Tracy Ruckman

I am a vivid dreamer, almost always in color. As a Christian, I believe God can speak to us through dreams, though not always. I trust the Holy Spirit to guide me when my dreams are vivid enough that I remember them when I wake up. Today, I have a new release! My Dream Journal: A Notebook for Tracking and Interpreting Dreams is a journal to keep at your bedside to record those dreams. If you're anything like me, once your brain kicks into gear for the day, the dreams vanish. I keep a notebook beside the bed to write down my dreams (and any book ideas that pop into my head just as I'm falling asleep). My Dream Journal now gives you space to explore those dreams, hunt for symbols, seek for meanings, and interpret the dreams. I'll share a recent dream so you can see how I use My Dream Journal. My most recent dream was a couple of days ago. I was in a huge, white room with florescent lights overhead. Lots of tables, lots of mess around, and I was trying to get it all org...

We're wrapping up the Holiday Recipes Blog Hop today. We hope you've had fun and found a few new recipes to try. If you're just joining us, here's a handy list so you can find them all. Holiday Appetizers – Tracy Ruckman Holiday Beverages – Rachel Hartsfield International Holiday Foods – Peggy Cunningham Holiday Breakfasts & Brunches – Betty Thomason Owens Holiday Main Courses – Sheryl Holmes Holiday Sides / Potluck / Buffets – Tracy Ruckman Holiday Sweets – Rachel Hartsfield Holiday Recipes Master List – Tracy Ruckman I want to thank all my precious friends for participating during this busy time of  year. I loved reading your stories and I'm looking forward to trying all your food! A huge thank you to all our readers, clients, and customers - we do what we do for YOU. We appreciate your support, your encouragement, your purchases of our books, products, and services. All of us are "small business" a...

Hello, again! How are you enjoying the Holiday Recipes Blog Hop? In case you're just tuning in, be sure to drop by Rachel's for some warming and fun  holiday beverages , Peggy's for an international flare , Betty's for breakfast and brunch ideas , Sheryl's for the main course , and I offered some recipes for holiday appetizers , too. Rachel will offer some sweet recipes tomorrow, and I'll round it all up on Saturday, with an extra surprise or two. Today, we're talking side dishes, potluck, and buffet recipes. My tip for all of these recipes is to adjust accordingly for crowd size. All of these recipes can be doubled or tripled for large crowds, and even be scaled down for a small gathering. Variety is the key to a successful buffet - smaller in quantity, more in variety. In our family, it's rare to have a regular sit-down dinner during the holidays. Many of us are awesome cooks, and we all know the hard work involved in preparing a bountiful meal...

What if our purpose in life is not what you think it is? Not what the world teaches us it should be? What if our purpose in life here on earth isn't to become rich or famous or to "live life abundantly"? I'm not saying we CAN'T or SHOULDN'T become rich or famous or live life abundantly. I'm saying we need to stop lumping everyone into one extreme or another. We have a personal, relational God, and His purpose for each of us varies as much as His designs for snowflakes, tears, and sand. He's not a cookie cutter God, molding and shaping us into a one-size-fits-all Christian.  In the Gospels, Mark shares the story about the widow's mite in chapter 12.  41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.  42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.  43 Calling His disciples to Him,...