Tracy's Blog

Christ is Risen!  I hope that you've had a meaningful and joyous Easter weekend and that this season of Eastertide (from Easter Sunday until Pentecost Sunday) is blessed.   I've been in an "Easter" mood and mode this week: grateful for God's forgiveness and the power and hope of the Resurrection as well as celebrating the freedom we have in Christ. (Yes, that means I've eaten a fair bit of chocolate!) Today, however, a heaviness settled on me.  I still don't know exactly what it was about but I took it as a prompt to get alone with God.  During that time, I focused on a repeated phrase in today's Gospel reading, John 20:19-31 :   "Peace be with you."  I love that Jesus' first words to His disciples after His resurrection are words of peace.  The gospel is about peace: with God, others, and ourselves.  The barrier of sin is removed and we are free to love and be loved.  It really is marvelous!  I had an interesting image come to mind ...

It is Holy Week.  As we making our way to Gethsemane, Golgotha, and the Garden with the Empty Tomb, a phrase keeps repeating in my mind, "forgiven and cleansed".  Friday we will remember what Jesus has done for us - the pain, abandonment, and physical torture He suffered, how He laid down His life.  Sunday, we will celebrate the power of life over death and the victory over the grave.  As we do this, let us take to heart what it means for us. We are forgiven - our sins no longer are held against us.  There is nothing separating us from God. We have peace with God. And cleansed - not only is there no punishment for our sins, but the stain, scum, and stench of them are removed as well.  We have been washed and made pure. Sound too good to be true?  Hear it from God's Word: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (ESV) "Therefore, brothers and sisters, since...

Rivers, or specifically the Red River, has been on my radar a lot this week.  In fact, the Red is  the focal point of life in Selkirk right now. Why?  Because the ice started to break up, melt, and move last week. This impacts life here.  A road over in East Selkirk flooded which means that the main bridge connecting East Selkirk and Selkirk is closed and people have to drive a 10 km detour. Some years people houses are flooded resulting in thousands of dollars of damages or even to the point of being "lost". Here is a picture of the river and the flooding near our house from Thursday, March 30th.  Huge pieces of ice came up onto the banks and water flowed onto the grass. And here is what that same area looks like today. (April 3)  There ice and debris in the middle is actually the edge of the river.  Now that the river is flowing, the flooding will go down and life will get back to normal. This morning, another river came ...