Tracy's Blog

Two years ago today, our family packed ourselves, our dog, and a few of our belongings into our blue Suzuki Esteem and left Ottawa for Manitoba. When we took possession of our new house later that week, we were aware that the well water had been contaminated with bacteria in the past. So, we got it tested. It came out having both coliforms and e-coli. We had the well "shocked" and tested the water again. This time the water only showed coliforms. Needless to say, we didn`t use it for drinking or washing vegetables. Beside our bathroom sinks were bottles of water to brush our teeth with. Other than the water that passed through my lips accidentally in the shower, I refused to ingest this water unless it was boiled first. A year passed. In the summer of 2011, we got out water tested again. This time the result surprised me. It had nothing – no menacing micro-organisms – in it. . Could it be true? I couldn`t believe it! Even though I would tell other people, “Ou...

One day, Timmy's room was a disaster. There were clothes and toys scattered all over the floor. I said, “It's a mess,” indicating that we needed to spend some time cleaning it up. His response was interesting. He said “It's a maze”. His focus was on the challenge ahead – how to get to his bed through the maze – and not the mess. He had a very different perspective than me on the same situation. I started to wonder: is that how life is sometimes? Can our perspective make that much of a difference? I think so. Life can be a mess. Many things go wrong, situations are not what we hope them to be, and we have difficult challenges before us. We are overwhelmed by the mess and don't know what to do. But what if we alter our perspective? What if we were able to view the “mess” as a “maze”? And what if we switch our focus from the mess onto how to get through the maze with God's direction and help? So, here are some verses that have been very significa...

Yesterday in church I was struck by the "comfortable words" that are part of Holy Eucharist (1962) in the Book of Alternative Services of the Anglican Church of Canada (pages 238-239).  As the deacon said "Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all that truly turn to him", my ears perked up.  And as I listened, I was struck with why these are comfortable words... because we have great needs that God meets - to have a place of rest, to know we are loved, and to be forgiven for our sins. It is when we acknowledge our need that we can then receive the amazing gifts of God. So, hear these words and may they be your comfort. Hear what Jesus says: "Come to me all that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you."  Matthew 11:28 "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 Hear also what Saint Paul says: ...

Yes, I did remember that it was Pentecost this week. I had been preparing for it by reflecting on the work of the Holy Spirit as our Advocate/Counselor/Helper/Comforter ( John 15:26 ) throughout the week. I hope you were able to celebrate the Church's birthday with others. I enjoyed singing “Happy Birthday to the Church” with the children (age 4 and under) in St. Margaret's nursery. That was fun! My reflection for today is brief. It comes from Acts 2:1-4 “ When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Two points: “ ...tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them .” The Holy Spirit comes upon indi...

It was my teenage son, Noah, who made me aware of the fact that I had completely missing Ascension Day last Thursday (May 17). He came out of his youth group on Friday evening and told me about the passage they had studied – Acts 1:1-11. “Yikes!” I thought, “I missed celebrating the Ascension!” Now is this really a big deal? On a personal note, it showed me that all the calendars I've been using this year are completely secular. They have no religious holidays on them. So, I need to depend on my church community to track with religious events. This is normally fine except that 1) I had been in the nursery at St. Margaret's for the whole service the week before and hadn't read the bulletin and 2) we decided to go to St. Clement's church in Selkirk on Sunday which had already had a special service for Ascension on Thursday and instead was having a Rogation Sunday (a day to ask for God's mercy and blessing on the seeds that were soon to be planted). Less...

“Ouch!” Pain seared through my left knee as I knelt down and I thought to myself, “How am I suppose to get to my goal of getting in better physical shape this spring with all my aches and pains?” I immediately felt discouraged, wondering if my hopes were being dashed. But then another thought hit me, a much more significant one. I started to think about the importance of not tying my ultimate life goals to things that are temporal and unreliable (like knee joints). Although getting in better shape is a good goal and being a good steward of my physical body is a godly goal, it can't be what I am founding my life on. The achievement of it is too precarious. There are so many things that can impede it. “So,” I asked myself, “where should my focus be?” Here is what I've come up with: I believe that there is a direction for our lives that is an unstoppable road. Call it what you will – the spiritual journey of sanctification, walking with God, the path to eternal life...

We moved to Manitoba in the summer of 2010 but it took us a long time to settle on a church.  Since the fall of 2011, we have been regular attenders at St. Margaret's Anglican  in Winnipeg.  But occassionally, we attend a little Anglican Church closer to home just outside of Selkirk called St. Clement's .  It's a very quaint church situated beautifully near the Red River with a well-kept graveyard (never can think too far ahead....) and a convenient service of 7:30 am which I like to attend when I'm on duty for overseeing the nursery at St. Margaret's.  This past weekend, however, I ended up there for the 11:15 am service which was an "Easter Festival of Readings and Music".  It was just what I needed to re-focus my attention on the Easter Season.... and the great joy and hope we have because of the resurrection of Jesus. One of the readings that has stayed with me this week is 1 Peter 1:3-8, 21 : "  3 Praise be to the God and Fathe...