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A funny thing happened to me the other day. Maybe it was just a coincidence…but then again…

One morning a few weeks ago I was spending way too much time on Facebook while sipping my morning tea and I came across a link posted by a friend. The link was to a website promoting a new book called Your Secret Name by Kary Oberbrunner.

The premise of the book is that as we journey through life we pick up names based on what others speak over us, or experiences that we have had, or choices that we have made. Some examples of those names could be ABANDONED or FEARFUL or REJECTED or FAILURE…you get the idea. In his book, Kary relays the fact that God has given each one of us a new name based on the verse in Revelation 2:17 that says “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.” On the website there is a box you can click on that says, “TAKE THE TEST” (to find out what your secret name might be).

Now, I have to admit I was a little skeptical at first and was thinking maybe it was a little gimmicky but I am a sucker for those kinds of tests so I proceeded. As I looked through the list of potential names that I may have acquired the one that jumped out at me was DEPRESSED. I could have picked a few but I have battled that several times in my life so I really related to that one. I clicked on it and the next page said:

God’s secret name for you could be:

HOPE

When I read the name HOPE it resonated with me so deeply that I took a long, deep breath and exhaled slowly as if I was actually breathing it in and allowing it to move through me. I thought…yeah…my secret name is definitely HOPE. I’ve known it for some time now. Hope is what has gotten me through many seasons and it’s become my story. It’s what drives me to want to reach out to others and share it. If you’ve ever felt hopeless then you know what I mean. Once you grasp it you want to give it away because there is an unending supply – plenty to go around.

So that was pretty cool but it gets better…

After I shut off my computer, I went about my day and ended up at the International Mall (don’t know how that happened!) Mid-way through my shopping excursion I decided to stop at Starbucks for my afternoon pick-me-up. I ordered my Grande Cafe Misto with whipped cream. My barista grabbed a cup and her pen and started to ask my name as they usually do. Here’s how it went…

Looking down at the cup she started to say “What’s your name” but then she looked up and only got out “What’s your…” before she stopped mid-sentence, cocked her head to the side and said decidedly, “I’m going to call you HOPE”. Then she wrote it as my name on my cup!!

I was absolutely speechless. I must have gone white as a ghost because I was so shocked. I just stood there staring at her like “How did you know my secret name???????????????” She quickly realized that she had completely freaked me out so she started pointing at my shirt and said, “you know…HOPE” with this really nervous pleading smile. Poor girl!

Apparently in my rush to get dressed that morning I had thrown on my shirt that says HOPE and then (because I have serious short term memory issues) had totally forgotten that I had it on. Here I was thinking she was an angel from heaven disguised as a Starbucks barista confirming my secret name to me in person and she was just naming me from my shirt!

Anyway, I go to Starbucks a lot. I wear shirts that say things on them quite often. I have never had anyone write anything on my cup besides the name I have given them. Sooooo even though she was just a regular earthly barista I thought it was a pretty awesome coincidence!! I wish I could have told her the story but there was an enormous line behind me. I just smiled and told her that she had just made my day. That seemed to make hers 🙂

I had the pleasure of speaking with Kary (the author) on the phone about his ministry. He is passionate about the same things that we are at For the Girls International – helping people discover who God created them to be and helping them live out their purpose in freedom and grace!

So what is your secret name? Check out the website when you have a minute. What you find out might surprise you or maybe confirm what you’ve known all along. Let me know what you think.

Yesterday was one of those days when I was just completely awestruck with how much God loves me and cares about the smallest desires of my heart. This may seem like such a silly little thing to most people but it was a big deal for me.

Last Wednesday I was on my morning run. (yes I’m still running!) I had been listening to Amy Grant the day before on my ipod and for some reason she was on my mind while I was running. I was thinking about how much I admired her. I definitely like her pop songs like Baby Baby but she also has some pretty deep songs too. She is so very real and shares some pretty raw emotion in some of her music. I have always appreciated her lyrics and feel like she sees the world like I do, asks a lot of the same questions I do and comes to the same conclusions I do. I’ve just always felt that there was a connection there. She is about 5 years older than me and I started listening to her when she started making music which was about 30 years ago so we’ve sort of grown up together. My heart broke for her when her first marriage ended and she endured some harsh criticism from some of those in the “Christian” community. I respected the way she handled that whole ordeal and thought she was an incredible example of “grace under fire” (the firing line, that is.) I rejoiced for her when she remarried and the evidence of God’s grace and healing power was written on her face and in her songs.

