Tempered Glass

A nice glass of wine 


It is during the tough times, that we grow.
From the challenges, we learn compassion.Right?
While we were in prayer tonight at a Youth Gathering that I helped out with, I saw a vision.
There were several wine glasses on a belt in a factory. They were being “made”. There was not anything fancy about them, rather they were your typical clear, goblet styled drinking glasses that you would normally drink water or iced tea from at a reception or banquet.I could see the wine fade in and out (so that I would know that these particular glasses werets were made for the purpose of holding wine). All in lines, the glasses were traveling down the conveyor belt and heading toward a tunnel. I heard the word “tempered”… and had a “knowing” that I should study the process of tempering glass.This research proved to be so rich… and the message therein was quite powerful.

We are alot like those wine glasses... meant to hold something that is costly and of great value... and our lives are much like that of the process that glass goes through to be tempered.
In short, part of the tempering process is to apply great heat to ordinary glass... which gives it a strength far greater than a plain, untreated piece of glass. Because it has gone throughthe fire, it can now withstand more adverse conditions, like heat and pressure.
Aren't we the same?
Though it doesn't feel good to go through the "heat" of life.... once we have made it through, we are able to deal with more difficult times without breaking.

Another characteristic of tempered glass is that when it does shatter, it breaks into smaller, less jagged fragments... instead of the long, sharp slithers that it would become had it not been tempered.
And such is our life. When we have not been tempered... or gone through heat and pressure, we are more prone to hurt one another. In our brokenness, we are sharp and cutting... whether we want to be or not.

Maybe you feel the heat and pressure of life right now. Be encouraged... your adversity has not come to break you... but to make you stronger! Allow the tempering to take place.
You too, shall be a stronger, less hurtful, more beautiful vessel because of it.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Tracye

Endless Journey

Driving in D.C.

At this time last year, I was living in the Washington D.C. area. Actually my residence was in Owings Mills, Maryland which was about 74 miles from the city. That 74 miles, my friend, was my daily drive to work! What a wonderful time (I must admit that there are shades of sarcasm and disgust here applied...haha).

Never in my life could I have ever imagined what those 2 months of driving an average of 160 miles per day would be like. For me, it was one of the most difficult challenges of my life.
Not only did each new day bring what seemed like miles and miles of endless road... it also brought thoughts and longings for my family and friends who were now all thousands of miles away (with the exception of two very special friends Renee Tassone and Tiffany Blunt), questions of whether the opportunity that brought me there would be the best one for me, concerns that the present provision would actually last and a deep sense of loss for the land that I love, Nashville.

There were so many things going through my head and heart at that time. So much that those highway miles became both a friend and foe.

It was on those long drives that my soul became exposed. There was no wrong or right way to feel when my heart needed healing and the miles seemed endless. I remember a time when it felt as though the Lord said...."Ahhhh, now I've finally got you all to myself". Many days tears streamed down my face... and at night, I was often too stunned to cry.

In retrospect, this stretch of my life's road was one of the most profound experiences that I will ever have. I wish I could say that I was happy there.
I wish I could say that I really miss it. Though there are moments from that season which I will cherish... and daily disciplines that I would like to be able to continue now that I am back home... I do not want to return to that lifestyle.
There, I was challenged.
There, I was provoked....
And there, I learned more about owning my life than ever before.

As Christians, we ARE on an Endless Journey. Sometimes the particular stretch of road we're on seems lonely and deserted. At other times, it's far too congested... and becomes gridlocked with no place to run from all of the pressure, responsibilites and needs.

Have you ever been in eight lanes of traffic going no where?
Now I can laugh, but at the time... all I could do is cry after the clock hit the 20 minute mark and my Ford had only "explored" a little over a mile of roadway.
That day, because of the rain, my normal hour and a half drive home turned into a three hour ordeal. It was then, that I had my introduction to what road rage is all about. Tears streaming down and cars everywhere you look... a sea of people, all stuck on the same journey... and then there's that one obnoxious person who decides that he wants to cross 6 lanes of traffic. It was then that I felt a sharp desire to violently react... to scream... honk wildly and possibly even gesture. Lord, help me!

Have you ever felt that way? Had road rage on this life's journey?
I have.

But just like that day in the car, I have to take a deep breath... call on the Lord for help.... sing a little louder and keep on going.

No matter what speedbumps, detours, rain or other obstacles present themselves.... we are on that Endless Journey... and with each new day, we learned another way to enjoy the ride.

Change of Face

Here I am... the girl of many faces!


It has been such an interesting endeavour to begin to study 1st and 2nd Corinthians. As I was considering what to share today... I came across this picture collage created some time ago...out of old and new pictures. Looking at it again, it made me ponder the many faces that I exhibit to the world. Have you ever stopped to think about that? What do you really look like to the people around you?

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 states: ( Read This Chapter )
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

There have been many transformations in my life.... my hair has changed (often)....my smile, my laugh, my style. All of these changes were visibly seen. Yet the greatest and most glorious changes were not as clearly seen. They took place in my heart. The more I allowed the Spirit of the Lord to inhabit my life... the more those around me could see His image beginning to shine forth.

Daily, this process continues for all of us. With faces as mirrors, we reflect the glory of Christ.
We do so by taking on His features... His characteristics.
Do your eyes continue to sparkle with hope... when you see the darkness in this world and those around you?
Your smile... does it linger... though you face the insensitivity of a stranger, or the misunderstanding of a friend?
Are your lips soft with kind words...whether they are appreciated or rejected?
From glory to glory each day, may we be changed.

May we see more of Jesus in us today,
Tracye

Glory to God, Alone

I am a ponderer...constantly wondering and longing
for the One Who has captured my gaze.

It is such an honor to serve the Lord, boldly!

After many years of running away from complete surrender.....Here go I :)

May this publicized journal be done only to Glorify
God through obedience in sharing All of the gifts He has so lavishly poured upon me.

I invite you to share... feel free to leave comments and/or contact me by email at anytime.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Tracye