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Your Life Still Counts! {with Tracie Miles}

I’m thrilled to feature my Proverbs 21 Ministries sister Tracie Miles today. An online study of her new book Your Life Still Counts is kicking off March 16 and she is also hosting a free webcast tonight! {And Tracie has offered to give away a free signed copy of Your Life Still Counts and the accompanying Your Life Still Counts Participant Study Guide}

From Tracie:

YLSC_study_button copyHow You Can Live As Proof of the Power of Jesus Christ in Today’s Broken World? As I read her story, my heart felt heavy. She had endured so much pain in her life, none of which she deserved or caused. Then I read another, and this person’s story was completely different, yet the pain and heartache life had dished out again seemed unfair for one person to have to endure. Then another, after another.

One had been abused. One had been betrayed. One had battled addiction. One had been divorced. One had been sexually abused. One had lived a life of fear. One had chosen abortion. One had been unfaithful. One had a serious disability. One had been raped. One had carried the weight of depression and anxiety.

Countless emails sat in my inbox, each one saturated with intense emotion and honesty; all sharing a different experience and different level of pain, heartache, shame or regret.

Yet, all these stories, no matter how different they were with respect to details, had one major commonality. One very exciting and mind blowing commonality.

You see, every one of these women God had something in their past that once made them feel insignificant, void of value and unlovable by God. But despite the differences in their life experiences, they had each allowed God to transform their pain into purpose and were allowing their lives to shine as living proof of the power of a Holy God.

In the book of Romans 8:1-2 says Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (NIV) This verse reminds us that no matter what has happened in our lives, that God loves and values us unconditionally.

Then later in that chapter, we come across the popular verse Romans 8:28, which says “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

So God not only loves us enough to save us from condemnation, but has a unique and divine plan and a purpose for each of our lives – not despite our past, but because of it.

We all want to believe we have a divine purpose in this life, but sometimes we let the pain and discouragements of life cause us to think it’s not possible for ‘someone like us’. That God couldn’t possibly love or use us, after what we’ve been through, or what we’ve done.

But friends, God has a unique purpose for each and every one of us, based on the very experiences that we have faced in the past, and it is His heart’s desire to bring that purpose to fruition. He wants our past to refine us and groom us for purpose, not define us and keep us from purpose.

If you’ve ever had an inkling of hope that God might use something the devil meant for evil for something good for Him and for you, then I want to encourage you to embrace His promises of love and acceptance and purpose, and follow your heart. When we see God transform something bad into something beautiful, our heart experiences a level of healing that we never thought possible. And that healing leads to a desire to be used by God in big and small ways.

If your heart is longing to be freed from the pain of your past, and you are longing for the motivation to embrace your value in Christ and begin pursuing the life of divine purpose that you’ve always dreamed of, join Tracie in her upcoming Online Bible Study based on her new book YOUR LIFE STILL COUNTS: HOW GOD USES YOUR PAST TO CREATE A BEAUTIFUL FUTURE.

Tracie Miles

To connect with Tracie, you can also visit her on her social media sites and subscribe to her blog:

To be entered in the giveaway, please leave a comment with your thoughts on God using people who think their past disqualifies them from being used today. Remember, your life still counts!

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30 Comments

  1. God promises He will use it all for His glory! I can think of no better way for Him to use my trials than to encourage someone else or comfort someone else. I count them all as blessings but how sweet are the trials that I have shared with someone else and they did not feel alone in their trials any longer! Hallelujah! What an amazing God we worship!

  2. When I was younger and going through some really bad times,starting with my mother dieing when I was only five, in my teens and later being married to an alcoholic, I wondered WHY! All of the things that had and were happening weren’t fair and of NO good learning experience. I was wrong. Now in my 60′ s I look back and see the wonders God has/was giving to me in those “bumps” in my road of life. With age comes wisdom. I can now see WHY a lot of those things happened and all of the blessings that have come from them. God gives us all different “bumps”, “detours”, hardships, lessons, and blessings on our road of life; sometimes it takes years to decipher them…sometimes we don’t ever figure out why….until we are with Jesus in heaven.

  3. I feel as tho each gal, that had been briefly described, in your blog, described me, minus the divorce– I’ve never been married.

