

I would love to hear below in the comments your praise! 

Tracy