Author Archives: tracye1

About tracye1

A wee bit about me, Tracy. Married to my high school sweetie for a looooong time. Mama of 4 beautiful kiddos, now ADULTS!!!! This blog is a potpourri of posts. Some wax on about my Catholic faith, others family, some are just a “diary” of life updates. Life is a journey, taken one day at a time (sometimes one step at a time) and my blog is about my personal trek through life. Peace!

Who can throw the first stone?

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John 8:7

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Before we had to deal with my husband’s incarceration, this verse was simply a good reminder to me that none of us is free of judgement; we all sin. After his incarceration and subsequent release, I want to scream that verse at the top of my lungs to everyone and anyone who looks at my husband sideways. We all screw up. Plain and simple. It’s so easy to point the finger at others because it removes the attention from ourselves. I’m here to tell you that the truth is, not one of us has the ability to rightfully toss that first stone, though there are plenty who feel duty bound to hand them out and line people up for target practice. It’s a frustrating fact of life and it’s played out day after day.

One of the “lesson-gifts” of the past several years is learning to look at both sides of a story. When I learned of a tragedy from our former town, one of the first thoughts that went through my head were the tremendous loss to BOTH sides. When mistakes are made, crimes committed, or accidents occur, every single action has a DOMINO reaction. It is a lesson our children, our family, and our friends have witnessed and experienced first hand. It is a difficult lesson. It is a lesson with a perpetual learning curve. However, the lesson is only “good” when it can be used to break the cycle of judgement. Turning our eyes to our own heart, realizing we ALL make mistakes helps us to encourage those who want to break free from damaging patterns in their lives. Isnt’ that what we strive for? To live a better life?

I’ve learned, for me, setting myself apart from another person because “I never did THAT!”, or “How can someone do THAT?” , only places me front and center stone in hand. In reality, there is very little that separates the guard from the prisoner, the addict from the soccer mom, the judge from the accused. It’s a thin line. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself, you will be blown away. We are all human. We all sin. Thankfully, we are all given the opportunity for grace, salvation and a chance at redemption through Christ. It is a gift we can redeem at any moment.

One song that captures this so well, is by The band “Tenth Avenue North” : You are more I love to remind my husband of this every chance I get. And my children. And myself. And you. Because it’s true.

You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You’ve been remade.

Praise God.

Sick days

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My best friends today!

I don’t remember the last time I used a sick day for myself. When I could scarcely eat my dinner (and TRUST me, that RARELY happens…2003 is my last recollection of something like that) and went from the table to the bed fully clothed under my comfy blanket, I had a feeling I’d be calling out this morning. Fortunately, I think it’s just a bad cold that responded (mostly) to LOTS of sleep, water and rest today. Though, to be honest, it was somewhat humorous to see the confusion among my husband and children as they regrouped for Plan B. I am happy to report in the “sink-or-swim” methodology, they did swimmingly!

With the day off, I managed to be highly productive on the reading front—in between naps—and the blog front as I had an uninterrupted day of researching, phone calling IT and finally committing to the new blog site. (The previous two posts were written in limbo).

Mostly though, this restful day reminded me how important it is to take the time to REST. And in this busy, chaotic time of back-to-school when our days are filled with work/school/homework/after school activities/family time opportunities to “Rest” are few and far between. What if we dedicated one night a week to unplug and hang out? What if we dedicated on day a month to chill as a family? Tough to do. When our priorities are to our children’s sports, extracurricular activities at school, churches, volunteer hours, it’s hard to find the ability to chill out and “Rest”! If we aren’t rested, if our families aren’t rested, how do we EVER learn to REST? Not resting leaves us vulnerable to sickness: physical, emotional and spiritual. Drained. Wiped out. Blah. Rest revives us, renews our spirit and gives us courage and hope to put one foot in front of the other and face another day with priorities in order allowing all else to hopefully fall into place.

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Psalm 37: 7

Rain and other crosses….

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Today, Hurricane Irene continues her long, meandering march up the East coast. While no longer a threat (aside from the insane surf and riptipes @ the beach), it IS a big threat to my mom and other family and friends up north. So I have been glued to the weather via the TV, my phone, the internet watching, waiting, texting and holding my breath until she passes and/or runs out of steam. Then the cleanup will begin. Which is life. Sometimes we are blessed with the knowlege the UGLY is coming and we have time to prepare and sometimes it hits out of the blue. Either way, there is ALWAYS cleanup behind the squall lines.

We all have our crosses to bear. For some it may be hurricane damage and cleanup. Tornadoes. Poverty. Homelessness. Addiction. Divorce. Separation. Abuse. Our life on this earth offers us no promises of greatness or unending bliss. It’s all one day at a time. Putting one foot in front of the other. Whether you look at the glass half-full or half-empty, (I’m a half-full kinda gal, myself) either view shapes your life. For me, I have found that the Truth is: I can’t go BACK. I have no idea what lies ahead TOMORROW. There is only today. What I do today will directly impact tomorrow. Yet there is no room for worry.

Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

This verse is in regular use in our home. Last night, as my husband and I discussed his job prospects (or lack of), our focus to not be overwhelmed by bills and debt to be dug out of, and again this morning as I drove him to one of his jobs (until he finds THE JOB) and he works 7 days straight. We are thankful. We are grateful. We lift our eyes up and Praise God for his daily provisions. And we know, as long as our eyes and heart are focused on The One who loves the sparrow, He will guide our every step, our every decision and provide our every need.

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Whether your cross is large or small. Cleaning up after a hurricane or checking in to rehab. Praying fervently for your teen’s heart or starting over after divorce. God has a plan for you. For me. It involves a lot of little building blocks. Patience. Stepping out in Faith. Trust in Him. Nothing in life is easy, but where there is hope, there is love and there is a future.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

A new chapter…..a new blog!

making the trek

Trekking through life: Faith, family, friends and a whole lot of coffee!