Saturday, March 6, 2010

Happy Saturday!

Wow! What an awesome day! Bruce, Geni, Travis and Bianca found themselves at the park today playing soccer and throwing the Frisbee. For a number of years, one of the ways our neighbors knew it was the first sign of spring was when Bruce and the kids played catch in the street out in the front of our house. Praise God for His creation and the joy that it brings.

Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of Hosts.”

If you go back and read Genesis 1:1, I believe it says that the spirit passed over the waters. So before there was anything, before the creation of this world, before animals, before days and nights and before you and me there was God. The spirit of God began to move in the most amazingly creative and powerful way to set this entire world up for us to live in and flourish. We are the focus of His love and grace and He has provided for each of us not only a place and purpose on this side of heaven, but a place in His heart for each of us. He loves us so much that He empowers us by and with His Holy Spirit. He offers us His very essence. He offers His very essence to dwell within each of us because of His love for us. There is nothing we can ever do by our own might or by our own power that can gain anything in the kingdom. Only through the love, grace, forgiveness and tender mercies of this most amazing God can we continue to be created in His image. Creation did not end after those original seven days, it continues each day in us. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Take care and take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. See you in worship. 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.

Prayer alert! Bianca’s maternal grandmother was discovered to have cancer that has become very invasive. She is currently in a coma. Bianca’s mother is in Corpus Christi at this time which is where grandmother is. We ask your prayers for Bianca’s grandmother and all of her family. Thank you, gc

Friday, March 5, 2010

Happy Friday!

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

I remember a brief time while in Houston with Casey that he began to be fearful. It was shortly after we had arrived and it was like being in a foreign country. One day he decided that he wanted to go down to the Café Anderson for lunch. So he got in the wheelchair, unplugged the pole (his constant companion) and off we went. The Cafe Anderson will rival any mall food court in variety of choices for meals or snacks and an enormous cafeteria seating area. Casey had never been off of the floor other than to go for a test.

Upon our arrival the Café Anderson was absolutely bustling with activity and so many people. Casey panicked and became very emotional and we left the café and went back to his room where he felt safer and more secure in surroundings with which he was familiar. This experience affected him so strongly that he did not want to get out of bed and walk even around the floor for two or three days. I knew if he was going to battle this ghastly disease he was going to have to learn to fight. That night God led me to this passage from 2 Timothy. I printed the verse on a piece of stationary and placed it where Casey would see it when he woke up in the morning.

“Perfect love casts out fear.” The perfect love available to each of us every day is the love of God through Jesus Christ. Fear is the curse of the world. We all seem to fear something: aging, poverty, unemployment, being unloved, death….

Friends, for those of us who love God and have the belief that God loves us there is no room for fear in our hearts, minds and daily lives. Fear destroys hope and clouds our communication with the Father. When we live in fear all we can hear and see is Satan telling us that there is no hope, no future, and that God does not love us. Fear cannot exist where the love of God is present or when our faith in God is present. Satan knows that where the spirit of God is, he is not welcome and has no power. That must really hack Satan off!

Claim this verse when you feel fearful about something and claim this wonderful promise of truth for each of us. Claim victory over fear and cling to the promise of the Word of God

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Happy Thursday!

Luke 9:23 “If any will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

Jesus stood in the garden and said to the Father, “If it be possible let this cup pass from me.” Jesus did not say there was no cup to drink. He suffered so many things before He ever got to the cross. Even through all of the beatings, the scourging, being spat upon and the crown of thorns slammed down on His head He still managed to say to the Father, “Father, please forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Jesus was the perfect model of denying one’s self for the sake of others and the perfect model of obedience to the Father’s will. Jesus walked the path of suffering to fulfill the purpose to which He was called.

God calls us to be like Jesus. We may each say to ourselves that there is no way for us to be like Jesus. We have done so many things wrong and are so full of sin that why would God ever want us to do His will? We are not perfect. But when God looks at us he sees perfection because of the life of Jesus that lives within us. My meditation tonight said, “God has purer eyes than to behold evil.”

