Tracy's Blog

"Are you ready for Christmas?" How many times have you been asked that in the last week?  It seems like that question replaces "How are you?" this time of year and becomes part of the standard greeting.  With so much to do before Christmas - gifts, cards, baking, travelling, etc. - it is a valid question.  And as the days until Christmas rapidly declines, we have to face this reality: ready or not, Christmas will be here on Wednesday. Last week I was visiting with a friend and we started talking about what it means to be ready for Christmas.  Here is what we came up with.  Being ready for Christmas doesn't mean having all your gifts bought and wrapped or your Christmas menu planned.  It doesn't mean having written every card on your list or having a new outfit to wear.  It isn't dependent on having lots of money or lots of time.  Being ready for Christmas means being ready to receive God's wonderful gift of His Son, Jesus!  Because J...

“How am I ever going to do that?” I asked myself in the fall when we started our 6 am Winnipeg Free Press paper route. I was thinking about the future – the dark, cold, windy winter mornings ahead – and wondering how I would be able to handle the paper route then. Since I am a person who loves warmth, sleep, and daylight, I just couldn't imagine it. So this last Saturday morning when the thermometer read -30º C and I was joyfully trudging along on the route, I remembered that question and asked myself another one, “How am I doing this?” Three things came to mind: By God's grace : When I go to bed at night I usual think I won't be eager to get up in the morning but when I'm awaken by my alarm, I get out of bed quite easily for me. It never ceases to surprise me since I was not a morning person. How do I explain this? It is a gracious gift of God. Nothing I deserve. It is a specific, practical way that God is blessing me in this season of my life. By God'...

I didn't hear a sermon today.  Yes, I did go to church and it was wonderful!  It was our Advent Pageant so the children and youth led us in worship through Bible readings, songs, and a poem that took us from Genesis to Revelation.  I so appreciate thinking about the birth of Christ in light of the full story of redemption.  It gives me hope.  Which I need. So often, I can focus on what is wrong in the world and in my life and am tempted to feel discouraged.  I wonder how God is working in situations and I fear that we humans have messed things up too much.  But then I remember: "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." These words from John 1:5 were read by a child today.  They are words that inspire me to hope and believe in the power of God.  Hear the words of this Sunday's Epistle: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit...

She caught my attention immediately.  There they were - the whole Grade 10 Band of the Lord Selkirk Comprehensive High School - playing their piece of music and what was she doing?  She seemed to be doing nothing.  Was she really just standing there? No, of course not.  She was doing much more than that.  With cymbals in hand, she was reading her musical score, watching and waiting for the moment in which she would play her part.  Then all of a sudden her moment came and there it was.... the crash of the cymbals heard louder than any other instrument. Last Wednesday evening, as I watched this young woman wait so well... patiently and with anticipation....I thought about the Advent Season approaching and wondered "Can we be like her?"  One of the main things we do during Advent is acknowledge that we are waiting.  Yes, of course, we hear the children complain that they "can't wait until Chris...

Christmas lights are starting to come up all over town and some of my friends even have their Christmas trees up.  The kids are preparing for the Advent Pageant at church and writing their Christmas list.  And here I am just trying to make sure that I know what today's date is as time seems to be passing so quickly.  I admit it.... I am feeling a little disoriented.  It has been over a month since my watch broke so I'm not wearing one (and I normally don't go without a watch for more than the 15 minutes of my daily shower!)  We were having a pretty mild November last week and then I woke up on Sunday morning to snow that is here to stay and temperatures are dropping into the -20's overnight tonight.  Somehow it feels like it went from October to January!  Both time of day and season of the year are things that I rely on to keep me grounded. Why am I telling you all this?!?  Well, because I am excited this disorientation will soon b...

Currently I'm reading Beth Moore's book, " So Long, Insecurity ," with a group of friends.  Beth was talking about pride being one of the main roots of insecurity and how it drives perfectionism.  In her discussion on this topic, she quoted a psychiatrist and theologian, Richard Winter.  I was struck by the quote so I wanted to pass it on to you as it raises some important (and challenging) issues about how we view our insecurities. " Although perfectionists seem very insecure, doubting their decisions and actions, fearing mistakes and rejection, and having low opinions of themselves, at the same time, they have excessively high personal standards and an exaggerated emphasis on precision, order and organization, which suggests an aspiration to be better than others. Most psychological explanations see the desire to be superior and in control as compensation for feelings of weakness, inferiority and low self-esteem.  But is could also be that the opposite is ...

