Tracy's Blog

A week ago we were snowed in.  Selkirk had more snow in 48 hours than it had had all of last winter.  While I was very happy to be blanketed in white stuff, I did find the experience a bit dis-orienting.  School was cancelled.  We had to walk if we wanted to get anywhere.  Life wasn't normal.  When life isn't normal, I want it to be.  I try as hard as I can to put things back into order.  The problem last week was that I couldn't make things go back to normal.  I had to wait. That wasn't the only waiting I had to do last week.  On Saturday morning we had our rehearsal for our church's Advent Pageant.  I was pleasantly surprised when things went smoothly and we ended on time.  Right before the lunch..... a pizza lunch that the church was providing for our 60 (or so ) children and youth.  A pizza lunch THAT WASN'T DELIVERED WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE!  Turns out there was a misunderstanding about the order and it had to...

" Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour ." (Matthew 24:44) This is how the Gospel reading for the first Sunday in Advent (which was today) ends.   The words that stand out for me are "must be ready".  We spend so much time focusing on "getting ready for Christmas" that I think it is important that we are reminded in the Advent Season to be ready for Jesus when He returns.  Now, getting ready for Christmas, and by that I mean shopping, baking, planning events, wrapping gifts, and cleaning, is very important.  Personally, I hope to get all those things done before December 25th!   But what does it mean to be ready for the Son of Man's return? Right now I am focused on the verb "be".  Now my problem is that I don't really remember much about English grammar from high school so I can't rattle off what kind of verb "be" is.  What I am aware of, however, is that it implies a state. ...

Where are my keys?  Not this again! (See my post on Monday, April 25, 201 6.)  These are the thoughts I was having awhile back when I couldn't find my keys.  The clock was ticking as it was time to go to school and my frustration with myself was rising.  I think I may have prayed but don't exactly remember.  Here what I do remember: After a few minutes of searching, I looked down and realized I was holding my purse.  Inside it were my keys!!  "Ah," I thought, "isn't that similar to us with our identity and value.  We look everywhere for it when we've actually had it in our possession in Christ all along."  Let me explain. Many of us spend a lot of time and energy searching for meaning and significance in our lives.  We look to other people's opinions of us, our list of accomplishments, or our bank accounts to give us a sense of importance or security.  Sometimes we find the search too painful and turn to habits to comfort, numb, o...

This past Sunday's Gospel reading was Luke 18:9-14.  It is an amazing parable which Jesus told to " some who were confident of their own righteousness  and looked down on everyone else ." (verse 9). The parable challenges the religious thinking that people can have merit before God that makes them righteous.  The Pharisee thought he was better than others because he wasn't like "other people" who sinned (vs 11) but instead called attention in his prayer to the things he did that were measurable: fasted two times/week and gave 1/10th of all he got (vs. 12). The other person praying in the temple that day (and to whom the Pharisee compares himself and thought himself better than) was a tax collector.  The tax collector had a posture of contrition and humility.  He wouldn't even look to heaven and was beating his breast.  His prayer was,    ‘ God, have mercy on me, a sinner .’ (vs 13). Jesus goes on to say this about the tax collector: 14...

This past Saturday night I had a wonderful dinner at the Youth for Christ banquet in Selkirk.  As we listened to the great things God is doing in the lives of youth, I realized that I knew the woman who was involved in starting the ministry 30 or so years ago.  The next day I saw her and I asked about how YFC Selkirk started.  She told me an amazing story that involved a dream in which God spoke to her, youth meeting in a banquet hall of a bar, many challenges, and much prayer.  It was the prayer part that I picked up on.  Why?  Because at one point - once they no longer could meet at the banquet hall and a few other things fell through - a group of people met weekly for 2 years to pray for the youth of Selkirk.  Two years!  Finally their prayers were answered and YFC was established in Selkirk at the location they still meet at today.  The youth of today are benefiting from the perseverant prayers of people in the past. It was fitting that...

Happy Thanksgiving!  I know it has been a LONG time since I have blogged and I am not promising that I will do it regularly in this season of my life but here I am today.  Why?  Two reasons: 1) because the Gospel passages of the last two weeks have caught my attention and 2) because a friend said, "Blog!" Today we are headed to Luke 17. This past Sunday's lectionary reading was Luke 17:11-19 .  This is not a surprising text being that it was the Thanksgiving long weekend but it is a startling one.  Only one of the ten lepers who was healed by Jesus thanks Him "- and he was a Samaritan"!   For a second time in this Gospel, Luke challenges readers to not judge who has faith, who is truly worshiping and trusting Jesus.  The Parable of the Good Samaritan  followed shortly after a Samaritan village did not welcome Jesus ( Luke 9:51-56 ),  But unlike the parable, this time it wasn't a story Jesus told.  There was a flesh and blood ma...

