Saturday, November 8, 2008

Greetings from Austin St.

Wow! What a day. I began my mid-term final this morning before the Extravaganza at Advent Lutheran Church. The luncheon was just lovely and the tables were beautiful as much as the food was delicious. I sat at a table with wonderful friends, delicious food and heard a lovely speaker speak on the 100th Psalm. She spoke on the times when it is too hard or the situation is too difficult to sing and praise God. Great speaker! Thank you so much, Donetta and Toni, for a wonderful time of fellowship, food and love.

As a day in our lives goes, this one held a new surprise. Travis has a small tear in one of the tendons in his shoulder and has developed tendinitis in his wrists. This is most likely from centering the ball or hitting from the offensive line since he was 10 years old. We spent the afternoon and into the evening at AMH getting X-rays and a diagnosis due to weakness in his wrists and pain in his shoulder, but he is doing well. And since football is over for the year these two maladies should begin to heal. I told the ER doc that if Travis was bleeding internally he would still play. That is just the kind of player he is.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “So let us run the race that is before us and never give up…” and vs. 3 says, “Think about Jesus’ example. He held on while wicked people were doing evil things to Him. So do not get tired and stop trying.” The football game on Friday night did not have the hoped-for outcome. We so wanted the Vikings to win and go on to the playoffs. We were 41 to 14 behind at the half. The game seemed so far out of reach. When the boys came back out onto the field after half-time I saw a new energy and a renewed spirit in the way they played and the way they acted. They came out with a new game plan and held the Martin Warriors to only 8 points in the second half. When the fourth quarter began everyone knew that the game was still out of reach, and then I watched Travis. He walked over to the offensive line and tell the boys that they were not giving up. They needed to play as if they were 20 points ahead instead of behind. I watched the character of these young men change at that moment. They made a decision that they might not score enough points to win, but they would continue to play their best and never stop trying. They fought hard until the last buzzer sounded. Most of these young men will never play regulation football again, but they will always remember how it felt to play with all of their hearts on their last game.

Jesus is our perfect example of faith, perseverance and sacrifice. He remained faithful to the calling of His heavenly Father even unto the point of death. While so many around Him were taunting Him, spitting at Him, beating Him and nailing Him to the cross, He never stopped trying to tell people how much He loved them and that they were forgiven. He remained obedient to His Father’s will. He had the ability to put a stop to all of this at any time because He was God, but He didn’t. He fought not for His life, but for the souls of those who persecuted Him.

I am not the perfect example of faith by a long shot or of sacrifice or perseverance, but I follow a loving Savior who was the perfect example and I can look to His example when I want to quit. Praise God that Jesus did not quit. He did not quit on the people during the time He walked on the earth and He has not quit on us. Thank you Jesus!!!

There are times when I feel overwhelmed. It is those times (and I had a brief bout with the “spare me’s” this morning.) that Satan can sneak in the door and steal our joy and try to steal our faith. So this morning when I realized what was going on I stopped and prayed, “God, Satan is knocking on the door and trying to get in. Could You please answer the door for me, for right now I am not strong enough to resist the temptation to get wrapped up in self- pity and have my day wrecked. And I do not have the time for I have too much to do.” I prayed that prayer and almost immediately my priorities shifted and I went about doing the things I needed to do without stress. I then realized that it is not about me, it is about God working in me and my surrendering to His will in every situation, and then believing that He will work on my behalf when I ask. Right now it would be so easy to get wrapped up in self-pity and bitterness and give up. But if I do then I cannot run the race God has placed before me. I must keep moving forward and keep trying. Keep journeying with me friends. The race is not over.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, 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.

PS Auto update. The “Old Girl” seems to be fine now. Bruce picked her up this morning from the Ford House and she seems to be happy at home once again. Thanks for your continued prayers, always, Gaylene.
Greetings from Austin St.

Auto update. Insurance company called about Geni’s car. Things will probably be finalized next week. Travis is driving the Corsica until his car can be fixed. Bruce took my car to the Ford house today and they repaired the problem. The prior mechanic did not do a thorough job so the job had to be repeated at twice the cost. Serious bummer! But it is fixed and we will pick it up in the morning. Praise God!!

