Tracy's Blog

This past Friday I went to a women's event hosted by a church in Selkirk. Shauna, one of the women who gave a talk during the evening, shared something that she had learned reading Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts . In my opinion, Shauna described one of the essential aspects of living in a place of grace so I thought I would share it with you all as my blog this week. It's the relationship between grace and thanksgiving. The Greek word used in the NT for thanksgiving is eucharisteo . Note what word is found in the middle of that verse: charis - the Greek word for grace. Shauna encouraged us to receive the grace in a situation and that this would then allow us to enter into thanksgiving. I thought it was a beautiful picture of living in a place of grace. This enables us to" give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus " (1 Thes. 5:18). Since God's grace is presently being extended to us ( 2 Corinthians 6:2 ), we c...

I've been reading a book with a small group called, " How People Grow " by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (copyright 2001; Zondervan) and it has me thinking about the relationship between grace and acceptance. BTW, I highly recommend this book if you are interested in your own spiritual and emotional growth or helping others grow in these areas. Being accepted by others (especially those who we love, admire, or fear) is really important to us and we can do all sorts of things to gain the acceptance of others. But in the kingdom of God, acceptance is founded on God's grace. We don't earn our acceptance, we receive it as a gift . We are accepted because of God's unconditional love for us and because of Jesus' atonement for our sins. When we believe in the gospel and essentially "accept" God's acceptance of us, things change..... and sometimes it feels sort of strange, even unsettling. The pressure is gone, there is tonnes of room for growth, and...

I alluded to part of my motivation for reflecting on grace in my blog last week when I mentioned speaking angrily to my children. It became very clear to me around Easter time that I wasn't treating my family graciously all the time and so our home/family is my primary arena for growth in this area right now. I really want our family/home to be "a place of grace". As I considered the reoccuring incident of coming out of time alone with God and acting contrary to the grace I've received, I thought of the parable Jesus told of the unmerciful servant ( Matthew 18:21-35 ). In the parable a servant who has been forgiven a huge debt refuses to forgive a fellow servant a minor debt. This is unacceptable in the kingdom of God. Being a recipient of God's grace and mercy means we will extend it to others. A place of grace is a place of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the "norm" and practiced over and over again, all the time. It is not that sin is ignored, denied, or ...

How do we translate the heavenly reality - being before God's throne of grace - into our earthly existence? Is it possible to bring this "place of grace" into our current environments: homes, hang-outs, workplaces, churches, etc? I believe it is. Here is my theory: the places we live out our life can become places of grace if we, and those who share life with us, are vessels of God's grace. But this is easier said than done. From my experience, I can come out of time alone with God (approaching His throne of grace) peaceful and joyful that I'm forgiven, God is with me, and I have been blessed "in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Eph. 1:7) Then I re-enter the demands of life and suddenly I speak angrily to my children or act irritable because I'm stressed about a deadline. I'm not a conduit of grace but rather of hostility, fear, and criticism. It's the exact opposite of what I desire... and of what God wants. So...

I was kneeling next to the bathtub today as I was waiting for Timmy to be ready to get his hair washed when a thought hit me: "this is a place of grace". How? Why? Hebrews 4:14-16 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in evey way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Kneeling in my bathroom, I pondered the reality that I am invited to approach God at any moment of my life, in any physical surroundings, and what I will find is that I am before the throne of grace. While I am participating in the day to day of life on earth, I can also be present in God's holy place. A place where I am welcome and acc...