Happy Thursday! The butterfly count is 1. Tomorrow this school year will come to a close for the FWISD. As of today Travis has completed his high school career. We will be attending graduation with family members tomorrow night and celebrating on Sunday with a backyard brunch. Bruce has completed laying the flooring in the living room, hall way and dining room and will lay the tile in the kitchen one day before this weekend and build a deck. Please pray for him as he completes these tasks (the floor is soooooo beautiful!!).

John 13:15 “All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.”
Every teacher has something that marks him/her, some quality that shows up in their students that lets you know who their previous teacher was. One of my marks is when the students answer when I take attendance they are taught to say “Here, Ma’am.” I was raised a Texas girl and as a response of respect I still answer “Yes, ma’am, no ma’am or sir.” I have been told by the second grade teachers that my previous students will answer attendance in this manner. When they answer using the phrase, “Here, Ma’am.” the teacher automatically knows that the students was once Mrs. Chrystie’s.

The mark of Jesus was love. When He called those disciples, the first thing Jesus did was love them unconditionally and then He taught those same disciples to have love not only for Him and each other, but for all people. Jesus’ mission was to show God’s love to the world through His acts of love in His relationships with the citizens of Nazareth, Galilee, Capernaum and the areas surrounding Jerusalem. The disciples walked with Jesus and watched, listened and followed His lead so when the time came for them to carry on the ministry they knew how much they were loved and how to show this same love to others. They shared the love of God through Jesus as they became empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We are marked. We are marked with the love of God because we are sealed by the cross of Christ. Jesus’ supreme act of love was to die for our sins on the cross. We are called to follow in His footsteps and act on His behalf as our mission to the world. Do others know we are followers of Jesus because of our love for each other? Each time we greet someone whether it is family, friend or stranger it is an opportunity to show that we are followers of Christ because of the love He has for us. We don’t have to say His name to show His love, but when we show His love to others “they will know we are Christians by our love.”

Take joy in the journey. 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.