Meet Tracy Steel of Peoria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Steel.

Hi Tracy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am an extroverted woman from the Midwest who loves God and the people He creates. My childhood and adolescent years were littered with love and affection for dreams and goals that only served one person: Me. I am thankful that God saw fit to step in and change my heart and life during my college years. However, I have only sometimes been this way. During this season of my life, my parents attended a Christian retreat at a local church. They came back changed. I noticed a joy and peace in them I did not have. In our daily conversations, they mentioned Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection, and God’s grace. I could not understand what had happened to them—they were sure they were going to Heaven when they died. But I thought my acceptance into Heaven depended on how good of a person I was. So I tried to be good enough, never knowing if God cared or loved me. Around my 21st birthday, I attended a youth retreat and, once again, heard about Jesus and the Gospel message. I realized trying to be “good enough” for Heaven was foolish. Instead, I needed Jesus to forgive me of my sin. My involvement in religion instead of a personal relationship needed to stop, and it did. That weekend I accepted Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior.

I graduated from college and moved to New Mexico for my first job as an Interior Designer in 1998. However, as a newer Christian, I struggled to grow in my faith since most of my friends did not share my love for Jesus. The next couple of years have contained little spiritual growth for me. During the summer of 1999, I moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for a new job opportunity. I was lonely and heartbroken over a dating relationship that had just ended. But I gave Jesus another chance, and since that summer, life has turned out much differently than I originally planned.

The more I fell in love with Jesus, the more money and corporate success lost its allure. In 2001, God began calling me into a different kind of “Interior Design.” I no longer found satisfaction in the job that my college degree provided. Instead of picking paint samples, God poured a new passion for ministering to His people into my heart. From 2003-2005, I attended Phoenix Seminary and graduated with my Graduate Diploma in Leadership Development in May of 2005. After graduating, I received my Ministerial License (August 2005) and served in full-time youth ministry as the Director of Female Students at Scottsdale Bible Church from 2005-2007. I returned to the seminary in 2017, graduating with my Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies from Phoenix Seminary in 2019. In August of 2020, I found myself back in Phoenix, AZ, where I served as the Associate Minister to Women at Scottsdale Bible throughout the following year. I enjoy helping women via my writing and speaking ministries, and I am the Co-Founder of a discipleship-based parachurch ministry, My Only Aim. I am also the author of “A Redesigned Life: Uncovering God’s Purpose When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.” (Revell/Baker Publishing, 2019).

In 2008, I married Chad Steel, my handsome, recently retired Air Force Pilot. We are currently raising our two energetic almost teenagers, Jackson (age 14) and Katie (age 12), and enjoy traveling and watching our kids grow into the people God is creating them to be! While ministering to others is my call and a tremendous honor, the roles of mom and wife are the dearest to me. Looking back, I didn’t see any of this coming, but I am thankful God has brought all of it. Yes, even the grief and the losses, for I have learned more in the valley type of seasons with Him than when life felt like a mountain top. He truly knows what is best for my life, and I look forward to living the rest of my life loving Him and those around me, come what may.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, for walking out one’s faith and ministering to others is full of blessings and struggles. Usually, both happen at the same time! Sometimes the struggles I’ve faced over the years are more internal, like burnout, insecurity, rejection, or grief. The external struggles I’ve encountered over the years have stemmed from balancing ministry demands with motherhood and marriage, changes in church leadership and programming, or the external struggles due to conflict with various types of people within/outside of the church. But through the struggles, I’ve depended more on God for hope, comfort, peace, and direction. And He has never left or forsaken me. The pain He allows into our lives is a great teacher, for it reveals what is truly most important, this side of eternity, and it softens our hearts to the pain of others. The Bible is full of His promises to those struggling as well. One of the verses I continually cling to whenever struggles come my way is Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (NIV)

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a retired interior designer involved in a different type of interior design. From the home to the heart. From picking paint to teaching the Old Testament book of Proverbs. I am a full-time ministry woman known for putting people before projects. My passion is to love others and help them walk out of the purposes God has given to them. I am most proud when I help someone realize how much God loves them and watch them grow in their faith and minister to those around them.

I am a national speaker, published author, and mentor to women in my local church and across the valley. There isn’t something that sets me apart, but someone who died for me, Jesus, who has set me apart so that through His strength and power, I can walk in His freedom, forgiveness, grace, and love, helping others to do the same!

I recently helped form a new valley-wide ministry to disciple women and help them grow in their understanding of their purpose and how to study the Bible called My Only Aim. Our next Ignite Influence gathering launches in August 2023. More information is available on our website: www.myonlyaim.com.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
My mother liked to say that I was born 3 weeks early and have never stopped moving or talking ever since. So being an extroverted people lover has always been who I have been at my core. Before living in Phoenix, I grew up in Kansas and danced as a ballerina until my love of interior design took over. In 1998, I graduated with a BS in Interior Design and moved to Phoenix in the summer of 1999 for a corporate design position. Once retirement from active duty came into view, my husband and I felt God calling us back to the Valley of the Sun. It’s good to be back in Phoenix now as a retired military family after 9 moves in 13 years, but where did all the traffic come from? Goodness! My other hobbies involve watching college football, Yankees baseball, Gilmore Girls, and Downton Abbey, traveling the world, reading, and drinking tea, iced or hot, green or black the more tea, the better! And hugs, I am a huge fan of those too!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tracymsteel.com
• Instagram: @tracymsteel
• Other: www.myonlyaim.com 

Image Credits
Glorianna Picini Photography, 2019 (for watermarked portrait photos)