Happy Saturday!

Our dearest and oldest friends Carme and Dave Russell are here for the weekend. We met for coffee this morning and had lunch together. Then Carme, Geni, Travis and I went to a tattoo parlor. Now there are some words I never thought I would say! I was very surprised at how clean, spacious and very salon-like the shop was. Geni and Travis both got a yellow ribbon in Casey’s memory and a pink ribbon in support of Carme surviving breast cancer. The artist who did the tattoos was a great guy and was the best artist in the house. It was an adventure!

Zechariah 4:10 “For who has despised the day of small things?”

Today I went with my best friend to watch her get a tattoo. She held my hand tightly as the artist was working on her and we talked. We remembered the joys and the losses we have shared in the last thirty years of our lives. We remembered all of the New Year’s Eve’s spent with each other. The funny story about hot chocolate! All of those blood drive breakfasts we all made together. She made batches of biscuits and every egg was a new adventure! She lost both her father and her father-in-law to pancreatic cancer. She lost her young daughter to heart and lung failure when Catherine was just three. I sang baby Catherine’s funeral.

We talked about our shared loss of Casey and how he would have loved being there with her as she got her tattoo. We shared joy in the loss of weight we have both experienced recently. We talked about the joy our children bring to us. We shed some tears over our losses and the joy of our bounty in the love and friendship we have shared over the years. We laughed at the silly things we have done together in our lives. And promised that we would get together again eat popcorn and watch all six Rocky movies. (Bruce and Dave might not make it.) I treasure the friendship I have with Carme and Dave.

There is another friendship I treasure. I treasure the friendship I have with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Just as Carme and Dave are but a phone call away when I need them, God is just a prayer away. God can be summoned in an instant. His presence can be felt the instant we call His name. God desires to be a daily part of our lives and for us to call on Him in the small everyday things. Calling on God daily is one of the ways we become friends with Him and we get to know Him as a personal friend. Give daily thanks for your life, for your families, the ability to worship and the friendship we have with God through our Lord, Savior and friend, Jesus Christ.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. I am praying for you and I ask you to pray for our family. Love you all and see you in worship, Bruce, Gaylene, 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.