Tracey Casciano Featured on #WSATV Women Leaders’ Interview

Woman Speakers Association (WSA) is THE go-to place for innovative leaders, change-agents and women with a message to connect, collaborate and grow their visibility worldwide in order to fulfill their mission. As the first-ever global community for women speakers, WSA provides a platform for women to get seen, booked and paid AND be part of a growing network reaching women in 120 countries on 6 continents. Whatever her “stage”…be it the classroom, a boardroom, the floor of the U.N., WSA is dedicated to empowering women to authentically express themselves, build a thriving, prosperous business and cause serious transformation in the lives of their clients, companies, communities and the world.

I had the opportunity to be interviewed on Women Speakers Association TV last week with two other amazing women and wanted to share it with you. WSATV interview

“Never give up hope. We often don’t understand why things are happening when we are in the middle of it, but once you get to the other side, you often discover your purpose.” Tracey Casciano

 

 

 

 

Can we be honest?

Protecting ourselves is human nature, it’s part of our “fight or flight” defense. We only want people to see the best parts of ourselves (think about your social media posts!) But what if everything we did was broadcast?

Do you have a part of your life that you hide or keep to yourself in order to prevent others from REALLY knowing who you are? Hiding the truth can be exhausting and will ultimately lead us further from God.

I kept a very big secret until I was 41 years old. I was sexually abused by my father and had never told anyone. I had lived a life that was far from honest and had tried to ignore it. I knew that it was standing in the way of my relationship with God, but didn’t know what to do about it.

The truth is that God already knows everything about us. So until we confess our sins, we aren’t being truthful with Him.

“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

When we decide to pursue living honestly, we will find ourselves on the way to becoming truly free.

So how do we do this?

The first step it to be honest with God. Ask for forgiveness and guidance for how to live an honest life. The payoff to being honest with God is freedom, hope and purpose.

“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Psalm 32:5 (NLT)

The second step is to be honest with ourselves. I had to understand that my abuse was affecting my life, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. Once I was honest with God and myself, it became clear to me that I needed to forgive my parents.

The third step is the hardest- to be honest with others. Once I addressed my abuse with my parents and started to tell others about my past, I was able to help myself grow closer to freedom. I share my story publicly to show others how trusting God with every part of our life and being honest with ourselves and others is healthy.

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” Ephesians 4:15 (NLT)

I hope that if you are hiding part of your life, you will start searching for honesty and forgiveness with God, yourself and others. I promise that it will lead to contentment and love!

To read more of my story go to http://www.traceycasciano.com

 

Coming Out of the Fire

I had the opportunity to talk with crisis coach Faydra Koenig on her podcast recently. You can join Faydra, America’s Crisis Coach, on iTunes as she interviews high-achievers who faced unimaginable obstacles and came out on top. She presents a bold approach to crisis management. I hope you’ll take a minute to listen!

Grab your listen here: http://doinglifewithfaydra.com/podcast/tracey-casciano

Me too!

Isn’t it reassuring when you find out that someone else has a similar situation or problem as you? When we are filled with doubt or concern, the words ME TOO, can make us feel less alone. Perhaps it’s a situation at work or difficulty in a relationship. Maybe it’s something from the past that we’ve been nervous to share. We begin to wonder if it’s just us and when we make that connection it is a relief! Finding others who have a similar past or current situation is comforting. This is why it’s important that we share our journey with others.

When a counselor who I had been seeing suggested that I share my story, my initial reaction was to laugh. I had kept my past, my secret, for all these years, why would I share it?

NO WAY.

But something kept nudging me and her words kept replaying in my head, “What if you could help someone who is suffering like you did for so long?”

I remember the sick, scared feeling I had in my stomach the first time I shared my story of being sexual abused with others. I feared being judged and feelings of shame and guilt from the past flooded my thoughts. When I finished, I was surprised to find that audience members were coming up to thank me for sharing. And then something that I hadn’t expected happened. The guests, people I didn’t know, starting telling me that they had a similar past…..what? Women told me that they too had never told anyone. As much as it comforted me, I also felt angry and sad.

How is it that in a culture of tell-all, reality TV, there are so many suffering in silence? We donate money and time to help others in foreign countries, but aren’t addressing the serious issues that are in our own churches, neighborhoods and schools.

