Saturday, December 19, 2009

Happy Friday!

Today was the last day of school until after the New Year. It has been such a wonderful semester with this class of students. However, the prospect of not having to get up at 5:00 tomorrow morning is something in which I look forward. A blessing this week has been that Geni has taught at Burton Hill for the last three days. One of our kinder teachers has had to be hospitalized and Geni was able even with her finals at UNT to teach 22 5 year olds. She is quite a young lady and has really enjoyed the classroom experience with its excitement this close to a holiday break. I am very proud of her.

John 15:16 “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”

Have you ever given thanks because you believe in God through Jesus Christ? This is something in which we should take great joy and give thanks in our prayer time. Believer and non-believer are not treated the same. Yes, rain and sunshine fall on the just and the unjust. Yes, worldly blessings are given to the believer and the non-believer. But the blessings of the Kingdom are only given to those who believe in God through Jesus. Those who believe are brothers and sisters to Christ making them inheritors of all of the riches of the Kingdom. All of the blessings we as believers receive are given in love.

God chose us to be His children. We are all God’s children. However, not all believe in Jesus. According to scripture the “only” way to the Father is through belief in the Son. When we believe in God through Jesus then we receive the sun and the rain, the worldly blessings and unlike the non-believers, eternal blessings of heaven. We become “ordained” or set apart to carry on the family traditions of sharing Jesus with those do not know Him. We are to bring forth fruit, new believers, and our fruit will forever receive the blessings of God our Father.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. 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.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Happy Thursday!

I got at B+ in Ethics. My GPA is 3.00. I was so excited. I am just glad Ethics is over and I have met the requirement needed for Ethics for my degree.

One more day and we are off for the Winter Holiday. The kids and students are very ready for this day to come. The catch phrase around the building today was “one more day.”

Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The opening phrase of my devotional reading tonight is “Lord, give to us, Your Joy, that Joy that no man, no poverty, no circumstances; no conditions can take from us.”

God gives us His Joy. Joy is one of God’s names. When we come into relationship with God through Jesus one of the names we are given is Joy. But sometimes joy is hard to realize when the road is long and bumpy. God promises that Joy will come. Joy is the reward for staying the course and being faithful and obedient to God even when we don’t understand. Joy is the reward for patience (don’t we love being patient! ) Joy is the reward of trusting in times of darkness when we cannot see what is ahead.

I think the first gift we receive from God after receiving salvation is faith and the reward for faithfulness is joy. Each night I ask you to take joy in the journey. Joy is believing that God is faithful and will remain with us no matter what our circumstance or condition. For many of us Christmas will be a bit leaner than in times past. But the true joy of Christmas is remembering that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus as a baby to grow up among us so we could know Him.
Joy didn’t wrapped come in pretty papers and ribbons with a Dillards sticker on the box. Joy came wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Joy came into this world under adverse conditions. Joy came into this world in the poorest of situations. But Joy came and nothing or no man could stop it!

Take joy in the journey and wear comfortable shoes. 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.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Happy Tuesday!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! So the song says. Each morning for the last few weeks I have been listening to a new drive time devotion called, “Jesus Calling.” It is a series of daily devotions where the writer has devoted time each day to prayer, meditation on God’s Word and listening to revealing voice of God.

This particular day’s meditation is taken from the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10: 39-42. In this passage Martha becomes angry with Mary because Mary is spending time at the feet of Jesus instead of helping her in the kitchen. Jesus reminds Martha and says, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed, Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

Martha needed to be reminded that devoting some time to Jesus each day is the most important thing we can do today and each day. When we take time to be with God and learn of Him then the remainder of the day usually falls into place. Even if difficult times come our way, our time with God equips us to face whatever the task or the situation. God blesses us in our time with Him by His presence throughout the day. His presence will not be taken from us. Enjoy the meditation from Jesus Calling…

Relax in My healing presence as you spend time with Me.
Your thoughts tend to jump ahead to today’s plans and problems.
Bring your mind back to me for refreshment and renewal.
Let the light of my presence soak into you as you focus your thoughts on Me.
Thus, I equip you to face whatever the day brings.
This sacrifice of time pleases Me and strengthens you.
Do not skimp on our time together.
Resist the clamor of tasks waiting to be done.
You have chosen what is better and it will not be taken from you.
Father, let us learn from Mary so that we may learn of You.