Anyway, as I was running I was thinking about all this and I thought to myself, “I would really love to meet her.” And then I thought, “Why not?… I could make that one of the things on my list of things I want to do in life. Make it a goal….meet Amy Grant.” So that was it. I didn’t even say it to God, I just thought it.

That very afternoon I was going through my emails and my sister had forwarded to me a newsletter from the local radio station The JOYFM. Her note to me said, “Thought I’d pass this along to you. It’s an opportunity to see Amy Grant perform live and meet her after the show, too.” The email went on to say that Amy would be at a bookstore in Brandon on Monday!!! You can imagine my shock and surprise. Could it be that God cares enough about the littlest desire of my heart that He would orchestrate all of these events to fulfill a passing wish? Yes. He does.

So then I started thinking, well too bad I didn’t wish for world peace or something of more significance to the world but that was not the point of this wish-Granting exercise(pardon the pun – it was too easy.) I believe God wanted me to know in no uncertain terms on that day that He hears my every thought and that He is with me. I realize that I will have wishes and desires that may never be filled but I am so very grateful for the big and small ways that He shows me that He loves me.

On Monday I took the day off from work and went to Brandon to check something off my list.

Meet Amy Grant – check

Hope is my favorite subject because it is what gives us life and sustains our joy. It is what keeps me going!

In 1991 when I was 26 years old a young mother of two little boys my mother was in a car accident that left her severely brain injured. So many expectations and hopes for the future died the day of that accident. I knew my mom would never play the role that I had expected her to play in my life or the lives of my children again. In the months following her accident while we waited for my mother to emerge from a coma, I found myself slipping deeper and deeper into a dark place. I remember watching my beautiful little boys playing at the park and thinking to myself, “Will I ever be able to enjoy anything again?”

One day in the midst of my disappointment and anger I pleaded with God to give me something to hold onto. I opened my Bible and went to Psalms because I knew that to be an encouraging book. Here is what the author had written:

I would have despaired had I not known that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)

The whole idea of eternal perspective began to become clear to me and I have been clinging to it ever since. We will one day see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. My mom will be healed in the land of the living. I will be reunited with my loved ones in the land of the living. This lifetime is a dying flame but the land of the living is eternal!

2 Corinthians 5:17 says
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

That is where my hope lies. But not only has He given us hope for the eternal future but He has given us hope for today. We can have joy in the journey…. His mercies are new every morning! The answer to my question “Will I ever be able to enjoy anything again?” was and is a resounding “YES!”

Hope was not given to us just for our own satisfaction. It was given to us to give away. And what happens when you give hope to someone else is amazing! You will find that your own healing comes when you share the hope that you have.

The principle is clearly stated in Isaiah 58:6-9

Share your food with the hungry and provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked clothe him, and do not turn away from your own flesh and blood.
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

The holiday season can be a difficult time for many people. Maybe it is a painful reminder of unmet expectations. There are so many people in need of hope. Those of us that have hope must reach out to those struggling to find it. We can’t solve all of the world’s problems but we can make a difference in the lives of those around us one person at a time.

I wish I could say that the period of my mom’s accident was the only time I have struggled with dark days but unfortunately that is not the case. But hope is what has brought me through every season of my life and it is the basis of For the Girls International.

My pastor asked me to share my story last week with our church and here is the video of our conversation.

Click here to watch video.

Wishing you all the beauty of this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus the reason for this hope we have!

Lots of Love,
Tracey

Maybe that is not the right title for this post. Maybe it should be Facing Fear Head On because I don’t know if I’ve ever actually overcome fear.

I’d like to talk about what happens when we feel that God is leading us in a new direction but we are afraid to take the next step. Or maybe we are afraid to even believe that He really wants to use us in that way. This is a powerful tool that the devil will use to stop our forward progress.

