Tracy's Blog

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...