Viking update. The mighty Vikings lost their final game of the season tonight. It was hard on the boys to be seniors and to leave the field in defeat. They played hard and just were outscored. Seniors, you were courageous and played the game with your hearts. We will never forget how your have been such a wonderful support for Travis during the time of the hospitalization of his brother, Casey. You truly have the determination of Vikings, but the hearts to be good friends. Thank you all once again.

Psalm 119: 169—171 says, “Hear my cry to You, Lord. Let Your Word help me understand. Listen to my prayer, save me as you promised. Let me speak your praise, because You have taught me Your demands.” I am not a Bible scholar, but I am learning. This is what I have learned while spending the last year in a daily Bible reading and meditation. The Bible was written to share the story of how God works in the lives of people. It proclaims from the time of Moses, His intent of salvation. The plan for salvation begins when God, through Moses, brings His people out of Egypt into the promised land of Israel and His final plan of salvation ends with Jesus on the cross.

God enters the lives of His people through the gift of faith. Faith begins to grow as we continue to read His Word and serve Him in the Kingdom. We get to know God more as we continue to have conversations with Him. We speak to God in prayer and then we listen to His response to us. We hear answers to prayer through His Word in scripture, through His spoken Word in church on Sunday, through His people. I hear His Word in music and songs (imagine that!!). It is sometimes not easy to praise God especially when many things just do not seem things worthy of praise. I try to remember that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. So there must be some good in even the hard situations with which life presents us. Praise does not have to come right away, for sometimes it takes a while for God to reveal His perfect purpose in our lives. But I believe He will only guide us to a place of peace and joy as we continue to have and exercise the gift of faith He has so graciously given to us. God can do this because He promises that once He enters our lives He will never leave us or forsake us. That means that no matter how awful everything gets, God will still be here and never abandon us.

I don’t think I am to give thanks for the death of Casey. But I do give thanks that God was merciful and did not ask him to suffer long after a final diagnosis was made. I give thanks that we were witness to so many people who were Casey’s friends and how he, because of the life of Christ within him, had effected their lives. And I do give thanks that Casey lived a life of faith and that God rewarded that faith by allowing Casey to go before the throne of grace unafraid.

As I have said many times before our journey together is far from over. I still have much to learn and God demands that I never stop learning, praying or caring about His people. I love you all and give thanks for you daily.

Take joy in the journey. 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.

PS I plan to take my midterm tomorrow sometime. I certainly need knowledge beyond myself to do well on this test. I need your payers.

I am also praying about the journal becoming a literary work. I am looking for a literary agent. I would like for someone who does not know me to read the document and give me an objective opinion. If this is an avenue God wishes me to pursue then I pray He will place me and the journal in the hands of the one who can make it happen and that the resulting book will be helpful to others. I need your prayers for this pursuit.

Update on my friend Sharon who had the double mastectomy today. Did you know that mastectomies are a day surgery now? Incredible!! They would like to send her home tomorrow, but she is holding out for Sunday. Sharon, Jeff, Kathie and Charlie all need your prayers.

Thanks again mighty and powerful prayer warriors. Love you, Gaylene.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Greetings from Austin St.

Daily auto update. Travis’s car is in the driveway. Appraisal was done today. Geni’s car was pronounced totaled. Insurance was renewed yesterday morning so Travis’ accident was covered. We only carry liability so repairs to Travis’ car are not covered, but the postal truck he hit should be covered. Good news: Geni and Travis are both just fine with no injuries. Praise God!!!

Today has been a beautiful day of fall weather and the children in my class have been bringing me leaves from their yards. I have been placing them on the weather bulletin board in the class room. I love fall colors and the leaves remind me of that scripture from Ecclesiastes that speaks of “for everything there is a season.” I love when the weather gets a bit cooler and the leaves change colors. The autumn season always brings a bit of a spring to my step. Speaking of springs in my step...today there was leftover cake from a baby shower in the teacher’s lounge. It was really delicious. I got a small piece and then proceeded to try and find the teacher for which I was looking. I walked very quickly around the building hunting for Stephanie and eating cake. I then wondered if you walk briskly and eat cake at the same time does it cancel the calories in the cake? I hope so!!!