Many times as I begin a new adventure with God, I immediately begin to have thoughts that I am not qualified to do whatever it is God is calling me to do. I think to myself…there must be a braver candidate out there that would do a much better job. If we read the stories of men and women that God used in huge ways to accomplish great things for Him we will notice that courage is not something that necessarily came naturally to them either.

Think about Joshua for example; God gave him a big job to do. He was to lead millions of people into the Promised Land. Take a minute to read Joshua chapter 1 when you have a chance. It is the moment when God gives Joshua his marching orders. In verses 6-9 God tells Joshua THREE times to be strong and courageous. He goes even further and tells him, “…do not be terrified; do not be discouraged….” I imagine Joshua was pretty overwhelmed with the thought of trying to step into Moses’ shoes and tackle this major undertaking! In verse 9 God promises him, “…the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” I LOVE that!!!

2 Chronicles 20 tells the story of King Jehosophat as he was wrestling with a task God had given him. He admits in verse 12 that he doesn’t know what to do, but he tells God that his eyes are on Him. God’s response in verse 15 is the same as it was to Joshua: “…Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s….” I LOVE that too!!!

Joyce Meyer sent out a newsletter recently and something that she wrote just screamed off the page to me and I couldn’t say it better myself so here it is:

“When we look at the courageous people in our lives, we think they’re so strong, and we tell ourselves we could never be like them. But the truth is courageous people fear. They just go for it ANYWAY!

“After facing these fears over and over in my life, I’ve learned that sometimes in order to find the courage to receive a new thing from God, I just have to do it afraid!”

If you are entering a new season of your life and what lies ahead looks challenging I want to encourage you not to wait around until you feel ready but to step out and DO IT AFRAID!

I enjoyed our Autumn Girls Night Out so much and I hope everyone that came did too. After I spoke I still felt that there were some things that I wanted to share but didn’t get to cover. I’ve divided them into 3 parts and will share them over the next few weeks here on my blog.

Last Monday night I talked a little bit about embracing change. That always means letting go of the old. Whether “the old” was a good season or a not-so-good season we still need to let it go in order to set the stage for “the new”.

I shared a little bit about one of those changing seasons in my life. It was the year that my oldest son graduated high school and I was beginning to feel the first effects of my season of raising children transitioning into the season of letting them go. At the same time my grandparents’ health was failing and I was beginning to realize that I didn’t have very much longer with them here on earth. Those things combined with some health issues made for a pretty emotionally miserable me.

On one particular afternoon, during the week that we were packing my son’s things up to move him away to college, I was driving home from work and heard the Stevie Nicks song “Landslide”. It goes like this…

Well I’ve been afraid of changing, ‘cos I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder children get older
I’m getting older too

So, you can imagine the scene…I could hardly see the road for the tears pouring out of my eyes and down my cheeks. I was bawling my eyes out. It wasn’t bad enough my son was leaving but to add insult to injury…I’M GETTING OLDER TOO!!!

I know it’s just a song but it touched a nerve. Up until that point, to some degree, I had “built my life around” being a mom. A mom with all of her kids at home with her in the same house, sleeping under the same roof every night. Now that was changing.

Later in the song it asks the question:

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Those questions cut right to the core of what I was feeling. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever been in a season where you find yourself asking…”can I handle this?”

Let me help you out with that one. The answer is an unequivocal YES! You can handle this and any season when you know who is writing your story and who is holding the plan for your life in His hands.

This was God’s promise to the Israelites when they were living in exile, removed from their comfort zone, out in no-man’s land without a clear picture of what the future would bring:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I believe the promises recorded in the Bible are there for us to grab onto to carry us through the seasons of our lives.

It was during that stormy season of my life that God began to give me ideas and visions of what has evolved into For the Girls International. It’s amazing how even in the darkest of times God will whisper to you plans that He has for your future.

I encourage you to take the time to press your ear in close to Him to hear those whispers. Even if it seems like a crazy idea or something so far off or out of the box…write it down. Tuck it away so that when He asks you to begin to step out you are ready.

Part of embracing change is allowing yourself to “feel” it. There’s a difference between allowing yourself to feel it and dwelling on it to the point that is pulls you down to a place of hopelessness. It’s unrealistic to think we can “sail through the changing ocean tides” without getting doused with a little saltwater so don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself shedding a salty tear or two. On the other hand, we don’t need to drown in our sorrows either.