Remember we are the focus of God’s love and He never gives up on us. The way we become like Jesus is to spend time with Him. When we devote our lives to His service then we need to spend time each day in prayer, the Word and conversation where we talk to God and listen for our instructions for the day.

We will all at some time in our lives walk a path of suffering and hurt. We will know what to do because we watched Jesus trust His Father during his journey. Jesus spent time daily with His Father and even when the news was not good Jesus knew His Father so well that He trusted Him to walk the journey with Him. God will do no less for each of us.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Happy Wednesday!

John 4:24 “God is a Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

This morning as I was getting ready for school I was listening to WBAP. I have been listening to them in the morning for years. Today someone said “As you get older, spend your money foolishly and spend your time wisely.” I have had this little piece of wisdom sort of rambling around in my head all day.

Tonight Pastor Joel preached on the story of Mary and Martha. These two women spent their time with Jesus in different ways. Martha spent some of her time cooking and preparing a meal to serve Jesus and the Disciples, but she also spent some of her time being angry because she was alone in the kitchen without help from anyone. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened and learned from Him. She spent her time in peace and adoration of Jesus. Both women spent their time productively, but only one of them spent special time with Jesus. Martha spent her time preparing a meal that would only last for a few hours. Mary spent her time being fed for a life time.

Take time each day to be with Jesus. Pray often. Stay in fellowship with other believers and worship the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, to all of the “Marthas” out there, make a buffet, set out the paper plates and grab a piece of the floor. Sit at the feet of the Father and learn from Him.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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, March 2, 2010

Happy Tuesday!

James 4:7 “Give yourselves completely to God.”

Wow! There is an unpopular and really difficult directive to follow. For God to do His work in us and to fulfill His purpose in each of us everything must begin with surrender. God asks for each part of our life to be laid at His feet. When we lay all at His feet - our joys, sorrows, pain and suffering, victories and defeats, the past and the present, regrets and fears and courage, then God can do His work in us and ultimately fulfill His purpose in us and through us for the furthering of His kingdom.

Our first act as believers is worship. Remember when you first knew of God’s love through Jesus? I remember. The first thing I did was worship God in song, after which I prayed for forgiveness and then I told someone what God had done for me. The heart of worship is surrender. I am reminded of the song we sing, “I’m coming back to the heart of worship and it’s all about you, all about you, Jesus.” When we surrender in worship to God then we must be willing to give up our need to be in control and just worship the Father with an open heart. When we worship with an open heart then the Holy Spirit is present not only with us, but within us and we come to know God in close relationship.

James knew that for God to do His best work in us that we must become like Jesus. The only way to become like Jesus is to surrender ourselves completely to God just as Jesus did in the garden. Jesus emptied out His life in total surrender to His Father. When we empty out our lives in surrender to God then God can fill us with Himself in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I think I have shared this with you before, but the battle was not won on the cross. The battle was won in the garden when Jesus surrendered Himself to God’s plan. Jesus said, Father, take this cup of suffering from Me is if it is Your will, but if this plan is what is needed to fulfill your purpose then I surrender. I surrender the pain and humiliation over to You until Your purpose is fulfilled in Me.

Where are our gardens? Where do we do battle for control? Are our gardens in the bank, in our computers, in our phones, in our jobs or unemployment or in our families? Where and what do we need to surrender over to God so that His purpose can be fulfilled in each of us? Jesus surrendered His will over to the Father including His death on the cross to fulfill His purpose for our lives. His battle was won in the garden. And victory was claimed on the cross.

Where do we fight our battles? And where is victory claimed? Just throwing it out there…

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Happy Monday!

Perhaps the old saying about March came true today. It sort of came in like a lion with the wind, rain and cold. We will just have to wait to see if it goes out like a lamb…

Psalm 34:17 “The righteous cry, and the Lord hears.”

For the last few days I have been writing about prayer. For me the Lenten journey is a journey of prayer. Finding time alone with God is not always easy but it is always time well spent. I believe God hears each prayer and answers each prayer.

