Greetings from Austin St.

Happy Friday! It is about to be a really busy weekend for the Chrysties. Bruce, (at this writing) is working on his talk for the upcoming Kairos Weekend. He has been given the Christian Action talk to present to the team tomorrow and then to the participants and team on the weekend. I ask your prayers for him as he writes and presents this talk to the glory of God and the furthering of the Kingdom.

Geni and Travis are preparing for the Happening Lock-in. They will leave tomorrow for McGregor, Texas. The team will meet throughout the weekend to hear talks, celebrate Eucharist, finalize plans and attend worship. I ask your prayers for the team and participants on this weekend and travel mercy as they all converge in McGregor.

And tomorrow I will attend training for the new Promethean Board that has been installed in my classroom. This is the most amazing and coolest classroom tool ever!!! The majority of the Burton Hill staff will be in attendance. Our training is an all day event. So the Chrysties are going in different directions tomorrow.

I talked to my brother tonight. He and Sheena were in the pressbox at the Allen football game. He sounds fantastic and says he doing so well. He was expecting the most difficult surgery on his shoulder with the rotator cuff injury and it ended up being far less and his recovery time is expected to be minimal. We are so grateful. Ken is an active busy man and is counting his blessings and giving thanks that the surgery turned out so well.

John 10:10 “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Next week my students will begin to study plants. We are going to begin with observation of plants and some appropriate vocabulary. Basic vocabulary words of root, stem, vine, branch, leaf etc…are all terms with which (if I teach well) they will become familiar and understand how this system of life works together.

When I was pregnant with Casey, Bruce and I went to childbirth classes. One of the things we were taught was that if you were going to nurse the baby, that whatever you ate, the baby ate 30 minutes later. That caused me to really realize and be very critical of what I ate not only while I was pregnant, but after delivery as I nursed all three children. For nearly two years of each of our children’s’ lives I was their source of nourishment. Whatever I ate, they ate in some form. For a while, I was the giver of life and then I was the sustainer of life. That is an overwhelming responsibility, but I treasured each moment of those years and experiences with our children.

Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” God is the most generous giver. He gave us Jesus. Jesus then became our nourishment. Whatever He was given from His Father, it flowed down to us. When Jesus feeds us through His Word, when we commune with Him in prayer, when we help someone else, when we listen and follow His will then we become one with Christ. Jesus is our source of life. He is Love, Peace, Joy, Understanding, Strength, Power and Healing. Because Jesus is all of these things, He nourishes us with all that He is for our own lives and the lives of those we meet.

One of the main differences in plants and animals is that plants can produce their own food. If we become the branches of Christ then we will produce seed for planting and eventually be a part of the gathering of the harvest. (I think fall may have taken over my thoughts for just a few moments.) What a marvelous gift the Kingly Giver has bestowed upon us; to ask us to be a part of this renewal and continuous life cycle in Him.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. May they continue to flow though all of us.

Love you all and thank you all so very much for your prayers. 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.