Tonight we went to choir practice. Bruce and I are beginning to get back into the swing of things and return to some of the activities to which we have become involved. There is much still to do at home, but it felt really good to sing again with the Praise Team. One of the songs we worked on was “Be Still and Know that I Am God” by Steven Curtis Chapman. The words reminded me of my prayer time. I am sort of quiet before God right now. I give thanks for His Word and for His saving grace and for His abundant blessings. I pray for the people on my prayer list and then I am quiet. I think a lot about Casey. I think about how happy he is and about how much I miss him. I think about his last few days and sometimes it is hard to remember before cancer and how Casey became the focus of our thinking and all of the events in our lives.

Hebrews 2:18 says, “And now He can help those who are tempted, because He, Himself suffered and was tempted.” Last night I shared how much I loved it that Jesus (God on foot) came into our lives as a baby through a family. Families go through so many things. Families struggle. Families have times of great joy. Families disagree and gather together in times of need, celebration and tragedy. Jesus came to earth to share in all of these things first hand. Everything that we go through in life Jesus went through it first. So He understands all of our emotions from the mountain top joy to the deepest depths of our despair and loss. Jesus suffered loss when His cousin, John the Baptist, was murdered and so He can understand our suffering when we lose our closest ones. Someone who has experienced loss in their own life is equipped to comfort someone else who has experienced loss (maybe that is why I feel called to the hospital chaplaincy ministry). I now really understand the verse in Matthew 5: 4 and why Jesus could say this verse with such conviction and truth. The verse says, “Blessed are they who mourn for God will comfort them.” Jesus knew He would suffer loss. He would suffer the loss of friends. He would suffer betrayal by His own disciple. He would suffer denial by a close follower.

Because God came to earth to live among us He has full understanding of all of the things we go through. He has loving compassion for us and His precious tender mercies encircle us like the big warm arms of a kind and loving Father who loves His children and wants to help us through our hurts, dry our tears and help us heal. He wants to celebrate in our greatest times of joy. So, friends, He invites us and tells us in His Word that He is there. He loves us and no matter what trial, temptation, grief, sorrow, joy or elation, pain or ease we are experiencing. He will stay with us, giving us comfort and peace, while raising our joy to new heights. Praise God for His compassion and His heart of love for all of us no matter what is going on in our lives. God has an amazing journey to lead us through.

So friends, let us all take joy in the journey. Love you all, 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.

PS This is the weekly Viking update. The final game of the regular season is tomorrow night at Lamar Stadium when we play Martin HS. The game begins at 7:30. Mom and Daddy, Ken and Sheena will be there tomorrow night in support of Travis and the mighty Vikings. It is also Senior Night as well as Gold night. Senior night means that Bruce and I will be on the field with Travis at 6:45. I will be wearing Travis’ game jersey and Bruce will be wearing Travis’ letter jacket. We will be introduced on the field. If you come to the game wear something gold in support of the mighty Vikings. If we beat Martin by at least 10 points, we advance to the playoffs. Go Vikes!!

Also, Geni will come to Burton Hill after class in the morning to help judge the History Fair. Thanks Geni. Love you all, Gaylene.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Greetings from Austin St.

Around our house life is never dull and there always seems to another adventure just around the corner. Tonight I sent Travis shopping for a new pair of jeans to wear to sing with his choir at the Veteran’s Day Concert tomorrow at school. He phones about 45 minutes later to tell me he has gone one-on-one with an 18-wheeler. I thought he was teasing me. But nought was the case. Travis is just fine. His car is a mess, but he is fine. No ticket was issued, police officers were dispatched, a fire truck was present and soon left the scene. Bruce and I met him at the accident site (Fielder and Randol Mill). Insurance information was exchanged and all will proceed from that point. Travis will be driving the little Corsica until such a time as we can get his care repaired. The engine seems to be unaffected and only body damage occurred. As my daddy’s insurance man used to say when my brother or I wrecked yet another vehicle, “Jerry, cars are replaceable and repairable, but sons and daughters are not.” I spoke those words to Travis and Bruce tonight. We give thanks that he is unharmed. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Tonight I looked over my left shoulder at the table sitting in my dining room. It is covered in graded and ungraded papers. I am working on getting caught up at both school (where I teach) and Brite where I am attempting to get through Theology I. I will take my mid-term on Saturday after the extravaganza at church. My professor is such a great guy. He told me to take the test when I was ready. He is emailing the test to me on Saturday morning and I will take it on Saturday afternoon. I ask for your prayers. I was in the process of preparing for the test when the disease began to ravage Casey’s body. In fact I was supposed to take my mid-term on Tuesday the 14th. I haven’t looked at the material in a while, so I have some major studying to do in preparation. So again I ask you prayers. I am a fairly good spiritual writer, but I am not a really good scholarly writer.

Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “In the past God spoke…many times and in many different ways. But now…God has spoken to us through His Son.” I have never read this scripture before tonight, but I have often had the thought in this scripture. God spoke through so many people. He spoke through Abraham, Moses, Davis, Elijah, Jeremiah and through so many “people” in the Old Testament. All of these people had personal encounters with God, the Lord of Hosts. They witnessed miraculous feats in nature and mystical events too amazing to possibly explain. The thing is “they“ did not get it.

If you read the Old Testament, a leader comes on board and decides to follow God’s commands and the people sort of clean up their act and do better for a while. And then that king dies and another comes in his place and decides to participate in pagan ritual and the “people” fall away and forget the miracles to which they were witness or at least the stories were handed down as time passed. This is a continuously repeated pattern in the Old Testament. This has always really bugged me. How could you not believe and follow if you have been witness to the parting of the Red Sea, a burning bush that was not consumed, David slaying Goliath, the writing on the wall with Daniel. God spoke to His people in so many ways and they did not get it. He even told them through the prophets that He was coming in a new way. And they still did not get it. And this plan of working through a completely human person did not work as God had hoped.

It was through a maiden and a stable that God showed up. God became a man to show mankind how to live. God disguised Himself as a man and lived in a tiny village where He grew up with a family. I so love that God chose to come into creation as a created being Himself. He came into the world just like the rest of us. He came in through a family to prove His love for the world. I think that is why God holds families so dear. As God liveed His life on earth, He walked among people, not ranting and raving as did some of the prophets, but as a leader who walked among the towns and villages just to say I love you and to teach people about His heart for them as His children. When the day came for Him to be on the cross, His mother was there. I am sure that heaven wept and the angels were silent as God hung on that cross. His earthly job was finished. He did what he came to do which was to tell us that even in our failures there is forgiveness, hope and a future. He could not effectively tell this through a prophet. He had to come and do it Himself. What an amazing journey God had on this earth in the body of Jesus.

What does this say for us? Do we get it or are we like those people of old? Are we “duh-ciples?” Or are we the body of Christ sent here to carry on the inherited work of our heavenly Father? God hung on that cross so we would never have to, so that we could be forgiven and loved completely forever. Our journey begins anew every day.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, 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.

PS The former nurse of my school, Sharon James, is having a double mastectomy on Friday morning. The surgery is to take 6—8 hours. Her oncologist tells her at the conclusion of the surgery she will be cancer free. She will still need some chemotherapy and reconstruction procedures will begin immediately. She has a husband and two children. I ask you to pray for her and her family. Thanks. Always, Gaylene.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Greetings from Austin St.

Happy Election Day to all. I hope all of you were able to vote today. I did not get to vote until around 6:45 this evening. You know it is really dark in front of Wimbish Elem. at 6:45 pm. I tell you that only to let you know that “The Old Girl” whom we thought was repaired is obviously not as it sputtered and did not wish to start this evening. It finally did start and I did get home but not without a great deal of prayer. I am sure we will figure out the problem and will get the necessary repairs done soon. In the grand scheme of things it is an aggravation and inconvenient but not life changing.

Lamentations 2:13 says, “To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter Zion? For vast as the sea is your ruin, who can heal you?” This scripture is a bit dramatic, but it seemed appropriate for today. Three weeks ago tonight Casey went to be with the Father. And I am here to tell you grief is the pits. For a while I will think about Tuesdays in a different thought and the 14th of each month will serve as a reminder of the day of the month in which we lost Casey. This month will be especially different as the 14th is my birthday and Casey will have been in heaven for a month. I actually do pretty well most of the time as long as I am moving or engaged in doing something productive. I still think about Casey and the events of the past year. The times that are hard are when I am driving to school or home or somewhere by myself home or in the few moments sitting at the dinner table after the meal is finished. For the last year our thoughts and actions have surrounded Casey and now there is a big hole not only in our hearts, but in our lives. Not that we do not have enough to do and think about, but the emptiness and loss is still very fresh and very tender.

