What my gray hair is teaching me

 

‬‬ “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭90:12‬ ‭CSB

As I looked in the mirror after working out this morning, I saw it. I saw the dreaded gray hair poking out from my natural hair color. I looked at my husband and said, you look good with gray hair growing in but me no way.  I think a lot of us want to hide from those dreaded signs of aging don’t we?  It’s the message the world tells keeps feeding that we can stay young and hide from signs of aging with medicine and we can look younger longer if we use these products. 

I began thinking about why does this gray hair bother me. It’s signs of days gone by and wisdom I have learned from my faith in God through some very tough days I’ve the years.  Even the book of wisdom says, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”  Proverbs 16:31

Is this how God wants me to embrace my life dreading the gray hair and wrinkles? 

I don’t think so. We can all agree death is emanate for us and sadly this year death has been all over the news as well as in our communities daily. You can’t escape it it.  Death is something we probably would rather not think about in the immediate but we must if we believe God is in control of my life.  God created us from the dust and the dust we shall return to dust. (see Genesis 3:19)

If you have had an encounter with death or maybe you are staring it in the face because of a diagnosis. If so you already know we must look to the author and perfector of our faith Jesus Christ to find joy in His presence not in the decay of this world or our aging bodies that will never save us or satisfy us. We instead should look at our bodies as a living and good sacrifice to God. (Romans 12:1) 

Praising Him for another day to breathe in His grace, exhale and resting in Him. 

So with a new perspective I want to embrace those gray hairs and embrace this life God has blessed me with.  Let my praise ever be in the Lord for I know my salvation is in Him. 

“Lord, make me aware of my end and the number of my days so that I will know how short-lived I am.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭39:4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Searching God’s Goodness

 “𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦’𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯?”⁣

‭‭𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸‬ ‭𝟼:𝟸𝟽‬ ‭𝘕𝘈𝘚𝘉

As a new week begins, I am looking forward to the goodness of God once again because if I don’t then I end up looking inward and worry can take over.  I have worries just like you with family and circumstances I will never be able to change. I gave up a long time ago, even though there are days I still want so desperately to change things. Sometimes because I want the world to see a tidy life right? It’s not and I wonder sometimes why but if God made everything easy then why would we even come to Him or depend on Him in the first place? 

The only hope to see change is to pray! 

-Pray for the person, issue or circumstance. 

-Repent and ask for forgiveness for us as them. 

-Pray God leads the heart to change. 

-Pray Gods mighty hand will take the issue and leave it at the feet of Jesus. 

-Praise God in all the messy and hard parts and honor Him everyday.

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”⁣

‭‭𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘸‬ ‭𝟼:𝟹𝟹‬ ‭𝘕𝘈𝘚𝘉

So today I am looking at my rabbits being born this week! I am working on y’all orders and gearing up for the Advent Hymns Study in the FB PRIVATE GROUP #knitthegospelintoyourheart I can’t wait! Y’all -it always excites me that you will be joining a study and we can encourage each other in the Word! 

Bless you friends! 

How can we discover God’s redeeming love?

I viewed my life differently after I had read and studied books of the Bible over the years and saw over and over Gods redeeming love deliver His people, save His people and ultimately die for us. The people whom God loves and wants to be in relationship with. 

I saw through the scriptures myself as the disobedient Israelite, the adulterous wife, Gomer and the faithful sojourner, Ruth who was looking for a Savior.  I wanted to learn from the many parables Jesus spoke in the New Testament and be more like Mary than Martha. I long to see the gardens that Jesus went away to be alone with the Father.  My heart loves the garden so I know how much tending and weeding it takes a fruitful one.  

I had to rid my life of the guilt and shame. These were titles that I lived with for a long time. I couldn’t reconcile how to leave 

the past in the past. 

It wasn’t until I learned who I am in light of Jesus Christ that revealed to me the Truth of my identity.  If I am new creation in Jesus Christ then I am no longer under the weight of shame and guilt.  It seems easy but our minds need to learn Truth through the scriptures or the enemy will continue to deceive us. 

Isaiah 44:22 “I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” 

“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4

The lies were a barrier that I had to overcome through prayer and bible study.  God will fight our battles if we bring them to Him in prayer and seek Him through scripture. 

By Gods grace and mercy, He showed me through the scriptures how He uses messed up lives to bring redemption and show us His redeeming love. 

My hope is that you discover Truth for yourself through the pages of the Bible like I have and will continue to do. The scriptures are a never ending treasure for us and they will continue to teach us as we keep seeking Jesus! 

I would love to hear your personal stories below in the comments of discovering Truth. 

blessings ~tracy 

Leaving a Legacy of Faith

Being a mom of three kids and now a grandmother, I can see more than ever how much God has entrusted me to live a life of faith not only for my children but now my grandchildren.  I have special memories of my being with my grandma. 

Don’t you? 

I want them to see me trusting and loving God with all my heart and soul.  I want to leave a legacy of memories at my home  praying and sitting together for meals. I want to linger and listen to them just like the Father does with His children. 

I want to reflect the image of God so that they will want know Him like I do.  I would also love to leave my well loved Bible behind one day.  I know it sounds weird to think about something like that but I do because I wasn’t raised with a legacy of faith.  There wasn’t a great emphasis on church, faith, or God in my home life. It is amazing the plan God had and even though we all don’t grow up learning about God. He doesn’t stop teaching for us. So starting with me it can change! 

We can change the trajectory of our families by being the first.  My husband was the first college graduate in both our immediate families and now we can leave a unwavering faith in an amazing God who loves us. 

Have you thought about leaving a legacy too? Or something special for your family? 

I would love to hear your stories or comments below! 

Bless you friends! 

Tracy