When you find yourself in that place of emotional “landslide” start talking to yourself. Grab hold of the promises that God has clearly given you and embrace your changing season as an essential element of your destiny.

Check back in the coming weeks for Parts 2 and 3!

There’s an old proverb that says, “Change is the only constant.”

I’ve been thinking about this subject a lot over the past month as I have been preparing a message about the “Seasons of Change” for FTGI’s Girls Night Out in October.

Of course it is Fall and so the topic seemed appropriate, but more than just picking a topic that would go with the decorations I always pray that I will share something that will touch the hearts of the women I speak to right where they are. Lately I have had so many conversations with people that are in a season of change in their lives. I can relate.

Although change can be uncomfortable and a bit difficult to navigate at times it is what brings out the colors in our lives. As God moves us into new seasons we discover colors that we didn’t even know were there!

When I think of the “Fall” season of life I think of the stripping off of the old to make room for the new. Even though the letting go part can be so hard it is often necessary for growth and that is exciting!! If we don’t embrace change we could miss out on a beautiful arrangement of color to add to the landscape of our lives.

I hope to see all of you at our Autumn Girls Night Out. I’ll be speaking in more depth about navigating the seasons of change. Whether you come or not I hope this verse speaks life into your heart about your future…with God writing your story this is what you have to look forward to:

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Lots of Love,

Tracey

P.S.

I love the fact that the God we serve is unchanging. What a comfort to know that through every season of our life He is the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)

As a post script to my last blog I’d like to report that the peace that God gave me regarding the news of the suspicious lump, lasted all week long. So much so that I forgot at times that it was looming in the back of my mind – a matter to be dealt with. I did my best throughout the week to keep my mind stayed on Him but I also had a LOT of prayers for which I am very grateful.

Today was the day. They decided to aspirate the cyst. It was a complex cyst which meant that it had shading on the ultrasound that indicated that it may not be completely fluid. That shading is what they needed to investigate. They explained how they would do that. They would take a needle and guided by ultrasound they would puncture the cyst. Then they would suction it. If it all drained out, the cyst would collapse and it would be all good. If not, they would switch the needle to a bigger one, get a sample of what was left and send it for a biopsy. I liked the first scenario best. I pick door #1 please.

As I laid there being prepped, here’s how my thought process went…

Gosh, I can’t believe how very calm I am…

I can’t believe how much peace I have laying here waiting for them to stick me with a large needle…

Why do I have so much peace??? (Here’s where the downward spiral began…)

I wonder if God is preparing me for something???

I wonder if He’s giving me this peace in advance to cushion the bad news I may get???

How quickly I digressed! I let the if’s come creeping in.

I can just imagine God looking down and saying…”What is it with this girl? She prays for peace, I give it to her and then she questions why she has so much peace!”

I caught myself and turned my attention to the doctor who was saying, “OK, here we go” and I watched the monitor as the fluid completely drained out and the cyst collapsed. YAY!!

The three lovely ladies in the room were all so genuinely happy for me.

I mentioned to one of the ladies that my heart ached a little to think of the women that have gone before me and those who will come after me whose news would not be as good. She assured me that there is so much that can be done now that even bad news still comes with a lot of hope. I know I will have even more compassion now for the causes bearing the pink ribbons.

Thanks to my family and friends for all the prayers and thank you Lord for the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Love,

Tracey

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything , by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

When I was younger I battled with fear. I have worked hard to overcome it because nothing good comes of it. For the most part I feel like I have a handle on it now, but every so often it tries to rears its ugly head.

Last week I went to see my doctor for a “yearly” exam (that I haven’t had in 7 years). I know, I know, I’m not proud of that I’m just letting you know – it’s been a while. (If you are a guy and you’re reading this you may want to click out now and go read the paper or something.)

During the routine visit the doctor performed a breast exam. She stopped mid-exam and with a concerned look on her face ask me, “Have you ever felt this before?” She was referring to a small lump that she was fingering. I hadn’t. I don’t know how I missed it but I did.