The question asked in this scripture is “For vast as the seas is your ruin, who can heal you?” We are not ruined; we are sad and feel the overwhelming sense of loss, but ruin, never. As to the question “Who can heal you?” That is easy. God, through the healing blood of Jesus and the promise of the resurrection has us in His healing process. There is no amount of work or busy-ness that can heal any of us of this wound, but Jesus has promised in His Word that He will heal us. And each day brings moments that are tough, but they are just that - moments. Maybe we are still under “God’s anesthetic” as our friend Sarah Sue says. I am not sure, but I do know that God is with us and will never leave us even when the anesthetic wears off. Maybe by then we will have exercised our faith enough that a lot of the soreness will be worked out. I know He will still be there because His Word will be there, I can still pray, I can still sing a song of praise (which always strengthens me), I can look on my prayer list and pray for others, I have all of you to pray for me, Bruce, Geni and Travis.

We (and I mean all of us) have a loving and merciful God who has promised in His Word to comfort the mourning ones. There is nothing I can do to heal myself or my family, for outside of God and His son Jesus Christ, I am nothing and have no power. But with the loving, grace filled heart of Christ I will be taught new lessons, be led down new roads and be taught new ways to live my live for Him who first loved us.

If God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the Father of Jesus Christ would seek me out to receive the “good news”, then my hope is in Him who is the “good news.” For if God is for us who can ever be against us? Will God heal all of our broken hearts? Absolutely! Will it happen quickly? I don’t imagine so, but I am resting on His promise of comfort given in His Word.

The journey is not over my dear friends and prayer warriors. Take joy in the journey.

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.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Greetings from Austin St.

Happy Monday to all. My car “The Old Girl” has been repaired and is now resting comfortably back in her own driveway. Travis was very happy to get his car back and I am glad to get “The Old Girl” back. I don’t understand the radio in Travis’ car at all!

Psalm 5: 2 says, Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” When I read this verse I immediately thought of the kids when they were small. I remember hearing them cry and knowing just by the way they were crying what problem they were having. I knew the difference between, angry, hurt, hungry, wet, frightened, needing attention or just needing me to come and hold them. They always trusted that whatever the situation and no matter how often they cried or for whichever reason that I would come and be with them and try to fix the problem.

Right now I seem to cry a lot. When I cry I go to God either out loud or just in my heart and I pray. The best part is that God never seems to tire of my tears. And He knows, for He knows my heart what the current cry is all about ands sets out to lovingly and mercifully dry my tears and speak words of comfort.

Prayer is my line of communication with the Father. The verse I wrote about last night about “Blessed are they that mourn for the Father will comfort them Himself, “brought me comfort. I have prayed about that scripture since last night. And that scripture may be the one I cling to for a while. Just like with our kids we always tried (and still do) to keep a line of communication open. When we keep open the line of communication then we learn more about them and our level of trust goes deeper and they, hopefully, will never be afraid to come to us with whatever is going on in their lives. The better we can help them with whatever situation they find themselves.

The prayer life we have with God is much the same. The more we pray to God the better we come to know Him and the deeper level of trust we gain in Him who first loved us. Through prayer we learn to rely on God and learn to trust that He will always be there. In my “Word in Season” devotion tonight, it stated, “When we call on Jesus—our friend, our Savior, and our King—it is a magic moment, the act of prayer. We open up the timeless window of our mind and soul and let the beauty of our God pour in.” I loved that word “timeless.” God does not put us on the clock and say okay you get the next five minutes and I have to listen to someone else. He listens as long as we keep talking and sharing our hearts with Him. He then turns around and shares His loving merciful heart with us. In His heart right now I find mercy. Just as my relationships with Bruce, Geni and Travis are my most treasured earthly relationships; my relationship with God is the most significant relationship I have in my life. God does not always answer “yes” to my requests in prayer. Sometimes the answers are “no”, sometimes “not now”, sometimes the answers are “keep looking in the Word” and sometimes the answers come in the directive that says, “Be quiet and listen.” Right now the comfort I seek comes in the words, “Be still and know that I Am God.”

