Tracy Ruckman

I'm excited to share a new book!  My story, "Rock of Joy," is included in this beautiful new book from Guideposts, Too Amazing for Coincidence: True Stories of God's Mysterious Ways: God's Promise of Hope.  I don't believe in coincidence. Do you? I do believe we have a God Who loves us with an everlasting love. I also believe that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (NASB1995) Read these incredible stories. See if your belief in coincidence changes.

Yesterday, I received my author copies of Beloved by His Faithful by Editors of Guideposts. I'm honored to announce that my story, "God Did That," is one of the included stories.  The hardcover books are available now, exclusively on the Guideposts website , at a GREAT price! Guideposts also offered us a code to share with our readers. Use AUTHOR15 on the Guideposts website for a 15% discount.  The paperback version will be released wide in stores and from numerous bookstores online on September 9. Pre-orders are available now on Amazon . [affiliate link] I'd love to know what you think of the book! Be sure to leave reviews on any of your favorite book sites.

 Dearest Blog Readers (and yes, I do mean "dear" to me!), I realized it's been a while since I've updated the blog so I thought I'd come share why. At the end of January, I began writing regularly on Substack . My posts go live in a newsletter on Tuesday mornings (this week, it was Thursday, but that was just a mistake on my part.) Tuesday, 3/11, I will post my latest health update, but most of the time, I'm just writing essays about life.  I hope you'll come over, subscribe, join my private chat, and let me know what you think! (It's all free - I don't charge for the newsletter or the chat.) I look forward to seeing you there.  PS. I have some fun and exciting news coming in a couple of weeks, too!

 As I begin writing this blog post, it's 10:41 pm on December 31, 2024. Goodbye, 2024 - Hello, 2025!  Each year, most of us have a tendency - perhaps an intentional habit for some - to reflect on the past year and plan for the new. I'm not one of those intentional people; any time I try planning anything, life happens that cause plans to change, so I've learned to be more flexible, awaiting what He has in store.  In God's refining fire, the trials and tribulations of life, we have a choice. A choice to lean into Him, to learn the lessons He has for us, or to turn from Him and try to do life on our own.  I was saved in my early 20s, but foolishly tried to lead life on my own terms for two turbulent decades. But Christmas 2005 changed me. Hitting rock bottom, I surrendered my whole being - my will, my way - to Him fully, no longer willing or able to do life without Him guiding my every step. Life didn't get any easier but my perspective changed, and that made all the ...

Last month, Advent Health honored me by asking if I would be one of their "faces" during their "Pink Porch" campaign for Breast Awareness Month. They arranged for a photo shoot and an interview, and said I could invite anyone I wanted to be in the photos with me.  Without hesitation, I suggested Jess Bolton, my daughter-in-law, and Felicia Trawick, my nurse navigator-turned-friend. These two were with me every day of my cancer journey, either in person or by phone. God knew what I needed during that time because Jess and Felicia kept me laughing, and we're still at it, as you can tell from the photos below. The lovely and patient photographer, Emily Long, had us talk to each other, and to look at each other, and we just got silly. (Please note: these photos are the only time you'll see me NOT talking with my hands! Such a surprise to all of us!) It was a windy but fun day, and Zach, my son and Jess's husband, surprised and blessed me by coming, too.  Dur...

Blogging got away from me this summer. At the end of July, I got sick with what the doc eventually said was either the flu or covid, but it was too late to test by that time. Then Tim got sick and ended up in the hospital for a week with covid and double pneumonia. He’s home now and recovering well - I’m grateful and he’s happy to be home again. I decided to share our experience with home health care. Since all of this was new to us, I don’t know if our experience is the norm, but thought I’d share in case it’s all new to someone else. The hospital filled up while Tim was there, so once they got him on his feet without oxygen, they sent us home because they needed the bed. But they ordered Home Health Care, saying he needed physical therapy, and that’s what we expected. Tim left the hospital on the 19th. To simply things, I’ll list the dates and duties of Home Health below (we also had 3 doc appts scattered in the middle of all these dates, and perhaps only introverts and hermits like ...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome author V. Ronnie Laughlin who shares her atypical breast cancer journey from the Middle East, during the pandemic. No Time to Sit and Worry As I held the specimen cup in my hand with the breast biopsy sample glistening inside; I looked at it and it looked at me. It looked like a hydra, the long tentacled invertebrate with a gelatinous body. I do not know what possessed me to ask my Radiologist,...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome author Phee Paradise, sharing a powerful snippet of caregiving during her son’s battle with leukemia. Between Christmas and Easter On Christmas Eve, I held a flickering candle in each hand, tears filling my eyes. The left one was for me, the right one for my son whose arm hung uselessly after a stroke. This night he was quarantined at home recovering from a bone marrow transplant. In the dim ch...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome Mary-Kay Cronemeyer, sharing her story as a valiant cancer warrior. I Took Back Time “Skeptical” was on the tip of my tongue and really the word I wanted to use in reply to my surgical oncologist after my biopsy, seven years ago, because that’s how I honestly felt. But I needed to sound comparatively positive to his level of confidence, so I opted for “cautiously optimistic.” Even though, in re...

Earlier this year, TMP Books put out a call for submissions for two anthologies, requesting stories from cancer warriors/survivors, and from cancer caregivers. We received several submissions, but not enough to fill either book, so for now, the books are postponed. When I notified the writers who had submitted, one of them suggested running the stories on my blog, and I loved the idea. My goal was to share people’s stories, to give encouragement and hope to other cancer warriors and caregivers, so why wait? I’m sharing the stories each Tuesday, in the order they were submitted. Today, I welcome my sister, Carrie Leeth, to the blog, sharing her story as a lifelong caregiver: 28 Years and Counting In 1994, my father had been diagnosed with throat cancer and had been battling this for some time, losing weight, not able to work. He had a feeding tube placed before he started taking radiation treatments two times a day, for six weeks, so my brother and I took turns driving him to treatment...