Count Your Blessings (name them one by one)

Keeping a gratitude journal has become a popular thing in the past several years. It's the practice of finding a bit of time each day to write down what you're thankful for. Studies have shown that gratitude can improve your physical and mental health, help you sleep better, and improve your self-esteem.

This really isn't a surprise since we know that gratitude is a key part of our lives of worship and given to us as a command in may places. Here are a few examples: 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 1:14, Colossians 3:15, Psalm 100:4.

Life is not always easy... maybe it feels like it rarely is for you. But as I was reminded by a friend recently, knowing difficulty can make the joy and gratitude that much deeper and sweeter.

My heart was so full starting this week that I wanted to do what that old chorus told us to do... "Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings see what God has done..."

God has faithfully:

• allowed us to gather and encourage each other on Sunday in multiple venues at the same time (car + radio or livestream!)

• provided a financial miracle for our church (more on that soon!)

• let me see many of your faces as you drove out of the parking lot... my favourite "Lobby Time" ever!

• provided a free washer and dryer set for the Freedom Community Centre - we had been praying for this for some cool opportunities coming up in that space!

• given me the opportunity to meet and bless my neighbours in ways I haven't ever had the chance to

• hear more and more and more stories about conversations you guys are having with your friends, neighbours, co-workers and family members about Christ

And on and on it goes. Sometimes we can name a specific provision, sometimes we celebrate a conversation we've been able to have, sometimes we are grateful for a time of receiving specific direction from the Lord... He blesses in more ways than we can name.

Remember - and I don't say this tritely - that even when the day is dark and you are finding it very hard to count your blessings, you always, always, always have Jesus. Even if things aren't easy or you feel lost or you are anxious and afraid, we always have Him. You are still seen, loved, forgiven, held, kept, redeemed, made whole and being prepared for eternity with Him.

Are you celebrating His goodness and presence in your life?
I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line any time: tracy@freedomkw.com

One by one,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

FAITH IS A VERB
Creation: Faith to Understand

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

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Working On Our Praise Habit (in church life and my life)

This Sunday I'm kicking off our new series (see beautiful new graphic above) by talking about one of the secrets of a happy life... building a praise habit. We're using the Psalms to help us develop in our faith as we follow Jesus and get to know Him more.

These last few days have kind of been all over the map for me. There has been a lot of reading financial statements and other administrative work, we had a holiday in the middle of the week, and we're trying to keep up with the latest health and safety rules/recommendations during the pandemic. Something tells me your days and weeks can be a bit unpredictable, too.

And through all of it I was writing my message and remembering the power of praising God through every task, in every circumstance and during every interruption. I haven't perfected it but this habit is a powerful one.

Here are some examples that will also serve as reminders for church life. I'm not even contriving these, they represent the genuine praise habit that I was working on this week!

• We got our audited financial statements in time to process them and get them out to our members by the deadline on Tuesday. Sometimes we're tempted to brush aside reports and their timing, but I'm thanking God for His help and the excellent help of our Treasurer, Mary Lynn, who does a lot of heavy lifting in this area.

• We purchased a picnic table for the church to test out the ones we're considering for the pavilion... and so I ate lunch outside with Margaret. We had a chance to look at the property and talk about how incredible it was to be able to dream for and use this 10 acres. We even tried to imagine what it would look like when the new pavilion was built. And, Margaret bought us some of those new donuts from McDonalds. Simple things that when you pause over them bring a lot of gratitude to the God who pieced it all together.

• On Sunday, we are gathering both here at the church and in our homes around the Lord's Supper. This moment of remembrance is centred on praise and I will get to lead my church family in it. That's a good thing. #getyouremblemsready

• While I was working this morning, I was texting Matt about something I want to do for my message and he walked me through how we will do that with the live site and livestream. Meanwhile, Walt and Rob were making a bunch of noise in the sanctuary, testing and tweaking the audio to work out the last of the kinks for livestreaming from our sanctuary (coming soon!). These guys are simply the best - joyfully serving and working to make the message of Jesus accessible to everyone and as effectively delivered as possible. So much to thank God for!

And listen, friends, it's only Thursday afternoon. Not everything is easy - not by a long shot. Not every day is your best - not by a really long shot. But every day God is good and this habit of praise helps us to calibrate our hearts to that truth moment by moment.

Lots more on that this Sunday and in the coming summer series of messages!