She immediately set-me up for a mammogram and an ultrasound to investigate. Right about then is when my fearful nature would have kicked into overdrive. The “what if____” questions were beginning to circle, taunting me to fill in the blanks. I didn’t want the “what if’s” to prevail so I reached for a promise. This verse was the first one that popped into my head:

You will keep her in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.
(I changed the pronouns to suit myself :))

That’s the part of the verse that I remembered. So that’s what I did. I started to think about the fact that no one loves me more than God does and He’s the one in control of everything in my life.

I went about my day in peace. Peace throughout the mammogram. Peace throughout the ultrasound. I’m telling you, I had an overwhelming sense of PEACE. His word is true, His promises are for TODAY.

When I got home I looked it up the verse and found it in Isaiah. But there was more to it than just the part I had remembered. Here it is in its entirety.

Isaiah 26:3 (New King James Version)
You will keep her in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because she trusts in You.

In that simple verse there is a promise, a condition and a reason.

The promise – He will keep you in perfect peace
The condition – If you keep your mind STAYED on Him.
The reason – Because we trust Him

Don’t waste a single moment today worrying or fearing for tomorrow. Don’t let what only may be rob you of what is today.

Lord, help me today and everyday to keep my mind stayed on you and help me to trust you with everything I am.

Love,
Tracey

P.S. Turned out to be a complex cyst that they will biopsy. I’ll keep you posted – prayers appreciated!!

Yesterday God gave me an unexpected opportunity for some ALONE TIME and I grabbed it and ran!

In a spontaneous moment on Tuesday night at 9:30pm I decided to go with my husband to Orlando on Wednesday, to lounge around the pool at the Marriot World Center while he attended a Chick-fil-A seminar. We had to drive up to Tallahassee on Wednesday night for Zac’s orientation so Danny would have had to drive back to New Port Richey just to have to get back in the car and drive up to Tallahassee the same night. So I, self-sacrificing wife that I am, offered to go to Orlando with him so that we could leave from there for Tallahassee. The decision set in motion a flurry of arrangements that had to be made.

I had to figure out where my daughter would stay, who would walk the dog and water the plants. We have house-guests arriving on Friday about the same time we will be getting home so I needed to do a quick cleanup of the upstairs and the bathrooms, throw a load of towels in the wash and I still needed to pack. It seemed like an awful lot to do to get ready to go on such short notice but all the while in the back of my mind was the payoff…ALONE TIME.

The past month has been very busy. I have caught myself several times saying to either my husband or friends, “I feel like I’m so busy I don’t have time to think”. I have been on the go and was craving a little rest.

Rest and time to think. I sometimes feel guilty even saying that I need those things. They sounds like luxuries for most of us that run at a normal pace of 100 miles an hour but they are not luxuries. They are necessary.

After a particularly busy series of events Jesus himself instructed his disciples to rest. They had been running at a crazy pace. Mark 6:30-31 tells us they didn’t even have time to eat. (I always manage to make time to eat!!) Here’s what the passage says:

And the apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, “Come away, by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.” (For many people had been coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

It is in that time alone that we have time to think. Ideas and dreams take shape when we take time to reflect. It is also in those “alone times” that God has the opportunity to speak to us. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount of time either.

Maybe someone reading this is saying to themselves…I need some rest and some time to think. Sometimes we actually need to schedule that time in and sometimes we just need to grab it when we can.

Either way I pray that if you need that alone time that you will get it!

It did wonders for me yesterday 🙂

To truly chronicle the beginnings of For the Girls International I would need to write a book but below you will find a synopsis of the events of my personal journey this year 2008.

When 2008 began I knew that this was the year. I just felt it in the core of my being. I didn’t know how or exactly when but I knew that I must start moving on this vision that has been in my heart for several years now. I made a commitment to myself and God that I would start moving forward even if it was the smallest of steps. That was January 1st 2008.

Fourteen days later at 2 o’clock in the morning I received a phone call that would change my life and the landscape of my extended family forever. My beautiful, adorable, bubbly, carefree and fearless cousin, Alex, died that night in a car accident. She was only eighteen. It is really impossible to describe how that news impacted me. It felt so final even though I knew that she was immediately with Jesus and that I would see her again. I felt so helpless. Shock and grief is so difficult to put into words. There is an overwhelming feeling of wanting to turn back the hands of time and do something to prevent it. How can you describe the emptiness and hopelessness you feel when you lose someone you love so dearly? There are no words.

