Tracy's Blog

Merry Christmas Everyone! As I was preparing for my Christmas Eve Children's Sermon for this year, I found the one from last year.  I really enjoyed thinking about the importance of shepherds in God's revelation of Himself to us so I thought I would post the sermon.  Remember: it is a children's sermon!   Here we are: it is Christmas Eve... the time we celebrate the greatest gift from God – Jesus our Saviour!  Now on such a special evening we could talk about so many interesting and wonderful things: We could talk about Mary: and how this young woman became the mother of God’s Son We could talk about Joseph: who took a very pregnant Mary to Bethlehem to be counted with his family We could talk about the angel: who appeared in the night sky proclaiming “good news of great joy for all people.” But... they are not going to be our focus today – as important as they are all. This Christmas Eve, I want to talk about some very ordinary people. Men who were just livin...

Last Saturday when I went grocery shopping, something remarkable happened... I remembered to bring both my wallet and my grocery bags!  For some reason, that hadn't been the case on my previous three trips to the grocery store.  The first one was the worst.  I was standing in line with a full cart when I realized that I didn't bring my wallet.  Thankfully I live very close to the store and just left my cart off to the side, went home to pick up my wallet, and returned to pay.  The second time wasn't that big of a deal.  As I walked into the grocery store, I realized I wasn't carrying my grocery bags, even though I remembered getting them from my kitchen.  I ended up just paying for plastic bags which I used for garbage bags and found my re-useable bags sitting by my back door when I returned home.  The last time, it was when I was in the parking lot just about to get out of my car that I realized I didn't have my wallet so I went home to get it an...

We are living in the time in-between.  When I think of that with regards to Christian theology, it is the time in between the first coming of Christ (the Incarnation) and the second coming of Christ (the Parousia).  Today, however, I am thinking of the time in-between when covid-19 drove us into our homes and when we will be free to socialize and work normally again.  The time in-between in both cases is a time of uncertainty.  Of waiting.  Of trusting.  Of hoping.  Of praying. These are very unique and challenging times.  I think that is what motivated me to blog today.  Thinking of all of you living your lives under the stress and strain of the corona virus pandemic and wanting to reach out to let you know you are not alone.  Truly not alone - God is with you. Zephaniah 3:17 comes to mind: "The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he w...

Hi!  Yes, it has been a LONG time and I don't even know why.  What I do know is that today I read two verses in 1 John that amazed me and I wanted to share them with someone - and I picked all of you! Here they are: "All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love."  NLT "Have God living in them"..... "they live in God"....  this is incredible, amazing, and true! God abides - continuously remains - in us and we abide - continuously remain - in God. I don't really know how to talk about the significance of this but want us to try grasp it. Phrases that come to mind for me... - never alone - having a home - being a dwelling place - always in the light - this treasure... in jars of clay Take a moment and ask yourself - what is the significance for me that the Lord lives in me and I in Him? = = = = I'll give you a mom...

Three days ago I was driving in Winnipeg.  It was mid-afternoon and the traffic was starting to increase.  I was on a road that is technically one lane but near a main intersection becomes two lanes.  As I approached the intersection, someone beeped at me.  I thought, "Oh no, I didn't move over enough to give them room in their lane!"  I looked at them and smiled and the woman driving the vehicle (which was now beside me) indicated that she wanted me to roll down the window so she could say something.  I did it.... unsure what she would say. What she told me surprised me. "You don't have any brake lights," she said.  "There is the one on the top but the two on the sides are burnt out," she continued.  "Thank you!" was my reply and off we went as the stop light turned green. I drove home a little more cautiously than normal and then the next day dropped off the vehicle at Canadian Tire to fix the problem.  As I waited for my father-in-...

Happy New Year!!!   I hope you had a meaningful Advent and joyful Christmas Season! This past week I was listening to a podcast by Pete Scazzero ( Goals Most Leaders Overlook Part 1 at Emotionally Healthy Discipleship ) and he was talking about the need to have mentors.  Christian mentors are people who we are in relationship with who counsel, advise, and model following God to us.  I don't have one mentor but rather many different people who fulfill this role in my life.  This past week, I discovered models for following God through both the Word and stone. First, God's Word:  One of my habits that I am implementing in 2019 is reading a One Year Bible.  As I was reading Genesis, a surprising model stood out to me: Isaac.  Isaac is the patriarch who I know the least about.  Yes, he is mentioned when we talk of "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" but Scripture says so much less about him than about his father, Abraham, or son, Jacob....

