Looking out the Window: Tracy Smoak Talks about Her Call to Write and Her New Book, Living Water to Refresh Your Soul. Gives Away Downloads of a Bible Study.

 

A Warm Welcome to Tracy Smoak

Tracy gives away downloads from a Bible Study, Refuge of Grace: Finding Your Safe Place on  her Website

Read why Tracy wrote the Bible Study below.

Hi Tracy, first, tell us a little about yourself.

I grew up in Central Florida running barefoot over sandspurs, eating oranges picked right from the citrus trees, and riding horses through the groves. As a youngster, asthma troubled me so reading books took me places when my body wouldn’t cooperate. The dream of authoring a book started young, but I didn’t actually write my first book until I was 47. My passion is bringing people hope. Recently, a love for photography has resulted in three devotionals with full color pictures. Living Water to Refresh Your Soul features tranquil lakes around my home in Lake County. I was born in Lakeland, so there must be a water theme washing over me 😊.  

Why do you write?

There have been many dark chapters in my life with divorce, job loss, and poor health. Yet through each trial, God proved constant and showed me beauty. Much healing has occurred, and my prayer is to be able to comfort others going through difficulties.  

What inspired you to write this particular book?

In the fall of 2021, I had just finished a Bible study that Bold Vision contracted to publish. As I waited for production to begin, I had freedom to relax a bit. As I drove around my home town, God would stop me to see with new eyes the natural beauty of the area I had taken for granted. Almost every few miles, one passes a sparkling lake shining with sunlight. I would pull over my car, grab my cell phone, and try to capture the scene. Funny thing is that I am not trained as a photographer, so I knew each image that turned out was a gift from God. I hadn’t ever intended to write a devotional, but as God took me on the physical journey along the 23-mile-long Palatlakaha River, I also encountered Him spiritually to step out in new directions and trust Him to guide.

Where do you get ideas for your books?

God surprises me with each one. The first was a memoir based on Psalm 23 with modern anecdotes. I worked in a maximum-security prison as a teacher and traveled to Mongolia on a medical mission. The second nonfiction was based on training and experiences as an advocate for survivors of domestic violence. The new novel coming out with Ambassador International in 2023 also features a small town where women unite to assist others fleeing violence. The Bible study titled Refuge of Grace: Finding Your Safe Place developed in 2021 while I worked full-time as an English teacher. The goal was to research how heroes of the Bible managed fear and disappointment, much like we were doing during COVID.

In three words describe your style of writing.

Bold

Vulnerable

Hopeful

Does your faith affect your writing? If so, how?

Yes, every argument with God about what I want to do and why He won’t let me and every time He picks me up when life lets me down, become part of the conversation shared in my writing. My failures and fears inform how loving He is to stand with me when I am weak. He speaks to me through nature, often because then I am quiet enough to listen to Him instead of blabbing on and on.  

What are you working on right now?

I am excited to be taking pictures for a devotional about treasures of the wise. However, a publisher advised me to hold off on that to ensure the other launches go well. Learning how to market is daunting. In the last year, I have started social media posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and blog weekly on my website. I have learned how to upload and edit digital images, create a slideshow, video and establish a YouTube channel. People who know me laugh because I am the classic poster child for a “technophobe,” yet God has guided me how to overcome fears of technology and navigate these venues to share His message of hope. 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Don’t quit. God planted a dream in me for a novel in 2011, but I didn’t get a contract for it until 11 years later. When I went back and revised that original work, I was glad God made me wait. The work needed to mature and improve – so did I! 

What would you be doing if you weren’t writing?

Outside gardening or walking my fat dog.

What is the coolest, wackiest, most risk-taking thing you’ve ever done?

Climbing under a bridge before dawn to get the most amazing sunrise shot ever.

What is the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you?

Getting uninvited from a probationary position as a technical editor.  

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

Thank you for the community of believers that lifts us up when we fall down and reminds us of how tender God is restoring us to wholeness. 

About Living Water to Refresh Your Soul

Do you know that God cares deeply about the tiniest details of your life? As He creates intricate patterns in marigold petals and causes sunlight to shimmer like diamonds on lake water, so does God care even more for you, who were made in His image. With thirty gorgeous nature photos and affirming Scriptures, Living Water to Refresh Your Soul will offer you peace and restoration as you see God’s creative hand in exquisite nature.

What People Are Saying

“I really enjoyed this little devotional book. . . .

The spiritual lesson is valuable to the believer’s walk with Christ.”

~Susan Snodgrass, Christian book reviewer

God is in the details and can be found in even the smallest elements in nature. Just imagine. A flower as intricate as a marigold or a lake reflection of guardian trees—both as mysterious as their Creator. Yet God cares deeply for you, the only creation made in his image. 

In this world of shifting sand, we need something beautiful to ground us in the present, and author Tracy L. Smoak brings tranquility with her pictorial devotional Living Water to Refresh Your Soul.

If you love nature, this book will refresh your soul. With thirty photographs of inspiring water scenes in Lake County, Florida, you’ll revel at the beauty of God’s design. The affirming Bible verses, prayers, and faith steps will calm and comfort you.

Buy Living Water to Refresh Your Soul here

Bio: 

A native Floridian, Tracy L. Smoak grew up in Lake County and appreciates the stunning natural water views there. She is a licensed English teacher of fifteen years with a master’s in education. Author of Employed by God: Benefits Packaged with Faith and Break the Cycle: Healing from an Abusive Relationship, Tracy encourages readers to see God’s hand in their daily lives. Living Water to Refresh Your Soul is her third book. Visit Tracey's Website for more information.

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