Happy Thursday!

Wow! What a day! I went for the counseling interview today. I met with a counselor who had read my autobiography and reviewed all of my testing results. For the most part the testing really nailed me and proved accurate. As I presented myself in person, she discovered that the testing and my written words all combined showed an authentic picture of me.

We developed the recommendations for future growth in about three sentences.

• First, I need to finish seminary.
  
• Second, I need to have varied pastoral care giving experiences to broaden my awareness of the different paths people walk.
  
• Last, I need to transition from thinking as a teacher, parent and fixer of things to learning to ask questions which allow people to come to their own conclusions about the issues in their lives. And these skills will come into place the more I learn through seminary and experience in the pastoral care field.

2 Corinthians 2:14 “But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere like sweet perfume.”

The best way we can spend our lives is to stay as near and as connected to God as we possibly can. The outcome will be perfect success, but it will be success not measured in earthly standards, but in heavenly reward. God measures success far differently than does the world. The world may deem what we do as failure, but God judges on the level of eternity. When we bow our knees in amazement before the revelation of God in Jesus we see the Truth of God and hear His voice.

As I unraveled my life today in the counselor’s office and began to summarize the different parts of my life, one of the things we discussed is the transition I am going to have to make from being an educator to being a pastoral care giver. My current identity is that of a teacher and I am wired to assess a student or situation and quickly put things into place to find the problem and move the child along in their education. As a pastoral care giver I have everything to learn.

I will need to treat this time of transition using one of my favorite metaphors, the garden. My first task is to realize that the first labor that must occur is me. God has planted the seed (the calling to His set-apart service) then I must weed (remove anything that might interfere with the growth and maturity of the seedling) and continue to dig and learn all I can. As the seed continues to grow I will find the need to prune any deadness so that new growth may happen and allow the plant to bear fruit. When God has sufficiently prepared this seedling and matured me into a fruit bearing plant then I will be led out of the garden to plant seeds into other fields.

So here is the question…Are you willing to be the laborer in your own field and let God plant His seed of ministry into your heart and bring it to fruition and lead you to plant seeds in other fields? Just some food for thought...

Thank you for your prayers today. God’s presence was so strong today and I know it was because I was covered in prayer by all of you. Take joy in the journey. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to pray for each other daily. 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.