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...

After reading of Anthony Bourdain’s suicide this morning, and Kate Spade’s suicide  three days ago, I started a post on Facebook that read: I hate suicide. It's senseless and stupid. Depression stinks. Tomorrow is ALWAYS a new day. People can and will help you, but you have to reach out. If you can't/won't talk to a friend or family member, seek out a counselor, or a pet, or a plant - just talk to them. Write letters to uncork yourself. Or call this hotline. You are loved. You have a purpose. How to get help: Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Suicide is NOT the answer. For anyone. I stopped my post with that, but continued to think about the whys of suicide, and realized I need to say more. Life is not easy for any of us. We all have our own battles we face - some may be social (like bullying or loneliness, or the fame of celebrity), some may be financial (like extreme poverty, debt, or extreme wealth), some may be mental (like depressi...

The last several months, I've had discussions with business owners, life and career coaches, ministry leaders, friends, and online acquaintances. The specific ones I'm pondering today all have one thing in common - they want to help people "change their mindsets" about various issues like mindsets about food to help you become healthier, mindsets about poverty to help you become wealthier, mindsets about business to help you become more successful or more powerful. After the third time I heard the phrase "change your mindset" the bell finally dinged in my head. Normally, when the Lord speaks to me, I get a specific word for phrase three times in a row, fairly close together (like within a week or two). But this mindset phrase happened over a period of six to eight months, so I didn't notice it right away. When I did, the phrase began to trouble me, and I wondered why. There's nothing wrong with being healthier, wealthier, or more successfu...