In the months that have followed it has became evident to me that time is short. That NOW is when you have to step out and follow the dreams that God has placed in your heart. No one knows the day or the hour that God will call us to be with Him, and so we must live fully engaged in today, fulfilling our calling and purpose here on earth. I knew that I couldn’t wait much longer to begin this new journey called For the Girls International.

A month later, in February, while I was slowly emerging from the initial deep grief from Alex’s sudden death, I attended a conference for my husband’s business, Chick-fil-A. It’s a seminar for the Operators and their spouses to get refreshed and inspired for the coming year. It is always personally inspiring as well. Chick-fil-A is a company founded by committed Christians that live to inspire people on every level. As I sat through the sessions, I felt the fire of the vision of this ministry burning strong. On the second evening of the seminar I was having trouble sleeping. I felt compelled to write out my vision in the notebook given to us at the beginning of the week. At the top of the page I wrote… PERSONAL GOAL… and then wrote out, not very eloquently either, what was in my heart. I made it a goal to get started this year. I never intended for anyone to read it. It was for me and God – a little note to God.

The next day my husband and I went to the sessions and events, but that evening when we got back to our room I realized that at some point during the day I had lost my book. I was really bummed out and my husband didn’t understand why because he thought it was just full of notes I had taken, so I told him that I had written out my vision in it. Just as a side note… I am, and this can be confirmed by anyone who knows me well, on the spacey side of life. I lose my keys several times a week. I lock myself out of my car on a regular basis. I leave things everywhere (including my children). So this was not really out of the ordinary for me. My husband just rolled his eyes when I told him I couldn’t find my book.

The next morning as we rushed from breakfast to the general session, I checked with the lost and found desk that Chick-fil-A had set up and found several notebooks there (so I wasn’t the only airhead!) I flipped through them and found mine. I was so glad to have it back, but we were in a rush, so I just grabbed it and ran. When we settled into our seats I wanted to read my vision again so I flipped through to get to the page I had written it on. When I came to the page, I was completely taken back. There was someone else’s handwriting on the opposite page! Someone had written in my book!

Here’s what she wrote…
I found your book and was looking for a name when I saw this (arrow pointing to vision).
I’d love to help you with this.
Lysa TerKeurst and her cell phone #
Proverbs 31 Ministries proverbs31.org

I was completely freaked out! It was like God had written me a personal note to tell me that He loves me, He got my note, He knows the desires of my heart and that He was going to help make it happen. My heart was racing, my hands started to shake, and I couldn’t hear anything else that was going on in the room! I honestly just stared at it in disbelief for quite a while. What are the chances that out of 1500 women at that conference and hundreds of bathroom stalls that Lysa would follow me into the stall where I had left my book? Then, on top of that, what are the chances that she would open to the very page that I had written my vision on and read it?? Being the space cadet that I am, the chances of me losing something while I was at the conference were great, but all the rest of the “coincidences” completely defied all the odds.

Now, I had heard of Proverbs 31 Ministries because they do radio spots on my local Christian radio station but I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that it was the same ministry that was on my radio. I was excited just at the idea that someone already involved in women’s ministry would be offering to help me. For me the big thing was the acknowledgment from God and the fact that I could also get help and direction was completely over the top. After the conference ended and I got home, I looked up Proverbs 31 and was completely blown away by the magnitude of the ministry. It is a wonderful organization and the President of the ministry wants to help me!!!! I got in touch with Lysa who was a great help and encouragement and she suggested that I attend the She Speaks conference in June. I figured that would be the start of things for FTGI but God had other plans. On the same day that Lysa found my book, my friend Cynda (co-founder of FTGI) was receiving confirmation of her own through a phone call and before we knew it, we were set up for our first ministry trip to NYC.

One of my former pastors once said that oftentimes God takes a long time to move suddenly. That has certainly been the case for me.

As long as this first post is (and I promise they won’t all be this long), this is only one of many, many ways that God has confirmed over and over that He wants to do something great in the lives of women in this day and age. I am thrilled and humbled at the thought of being a part of that and can’t wait for what lies ahead.

Lots of Love,

Tracey