throwback

ICYMI: Slow Fade (the truth in the yellow ceiling)

This week's throwback devotional is from May 2018: Slow Fade

Painted Ceiling.JPG

This week's throwback devotional is from May 2018: Slow Fade

I consider myself to be a pretty clean person. I do regular chores at my house and like to keep thing tidy. But something pretty horrifying came to light last week while Rob and I started a small kitchen renovation. We were about to begin the process of painting the cabinets and I decided that it was probably a good idea to paint the ceiling since everything else was being freshened up. I could see that the section around the stove had yellowed a bit so I bought a can of ceiling paint and got started. Within a few strokes of the roller I was equally horrified and fascinated. When compared to the rest of the 14 year old ceiling, it wasn't bad... but compared to the fresh, white paint, the ceiling was a perfect shade of EW!

Immediately, I saw the metaphor on my ceiling. When we compare ourselves - thoughts, actions, attitudes - to others, to our surroundings, or to who we were yesterday, we simply can't see clearly what needs to be changed. But when we allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Word to us, to speak truth to us and to show us His ways, we have the opportunity to be truly transformed. That's why we're so passionate about meeting together, about knowing the Word, about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and, in this series, how to be people of prayer. All of this works together to help us see more clearly how to be transformed into the image of Christ.

Looking forward to being transformed by the Word with you on Sunday,

Pastor Tracy

PS - Speaking of Sunday, Jeremy Feller will be here as our guest speaker and I CAN'T WAIT!!! You will not want to miss this service. Be here live if you can, join us on livestream if you can't!

This Sunday

NOW WHAT?
Guest Speaker: Jeremy Feller

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ICYMI: The Power of Inefficiency

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This week's throwback devotional is from July 2018: The Power of Inefficiency

But first... it's 5th Sunday! We have a great service planned and are so excited about celebrating how LOVED we are by God. Even if you can't be here for the service, why not join us after service for a socially-distanced picnic? We will have our lawn setup and ready to host up to 100 people for lunch outside!

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I love efficiency. I get a little giddy when I find out that there is a better or faster way to get something done. I don't drive anywhere without considering how many lights I might have to sit at or how much traffic I will encounter. I organize my grocery list so that I don't have to backtrack through the store. I don't pack for a trip until every piece of laundry is cleaned, folded and put away so that I don't have to return to the job over and over again. If I can order something online for the same price, I definitely will... and let it just come to my door. I like checking off lists and feeling accomplished at the end of the day. You get the picture. I suspect I've just divided you into two groups: those of you who are breathing an amen and those who feel a bit suffocated.

While our family was away doing worship ministry at Sunset Point Camp in Alberta, we had the chance to take a canoe out on Lac St. Anne. Rob is a very proficient canoe-ist and I knew all I'd have to do is paddle and he'd get us where we wanted to go. Before we set out I had just finished answering a bunch of emails and generally having a productive afternoon. After we'd been paddling for about ten minutes I realized a couple of things:

1. The noise of the shoreline was disappearing. (Canoes are so quiet!)

2. The water was beautiful and the setting incredibly peaceful.

3. Paddling is extremely inefficient.

Sure, we were moving through the lake but we weren't getting anywhere quickly. Pretty soon, the only sound we heard was our wooden oars dipping in and out of the water. And that's when I had this thought: times of inefficiency are so very good for the soul.

I'm not talking about idleness or laziness, I'm talking about strategically spending time accomplishing nothing but quieting your heart.

Our calendars are full, our inboxes are full, our kitchen sinks are full and we strive for better strategies to get it all done and keep it all in order. And truthfully, ordering our worlds is an important discipline for effectiveness in our life and ministry. But ordering your life is about more than that calendar or inbox. There has to be time "wasted" doing whatever it is that quiets your mind and soul.

So go out and inefficiently paddle to the middle of the lake... or whatever you do to move away from the noise. Maybe it's tea on the porch swing (without your phone!). Maybe it's a walk through your neighbourhood with worship in your heart and/or on your iPod. Maybe it's a hike with your family or day at the beach unplugged from the calendar. I can't think of a better season to be intentional about this life-giving practice. Use this beautiful summer season to get this habit into your DNA.

Looking forward to connecting with you on Sunday,

Pastor Tracy

This Sunday: 5th Sunday!

MORE THAN A SONG
Loved

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ICYMI: Surprised By Beauty

This week I want to throw back to a devotional I wrote back in August of last year. It hits on similar themes from my message two Sundays ago but from a bit of a different point of view. Enjoy!

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I was delighted when we moved into our new house last fall that there were simple perennial gardens around the fence. I love how gardens warm-up and finish outdoor spaces. They're so welcoming and beautiful. But then early spring came and I was meeting a neighbour outside of my house. She glanced at my yard and said, "So, do you like gardening?" Uh...

She knew something I didn't. These simple gardens require a lot of maintenance. I got to skip the construction and planting stages, I hardly have to do anything to make the plants grow, but that is far from the whole picture. My neighbour had seen the old owners working away in those gardens on a consistent basis and was wondering if I was going to do the same or bring the neighbourhood property values down.