“My Mom knows what I'm thinking?” This was the surprised response of a 6 year old boy named Alex after I exhorted him to listen to his mother because she knows what is best for him. At first his response didn't make sense to me. Why would he say that? Then it dawned on me... Alex is convinced that he knows what is best for himself so the only way his Mom could know this is that she can read his mind! I laughed when I realized what he meant and when on to explain that no, she isn't a mind reader but rather a person with experience that has given her wisdom. Then we continued on with our visit. But his comment has stuck in my mind. Why? I think it is because through the innocent unfiltered words of a child, I saw what lurks in my soul, our souls – the belief that only we know what is best for us. And what is the problem with that? It is pride. The kind of pride that hurts our relationship with God because we judge Him for not doing things according to what we “k...

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought I'd give thanks to God for our dog, Pepsi. Yes, you read me right! Since moving to the city of Selkirk in the end of July, Pepsi has been such a blessing. But it didn't start out that way.... One of the things that was stressful about our move from the country to town was wondering how our dog would cope.... or maybe how we would cope with him. Pepsi was raised in Ottawa for his first year of life and had a very urban dog life: crated at night and when we left the house, 3 walks during the day, and an occasional visit to the dog park. Over the three years that we lived on our acreage, he really turned into an outdoor dog. He only slept in the house in winter (and even then it had to be quite cold for him to come in), had free reign of the yard day and night, and rarely went for walks. Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing.... he loved to bark. He barked at people as a way to say “Come, play with me”. He barked at th...

Hi everyone, Just a note of gratitude to say that I felt your prayers this week.  They do make a difference. in Christ, Tracy

Hi everyone, I have a few ideas simmering in my brain for blogs that I may write (soon?) but today I thought I would reach out to you all to ask for prayer.  It seems that after two years of attending St. Margaret's Anglican Church, this week I'm diving into the community in a much bigger way.  I am auditing a Wycliffe course that St. Margaret's is facilitating, having coffee with one of the pastoral staff, joining a committee that helps with the discernment process for people who are seeking ordination, and preaching a children's sermon (for the whole congregation) this Sunday morning. In addition to this, there is still the September adjustment going on with our family and Timmy has been sick (respiratory virus?) for the last 4 day. He missed one day of his first week of Kindergarten. Pray as you feel led. Thank-you so much! in Christ, Tracy Ephesians 6:18-19 (NIV) 18  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all...

Our family took a 26 hour vacation this weekend. We left on Sunday afternoon to go camping. Now, getting a campsite for the Sunday afternoon of a long weekend is not an easy thing. After spending time (perhaps hours) looking at all the options at Manitoba Provincial Parks, I was discouraged to find out that I couldn't book for just one night on a long weekend. So, we prayed and we found a privately owned campground in an area we were interested in going to. Thankfully, Rick – the owner – said that although he usually only books for all three nights of the long weekend, someone asked if they could leave Sunday so we could have their spot. Rick is an interesting guy. He wasn't at the office when we arrived at 4:30 pm on Sunday afternoon and I couldn't get a hold of him on his cell phone. Thankfully, after praying we would find him, a kind lady on a bicycle told us she knew where he was and to just wait at the gate as she went to get him. Now, something we learned...

I really appreciate the encouragement of others in my Christian faith. When I'm discouraged or have lost sight of what is true, it really helps me to have someone direct me back to God. But it is not always possible to have a person to fellowship with. There are times when we are by ourselves or in the company of non-believers and we really need encouragement. What can we do? I suggest we talk to ourselves. That the part of us that knows the truth speaks to the part of us that is doubting. Although I've been practising this for awhile through journalling, the concept became clear one night when I was driving and I heard these verses on the local Christian radio station. Lamentations 3:22-24 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”   When I heard Lamentations 3:24, it struck me...

