Tracy's Blog

The Collect from Church this morning stood out to me because of the connection between the Holy Spirit and love. "O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you.  Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen."

Today's blog may sound like a repeat of what I have already said about God's love....but I need it.  I need to keep reminding myself of what is true so that I can believe it and live it! So here are my thoughts for today.... If anger isn't to be the power source in  my life but love is, then maybe I need to make a more concrete practice (or habit) of making sure that I am "fueling up" on God's love.  The picture that immediately comes to my mind is the Red River Co-op Gas Station just down the street and around the corner from our house.  How many times a week do I fill up my car there?  Usually once or maybe twice.  That's all I need for the driving I'm doing. But when it comes living real life - the challenging situations, the repetitive demands, the many opportunities to be gentle and patient (and not angry and irritable), and the unmet expectations - I think I need to fill up on God's love a bit more than once or twice a week!...

The current theme of this blog is to "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us ..." from 1 John 3:1.  The rest of that verse says, "that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1b).  Mandatory to a discussion of God's love for us is the relationship we have with God as His children.  Although the Lord is the King of Kings and we are His subjects and He is the Lord of Lords and we are His servants, our relationship with Him is also very close and intimate.  We are His children.  Cherished.  Loved.  Delighted in.  Cared for. Now when we get into a discussion of God as Father, many honest questions and genuine obstacles can come up due to our own parents' weaknesses and sins.  So although it may be a hard, I encourage you to give God a chance to show you His wonderful love for you, His child. Two things in particular come to mind: 1) God your Father can be trusted to provide ...

Stuck.  In really deep snow.  That is where my friend found herself after our Bible Study yesterday.  Three of us tried to push her out but it was no use as our strength was not enough.  We needed help.  So we prayed and shortly after that a man drove by in a truck and offered to help.  We said we needed a tow rope so he went home to get one.  He was gone a long time ... or so it felt.  Finally he arrived and after recruiting the help of another neighbour, two trucks and two tow ropes were enough to pull out the van.  While this whole procedure going on, I thought, "there has got to be something I can blog about from this".  As I watched the vehicle being essentially lifted out of the ditch, I thought of Psalm 40:2a (NIV) " He lifted me out of the slimy pit,      out of the mud and mire " OK, so I know that mud and mire aren't deep snow but they can both leave you being stuck and helpless.  A...

I've been spinning my wheels on this week's blog entry trying to decide where to start this focused look at God's love and I haven't come up with a plan.  So, instead I thought I would simply share with you the verse I have been calling to mind when I've asked myself the question: "What manner of love does the Father have for us?" Jeremiah 31:3 (middle section) "I have loved you with an everlasting love " I take huge comfort in that.  If God's love is everlasting, it means it is always there.  Is it constant and consistent.  It is not conditional on my goodness or worthiness.  It is sourced in God's eternal being.  This is good news as it means I can never get past it or out last it. Knowing this and believing it are not the same thing.  I think of my 20's and my deep insecurity about God's love.  I knew that God loved me because "God loved everyone" but I struggled to personalize this love, to accept it. Now the ...

Back in fall of 2003, a colleague of mine (Gilles Doucet for you Ottawans), helped me see something about myself that startled me.  In an inscription, he wrote a prayer of blessing that included "anger being replaced by love."  Now, this surprised me on two accounts.  First, I didn't know that my anger was so obvious to others! Second, I had never thought about love being the antidote for anger.  Maybe patience or self-control but not love.  So, I tucked the phrase into my heart/mind (sensing that I hadn't grasped the truth of what was revealed) and went on my way... Now we jump over 10 years forward to a cold Sunday evening walk with Pepsi (yes, that dog AGAIN!)  We had done our usual evening route (pretty short this time of year) and we turned the last corner before home.  Pepsi began getting excited.  He was jumping a little and biting on his leash.  I was frustrated with him so I stopped, shortened up on th...

While in Alberta recently, we visited a friends church in Edmonton on December 29th.  There we sang a Christmas Carol that I didn't think I knew. In The Bleak Mid-Winter  by Christina Rossetti In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter, long ago. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. Angels and archangels may have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air; But His mother only, in her maiden bliss, Worshipped the beloved with a kiss. What can I give Him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb; If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart. I thought, "yes, very fitting on this snowy day to be singing about the bleak mid-w...