Happy Monday! Back to school. This is the toughest part of the year. There is still a lot to teach and the children still have much to learn, but they are already thinking summer break. At faculty meeting this afternoon one of our teachers mentioned that we have only 11 more Mondays after today. Before long we will count Fridays. I will keep you posted. The asbestos abatement has begun in our building. We have been told we will be moved to temporaries while our rooms are gutted. I have been in that room for nine years. Moving is going to be a huge undertaking.

Tonight Bruce and I traveled to Denton to see Geni be inducted into the Tau Sigma National Honor Society. It was so cool. She received a certificate, pin, t-shirt and cords. We are so proud. Way to go Geni!!

Luke 1: 45 says, “You are blessed because you believed that what the Lord said to you would really happen.”

This is the story of Mary, mother of Jesus, visiting her Aunt Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. I love this scene in the story of Jesus. Here is Elizabeth who is far too old to have a child and she is to bear the forerunner of Jesus. Then there is Mary, who is far too young by our standards to bear a child, let alone the Son of God. Mary has been sent away by her family because she is pregnant out of wedlock. The town of Nazareth has their tongues wagging at this scandal for sure. At the greeting of Elizabeth to Mary, though, the unborn child, John, leaped in her womb. Elizabeth is given a special gift of knowledge. Elizabeth knows that the child her niece is carrying is the Son of God. No one told her this, her faith in God and her openness to listening to the Holy Spirit told her of this mysterious birth. The scripture says when the child leaped inside her, she was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Mary and Elizabeth were totally captured by the Holy Spirit. They were willing to face alienation from family and friends to carry out the will of God. God asked these two women to birth, raise and nurture the Son of God and the one who would prepare the people for His coming. What is our job as parents? When we stand with our children at baptism we promise to raise them in Christian homes where scripture is read, lead godly lives and take them to worship, teach them the commandments etc…When you think about it, that is what Elizabeth and Mary did. They raised their boys in godly homes, taught them the commandments, took them to temple. These women surrendered their sons over to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God had world changing plans for these young men. These women had the faith to believe that if God brought them to it, God would see them through it.

Raising children is never easy. And we can only do the best we can. Our best can be made better if we trust in Christ to help us raise our children. God has world changing plans for our children. God gives us the blessing and gift of faith. God will help us raise our children if we will just turn to Him in prayer and ask for His help. Let us all, as parents of children still at home, parents of children no longer at home, parents who are parenting for a second time, and those who are waiting to become parents, give thanks for our children, pray for our children and pray for ourselves to take seriously the commissioning of God at baptism and lead godly lives of faith.

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 Please pray travel mercy for Bruce tomorrow as he travels to San Antonio for the funeral of Buck Wunderlich. Pray for me as I take my test. Love you, gc