It was a practical question that any 5 year old might ask. Yes, this was the question that Timmy asked in his Children and Worship class at church last weekend. The story was about Noah's ark and all the animals on it. As various aspects of life with the animals were being discussed, Timmy asked “What do they do with the poop?” An older child said, “They probably dumped it into the ocean” and the leader agreed. That's when I had a thought about obedience..... obeying God may mean having to deal with messy stuff. God commanded Noah to build the ark ( Genesis 6:14 ).  Noah did it as an act of faith ( Hebrews 11:7 ) and obedience ( Genesis 6:22 ). But when it was finished and the animals had come on board, there was lots more work to do as he tended to the animals ( Genesis 6:21 ) and I think some of it was hard, unpleasant work. I am tempted to believe that if I'm doing God's will, it shouldn't be tough or challenging or gross.... but sometimes obedience is....

Hi everyone, I hope your summer is going well and that you are receiving God's blessings as they come to you moment by moment. We are in the middle of boxes as our move is less than a week away.  I feel pretty calm about it.  Thanks be to God!  I just read a blog off of Ann Voskamp's sight that was written by Mark Buchanan (both are Canadians!).  It simply explains something that I've only learned in the last few years but have needed to know all my adult life: " the only kind of control the Bible endorses – indeed, commands – is self-control." So here is the link: a holy experience I'd be interested in hearing what you think and would appreciate your prayers for self-control for me as I deal not only with the tasks I have before me but also desire to parent my children in a godly way (without trying to control them) through the transition of packing and moving. grace and peace in Christ, Tracy

Well, I'm happy to report that I am feeling much better.  I'm sure some of you prayed for me after my blog entry last week.  Thank-you.  Prayer is very powerful and such an important part of walking with God.  But we often struggle with prayer. We don't know what to ask for or we are confused about God's lack of response.  I've heard it said that God always answers our prayers but His answer may be not what we expect. The gospel reading from last Sunday, Luke 8:26-39 , shows Jesus answering requests in surprising ways. 1. "Yes":  Jesus says "yes" to the requests of demons verse 32: "The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission" 2. "Yes": Jesus listens to the request of the people who have seen His great power and are afraid so they want Him to get away from them. verse 37:    " Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were ov...

This past January, I thought I'd try the Ann Voskamp thing and keep track of things I'm thankful for by listing them in my journal by number. Today I hit the number 1000. What an interesting day to do it! I'm sick...I think it is a sinus infection but it may be becoming an ear infection. I'm somewhat overwhelmed by all the tasks I have before me with a trip to Alberta coming up June 29 th and a move to Selkirk July 25 th . (It's a downsizing move so that means there is stuff to get rid of, not just stuff to pack.) And I think I'm going through the “end of school blues”..... even though I'm not the student! Oh yeah... and I have 4 things to bake or make food for in the next 48 hours! Okay, okay. Enough grumbling. Maybe you can relate?!?   In many ways, it is a great day to reach the “goal” of 1000 gifts that I have given thanks for as it reminds me that giving thanks is a day by day, moment by moment thing. God is here right now. He is gi...

Have you ever heard of a man named Aeneas in Acts? I was reading through Acts 9 and realized that I was unfamiliar with this name. Now, it is kind of understandable that we may not be familiar with him as the story of Aeneas' healing is squeezed between two very well know Bible stories: the conversion of Saul and the resurrection of Dorcas. So here it is. Acts 9:32-34 ESV Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight year, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.   Healing has been on my mind a fair bit recently because of several things: Timmy's sicknesses over the last 6 weeks; my current head cold; the Gospel passages of the past two Sunday lectionary readings ( Luke 7:1-10 and 11-17 )...

The last two weeks have been challenging with Timmy having a serious ear infection and our internet being down for 3 days. That's why there was no blog last week. Thankfully Timmy is now feeling better and we are back on-line! During Timmy's illness, I had an experience that spoke to me about God's patience. It was last Tuesday morning and Timmy was refusing to take his medicine. Now, I will tell you that these antibiotics taste terrible so it is understandable why he would be resistant. I even added chocolate sauce to them to make them taste less horrible! We ended up in a situation where Timmy hid himself to try avoid the medicine.  He basically cornered himself in as there were two walls and the side of the bookshelf blocking him in. Once I found him, I sat down on the fourth side so he couldn't run away from me again. I had realized that forcing him to take him medicine wouldn't work as he would just spit it up or spill it by knocking my hand as I mov...

Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost - the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church visible as tongues of fire.  I thought I would change my blog look since we are in a new season of the Church Year (Ordinary Time, I think it is called) and I used a picture that Noah took tonight.  It was a beautiful sunset and I thought that the colours were suitable for speaking about fire. Isn't it interesting that when you pass a flame from one candle to another, the flame from the first candle isn't diminished?  It was Abigail who pointed this out to me during Earth Hour on March 23rd.  I thought, "That is such a good insight.... and it applies to the Holy Spirit."  When the Spirit is passed on from one person to another through the use of the gifts God has given us, the Spirit in us doesn't somehow become less.  Just as a flame doesn't die when shared, the life of the Spirit isn't snuffed out when we give God's love, grace, encouragement, exhortation, healin...

"Spring is not a season!” Timmy announced from the back seat of our car. “Why?” I asked him. He thought that there were really only two seasons: Winter and Summer. I tried to explain to him that Spring was the season of transition between Winter to Summer and that there were things that it had things that were particular to it... crocuses for example. Well, my explanation didn't seem to impact him as a week or two later, he made the same announcement. Now, it is interesting to note that he said this back when the calendar said “Spring” but there was still plenty of snow on the ground and here we are a few weeks later with the snow melting almost overnight and temperatures in the 20's. How am I to convince him now? I'm encouraging him to look at the trees which are just starting to bud. They have to go through the growth of Spring before they are ready for the fruitfulness of summer. Timmy's pronouncement got me thinking about the need for “spring-like” ...

I've been busy working on some projects with our local women's shelter these past couple of weeks.  And somewhere in that busyness, I started losing my perspective.  Human error were irritating to me and if the mistake was mine, anger and shame would quickly follow.  Obviously, I was not walking in God's grace and this needed to change.  Then I had a very interesting day.  It was two weeks ago today - Wednesday, April 24th.  Although I didn't realize it at the start of the day, it was my day to choose between shame or grace.  Between viewing life with judgemental, harsh eyes or with God's perspective towards us - unmerited favour. Three things happened that day.... First.  In the morning, I went to the church that I had organized an event at the day before.  I was quickly running to get something that my boss had forgotten and I realized that there were women washing the floor of the hall.  I chatted with them and realized that ...

This past Sunday there was a lot of talk about sheep and shepherd in the lectionary readings. In John 10:27-28, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” And in Rev. 7:16-17, there is a glimpse of what the eternal life that Jesus gives is like: “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” It is no surprise then, that the Psalm to be read was Psalm 23. Psalm 23 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with ...

"The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love."   Psalm 145:8 This verse caught my attention this week and I wanted to ask you to consider it in two ways. 1) This is God's stance towards you:               gracious               compassionate               slow to anger               rich in love 2) This is God's stance towards others:               gracious               compassionate               slow to anger               ...

After enjoying a celebratory church service, a delicious feast (made by my mother-in-law) and a relaxing afternoon, I was quickly reading my Bible on Easter Sunday evening when a phrase caught my eye in Luke 24: “The Lord has risen indeed...” (24:34 ESV) “Hey!” I thought, “That's what we have been saying all day, in church and then as we greeted people - Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!” Why haven't I ever noticed it in the Bible? And why the “indeed” part in our response? Well, to answer the first question, it is probably because of the Bible translations I've been reading the last few years. Here are a few translations of this phrase in Luke 24:34. NIV “It is true! The Lord has risen...” NLT: “The Lord has really risen!” NASB: “The Lord has really risen....” The Message: “It's really happened! The Master has been raised up...” None of them have the exact wording of the KJV “The Lord is risen indeed” but the ESV which I read this past w...