I was sitting in the car as my daughter had to run into the house for a minute.  As I sat there, I wondered what can I do in this moment? Come before God. So I did, with prayer and thanksgiving.  The experience stood out to me.  Or maybe I should be more accurate..... the reality that I, sinner that I am, can come before the Almighty God startled me in a delightful way.  What? Wow!  I have that privilege. I can " approach God's throne of grace with confidence " (Hebrews 4:16).  We can.  You can.  All because Jesus has made a way. Hebrews 10:19-22 "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscien...

After writing my blog last week, I had many opportunities to put into practice focusing on Jesus' peace and not letting my heart be troubled.  The problem is: I failed.  Really I did.  I had three opportunities over three days each involving one of my three children to withdraw from fear and put my trust in God and..... I didn't.  I knew I had a choice and I didn't make it.  I worried.  I got agitated.  I made excuses.... my most used one is probably, "I need to worry as it shows I care".  The mercy of God is great and in each situation, my fears didn't materialize.  Also, God forgave me for my lack of trust.  How marvelous that is! On day 4, I did have another opportunity... this time I trusted.  Of course I had feelings of fear and anxiety initially when something was going on that I felt uncertain of and was worried about the outcome but I knew the Lord was giving me a fourth go at learning to chose to not "let" my heart be tro...

John 14:27 " Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.   Not as the world gives do I give to you.   Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. " Jesus spoke these words sometime between washing the disciples feet and being arrested in the garden.  It was a very stressful time!  This, along with the fact that I went to a workshop on anxiety this week, may be why the verse stood out for me when I read it.  Or maybe the reason is much more simple:  I feel troubled in my heart regularly and my heart can be afraid without much basis (other than a very lively imagination). Jesus words jumped out at me as I read the Gospel this week because I needed to hear them .  "Let not" - the definition of "let" is "allow to, permit to, give permission to" so the definition of "let not" is the opposite. Here is another way to say it: "Do not allow your hearts to be troubled, neither permit them to be afraid".  To...

I thought Tuesday started out as a normal day.  Really, I guess it did.  Things went off track as I was leaving to walk our dog and I went to look for my keys to lock the house.  They weren't in their usual spot.  Where were my keys?  I briefly looked for them but thought I would find them when I got back.  It wasn't imperative that I locked the door.  20 minutes later I was back.  I spent some time looking in the likely places, then the probable ones, and finally the "I have no idea how my keys would have ended up here" spots.  No keys.  I prayed.  I didn't freak out. I started to think about all the things I couldn't do without them - drive the car to drop the kids at school and get myself to work was the big one.  (We had a house key hidden that I could use to lock up.)  Even walking to school/work wasn't that big of a deal on that day.  It was beautiful out and the distances are not long.  But I was still a...

A friend called this afternoon and asked if I had time to talk.  "Unless you are enjoying the sunshine and want to be outside" she said.  "Uh, no" I said, "It is +5 degrees and raining here."  Then I texted my brother to wish him "Happy Birthday" and he said he was BBQing with his family in the +23 degree weather.  It seemed like everyone had sunshine except me.  Our weather was windy, cloudy, and gloomy.  It was not inviting.  It was not enjoyable.  I realized if I let myself go down the comparison road, I was about to end up in the ditch called "grouchy".  So in order to avoid that ditch as I walked our dog this afternoon, I tried to find something I was thankful for.  I looked at the river and saw them - pelicans!  One of the joys of living in Selkirk is that we have pelicans arrive in April and I find them fascinating to watch.  So I thanked God for them. Often in life we can end up in circumstances that could be viewed a...

  It doesn't happen often, but sometimes I laugh out loud when i read the Bible.  Tonight was one of those times.  I was reading the story of Peter's miraculous escape from prison in Acts 12 .  Now there are some terrible things that happen in this passage - specifically the deaths of the Apostle James as well as the guards who had been guarding Peter - and I don't want to make light of those so you may wonder what caused me to chuckle?  Rhoda. But first some context.  Peter had been arrested because Herod found that putting James to death gained him approval from the Jews.  It was the night before Peter's trial and an angel rescues him - his chains fall off, the door opens, the guards don't see him, and he is a free man.  He thinks it is all a dream at first but then realizes it is true. 12  When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark,  where many people had gathered and were pray...

