Saturday, November 13, 2010

Happy Saturday!

I have spent the day getting caught up on grading. Tomorrow I post grades, write lesson plans and prepare for my last teacher’s evaluation on Tuesday.

Isaiah 42: 16 “And I will bring the blind by a way that they know not, I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.”

The first line of my meditation tonight says “Life is not easy.” Sometimes life is not easy, because life happens to us and we have no control over what life hands us. Sometimes we create life on our own. The paths that were supposed to be straight are now crooked and the roads that should have been easy are rough. When we do not ask God to walk this earthly journey with us then we invite crooked roads, rough places and pot holes. But, when we ask God to walk with us then those rough spots are smoother, the holes not as deep and the roads seem to straighten because we are not alone. The One Who walks with us has the power over all obstacles and stones of difficulty.

God never promised any of us an easy life, but He did promise to be with us and never leave or forsake us. This God we worship is not a God who would lie or break His promises. Let us ask God to have lordship over our journey so that we will never journey alone.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to life each other up on prayer each day. Your prayers mean the world to me. See you in worship. 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.



















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Happy Friday!

I am sorry I did not write on last evening but exhaustion set in and I kept falling asleep in front of my laptop. It has been quite a busy week with lots of writing beginning with a paper on sacraments and a sermon for Sunday and a week of busy first graders and grad school, I guess it all sort of caught up with me.

Proverbs 4: 12 “When you go, your steps shall not be held back and when you run you won’t stumble.”

Did you ever look back and see God’s guiding hand in something you have done? When you are going through a situation and it is particularly difficult, it is sometimes hard to see God’s plan and guiding hand. But then you look back and see that God planned each and every step as if each tile in the mosaic that was created was fit into place by the Master Designer and Artist Himself. We do not see the whole picture as it is being created, we can only keep adding the pieces and hope that we are placing them in obedience as guided and instructed by God. I think God places an empty canvas before us and then gives us a place of beginning. Our place of beginning is belief. When we believe then God can place the beautiful colors before us and guide us to place them where He wants them to create the patterns of our life; a life lived in love and service to the Master Artist Himself.

We don’t always know what God’s will is for our lives, but we can rest assured of these things: First, God loves us and we can count on the power of His love in all we do; second, God hears and answers all of our prayers; next, we are called into His service and are meant to tell others of His love. Last, we have the hope of the resurrection power of Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.

We may not be able to envision the final product of the work in progress, but we can count on divine guidance as we persevere and continue in the work created by the Master. The work may not be easy, but when the final product is ready it will be perfect!

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and tomorrow a sweater. 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.

PS GO FROGS!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Happy Wednesday!

Today was our last class lecture day in Christian Worship and now the push is on to complete the remaining two projects. The Sacraments paper went through the airwaves around 4:30 this afternoon. Now I will work with a group to present a worship experience for Pentecost. My group drew the last presentation of the semester. We will present in December. I also have to write a paper on a particular type of service. I am planning to write about a Celebration of Live service using a Praise and worship Liturgy.

Psalm 34: 6 “This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him from all of his troubles.”

My mother says, “Life goes on.” She is not one to dwell on the tough times that happen in our lives, but to get past whatever the difficulty is and get on with living. She knows that the difficulties that life hands us sometimes are not meant to stop us, maybe slow us for a bit, but then it is time to get back on the road and keep going forward.

Perhaps she knows that time spent dwelling on past hurts, difficulties and a tough times doesn’t accomplish anything. Maybe it is the long life with which she has been blessed. Maybe it is the extraordinary mother who raised her. (My mamo was phenomenal!) Mamo always lived by this one mantra, “One day at a time, Sweet Jesus.” She knew that no matter what happened, the strength of Jesus would always be waiting for her. She also knew that nothing was too small or two large that she and Jesus together could not handle.

These two phenomenal women are and were prayer warriors like no other and they knew that the path to victory over any difficulty began on their knees facing forward. They knew that with God, failure would never be an option and they could face whatever they needed undaunted and in the full belief that God would be there to lead and guide them.

As I begin to phase out a life that I have known for 30 plus years and begin to look to the next road and become a full time seminary student, I will always carry with me the faith of my mother and grandmother and remember that even though I will miss teaching, “life will go on” and that “One day at a time, Sweet Jesus” will become my mantra. God continues to assure me each day that I am not to fear and that if I continue to fix my eyes on Him then the path which will at times be difficult and rocky will never be a path of darkness and I will always know my way.

As I prepare for the next phase of the candidacy process, the candidacy interview in mid December, I ask your prayers for the Holy Spirit to begin to be in the hearts and minds of those who will be interviewing me and that they might find somewhere in me a worthiness to be considered for approval. So tonight I leave you with this thought and pray this blessing for myself and all of us, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy…”

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift one another up in prayer each day. 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 Tuesday!

Bruce is feverishly working on editing my paper at this writing. Please pray for him.

John 15: 14 “You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.”

Who is your best friend? My best girlfriend is Carme. We have been friends for almost thirty years. Even though we have not been geographically close to each other during all of those years we have managed to keep up with each other especially during the last few years. A lot of changes have occurred in our lives in the recent past. We have celebrated great joys, deep sorrows and we have counted on each other for support, prayer and simply knowing that we were there for each other no matter what. When I think of Carme as my friend I know why she is my friend and why I am hers. We love each other and accept each other without judgment with the full knowledge that all one of us has to do is call and the other one will be there.

