I Am Grateful For….

I Am Grateful For….

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 2 Comments

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I found out that my iron levels where low a few weeks ago, so I had to have an iron infusion last Monday. Now I don’t know if you have had an iron infusion but there are a few things that you are not allowed to do in the next 48 hours. They advised that after having an iron infusion you are not to participate in any strenuous activity for example jogging, gym workouts and vacuuming. I love that you cannot vacuum.

So for me this meant that I was not allowed to attend any boxing session until possibly Thursday.  AAhhh!

You can also not carry anything heavy with the arm that was used for the infusion for a period of 48 hours.

It can also make you feel quite nauseated and you also have body aches. Yes, this did happen to me. Today I am still feeling a little bit unwell.

This week I still went to work and came home and had to have early nights. I also really needed to look after myself.

This made me think about what am I deeply grateful for……

  • I love my role as a primary school Chaplain
  • I love my family
  • I am so grateful for beautiful friends that I can trust and be real with
  • I love hearing about what my nieces and my nephew are doing. I love being their Aunty
  • I am so grateful that God is in my life
  • I am passionate about helping girls and women with an eating disorder
  • I am grateful for The Heart Project
  • I am grateful for the amazing people that I am able to work with
  • I am so grateful that my heart is not hardened that I am moved by injustice
  • It has made me realise that I want to make a difference
  • I also want to remain vulnerable
  • I am grateful for a second chance

What are you deeply grateful for…..?

Would love to hear from you.

traceybuckley

 

 

Heal My Heart and Make it Clean

Heal My Heart and Make it Clean

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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This week I have been thinking about what happens when you mess up. It happens to us all. What happens when you feel so ashamed and feel so condemned? What happens when your expectation of yourself doesn’t measure up to what you thought it would be? What happens when you feel that you have really messed up and your cannot believe what happens? What happens when you question was that really me, what is happening? What happens when you feel ashamed? What happens if at that time you cannot forgive yourself? What happens if your tears cannot stop flowing? My thought, my prayer is this cry out to the Lord-Heal my heart and make it clean. xx

traceybuckley

Is Your Petrol Light On?

Is Your Petrol Light On?

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Last Monday I was driving home from work; I was listening to music thinking about what I had to do next when I noticed that my petrol light had come on.

I knew that I needed petrol but I thought that a least I had enough petrol to wait until tomorrow.

But on comes the light.

It made me think that how good would it be if we had a light that came on when we needed refuelling. How easy would it be to know that we needed to take time out, how easy would it be to know that we needed to fill up our tank.

I think it would be even better if we could see how we are going without having to wait for the light to come.

It is so easy to be focused on others and to see when they need rest.

How come we can find it so difficult for ourselves?

So this week I decided to commit to going to boxing twice a week, to also come home and read.

I have taken a little break from writing.

I have been reading a book at the moment by Lisa Bevere called Girls with Swords.

I have had the book for a while and I keep on beginning to read it and then put it down.

I think that the time is now to read it.

Girls with Swords is How to Carry Your Cross Like a Hero.

On the back of the book it says Take up your sword and be a hero! The sword meaning the word of God.

I love that take up your sword and stand up for what you are passionate about.

So as much as I love helping and caring for others I also know that I need to look after myself.

Do you find it difficult to take time out for yourself?

Is your tank empty?

What can you do today to fill up your tank?

I would love to hear your suggestions.

Will share more soon.

traceybuckley

Love in Action

Love in Action

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Daily Reading

1 Corinthians 13:1-7

Daily Devotional

I was driving to work this morning and I had a thought about Love in Action.

What does Love in Action look like?

What does Love in Action look like to you?

I went to visit a church on Sunday and the message was about the scripture 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.

The message was about loving people and how it is easy to love people who are like minded, who we get along with.

The Pastor spoke about seeing people with the eyes of Jesus.

To be honest that can be challenging, but I have been thinking about it today. What if we saw someone, looked past their challenging ways and saw their potential, saw what they could become?

What if we chose to journey with that person, what if we saw their value when they couldn’t even see their value.

What if we took the time to listen to them, to encourage them to just be there for them?

What would that look like, how would that person feel?

Who know what a difference you could make to that one person.

I know that God is the God of second chances and I have definitely been given a second chance.

I would probably not be where I am today if it hadn’t been for friends who had journeyed with me. Who saw me stuck in an illness but still chose to look beyond that, they chose to invest in a person who was lost, who was wounded and who thought that she had no value.

I would also not be here if it was not for a Doctor who saw me and not a girl with and eating disorder. He saw someone with value, with purpose and with potential. He chose to invest and show Love in Action. He embraced the whole meaning of Love in Action.

We may not see the end result but we can be part of a team that invests, that shows someone Love in Action.

Is there someone that comes to your mind that you can show Love in Action?

Pray for wisdom, pray for guidance and ask God who he would like you to show Love in Action too. It could be one random act of kindness that changes someone’s day.

We may never know how we have impacted on someone’s lives, but they will remember.

You can make a difference.

traceybuckley

What Stops Us?

What Stops Us?

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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I have been thinking for a while now about a few things that I what to do.

There are two ideas that I will share with you.

One thing that has I am very passionate about is speaking and sharing my journey. I have spoken about it a few times. The last time that I spoke in church was Mother’s Day last year.

I was at a small church then and I was asked by the Pastor to speak about celebrating women. I thought it was interesting being that I am single and have no children. I was grateful for the opportunity and the message was called Arise and Shine Beautiful One. I loved speaking.

I have my speaking bio all ready to go, I just need to send it out.

