Greetings from Austin St. via Starbucks!! (still no internet—serious bummer!)

Blessed Sunday and Happy Mother’s Day to all of you! I have missed writing to you these last few days. We are back at home now after a whirlwind trip to Lubbock. (Geni and Travis arrived safely. PTL!) Our visit with family was just awesome and Kendall graduated from Texas Tech just beautifully. She has moved back to Allen and will begin to look for a job sometime next week. The keynote speaker was Scott Pelly from CBS News 60 Minutes. He proudly wore his Texas Tech western boots. The first statement he said to the graduates was “You picked a heckuva time to graduate college.” He spoke of courage, perseverance and dreaming big. He was inspiring and his talk was well received. We only had one tough moment on the entire trip. While we were eating breakfast at Cracker Barrel prior to graduation Mom and Dad’s car was broken into, the side window smashed in and Mom’s purse stolen. While my brother called the police, I cancelled all of their credit cards. There was also a fairly large amount of cash taken. Mom was so very upset and all but swears she is never going anywhere again. I ask for your prayers for them as they work to reclaim their financial lives and recover from the feeling of being violated.

– UPDATE – Daddy just called(8:30pm). Someone found Mom’s purse in a hedge behind a Wal-green’s store some distance from the Cracker Barrel. The only thing that was taken was the money. All credit cards and other information was left intact! PTL! They are going to ship it to her tomorrow.

This Mother’s Day was a bit different than previous Mother’s Days. The majority of the day was just wonderful. We all ate breakfast in our bed this morning. Bruce served coffee and prepared eggs while I watched the Sunday Morning Show. Then the kids joined us. It was great fun.

Worship was amazing. The anthem was so full of joy I am sure that Casey shushed the angel choir and said just listen, that is my Mom and Dad singing with the praise team. I know Casey would have approved. Singing the song Breathe will always evoke a strong emotion for me. It has always spoken to my very soul with the words “And I am desperate for You and lost without You.” But the words “Your very Word, spoken to me.” Since the afternoon when Casey told me God told him it would not be long and that he was not afraid, I have believed that God not only meant those words for Casey, but for me too. It was after I delivered the news to Casey that there was nothing more to be done on this earth that Casey told me that God told him he would go home soon and he was not afraid. I who seemed to deliver bad news each time, was blessed with the good news. I will treasure that moment in time for the rest of my life.

Following worship Bruce, Geni and Travis took me to lunch and then we went to see Star Trek. OMG!!! It is so totally cool! I highly recommend it. It will so come to live with us when it is available and it is very worthy of a repeat attendance.

John 15: 5 [Jesus said,] “Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.”

I think that part of working through my grief, loss and sadness has been the recovery of our house. Through the actions of many, many people and their commitment to grace in action, our house is looking really nice inside and out. One of the things I have begun to do is plant flowers. I have different colors and kinds of flowers in clay pots on the porch, down the side walk and in window boxes on the house. I love driving up each day and seeing all of the colors and the vibrant signs of life that greet me. I know very little about the intricacies of gardening beyond, dirt, water and weeds. I purchase flowers because I like the colors and how they look. So I decided that I would use Miracle Grow plant food and potting soil to see if I could boost the flower population in my pots and window boxes. I wanted to give these plants every opportunity to grow as much and as long as they possibly could. My basic plan is to water when they are dry (sometimes daily or at least every other day) and plant food once a week.

I began to think that working with the flowers is a lot like my own spiritual life. I read scripture daily, pray during the day and attend worship once a week. In these three activities I am growing. I also planted multiple plants in each container. These plants have the opportunity to help each other grow and become beautiful, full flowered plants. I am so thankful for the Wednesday morning prayer group at school that helps me have other areas which are growing as well. We all help each other. But I also know that I have much to learn about plants. I also have much to learn about God, His Son Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. I know that if I neglect my flowers by not watering them and feeding them they will die. I also know if I neglect my spiritual life then my soul and actions will suffer and die. If I were to pollute my plants by watering them with gasoline or alcohol then they will surely die. If I begin to pollute my time with God with other “busyness” then my spiritual life as well as all of the other aspects of my life will suffer.

It is May and a very busy time for all of us. So let each of us put the busyness aside and put God first and keep Him throughout the day. He will keep us watered in our baptisms, feed us on His Word and keep us firmly planted in His abundant grace.

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

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

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