We need to come forward, get past the shame and guilt and help each other heal. The more we do, the more we can bring attention to this all too common issue and prevent it from happening to others.

This is why I share my story.

I recently had the opportunity to appear on Real Life and Real Life 360 on Cornerstone TV in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I shared my story with the hope of helping others realize that they aren’t alone. God loves us…messy past and all!

Lead Me

It must be you God,

leading me down this path.

Sometimes slowly,

other times at a lightning pace.

It must be you God,

leading me to be a voice for others.
.

Years ago I couldn’t have,

but now I feel your grace and love.

It must be you God,

encouraging me to to push ahead.

I feel your presence now,

guiding me when it gets tough.

It must be you God,

trusting me with this task.

You’ve shown me how to forgive,

to leave my hurt in the past.

It must be you God,

giving me this courage.

I’ll do my best to make you proud;

you’ve given me so much.

It must be you God,

Filling me with this joy.

I feel a sense of urgency,

a new found purpose.

It must be you God,

leading me down this path.

A Lesson in Grace

Yesterday morning it was 17 degrees outside. I do NOT like to be cold! However, I have a dog and he doesn’t mind it. And if he doesn’t get his daily walks he will do everything in his power to make me feel guilty. I mean, just look at that face!

So I reluctantly put on my down jacket, hat, and gloves. As we headed out across the street I realized that the sun felt nice and raised my face towards it. We walked to the end of the street, he did his “business,” and as we turned to head home I was thinking about the hot cup of coffee that I would enjoy when we got back home.

My thoughts were quickly interrupted as 2 dogs came running across the street towards us and I heard their owner yelling, “oh no, I’m sorry!” My dog likes to meet other dogs and wasn’t phased as the sniffing began until one of the dogs started attacking him. In a flash I heard growling, saw teeth, and started yelling, “stop it” to the dog. The other dog had my dog’s ear in his mouth, paws around his neck and I was terrified. A person driving by pulled over to help and the owner of the dogs was able to get her dog away from mine. I quickly walked away thinking very negative thoughts about the dog and the owner. After we got home and I assessed my dog and realized that he was fine, I was able to calm down a little bit. I went to work, but still had a bitter taste in mouth.

Later in the afternoon I was doing an errand and my son called me when he got home from school. I told him what had happened and he was immediately angry. I reminded him that it wasn’t the woman’s fault and that we should be thankful that our dog wasn’t hurt. A few minutes later he called me back and said that the woman had come over looking for me and wanted to make sure our dog was ok! As I drove home I saw the woman and pulled over to talk to her. She apologized and asked if my dog was ok. It turns out that she is the daughter in law of a neighbor and staying with them for a while. She was very kind and said, “That was not the way I wanted to meet you. I’ve heard you speak at church.” I was taken aback and felt guilty for my earlier negative thoughts.

I returned home and told my son about our exchange. As I pointed out that I could’ve been nasty and unkind to her, which would’ve been a bad reflection of Jesus (who I try hard to be a positive reflection of). As I reflected on the whole ordeal, I realized that it was a perfect lesson of grace!

We find this written out in Luke 6:31-37 (NLT)

Do to others as you would like them to do to you.“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.

My Journey of Faith (Interview)

I was excited to have the opportunity to be interviewed recently about my book on My Journey of Faith Radio.

Grab a cup of tea and have a listen!

 

Becoming your best self

Isn’t it great how God puts certain people in your path? Have you ever met someone and you know that you met them for a reason? My friend Lisa and I met on this blog and immediately we had a connection.

She has a beautiful blog and a gift for inspiring others.

Becoming Your Best Self Blog

I’m excited to be with her today to share how forgiveness can help us all become our best selves. I hope you’ll join us!

Book launch date!

Mark your calendar to look for this book on November 23!

What happens when you trust God?

If someone had told me 2 years ago that I would write a book about my life, I would’ve laughed and said they were crazy! But when God speaks to me, I try my best to listen. Even when I was filled with doubt, God made it clear to me that I was to complete this task. I trusted Him and now my book is finished and being printed! I am hopeful that I will be able to provide hope and healing to others with my words.

….But with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

COMING SOON!