This fellow was adorning the food line one evening. We obviously had an artist on board.

Blessed Sunday to you all!

Wasn’t it just a beautiful day? We spent part of our day preparing for Carme’s visit. Carme and I seem to follow a similar schedule on Sunday afternoon. When she called she was cleaning bathrooms and I was dusting and preparing to mop floors. She will arrive around 7:00 am. Bruce and the kids will pick her up and we are having breakfast at our house. Perhaps it will not be so very hot and we can eat outside. I love eating outside on the deck.

Ephesians 5:1 “Be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

Remember when our children were young just learning to walk, talk, eat independently and many other things? How did they learn? We showed them repeatedly and told them patiently until they were able to accomplish tasks on their own. (And then remember thinking later on “Why did I ever want this child to talk?”) LOL We modeled correct behavior for our children so they would learn the proper way to walk, speak, eat and interact with others. (Then remember when an inappropriate word would slip out and the children thought the word was okay?) Why did our children learn to walk, talk, eat and act correctly as very young people? Our children learned because they had complete faith in us as their parents and their first teachers to teach them correctly. Their faith was simple and uncluttered. Yes, there was much to learn, but learn they did because we were patient and loving, remembering how young and immature they were and worthy of our tender care. We, in turn, expect our children to behave appropriately. They do not always remember those lessons taught so long ago so we, as parents, have to teach for a long, long time.

God treats us the same way. We believe we know a lot about God but really we know very little. What we do know is how to imitate His behavior because of the way He has shown His love lessons for each of us. Because He loves us, He has shown us how to love and then expects us to love one another. Because He has forgiven us repeatedly, we know how to forgive and he expects us to forgive others even though it is hard. Because He has walked a godly path and shown us and continues to show us daily, He expects us to walk a godly path and to then show others that same path. The passage of scripture and surrounding verses speak of controlling our anger, speaking kind words to others and to always think kindly without bitterness or malice toward others. God has given us an impossible task.

God was able to accomplish all of these things because, after all, He is God. He asks us to be imitators. An imitation is something that is as close as it gets without being the real thing. God empowers us to be imitators before he ever “gives us the example to follow.” (from Christ in Our Home) We are not to become imitators to become His children. We become imitators because we are His children.

So friends, let us say something nice to someone, smile at those we meet, love our families even when they mess up, forgive those you love and forgive those who need our love because God has taught us through the perfect example of His Son.

Take joy in the journey. Please pray for all teachers as we head back to the classroom. Love you all so much, 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.