Take joy in the journey and wear comfortable shoes. 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.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Happy Monday!

What an awesome day!! First, I (even though I emailed my final paper to Dr. Day) I left early and slipped a hard copy under her door around 7:30 this morning. Second, the first grade classes rode the bus to the Stockyards today and rode the Tarantula Train that has been transformed into the train from The Polar Express. We all wore our pajamas and bells. We sang Christmas songs and listened to the classic poem The Night Before Christmas. We had the most wonderful time.

Revelation 4:8 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. He was, He is, and He is coming.”

When do we worship? Is worship simply the rituals we go through on Sunday mornings or during special seasons such as Advent or Lent? Worship happens when we stop what we are doing and give God our undivided attention- giving praise, adoration and proclaiming that God is God and God is Holy. God is above all others, all things, all powers, all struggles and every storm. God is the giver of life, every good and perfect gift, the author of our salvation and lord of all.

Tonight my devotion likened worship as the “act of magnifying God.” When anything is magnified the actual object remains the same size through our uncorrected eyesight. When we look through a magnifying glass the details of the object become very clear. Imagine being in the cockpit of an airplane in the air. Even though everything on the ground has stayed the same because we are in the air our perception of the earth has changed. When we are on the ground our vision is limited, but when we are in the air we are able to see things farther and wider. The objects and areas have not changed, but how we see them has changed dramatically. That is what worshiping God is like. When we worship God we magnify God’s presence and begin to understand how God can not only be Lord of all, but also how He can see each one of us at the same time.

In this season of Advent, a time of preparation for the birth of the Christ Child, may we be like the shepherds who came to worship and adore: not asking anything just kneeling (if only in our hearts) at the feet of the babe in the manger in awesome wonder as we look upon the face of God and whisper “holy.”

Take joy in the journey and wear comfortable shoes. Love you all so very 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.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Blessed Sunday to you all!

Today was the Christmas Cantata. The music was so beautiful. The orchestra and singers really did a beautiful job. Thank you to all who participated.

THE PAPER IS FINISHED AND SENT TO DR. DAY! I AM FINISHED WITH ETHICS! When I began the ethics class I realized I was in way over my head. There were too many times that the professor announced the lecture topic, cleared her throat and that was the last I understood. I wanted to drop the class on more than one occasion. I thought this class was going to be impossible. The only thing that kept me from quitting was the knowledge that I would have to retake the class again at some point. (No Way!!) So I hung in there. I wrote the papers and wrote the final. All through the semester there were several of us who helped and supported each other through this difficult class. I had other believers (classmates) who were on the same path and we helped and supported each other along the way.

1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son.”

Each night I sign off with the phrase “Take joy in the journey and wear comfortable shoes.” Everyday is a journey with Christ. If we take Joy (a name of God) in our daily lives, we can have fullness of joy in each step we take for it is then that we allow Christ to plan and guide our steps and lead our journey. Did you hear that word ”fullness?” God doesn’t tell us we can only have some joy or a little or a lot. God tells us we can have fullness of joy. We can have Him, the Father, the Creator of all in fullness. We can have a God-guided life.

A God-guided life would assure a life without impossibilities. As scripture says, “Nothing is impossible with God.” I don’t mean to say that there will not be some tough times along the way, but I am assured that even when the times are tough and the road is rocky and full of pot holes that God will be with us. To walk with God and think anything is impossible would be a sin.

In this God-guided life we do not walk alone. God walks with us along with the other members of the family. We are given fellowship with Christ as we continue to open ourselves up to the leading of God through the Holy Spirit.

Take joy in the journey and wear comfortable shoes. Love you, 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.