Tracey Mitchell - Downside Up: Transform Rejection Into Your Golden Opportunity

Praise for Downside Up

As a fitness and wellness expert, Ive coached numerous clients that have had to deal with the devastating effects of rejection... mentally, physically, and spiritually. Tracey brilliantly taps into the deeper meanings of rejection and how to leverage the experiences to your advantage. Downside Up is not only a catchy title, but an invaluable tool that I will be sharing with all my clients. Thank you, Tracey, for your wisdom and insight.

Wendie Pett, fitness and wellness expert; TV show host

Divas, drama queens, green-eyed monsters, fudge, and fairy talesDownside Up has them all! More important, it has everything you need to learn how to use rejection as a stepping-stone to personal confidence and power. Tracey Mitchell has lived through excruciating rejection and transformed it into a life of international Christian influence, hope, and joy. Practical. Poignant. And positive. You cant help but benefit from this excellent book. Read it and reap!

Mary Hollingsworth, best-selling author,
Hugs for Women and many others

Tracey Mitchell has diligently and conscientiously written this compelling book to help anyone who has experienced emotional distress and desires to step out of bondage into Gods maximum potential and fulfillment in life. Traceys simple approach helps the reader feel confident in releasing the abilities and purpose God has placed within them. Dont miss this opportunity to experience restoration from everything the enemy has meant for your defeat.

Dr. Iris Delgado, founder, Crowned With Purpose; best-selling
author, Satan, You Cant Have My Children

Dr. Mitchell has been gifted by the Lord to communicate a clear and effective message of hope to a hurting world. Through a well-balanced approach of wisdom and the personal experiences, Downside Up will guide its readers on the journey from brokenness to wellness. I highly recommend Downside Up for anyone who suffers from the pain and scars of rejection.

Pastor Asa Dockery, senior pastor, World Harvest
Church North; author; television host

The sound-bite sections of wisdom in Downside Up are captivating, clever, and utterly compelling. In a world where the pain of rejection hovers like a toxic fog, Tracey Mitchells insight, perception, and sense of humor is a breath of fresh air.

Allison Bottke, author, the Setting Boundaries
series, including Setting Boundaries with Your Adult
Children; editor, God Allows U-Turns anthology

Traceys writing is like her lifereal, authentic, and transparent. She has a gift for communicating, especially to women, that is much needed. We live in a hurting world, and things are not getting any better. As Christians, our lives are not supposed to fall apart, but they do. In Downside Up, Tracey guides the reader on his or her journey from brokenness to wholeness. Often using personal examples, anyone who has felt the pain of personal rejection will be blessed by Downside Up. Its a must read for Christians who have been used, abused, and discarded.

Jack Watts, award-winning author, Hi, My Name
Is Jack, Recovering from Religious Abuse: 11 Steps
to Spiritual Freedom, Real Prayers for Real People
with Real Problems, and We Believe: 30 Days to
Understanding our Heritage; creator, Pushing Jesus blog

This book is a must-read for anyone who has gone through rejection, is going through it now, or will go through it in the future.

Suellen Roberts, founder and president,
Christian Women in Media Association

In her new book, Downside Up, Tracey Mitchell states: Society has distorted the truth about deception. Who would know this better than Tracey? This woman of uncommon faith writes with the passion and insight of one who has experienced rejection. Tracey understands brokenness and rejection. Rather than become overcome by hurts, however, she became the overcomer. As you read this book, let God touch your heart and turn your life Downside Up. Get ready for a transformation... in your life and in your world. Total victory is near!

J. Don George, DD, senior pastor, Calvary Church,
Irving, Texas; author, Against the Wind

Downside Up offers a fresh, new look at an age-old issue that men and women deal with on a regular basis. Dr Tracey Mitchell gives solid advice while sharing her life experiences. Tracey asks thought-provoking questions while offering anecdotal evidence to back up her conclusions. Savvy, insightful, and inspiring: this is one of those books you just cannot put down.

Robin Bertram, national regions director,
Christian Women in Media; executive
producer, Freedom Today Television

Downside Up

2013 Tracey Mitchell

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from THE NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible. 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture quotations are from the following sources: The King James Version (KJV). Public domain. THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: OLD TESTAMENT (AMP). 1962, 1964 by Zondervan (used by permission); and from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE: NEW TESTAMENT (AMP). 1958 by the Lockman Foundation (used by permission). The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mitchell, Tracey, 1970

Downside up : transform rejection into your golden opportunity / Tracey Mitchell.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-4002-0484-7

1. Rejection (Psychology)Religious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4905.3.M57 2013

248.8'6dc23

2012045234

Printed in the United States of America

13 14 15 16 17 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1

For Robby, my best friend and partner in life

Contents

I remember having lunch with a strikingly beautiful young woman. Talented and articulate, she had the potential to become whatever she desired. With tears dripping down her face she asked, Tracey, why do I continue to chase after men who do not want me? What is wrong with me? I ignore those who accept me and pursue those who will not accept me. That, my dear friend, is the question of the ages: why do we continue to pursue things or people who are unwilling to pursue us? Why do we seek affirmation from those who are incapable of giving it?

In my travels around the world, I have experienced the extraordinary pleasure of meeting men and women from almost every walk of life. What continues to amaze me is not the cultural differences that divide us but rather the common thread of heartache uniting us. More than ever, I can attest that pain does not discriminate. I have watched the young, old, rich, poor, successful, attractive, and educated alike forsake their dreams because someone labeled them as unqualified or inferior.