Greetings from Austin St.

It was a dark and stormy night. (I have always wanted to start a piece of writing with that line.) I hope you all came through the storm unscathed. Our house did fine except we discovered our roof leaks in two places; one in the dining room and one in the kitchen. But, the power did not go out as it often does during severe storms. We have one of those houses that has been without power from a storm for three or four days before. But we have tremendous neighbors who have shared what they have when that happens. Roofs are repairable. Adversity offers opportunities to share burdens with those who care.

Psalm 100: 1-3 says, “Shout to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with joy, come before Him with singing. Know that the Lord is God. He made us, and we belong to Him; we are His people, the sheep He tends.”

Tuesdays are a bit tough for me, especially at this time of night. It was on a Tuesday about now that Casey died and on Friday it will be a month ago and Friday is also my birthday. It makes for some difficult moments for me. Tonight’s scripture tells me to come before His presence with singing. The question is what happens when we cannot sing? For me that seems almost impossible because for me, singing is as intimately personal as breathing. Singing is not just words and melodies; singing is the way I worship, pray, and the way God speaks to me. So not singing is not an option!! I have to remember that God made us and we belong to Him. He loves us. We are His. We have God’s stamp of approval. We are forever the object of God’s concerns. He knows when it is hard for us to sing. The strength to express joy when the situation seems to be anything but a joy-filled event is when we step out of the darkness and into the light of God’s love. God’s love is a bright burning constant beacon that will lead us back home when all seems lost.

Because we belong to God, He knows our heart and He knows when we hurt and when it is hard for us to sing a song of praise. Our joy must come in the assurance of these words, ”Know that the Lord is God and we belong to Him.” Satan works hard to steal our joy. Joy is a great weapon in the battle with Satan. When it is hard to sing a song of praise remember the words of the psalmist as he reminds us to whom we belong and how much we are loved. (It is sort of like saying to Satan, “Is that the best you can do?”) God loves us with an everlasting love. Focus on the word “everlasting” not just once in a while, not just on Sunday, and not just while we are on this earth, but everlasting!! How cool is that! Because God loves us with this amazing and everlasting love, He will teach us how to sing songs of praise even when life hands us lemons and all we can do is pucker. The psalmist says, “Shout to the Lord and come before His praise with singing.” Tonight let us all be psalmists and sing a song of praise to the everlasting God of hope, healing and love.

Take joy in the journey friends. Love you, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.