  4. This sounds like a very inspiring book! At nearly 32, I’m still struggling with my purpose in life. I’m not where I imagined myself to be and question why God keeps blocking my efforts. I’m reminded, though, that God provides many explains of using people, despite their past. Thank you for the opportunity to win! God bless!

  5. I won’t go into all the details, but sometimes I feel like my life has been like a Lifetime movie. Maybe one day I will have the courage to tell my story. I have blocked so much of it in my mind, for” mental survival” purposes. There have been so many trials and tribulations, and yet each time I have been knocked down, I manage to crawl my way back to the top. Each experience leaves my internally battered and bruised, and I have often said that God’s purpose for me must be to help me learn to use these experiences to help others who have gone through similar circumstances in life. Hopefully this bible study will help empower me to do just that…I would love for God to take my broken pieces, put them back together, then give me the strength and courage to encourage someone else to hold their heads up high and keep the faith that God will do the same for them.

  6. The Bible is full of examples of people God has used in spite of their past and that helps me to be able to relate to them. The same goes for God using people today. It gives me hope.

  7. These same thoughts go through my head regularly. How can God use me despite of my past and my present thought life. Human nature causes me to always doubt myself. Yesterday while at church we sang Chris Tomlin’s song “How Marvelous” based off the old hymn. I love the lyrics and feel they always allow me to reevaluate Christ and His love for me. I need reminded of this so often!!
    I stand amazed in the presence
    Of Jesus the Nazarene
    And wonder how he could love me
    A sinner condemned unclean

    How marvelous how wonderful
    And my song shall ever be
    How marvelous how wonderful
    Is my Savior’s love for me.

  8. oh what a blessing this would be!, Mom to 7 healthy children, living a beautiful country simple life, happily married but lonely due to chronic pain from 3 back surgeries in 18 months that have not helped…lost my passion of a job as a labor and delivery RN due to my back issues and now feel like I am nothing. Trying to redefine myself! Hard work!

    1. Kimberly – so many of us find our identity in our work and then when it changes, we feel like we don’t have any other purpose. But I am confident God is grooming you for a new purpose and a new door to walk through, even though right now you are down with your back. Praying your back heals and that God speaks peace and purpose into your heart in the coming weeks!

  9. I have struggled with depression and anxiety, struggled with my choices as a kid becoming sexually active at 13. But I remember seeing things at age 3. My husband and I were in full-time ministry running a homeless Mission. I didn’t feel like I was making a difference. I felt like I didn’t have the know-how or the skills or the education. On the radio I heard a little more about Mother Theresa and how she struggled with depression. But she still kept serving God, she didn’t let what she was personally struggling with keep her from that. That was so encouraging to me. And I told God in that moment that I knew He could heal me but if He didn’t I was ok with it too because I wanted Him to use what I was going through to help and encourage others.
    There are times I still struggle. Being a Mom of 4 ages 13 to 1 years old, living in a very small town with no family or friends or Church close by. I feel overwhelmed and many times I don’t think who I am or my life is good enough. And I do feel at times that things in my past are holding me back. I know God has something but it is hard to see that sometimes. Thank you so much Ladies for ministering to us ladies all over the country and the world!

    1. Tiffiny – thank you for your transparency. I know so many moms and women can relate to the feelings you shared. Hoping this study will be a ray of sunshine and hope, and help women feel a little less lonely. We are all in need of faith, friendship and support and we’ll have 7 weeks of it ahead. :)

  10. I am going through my hardest struggles ever, currently. I wonder what my purpose is, but I do believe I have one. I am hopeful that at some point I will see the purpose behind the struggles and that the experience can be used for God’s glory.

    1. Rachelle – praying God gives you a special dose of comfort and joy today, even in the midst of these storms. Lean into Him and He will help you get through it, and although it’s hard to claim Romans 8:28 when we still can’t see the purpose in what we’re going through, the promise tucked within is one that can give us hope for the future. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to having you in the study!

