Playing Catch-up with Tracey

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Hi friends! Let’s catch up!

Since you give me the privilege of being a part of your mornings, I wanted to share with you the latest in my world.

Homelife - I have had so many of you still asking about my dog and I realized that many of you haven’t heard yet. I had to give Benny my Labradoodle back to his breeder because we just couldn’t get along. It was a very painful decision but I know it was the right one. I blogged about it awhile ago, so if you want to read all about the process you can find it right here on our blog.

Health- I am very excited about our fitness challenge for this year! Mike and I are putting our goals out there so we can encourage one another and for all of you to join us! I am going for 39 in ’09, and Mike is going for 59 in ’09. Our fitness coach, Jimmy Page, is working with us again this year to help us reach us our goals, and you know, it’s about so much more than the weight. God really does want us to be healthy! I am learning about my own sin of impatience and my problem with delayed gratification.

I have been working very hard at the gym at least 6 days a week for almost 2 months now and wondering why the pounds aren’t just falling off. The truth is, to do this the right way, is going to take some time. It will require consistency and making the right choices every single day. It will require accountability and absolute commitment. Change is possible but won’t happen by wishing for it. I must be willing to do the work. And guess what? I am willing. How about you? Do you want 2009 to be your year of transformation? Let us know if you’re on the journey with us and how you’re doing. You can comment right here on our blog, drop us a line at TMD@WRBS.com or you can find us individually on Facebook. And tune in Fridays at 8:25AM to catch our weekly weigh-ins and great fitness advice from our coach, Jimmy Page.

Heart- As I approach my 45^th birthday in April, I have been thinking a lot about being single and honestly taking it before the Lord every day. I am a happy, full-filled single person- most of the time. But it’s hard every now and then. For me, this has been one of those times. What do you do when your life looks different than you thought it would and you have desires and plans that haven’t worked out?

I must tell you, that the Lord has been so tender with my heart and the more I know of Him, the more I am convinced that He really loves me like no other. And if that is true, which it is, then I can trust Him with the plan for my life- whatever it is. He has something for me that is right for me, and will bring Him glory. I believe this.

And I pray that if you’re struggling with unmet desires, that you will remember to take it to the Lord and believe in His love for you. He withholds no good thing from those whose walk is blameless. Could it be that what you do have right now, is a good thing? Are there opportunities all around you, to love people and grow relationships and be an instrument of God’s love every day? I had to look at my life and say.. well… yes. I haven’t been excluded from participating in loving others. In fact, maybe right now, I’m more freed up to express His love in a way that I couldn’t if I weren’t single. I’m just sayin’…

Thanks for listening and I hope one day to meet all of you in person and tell you what a joy it is to be a part of your mornings!

In His Love,

Tracey

Where's Benny?

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Hi friends,

Have you ever had high hopes about something, great expectations... that just didn't turn out the way you planned? We all have, right? This is a hard thing for me to write about, but I wanted to share with you. As you know, I got a beautiful labradoodle puppy in March of last year. I named him Benton Marquis, Benny for short, taking the middles names of my father and my step-father who died recently. It was my first experience raising a puppy and I was so excited about it.

Benny won my heart quickly and I adapted my busy lifestyle to be here for him. I knew that it wouldn't be easy, so I wanted to educate myself and learn all I could about being a dog owner. I took Benny to obedience classes, I had private sessions as well. I read books, I watched dvd's by Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer. I listened to books on audio and I did a lot of praying. And I had wonderful support from Benny's breeder all along the way. With all that investment, I thought for sure I'd be able to handle my Benny, but it just didn't work out the way I had hoped.

It turns out, that I am just not a strong pack leader. Dogs need to understand who's in charge and where their place in the pack is, and there are special techniques to help train them to understand that YOU are the pack leader and THEY are to submit to you. My Benny was sweet fun-loving, full of energy, and had a very strong conviction that HE was MY pack leader! I worked so hard to try to correct this, but I was unsuccessful. This made living with Benny pretty miserable for me. He was testing me all the time and there was never a moment at home when Benny would just settle down and lay at my feet. Oh how I longed for a moment like that! The funny thing is, Benny and I were best buds when we were out of the house. I would take him for long walks and runs, I would take him out for drives in the car, or visiting friends. He was a wonderful companion to be with.. as long as we were out of my house. Inside, he was still always a sweet dog, but was completely convinced he was the boss of me. And honestly, I never got a handle on it. It broke my heart to make the decision to return Benny to his wonderful breeder. It was so painful for me, that I haven't been able to write or talk about it for some time. But the time has come that I just thought I should let you know.

I don't personally know all of you, but for 5 years now, you've allowed me the privilege of coming into your life through the radio and you've allowed me to be a part of your day. It's the unique thing about being in radio. We get to connect in very real ways as you've shared your lives with me, your joys and burdens, funny moments and tender ones too.. and your prayers. And you've allowed me to share my life with you. You were so kind and caring when I lost my father and step-father this past year. And you all were so encouraging and supportive about my decision to get a dog. It does feel like we're friends.

So my friends, for all of you who have been asking, "how's Benny?", he's doing just fine. He is currently with his breeder, (Eden Valley Labradoodles) who have become my friends- Pam and Dave McCarl. These gracious, lovely people offered to take him back and were so understanding. Sometimes these things don't work, sometimes it's just a mis-match of personalities. And there's nothing you can do to fix it. I admit I felt so ashamed and sad that I just couldn't get the hang of it and "make" Benny listen to me. But I have learned so much through this experience that I have no regrets.

I learned that sometimes you can love someone or something with your whole heart and do all you can to make it work, but there is no guarantee that they will love you back the way that you want. I know Benny loves me so very much, and I just adore him, but we aren't necessarily a good match for each other. I also learned that my correction isn't always strong enough. When someone mistreats me, I have not always stood up for myself and let them know that it was unacceptable. Pets can teach us so much about ourselves and Benny taught me a lot.

I went to visit Benny last week and he is doing so well now. In the home of a loving family where everyone knows how to be a pack leader, Benny knows his place and is thriving, contented and happy. He is a wonderful dog and I will never regret caring for him and loving him. He is in the best place now until he is matched with his forever home.

I wish it could have worked out, but the Lord grew my heart in the process. Giving love is always worth it. It really is.

Thanks for your love and support. And when you think of it, pray for me.. that my heart will continue to heal, learn and grow through this experience. So it looks like I'm really not a good pack-leader... And I'm ok with that.

Much Love,

Tracey

Teaching a New Dog Old Tricks

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As you may know Tracey recently added a cute little dog to her family. His name is Benny and he's a three month old labradoodle. This morning Tracey talked about an old trick she's teaching her new puppy. If you missed it click here.

Tomorrow we're going to give you the chance to win some tickets to Saturday's Hawk Nelson concert at Chapelgate Presbyterian Church. We also will be talking to the bass player for the group, Daniel Biro, after 7a.