I've spent more time gardening this year than ever. While it has been backbreaking at times, I've actually been surprised by the joy I've found watching those plants develop over the past weeks and months. I really didn't know what most of them were since the season was over when we moved in last year. But one day I looked out at my garden and realized that two of the plants were lilac bushes. I love lilacs! A few weeks later my street smelled like lilacs again... turns out that the trees in my boulevard are white lilac trees. Sweet!

I've been watching one plant grow that I thought might be rhubarb... then it wasn't. It was very, very slow to come to life and after several months of waiting it suddenly took off and is now blooming purple flowers. Nice. And if that weren't enough, just when I thought I had seen it all, two unknown bushes started to flower with pink hydrangeas (I think...see photo above!). What?! Gor-geous.

I know that some of you reading this are wondering how I didn't know what a hydrangea plant or lilac bush looked like before they flowered. If you want to come by and identify all the plants in this garden for me, I welcome you. We'll have tea. My only gardening strategy is to keep things tidy, pull the weeds and prune anything that gets out of control. 

But back to the point. How much is this like our lives in Christ? God has created us in fearful and wonderful ways. He has done the work of planting His calling and gifting into our lives. He keeps speaking and moving, giving us every opportunity to grow and mature into all that He designed us to be. When we join in with what He has already done, the beauty that is produced in our lives is sometimes surprising and always amazing.

So how are you cooperating with what God has planted in your life? Do you see the miracle of His grace in your life? Are you noticing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control growing, flowering and being produced?

Let's not ever take for granted the power of staying in step with the Spirit every day and what is produced in our lives through that diligence. And let's not ever take for granted the incredible things that God makes beautiful in His time.

To quote Psalty the Singing Songbook:
Beautiful, beautiful, Jesus is beautiful
And Jesus makes beautiful things of my life 

Thankful to be in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

This Sunday

MORE THAN A SONG
East From The West

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ICYMI: Asking for Time (wisdom from Daniel)

This week I want to throw back to a devotional I wrote back in April of last year. Considering what our 2020 has been like so far, April 2019 seems like a decade ago! The wisdom of Daniel's response to the king continues to be a poignant challenge every day and it a great set up for my message on Sunday so here it is again: Asking For Time

In my devotional reading a verse caught my attention in a passage I've read many times before. It's found in the story of Daniel interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 2. Daniel was under extreme pressure. Not only did the king want his dream interpreted, he wanted someone to tell him what his dream was to prove they weren't making something up. In fact, the king was so angry with and suspicious of his astrologers that he was planning to end all of their lives unless they could do what he asked. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were on the hit list (v.13).

It's under this kind of stress (threat of death!) that Daniel goes to see the king. And here is how scripture records this interaction: "At this, Daniel went into the king and asked for time so that he might interpret the dream for him." (v.16, emphasis mine)

I know that my first instinct wouldn't be to calmly ask the homicidal king for some time. I would try to find a solution and bring it to him or hide and beg God for an answer that would save my life. Both of those might be valid action plans but Daniel asks for time.

My heart was challenged by this. How often do I rush to a solution without taking the time to really ask the Lord what His heart is? How often do I make plans and then ask God to bless them instead of spending time in prayer, waiting in His presence until I know the direction that He wants me to take?

Andrew Murray says it like this: "Learn to say about every want, failure, or lack of grace you need, 'I have not waited enough on God. He would have given me all I needed in due season.'" (from Power in Prayer & Waiting on God)

So let me encourage you to ask for time. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you take the time you need to pray for your needs and wait for His answer. Ask for time from those around you who are pressing you for answers that you don't have. And then take the time to slow down in a "tyranny of the urgent", stressed-out world to hear the voice of God speaking. And then, step out in obedience to what He says.

Asking for time along with you,

Pastor Tracy

This Sunday

MORE THAN A SONG
In The Waiting

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ICYMI: Letting Love Root Deeply (truly "more than a song")

This month we're going to throw back (ICYMI = In Case You Missed It) to some devotionals that IMHO (in my humble opinion) deserve a second visit. Let's start with the wisdom of Psalm 1 because our series this summer is all about how the Psalms are more than just songs, they are biblical poetry that instruct, lead and equip us to follow Jesus. Here we go!

Psalm 1:1-3 says, "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither - whatever they do prospers."

Meditating on the Word allows our minds to be transformed by God (Romans 12:2). It's counterintuitive to the break-neck pace of our culture but the Bible assures us that it worth every moment. As I thought about how we need to know and be changed by the love of God, I also thought about how our minds need to be renewed in order for us to truly understand it. So, this week, I've simply put together several verses for you to meditate on. I encourage you to take some time with each of them - read it over, read it out loud, journal some thoughts, sit and think about it quietly. 

As you meditate, "I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." (Ephesians 3:18)

Pastor Tracy

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Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.

Ephesians 2:4-5
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved.

Romans 8:37-39
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 86:15
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

This Sunday

MORE THAN A SONG
Search Me

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