This summer I had the joy of leading the Bible Discovery time at a VBS in Selkirk.  We did the Group Curriculum and the theme was " Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus ".  Everyday was a particular theme that went like this, "When I (some emotion or situation we find ourselves in)..... Jesus rescues!" Tuesday's theme was "When I worry, Jesus rescues!"  Now, I've had my battles with worry so I was interested in seeing what Gospel story would be told on this day.  It was Luke 10:38-42 - the story of Martha and Mary when Martha invites Jesus over for a meal.  The focus is on Martha's worry and Jesus' teaching that " only one thing is needed " which is to attend to Jesus.  What caught my attention is the power of worry and the impact it had on Martha's relationship with Jesus.  Specifically, worry caused Martha to 1) question Jesus' heart toward her and 2) tell Jesus (who is God) what to do.  Yikes!!! Let's look at Martha...

Hi!  I know it has been a loooong time.... almost 6 months.  Life was full but now has shifted with my contract at Nova House being completed.  I am still on the casual staff list there plus working a small job with Children's Ministry at St. Margaret's Anglican Church and about to start a training program for Spiritual Direction.  That's my quick update! I have no plan of how much I will blog in this new season of my life or on what themes or topics but I thought I'd tell you about my current (like, in the last 15 minutes) thoughts. It's about garbage cans and litter.  Yes, I was walking Pepsi and saw a garbage can pushed over and thought, "do I put it back up straight or walk by?" Can you guess what I did?  I put it back up.  This got me thinking about life and our positive actions - how they can fall into three categories. 1) not making things worse 2) making things right 3) making things better With litter, it means 1) not littering ourse...

Christ is Risen! I had a very meaningful Holy Week this year.  Because of my work with the children's ministry at St. Margaret's, all the services I attended had some sort of children's focus.  The Good Friday Walk through the Passion gave children an opportunity to wave palms, eat together, have their feet washed and journey with Jesus to the cross and finally ended in the tomb.  The Easter Vigil on Saturday had readings from Scripture illuminated for children to experience and understand.  They also had a front row seat to watch the baptisms of two babies.  The Easter Sunday service started with a procession of children holding helium balloons.  Here are the balloons before we handed them out. Once the children reached the front of the church, the balloons were then gathered into bunches and secured (or.... spoiler alert .... they were suppose to be secured) to a railing on the chancel as the children went to sit with their parents. BUT... 2018 w...

We are in Holy Week.  It is the most intense time of the Christian year.  In the days we are living through as we journey towards the cross with Jesus, we cover a large portion of the Gospels.  There is too much to keep track of!  Then we go through the most radical and drastic transition possible: from death to life!  The difference between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is what gives us hope, power, and salvation: Jesus is alive!  Death is conquered!  But I'm jumping ahead. Back to the story before the cross.  A particular passage from John stood out to me this year.  It comes from John 12 .  After teaching that in order to multiply a seed must die and " anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life ", Jesus says in verse 27: "Now My soul is troubles, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'?" I love Jesus' honesty.  I love that He admits His discomfort with what is going on.  I l...

NOT AGAIN!!!!  Another morning where I didn't wake up or get out of bed at the time I had planned to.  This has been a chronic issue in my life (see my first ever blog post here ) and while I am better at it more times than not, it is still an issue because of my tendency to indulge my fleshly desires and avoid challenging things.  But today when I didn't get up on time, I didn't know which path to choose.  I could think of a few options: - take time to analyze why I keep doing this - berate myself - don't worry about it The option I choose is very in keeping with the message that I sense the Holy Spirit is repeating to me over and over: remember grace.  I choose to be gracious towards myself.  What does this mean? According to Google, grace (in Christian belief) is the free and unmerited favor of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings . The Epistle in this Sunday's lectionary expresses it wonderfully. Ephesia...

Last night at St. Margaret's Ash Wednesday service we sang " My Jesus I Love Thee ".   I love that hymn.  I think it is on my "funeral hymn list" - not that I have one written down! The final line of each verse, " If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'Tis now ." struck me in particular.  "If every I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'Tis now" speaks to me of what really matters and what is possible.  What really matters in my relationship with Jesus is that I love Him right now .  In this present moment.  But what about the past??  Yes, loving Jesus in the past matters but that time is now gone.  I cannot change it.  How I've loved Him will impact my present but it isn't my present.  I can rejoice in the ways that love was demonstrated and the fruit I see from it and I  do need to deal with my lack of loving and obeying Him in the past through confession and repentance. ( I am glad to be in the season of Lent to give time and attention ...