Note: Before you start reading, I thought I would address the fact that there are many links to Bible passages in this blog. Please do not feel like you need to follow all (or any) of them.  Let the Holy Spirit lead you. Last Monday our driveway was snowed in and the kids had a day off school. Since then the snow hasn't melted much. Winter is still here. Very much so. It is going on much longer than normal (and I hear it is the same for other parts of Canada too). The calendar says “spring” but the temperature says “winter”. The church calendar says Easter is coming, but it looks more like Christmas. Driving to church this Palm Sunday I noticed how high the snow piles really are and thought “this is not how it is suppose to be!” And although that could stress me out or sadden me, instead it gave me an opportunity to think about the first Easter and how it was filled with things that, from a human perspective, were “not suppose to be”.  For example: Palm Sunda...

Mary of Bethany was in the spotlight in this past Sunday's Gospel reading ( John 12:1-8 ). In an act of loving devotion, she pours expensive perfume on Jesus' feet and uses her hair to dry them. Judas judges her actions questioning why the perfume wasn't sold and the money from it given to the poor. Jesus defends Mary: “Leave her alone” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:7). Mary. She's one of the people in the Bible who catches my attention. Why? Probably because she doesn't do what is expected of her and she gets some pretty serious negative attention as a result. Judas in John 12. Her own sister, Martha, in Luke 10:38-42 . But in both accounts, Jesus stands up for her. He speaks of her doing the right thing. Notice what that is?   Mary gives Jesus her full attention. When Jesus is near Mary, nothing kee...

How long does it take you to realize you are in the wrong place? This past week, I found out that I can realize this pretty quickly – thankfully! Here is what happened. I walked into the supermarket washroom with urgency and I noticed that one of the stalls didn't have a door. “That's strange,” I thought as the bathroom was clean and had been renovated not that long ago. Then I looked in that stall and saw – yes, you guess it – a urinal. I was in the Men's Washroom! So, I quickly got out of there (thankfully, no one else was in the washroom) and pushed open the next door. You know, the one with the lady in the dress on it! How did I react to this? I laughed. Then I thought about repentance. (Yes, this is as true as the part about walking into a Men's Washroom last Wednesday morning!) While it wasn't sin for me to walk into that Men's Room, I was pretty motivated to leave it and this gave me a picture of repentance. What is repentance? It's r...

The Psalm at church last weekend was Psalm 63 . It is a psalm about desire and longing and about deep satisfaction and worship. As soon as I think about this psalm, my memory takes me to a fire escape on the back of an old three story house in the Glebe in Ottawa. (It was on Fourth Avenue for all you who know Ottawa.) The year was 1993 and I was on my first summer assignment as Campus Crusade staff and I felt my need for God. As I sat on that back stairwell, I read, prayed, meditated on, and memorized verses of this psalm and I experienced something real, something deep and lasting. Psalm 63:1-5 (NASB – since that was what I was reading at the time) 1O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4 So I will bless You as long ...

“ Almighty God, whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are but did not sin, give us grace to discipline ourselves in submission to Your Spirit, that as You know our weakness, so we may know Your power to save, through Jesus Christ our Lor d, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”   This prayer is the Collect (opening prayer) for the first Sunday in Lent from the Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada (page 286). When we prayed this prayer last weekend, the line “so we may know Your power to save” jumped out at me. This is what Lent is about. Knowing God's power to save us from our sin. This has been an encouragement for me this Lent as I've set in place certain disciplines that I believe are in submission to the Spirit and what has been revealed is my weakness. My need of a Saviour. So, if you are finding you are seeing more of the parts of your life and pers...

I attended the Ash Wednesday service at St. Margaret's last week and was deeply touched. The opportunity to confess my sin and receive God's mercy was very beautiful. How needy we are... and how graciously God provides. I wanted to share one of the prayers we prayed as it sets a meaningful tone for Lent: “Lord, for thy tender mercies' sake, lay not our sins to our charge; But forgive that is past, and give us grace to amend our sinful lives; To decline from sin, and incline to virtue; That we may walk with a perfect heart before thee, now and evermore.” Book of Common Prayer p 614 God not only forgives us, but He also gives us the grace to change and improve our lives. And the prayer tells us how to do it: “ To decline from sin, and incline to virtue.”   I love that line. Why? Maybe because it gives me visual images that help me understand what it means to repent. I can imagine moving my body away from sin like a child who doesn't want to eat what is ...