Tracy's Blog

Advent is here!  I decided that this year I am going to spend the Advent Season blogging about expectations.  Since I usually have a lot of them, I thought it would be good to explore what the Bible says about expectations - particularly regarding the advent of Christ. I am anticipating it to be an interesting journey.... yes, I guess I do have some great expectations!  To start let me invite you to reflect on the words of  my most-beloved Advent hyms. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus Charles Wesley 1. Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art; dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart.   2. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit rule in all our hear...

As I look out our sunroom windows, I see fog covering the river.  The temperature is dropping and the weather network says that winter is coming... tonight.  So I settle down in my chair with a cup of chocolate chai.  Ahh..... the warmth of the mug and the silence around, they comfort me. Quickly around me Christmas decorations are coming up.  House upon house have already put their lights up (much too soon in my opinion) so that they can beat the cold weather and the snow.  People are getting ready for the season of "comfort and joy".  Soon we will be seeing cards and wallhangings looking something like this: All this has me thinking... What is comfort?  Why do I long for it?  Where do I look for it? Where does God fit in to all this? I decided to start with the dictionary. From The New Penguin English Dictionary: Comfort is : "consolation or encouragement in time of trouble or worry, or somebody or something that provides this." I foun...

Sometimes when I read the Bible, I find a passage that I don't remember ever reading before, even though I know I have.  That's what happened to me this week.  Here it is:   "But I will sing of your strength;      I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress      and a refuge in the day of my distress.     O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,      for you, O God, are my fortress,      the God who shows me steadfast love." Psalm 59:16-17 (ESV) The phrase " O my Strength " stood out to me.  What does it mean that God is my strength? When I am weak, He is strong. When I cannot stand, He holds me up. When I am in danger, He is my safety. When I have nothing to give, He gives through me. When I want to give up, He sustains me. When I "just can't", He can. God is my Strength, my Fortress and Strong Tower.  He ...

I've been auditing a "Pastoral Theology" course through the Ecclesial University which is a partnership between my parish and Wycliffe College (U of T). This weekend we had a special seminar with a professor from Wycliffe College.  She went around the room asking the students what they hoped to get out of the class on Saturday afternoon.  For me, I said something like, "How do we build our "tolerance" for suffering without become hardhearted or pessimistic?"  As I listened in class, thought about Scripture, and then went to church today, I had an idea: the Saints! Why would I think they are the answer to my question?  Because they have lived it.  They have suffered and persevered.  They have shared in the sufferings of others and continued to have hope in Christ. For me, I need role models.  People who believe in Christ and are able to continue on in the faith after devastating things happen.  People who care deeply about others and are able ...

Maybe the title of my blog should be "Pepsi's Blog" instead of "Tracy's Blog" since I am yet again going to tell you a story about walking our dog. It was a lovely afternoon and Clint, Tim, and I were walking Pepsi along the street we live on. All of a sudden a little black dog came running across the street. I think he was excited to greet Pepsi. His owner was calling out for him so I watched her for a moment until my eyes were drawn to the road. There was a car coming! The dog was running straight across the street. The car was coming at a normal but quick enough speed. A collision seemed inevitable. What happened? Well, if left only to my eye witness account, you would never know. Why? Because I closed my eyes. I couldn't bear to see the dog get hit so I shut my eyes tight. When I didn't hear a "thud", I opened my eyes. The dog was running off. The car was picking up speed again. "What happened?" I asked Cli...

On Sunday morning, I was walking our dog, Pepsi, down our street.  It was very quiet when something peculiar happened.  A woman stopped her car several meters in front of us and got out.  I recognized her as the grandmother of a girl who attended a preschool program with Timmy but I couldn't remember her name as that was years ago.  As we got closer, she asked if it was okay if she gave Pepsi a treat.  I said yes and she asked him to sit, which he eagerly did.  She gave him several treats and petted him lovingly.  Pepsi was in his glory as he loves attention of any sort!  She told me that she once had two labs but they both died of cancer when they were 7 years old and how that broke her heart.  Then as quickly as it started, it was over.  She was back in her car and off to work while we continued on our way. My immediate thoughts were about love and what it does. Love motivates. Love grieves. Love obeys. Diana (I asked her name) w...

Today I was suppose to meet someone at 10:00 am in the lobby of an apartment building.  10:00 came and went and she wasn't there.  I sat down on a bench outside and started to stress asking myself, "Did I misunderstand the location?" In those minutes I had to wait (she showed up at 10:15 am as she thought we had agreed on that time), a variety of things happened. 1) I started to question myself 2) I felt anxious 3) I thought about how this could apply to waiting for God and maybe I could write a blog about it 4) I ran into someone I knew and had a friendly chat. This brief experience today has me thinking.  It has me thinking about how quickly I begin to doubt - myself and others - when I end up waiting.  Am I this way with God?  Sometimes.  Sometimes I am okay with waiting.  I know things take time.  I know there are many aspects to the coming of the kingdom of God in a specific situation.  But others times I am no...