Let us continue in this prayer journey together and even when it is hard, take joy in the journey for God travels with us. Love you all, 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.

PS Geni came home tonight so that she could vote tomorrow for the first time. We will go together very early in the morning. Say your prayers for her as she makes a very important decision in her voting tomorrow. And thanks for the prayers for my car. Love you all, Gaylene.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Greetings from Austin St.

All Saint’s Day will forever have a new meaning for us. Bruce and I carried a candle for Casey and placed it on the baptismal font this morning. Our music ministers sang a piece that Bruce and I have sung before, “Remember Me.” We sang it the year Geni graduated high school as pictures of all of our graduates were being shown on the screens. The pictures were from throughout their lives from being babies to cap and gown. And today instead of singing those words I listened and heard the words “old enough to leave.”

Bruce held me back in the choir loft and we wept together as we remembered our son and how much we miss him. And our broken hearts began to bleed again. But then we sang a song of praise, “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.” And I remembered where Casey is and how happy he must be. I remembered that instead of being sad for the years we will not have Casey with us, for the wedding we will never see and for the beautiful grandchildren he and his bride would have presented us, we need to give thanks for the blessings of the 24 years he was with us. I also gave thanks for the 21 years Geni has been with us and the almost 18 years Travis has been with us. What a joy all three of our children are to us and to treasure each of them and each moment with them. The song says, “Every blessing You pour out I turn back to praise. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Our children are a blessing to us and we praise and give thanks to God for them.

Casey’s bed went into storage, with the help of our friend, Al Rearick. Then Bruce and Al assembled a patio table in the dining room. His wife Cindy and I went to Wal-Mart and purchased a table cloth, place mats and napkins. Next stop was Home Depot for folding chairs. Tonight, Bruce, Travis and I sat at the table and ate dinner together. It felt so good to sit at a table once again. Jackson and Lamar (our basset boys) found their place once again under the table and waited for a treat to be slipped to them. We still have some things that need to go into storage or to charity and they will in time.

Titus 2:14 says, “He gave Himself for us so He might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to Him.” And Matthew 5: 8 says, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” On Sunday evening I usually reflect on the sermon given by Pastor Joel. Tonight will be no different. Pastor Joel spoke today on the verse from the Sermon on the Mount. The first 10 verses are the “Beatitudes.” These familiar verses hold the wonderful blessings of God. Jesus told those people 2000 years ago that the love the Father had for them was not a conditional love. He would bless them because He loved them and His love was just that. Love. They did nothing to earn it nor could they ever do enough works to merit His unconditional love, forgiveness, grace and mercy. Jesus did not say if you work hard and stay out of trouble you can be my child. He simply said, “Blessed are you…you are called children of God.”

When Jesus was speaking to this hillside full of people His Words became His own transforming presence in their lives. He shared with these simple shepherds, fishermen, merchants and farmers insight into Himself. Jesus instructed this hillside classroom in the ways of heaven and how we should treat each other while here on earth. Christ in obedience to Gods plan for Him emptied Himself into the people of Jerusalem and into our lives 2000 years later. God wants to fill our hearts with His transforming presence. As Pastor Joel spoke this morning, “God cannot fill cups that are full.” When we are without hope and feel so alone, that is when God can fill us with His love. When we are filled with God’s love then we become imitators of Christ and we will be merciful to others, pure in heart, righteous (doing things God’s way) and when we are poor in spirit then Holy Spirit will come upon us and we will be the face of God for others. Finally, those of us who mourn the loss of a loved one either family or friend, Jesus promises that the Father Himself will bring us comfort.
God brings us comfort in the warm wonderful hugs from friends and family. God places His Word of comfort in our hands and reveals Himself to us just as He said. He comforts us in placing praise in front of us when we want to cry. And then He allows us to cry for He knows that tears are a part of healing. Wherever you fall in this journey called life I pray you are receiving the blessings and of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May your week be blessed and you become a blessing to others.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, 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.

PS In the continuing g saga of my car. The “Old Girl” is no longer a resident of the Mansfield High football stadium parking lot. It is now at the home of our mechanic and will soon be repaired. Something about the fuel pump has gone out and the fuel pump is located in the gas tank. Serious bummer! But in the relative scheme of things, it is a small inconvenience. See you soon. Gaylene