We have been experiencing a chilly few weeks here in Manitoba which means that I've been enjoying sitting near our wood stove with a cup of tea to watch a show or read a book.  This is the life, I tell you!  But before I can enjoy the warmth of the flames, the fire needs to be started.  I am not an expert at this and so newspaper is usually involved. Sometimes, as I am stoking the fire, the old chorus, "It only takes a spark" goes through my mind.  Some of you have started humming the tune already and others have no idea what I am talking about.  Here are the words: It only takes a spark To get a fire going And soon all those around Can warm up in its glowing That's how it is with God's love Once you've experienced it You spread His love to ev'ryone You want to pass it on. I believe this song... partly.  I find that it takes more than a spark to get my fire going.  Maybe I just don't have the right conditions.  I think of the wildfire...

"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.  To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you."  (Philippians 3:1 ESV) One short verse.  That is all we had time to discuss at Bible Study today.  But what a significant verse!  It has already impacted me.  Today, I want to share thoughts on this verse phrase by phrase.  Please feel free to join the conversation by commenting on the blog or sending me an email. Finally - This seems like a strange thing to say in the middle of the book of Philippians.  Two chapters down and two more to go.  This is not the final thing that Paul is going to write.... but maybe it has a sense of finality.  My paraphrase/ideas: "The end of everything is..."  "The big deal is..."  "Whatever comes next, whatever happens..."  my brothers - Paul is addressing the church, the family of God.  This "brothers" most definitely includes the sisters in Christ as well. rej...

So I took my own advice from last week and used my breath to help me meditate on Scripture.  Two passages in fact.  The first one was from last week's Lectionary: Psalm 62:5 (ESV) For God alone (in breath) O my soul (out breath) wait in silence (in breath plus paused in silence on out breath) for my hope (in breath) is from Him. (out breath) The second is a familiar verse that came to mind as I was thinking about the challenges of life.  Initially I tried it like this: Philippians 4:13 (NIV) I can do all this  (in breath) through Him who gives me strength  (out breath). But then I found that the impact on my mindset was different if I changed which breath I did with each statement.  So here is a second option: Philippians 4:13 (NIV) I can do all this  (out breath) through Him who gives me strength  (in breath). I prefer the latter because the out breath is a statement of confidence that is based on the empowerment of Jesu...

Last week, our staff team did some First Aid and CPR training.  Before getting into the medical situations and techniques we were to learn that day, we spent some time discussing anatomy and physiology of the human body.  I had the privilege of taking courses on both subjects in university -  but that was 30 years ago.  I haven't been thinking about the body much recently so as we looked at the skeletal, muscular, and circulatory systems, I was so impressed and amazed at how God created us. This past weekend's Psalm in the Lectionary was Psalm 139.  It fit perfectly with my thinking: "For you created my inmost being;      you knit me together  in my mother’s womb. 14  I praise you  because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;      your works are wonderful,      I know that full well."                  Psalm 139:13-14 But do I?...

I awoke to a new beginning: January 1, 2018.  As I started my day, I directed my thoughts towards God and the words of an old chorus came to mind: "Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker." based on Psalm 95:6 I don't know exactly what this year ahead will hold but I do know what I want my posture before God to be - one of worship.  I can't say that worship has been a main focus in my Christian life.  I give thanks regularly and I do spend time in worship but the framework of my life is often structured around other people.  I'm an extrovert, a helper, and have been way too often a people-pleaser.  My desire this year is to give more attention to God: Father, Son, and Spirit.  We will see how this goes! As I was meditating on  Psalm 29 , this past week, I was directed again towards worship. Verse 2 "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness" I was ...

I love Advent.  It is the time of year to reflect and wait.  To reflect on the waiting of Israel for the Deliverer and then for us to reflect on the Incarnation and what it means that the Deliverer came as a baby - fully God and fully human.  It is also a time to wait.  To wait for the promised return of Christ.  I didn't know that part of Advent until I started learning more about the Church Calendar and the Liturgical Year.  In the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations when all I am tempted to focus on is my to-do lists, I so appreciate the Scripture passages that call us to remember that Jesus will return. Sometimes a carol will become more meaningful to me during the Advent Season.  I can still remember singing "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" at the top of my lungs in our kitchen on Clementine St. in Ottawa.  I had finally understood what the words meant. A similar thing happened this year.  As we were preparing for the Advent P...