A couple of days ago I sat down and tried to think of what I could write a blog about as it has been so long since I've written.  Nothing came to mind.  I asked myself why?  I thought of several ideas but none resonated as deeply as this - I was tired.  Weary.  I just didn't have it in me to write.  So I didn't. But now I am here.  Two days later with a spring in my step and a desire to write about what? Weariness.  Why?  Because we all experience it.  Because the Bible talks about it.  Because it was my felt need. Immediately when I think of weariness in the Bible, I hear the words of Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." O.K. so I need to watch that I don't grow weary of doing good.... that I don't give up and stop serving the Lord.... but how do I do that? The words of Jesus speak to me,  "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I w...

I love children. They are so interesting and cute! God loves children too... much more than I do! This past while I have noticed different things that the Bible says about children that applies to us as adults. This is what I want to reflect on over Lent: giving up childish ways and being child-like. Today it is about being like a child. Luke 18:15-18: 15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Receiving the kingdom of God like a little child.... what could that mean? Here are a few ideas: There is a simplicity and straightforwardness to how most children receive things. Think of when a wrapped present is offered to a...

All week I have been wondering what to say in this blog - the one talking about getting paid.  I didn't come up with anything so I thought for my final entry in this series, I would let you know about a website I found dedicated to the theology of work for you to check out: The Theology of Work Project . That was before I read the Bible with my son at his bedtime.  The reading today was Matthew 6:24-33.   I read the first verse: 24  “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. and thought, "well, even if I don't have a lot to say about the getting paid part of work, I have something".  Here is that something:  Money is very important but it is never the most important.  Our jobs are not about serving money, they are about serving God even if we do them for the pay cheque.  What we get paid is God's provision for ou...

Work.  Why do we do it?  An obvious reason is to survive.  The money we make working pays for our food, clothing, and shelter.  There may be other things we want in life that we work for too but maybe we will get more into that next week when I write about the "getting paid" part of work. I am wondering about the purpose of our work.  Does our work need to have a purpose beyond the pay cheque?  For me it does.  I have a deep desire for meaning in my life... including how I spend my working hours. So, what is the purpose of work?  There are lots of different perspectives on this.  What I am thinking about tonight is the connection between the Great Commandments and work. 8  One of the teachers of the law   came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29  “The most important one,”  answered Jesus,  “is this: ...

What if part of the "work" I am called to do is pray?  Why is it hard to find time to pray for my work? Will prayer make a difference in the work I do? These are questions that have been rumbling around in my head recently. I do believe that prayer is part of the work I am called to do and I am to pray for my work as well as many other things.  But then, if I am convinced of this, why is it so difficult to actually getting down to it?  Even right now, it is "easier" to type this blog than to stop and pray.  What is the resistance? Maybe it is a lack of faith or a lack of hope that my prayers will make a difference.  Maybe it is because it feels like hard work to pray.  I'm not sure. And maybe I'll never get it figured out.  The more important thing is to obey than to get insight into why I am not obeying.  So, to get me going on prayer, I thought I'd look up some Scripture, ask myself a few questions, and just do it....

Most people my age have worked fulltime (Monday to Friday, 9 to 5) for years.  Actually, probably years and years!  This is not the case with me.  I am just hitting 18 months of it. Since most of my work has been in Christian ministry, my hours were never 9 to 5 and the majority of the time, I was part-time. Why am I telling you this?  Well, because I have decided that over the next few weeks to think more about work.  It has been a challenge to adjust to a fulltime work schedule.  It has also been a challenge and blessing to work in a setting that is not overtly Christian.  I feel like it is time to give this aspect of my life some prayerful attention and you get to listen to my processing. Actually, I would love it if you gave me your input along the way as well either through replying to my blog (if you get it as an email) or commenting online at celtj . blogspot .com .  I also want to ask you to pray for me with r...

Happy New Year!  I know it has been a long time since I've blogged... almost a month.  After a joyful and restful Christmas Season, I am glad to be back into routine and am hoping to make weekly blogging a part of it. With the New Year has come a new resolve for clarity, determination, and diligence in my life.  I am trusting the Holy Spirit to give me the fruit of self-control which I've come to experience as "resisting the resistance" in me.  Ultimately, by God's grace, I do want to do good/obey God but often there is an initial resistance that needs to be overcome.  Resisting that resistance is one way to define self-control. But that isn't actually what I want to blog about today. Today is it all about the dishes.  The dishes?!  Yes, you read that right.  For those who have known me a long time, you will know that "the dishes" represent a long struggle with the menial tasks of everyday life that I have found cumbersome and bori...