See you at 10am on Facebook Live for our service... if you have a praise song request, let me know. You never know what Rob and I might do during lobby time!

Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

MORE THAN A SONG
Praise Habit

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
Or, Or, REGISTER TO WATCH THE LIVESTREAM AT THE CHURCH.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Week for Honouring Others (thank you, Freedom Staff!)

Mother's Day is all about taking a moment to honour the amazing women in our lives. I know you're thinking about how you will do this on Sunday for your mom/grandma/aunt/mentor. (Kudos to Rob, he's already asked me what I want for lunch on Sunday.) In that spirit, I want to publicly honour a few people who are making a huge difference in how we are able to connect, train and impact as a church.

Pastor Erin is connecting everyone together in dynamic ways as this crisis evolves. She facilitates our Connecting Point Facebook Group, receives and deploys prayer requests to our prayer teams and keeps track of everyone in our church family and how we can help one another.

You may not see or hear from Kaitlin while we're socially distanced but she's moved her work station to her house and keeps the wheels on the bus. For real. And she's doing it while homeschool her elementary aged kids.

If you don't have kids you may not know that Margaret is facilitating a fun and engaging digital kids ministry. From her strategically chaotic KidzConnect Zoom calls, to the weekly challenges on the Freedom Kids Facebook Group, to surprising families with treats, and, of course, preparing engaging Sunday School teaching every week, our kids continued to be discipled.

Our Youth Pastor has been so intentional to meet our youth where they are online... mostly Instagram! Besides a super engaging IG channel with devotionals, mid-week teaching, and fun content, our youth and youth leaders continue to meet weekly on Zoom where they have had spiritual challenges, guest speakers and all kinds of crazy activities to keep them connected with each other and growing in Christ.

And beyond Rob's main ministry of keeping me sane as we work from home, he continues to bring the church together on Sundays through the livestream. Coming alongside the critical weekly contribution from Matt Jamieson, he is supporting all of the elements that make services dynamic and tell the great stories of what God is doing.

So, I honour each of these leaders and their contribution to equipping the church for the work of the ministry. Thank you, team, for leaning into this season with flexibility and dedication and love for the Church. You make my heart very happy.

Thank you, church, for praying for each of us as we work together with you for the Kingdom.

Pastor Tracy

PS - DIGITAL MOTHER'S DAY! Last chance to record a short video for an amazing woman in your life. Email rob@freedomkw.com to record with Pastor Erin between 10:30-11:00. Let's do it!

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This Sunday

The Advocate
The Comforter

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.

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God's Will For Your Life (it's more simple than you think)

Ever wonder what God's will is for your life? Well, I don't know if you should take this job or that one. I don't know what ministry opportunity you should be saying yes to or what Bible reading plan you should be following right now. The specifics are something we learn to trust God for daily as we listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit leading us.

But here's what I know God wants for me today...

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NLT)

So this is me, living out God's will for my life in this very moment. There is no mystery to this, I choose to practice joy, prayer and gratitude... and I ask for help to remember to keep the posture of my heart focused on these things as I go through my day.

Want to join me? What are you grateful for today? Start there... I always find that gratitude leads to worship and prayer and a heart that is so much more inclined toward joy.

Our Freedom Team at the Williamsburg Community Festival this past Sunday. Way to go, everyone!

This week I've been thinking of how thankful I am for the group of ladies who showed up last week with cleaning cloths and got our Freedom Community Centre ready to welcome students to our FCC programs tonight. We didn't take any photos or publish any names... these women just showed up in the 30+ degree heat and made it happen.

I've been thinking about the team who donned bright green t-shirts on Sunday and played Plinko with our neighbours and gave out prizes, who had conversations about our church and connected with new families. And then there were the Freedom Youth who showed the kids in Williamsburg how to play 9-Square-in-the-Air for hours at a time. So thankful.

And I've been thinking about the people who have been preparing to lead CP1 groups, Encounters and a retreat for Frontline, Sunday School teachers who have committed to another year of investing in our Freedom kids and everyone else who chooses to make the time to impact others. Yeah... how could I not be grateful?

Let's live out God's will for us today. I'm filling my heart with gratitude. Will you join me?

See you Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

WHAT DOES JESUS SAY ABOUT...?
Being Blessed

Join us on Sunday at 10am as Bjorn kicks off our fall series.

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