God provides understanding when we are ready to understand. Understanding usually comes in quiet moments, not in eruptions of emotion. When we are quiet we are better able to listen and hear the voice of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our problem is that we are not usually patient enough to wait on the answers He provides. We want to go ahead and act and pray God will form to us instead of waiting for God to answer in His time. God always answers prayer. Our hope is that He will answer our prayers at our bidding in the way which we believe is right.

Well, part of that is true. God answers all of our prayers. He just does not always answer the way we would desire.

God has promised us that He will lay low every mountain in our path and the rough places of poverty shall be made smooth. What we must always remember is how much God loves us. We must always remember that God is God. He is Lord and that He loves us and must trust Him in all things. Trust Him as our Savior and King.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Blessed Sunday to you all.

Matthew 9:21 “For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.” Imagine this poor woman: bleeding for years, treated as an outcast. And finally the healer of which she has heard so much is in her town. When Jesus entered a town His reputation preceded Him. People crowded around Him begging for healing, wishing to hear His teaching, waiting to hear Him preach and this woman was not allowed to come into town because she was considered unclean.

When someone had a disease, was blind, had leprosy, was paralyzed, had stillborn children or other condition to which there was no explanation, the consensus was that either God was angry with you or you were demon possessed. This woman who had constant bleeding was considered an outcast, but she came to town and fought her way through the crowds. There must have been so many people surrounding Jesus as He walked through the town. This woman in her weakened state somehow got close enough just to touch the hem of His garment. Reading on the passage says that Jesus stopped because some of the power had left Him and went into this woman.

Do you suppose this woman spent a great deal of time in prayer? I think she did. I also think that because of her condition she spent a lot of time alone and I think she spent a great deal of time with God. God was with her for all of those years in her thoughts, in her prayers in her times of meditation. She knew God and somehow she seemed to know that this young rabbi Jesus who had the reputation of being able to heal was coming and if she could just get close enough perhaps He could heal her, too. It was not by accident that when she reached out through the crowd of people, Jesus was there.

We do not have to reach through a crowd of people to find Jesus. We do not have to wait for Him to come to our town to preach, teach and heal. We have been given the gifts of prayer and of His Word. We have instant access to the Almighty God through Jesus all day, every day. The only crowd we must fight through is our crowded mind - our daily thoughts and plans that cause us to put our prayer time at the back of our minds.

Let’s try this. Before we open our planners, our computers or check the phones for messages, let us simply call on the name of Jesus and invite Him first thing to be the guide for our day. Let us take time to pray, take time to be alone with God. Let His endless supply of healing power fill us with wholeness and well being.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.
Happy Saturday!

What an awesome day! Asenath’s bridal shower was amazing! She received so many lovely things and was such a gracious bride. She is a student at Texas Tech. Would it surprise you to know that she is doing her kitchen in Red Raider red and black? Go Asenath!

Also one the most wonderful things that happened at the shower was that Geni became acquainted with the head of Special Education for Allen ISD. She was a delightful woman in whose home the shower was being held. When I left Geni at the shower I met Bruce at the car singing “God is good. All the time!” For those of you who do not know, Geni is following the Special Education path at the University of North Texas.

And!!! After the bridal shower Bruce and I went to Howe to see Mom and Daddy. What a great visit! Mom looks really great and is feeling better. She did not attend the shower but is planning to rest up and save all of her strength for the wedding.

Mark 1:35 “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

How do you begin your day? I rise, shower, get a cup of coffee and finish getting ready for the day. Jesus models for us that He rose early (probably before coffee) and went out to be with God and receive instruction for the day. Jesus spent time alone with the Father. It is during this time that Jesus learned of the plans God had for Him for the day. I can imagine that Jesus treasured those daily moments in communion with God as he was surrounded by people so much of the time and rarely had a moment alone. It was a quiet time of communion just between Him and His Father.

Do we look at our alone time with God as a treasure? It is so important to have quiet moments with God. It is in these quiet moments with God that we grow in our friendship with God. They are opportunities to begin each day to give over more of our lives to His Lordship. When I begin my day talking and listening to Jesus the rest of the day seems to go better. The old hymn comes to mind, “Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord.” Times talking to God and listening are times of holiness between just you and God. What a treasure…to take it to the Lord in prayer. See you in worship.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.