I feel that this is the right time for me now.

So what is stopping me?

My second thing that I have been wanting to do is to start a support group for women going through an eating disorder.  This has been on my heart for a while now. Yesterday I was researching what other states in Australia are doing. I have also been looking at what other countries are doing. Then my thought went to how can I support women financially is there something that we could set up to here in Perth. I am still looking at this idea.

So again I ask what is stopping me?

Do you have a list of projects, ideas that you want to do?

So what is stopping you-

  • Is it fear?
  • Is it taking that first step?
  • Is it being brave and making that phone call?

Do you need a mentor?

Do you need someone to encourage you?

Beautiful one let me encourage you.

I am making a decision today to step out and to do one thing to help me to get closer to my goal.

What is something that you can do today to take a step closer to something that you want to achieve.

Let’s begin this journey together.

What stops us, today nothing stops us.

Be Brave.

traceybuckley

 

Let It Go

Let It Go

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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Yesterday I went to visit a friend and I haven’t been to her house before. Now if you know me I am not very good at following directions or reading a map. I also don’t have a GPS. I know it is something that I need to look at getting.

I picked up my niece on the way and we made it to my friend’s house with only two stops to look at the road map.

Now the issue for me is that I concentrate so well on getting to the place, that I am not thinking about how to get home.

So it was raining and we had the soundtrack of Frozen playing in the car.

My niece is in the back of the car singing and not worrying about anything much at all. I hear the occasionally Aunty Tracey can you put that song on again, can you turn it up.

I turn down a wrong street and I am saying to her does this look like the way we came.

She said no and still singing Let It Go. I think that she is busy being in the production of Frozen.

So I turn back and I can feel the frustration and anxiety rising up in me.

I stop and then I look at the road map again and the streets aren’t very well signed. (Looking for a ooh poor thing here).

So I turn the car around and I am thinking that this girl my beautiful niece in the back is trusting me she is not worried at all that I am having a little freak out moment (quietly in my head) about trying to get us home.

She is completely trusting me and singing very loudly now to Do You Want to Build A Snowman.

It is getting darker and the rain is coming down heavier now.

So I have to trust myself that this road I have decided to drive down will lead up to the main road.

I am looking at buildings, at paddocks trying to see if anything looks familiar. I have a little moment that I am thinking I am on the right road.

I said to my niece does this look familiar?

She looks around but keeps singing.

We finally make it to the main road where I know exactly how to get home.

It made me think that how many times in our lives when we say we place our trust in God and then we are having our own little lost moments. We are having our own little anxious moments.

I sometimes am thinking am I on the right road that would lead me to what he wants me to do?

How beautiful would it be just to sing and know that He has everything in control?

To totally trust Him and go where He wants to lead us.

To fully surrender.

I think for me this is a journey that I am discovering myself.

I need to trust and just like my niece sing-

LET IT GO…

And yes we did make it home maybe a bit later, all good.

traceybuckley

 

Be Encouraged Brave Warrior

Be Encouraged Brave Warrior

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 2 Comments

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Today as I was home cooking I really felt that I wanted to encourage women (and men) who are walking through recovery.

I wanted to encourage you that deciding to overcome an eating disorder it not an easy decision.

I really wanted to encourage you and say that you are brave.

You are probably thinking no I’m not, I am nowhere near being brave.

You are probably thinking she is not talking about me?

But yes I am?

I am talking to you beautiful brave warrior.

You have made a decision to recover and that is being brave.

You are brave warrior because maybe you chose to-

  • Get out of bed this morning
  • Followed your meal plan
  • Asked for help
  • Kept your appointment with your counsellor, therapist
  • Let someone know that you are struggling
  • Decided to be real with someone about how you are feeling
  • Had breakfast
  • Laughed
  • May have cried
  • Went out for a coffee with a friend
  • Chose to ignore the negative thoughts
  • Wrote in your journal
  • Prayed
  • Read
  • Went food shopping
  • Listened to music that inspired you
  • Stopped and just breathed

Maybe you have been brave in your own way.

Maybe you even thought about doing something on the list above and that is okay.

Sometimes even thinking about doing something is a step towards recovery.

Every day is a step forward to recovery.

Be kind to yourself.

Beautiful Brave Warrior

traceybuckley

A Weekend Away

A Weekend Away

by Tracey Buckley ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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I was asked if I wanted to go on a retreat last week, I wasn’t too sure at first. Then I had thought about just saying yes to new adventures so I went. At first I was only going to stay one night then I ended up staying the whole weekend.

I only knew one person going there was 7 of us all together.

I was so grateful that my friend drove.

So I met 5 new amazing women and I loved the weekend.

The weekend was full of walking to the beach, eating, drinking coffee, chatting and laughing.

I also had the most amazing coffee. As you may know I love coffee and the place we went to was Spill the Beans.

I kept on raving about my coffee.

The place where we stayed was right across the road from the beach, the view from the house was amazing.

I love the sound of the beach, there is something so soothing to me.

I was so determined on Saturday that I wanted to go for a work in the afternoon and to just sit on the beach and think.

Well the weather on Saturday was quite stormy, but I remained hopeful.

We did end up going for a walk on Saturday late afternoon. The weather was still windy and it looked like it would rain.

It was freezing but in a way exhilarating. We did go to the beach and the roaring of the waves was quite loud.

Then it poured, the rain was stinging my face.

We did it though the walk was achieved.

We spent Saturday night playing board games, I loved laughing and just being in the moment.

We do need time to take time to get away from our everyday life.

We need time to just be and enjoy being in the moment.

I loved the whole weekend.

traceybuckley