  11. I think our God is a God of second chances! Through our failures and then changing our lives we give Him glory!

  12. I realize that I have mentioned this before, but I truly admire how all of you Ladies @ P31 Ministries, support one another. I know for myself, serving in ministry with other women can be very challenging but it’s good to see you all praying and encouraging one another. Karen, I was truly blessed during the “Keep It Shut” study. I am applying everything that I learned, daily. Blessings! :)

  13. I am looking forward to this Study starting next Monday. I am praying that through this Study that I will be able to help someone. I am looking forward to seeing what God has
    planned for me and others doing this Study together.

  14. I am so looking forward to reading this book….I hope I win. My story is pretty plain but there has been sorrow & struggles. However, even my simple story, I believe God has a plan for me.

    1. Everyone’s story matters Melanie! God doesn’t need big huge stories to impact His kingdom, sometimes the smallest of struggles are exactly what we can use to reach someone’s heart. Just letting them know we’ve been in their shoes. Glad to have you participating in the study! :)

  15. My life is in shambles. Just last night I was contemplating something horrendous just to make the pain go away. I’ve been through so much pain and rejection I am wondering why God even allows me to live.

    My estranged kids are grown with lives of their own. I’m divorced and living in a rented room. I dont make enough money to live alone but its becoming impossible to live with a roomate. Ive lost seemingly everything and thinking, what is my purpose? Why am I here? What is going to happen to me?

    This morning, the scripture in my email was this: The evil one is out to steal, kill and destroy but I (Jesus) have come to give abundant life. (Paraphrased)

    And this email, inviting me to this study. Thank You Lord!

    Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

    1. Praying for you Robin. Jesus loves you and even through this trying time in your life, He can work it for his good. He who has brought you to it will bring you through it. Please trust Him and find someone you can talk to when the despair hits. You are important! You are loved!

    2. Sweet Robin, I’m so sorry for all that you’re going through. But as Melanie said, God sees you right where you are and He has not forgotten you. God do have a special purpose for you, and even for the things you are going through right now. That I know is true, but it’s so hard to embrace that truth and allow it to comfort us in the middle of the storm. I do want to encourage you to reach out to a Christian counselor or Pastor and talk to them about your concerns. You and your life matter to God, so don’t let the enemy convince you otherwise!

      It seems God is clearly speaking to you today to remind you He sees you, through the verse you read and the invitation to the study. So I pray that this study will help you push through and embrace how much God loves you! There is hope for your situation, and I pray God orchestrates divine ways for you to claim that hope in the coming weeks. You might want to also consider joining the YLSC Facebook Group where women can interact more with each other. Here’s the link for it – https://www.facebook.com/groups/YourLifeStillCounts/. God bless you!

  16. I think this sounds like a great book even for those who may not have a big story from their past but someone who might just be wondering what their purpose is here on earth. Thanks for the opportunity.

  17. This sounds like an awesome book. I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety and I sometimes wonder how God can use something like me to minister to other people. God has changed my life is so many ways.

  18. I want to believe. I’ve been divorced, laid off, fought anxiety and OCD and am in an unfulfilling marriage now. I am so lost and alone, I need a miracle as I fear my prayers aren’t being heard.

    1. Christianne – praying God fills you heart with peace and purpose and helps you see that are not alone! He always hears our prayers, even when we think He doesn’t – we find that promise in many places, but I love Psalm 145:18-“The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.
      He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.” Looking forward to your participation in the bible study !

  19. This sounds like a great book! I’ve often felt overwhelmed to begin to use the pain of the past to minister to others. I know I want to and I am believing and hoping God uses me. I just don’t know where to focus my energy. There are many areas and I don’t know which one God wants to use. This study sounds like a wonderful way to spend time seeking God’s vision for using the past to make a difference now.

    Some areas I’ve had a heart to minister to others because I’ve been there-homelessness, working as a dance hostess to support my mother, being jailed because of something my mother asked me to do, living abroad (that is where God reached me!), not trusting God and struggling with surrender, struggles in marriage and motherhood, forgiveness, still struggling with my mother and the relationship is broken, finding God’s will, overcoming fear, an eating disorder and so much that God has done!

    Some areas are healed and others are not. I am trusting God to heal me completely and use what I’ve been through for His glory. I want His guidance and direction. May His will be done!

    1. Rachel, praising God that He reached your heart, despite all that you’ve been through! Praying He gives you clear direction and guidance about His plans for you and how you can use your past for a great purpose!

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