Jesus is our friend. The friendship with Jesus goes much deeper than our friendship with those here on earth. Our friendship with Jesus includes our worship and honor of Him. This friendship requires allegiance and love. When we become a friend of Jesus, He becomes our friend too. In our friendship with Jesus we can count on Him. And He in turn counts on us. Did you ever consider that Jesus counts on us?

When I received my Emmaus cross at the commissioning service I was charged with these words, “Christ is counting on you.” My response was, “And I am counting on Christ.” I count on Christ as my Lord and Savior, my teacher, heavenly Father and my friend. It awes me to think that God counts on me as His friend as well.

Take joy in the journey. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift one another up in prayer each day. 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, November 8, 2010

Happy Monday!

I found the top to my desk tonight and I am actually doing this writing from my desk in the dining room. I finished my paper and turned it over to the most capable hands of my hubby for editing and clarification. He is really wonderful.

Philippians 3:13, 14 “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark…”

Mark 11: 25 “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too”

I am planning to retire from teaching in May. I won’t stop working in May, but the numbers work out better if I retire in May and work into June. When I found out this could happen this year we were at the office of our insurance rep. and I cried all the way home. Teaching is all I have ever done for over 30 years, and even though I am looking forward to becoming a full time student in the fall, it will be hard to imagine not buying a new box of crayons and bulletin board border in the fall. It will be a bittersweet moment when the first day of school begins and I am not in Rm. 6 greeting parents and drying the tears of children and parents as they leave their children in my care.

But as the scripture says, we must leave some things behind and press on toward the higher calling of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. This is a step of faith as I begin to transition out of the field of being an educator to becoming one who is being educated. It will mean a cut in pay and some things around the house will have to change, but I am convinced that God has called me into this ministry. I have faith that God will help us meet our needs as I continue to learn.

I will be 55 in just a few days. I recently found my entrance essay for grad school. It is entitled, “Am I Too Old for Another Adventure?” Things have changed a lot since that piece of writing, but the calling has not. The ministry area has become defined, but God calling me into service has not changed.

Circumstances in our lives change all of the time, but God’s calling for all of us never changes. He still calls us to love one another as He has loved us. God has called us into service and expects us to answer in the affirmative even if it is completely outrageous and seemingly impossible. God loves doing the impossible in our lives. It lets us know that nothing is impossible with Him. So friends let us open up our hearts and minds and let God do His work within each of us. We never know where it might lead…

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift one another up in prayer each day. 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.

Please pray for Bruce as he wades through this paper. And please pray for the paper itself that it might not only be a document that satisfies a requirement in this class, but that it may serve as a witness to my faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thanks! gc
Blessed Sunday!

What a day! Bruce and I were up before the sun this morning and heading to our churches to lead worship in Rockett and Palmer, Texas. Then we splurged and had a lunch date: just us! (We rarely eat out).

After returning home I worked on my paper that is due on Wednesday. I am pleased with the work I was able to do. This time the paper is on Sacraments. It was really a great paper to write as I have a high interest in the Sacraments. I am sure I will administer the sacraments in my chosen (second) career. It is now in Bruce’s capable editing hands. We have the hope of sending it off on Tuesday before it is due on Wednesday. Please ask God to bless this piece of writing that it may find favor in the eyes of my Professor. One more large work and a group worship presentation and I will have completed this class.

Ephesians 4: 30 “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

How does the Holy Spirit work in our lives? Let’s talk about that one. When we dwell with God and desire only His will for our lives then the Holy Spirit cannot fail to pass through our hearts and lives and into the lives of others.

Here is an example. When you have pipes with water running through them, the pipes are not doing the work, but rather it is the water passing through the pipes that does the work. If the pipes get blocked then the water cannot reach its destination and do the work it was destined to do.

The blockage in our lives is us. When we carry around more of ourselves than we are open to God’s leading and prompting then the Spirit cannot pass through and His work cannot be done. We must decrease ourselves so that God can increase more and use us as vessels in His service.

Friends, we are all channels of God’s love and grace through the power of the Holy Spirit which is in us and flows through us. So what is the Drano we can use to unblock our pipes so that the Holy Spirit can flow freely through us? Well, the first is prayer. We get to know God by being in conversation with Him, both speaking and listening. Next , we read His Word so we learn of Him and last we surrender our wills over to His leading and walk in obedience the path God has destined for each of us.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift one another up in prayer each day. 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.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Happy Saturday!

Today was the Advent Women’s Extravaganza. About 20 women decorated tables to represent the holiday season. Some tables were Christmas and some were fall and all were beautiful! It was a day spent in celebration of the gifts from God with friends and family. What a wonderful way to spend a day.

John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Jesus, comforter of all the sorrowing, help us to bring Your comfort into every heart and life to which You are longing to express that comfort through us. Use us, Lord. The years may be many or few. Place us where we can best serve You, and influence most for You.

This was the opening of my meditation tonight. Tomorrow Bruce and I will lead worship at two small Disciples congregations. I wrote a sermon for tomorrow from the Book of John using the passage about the death of Lazarus. Everything Jesus did throughout His ministry was to the glory of God, never for His own gain.

The family of Lazarus is grieving over Lazarus’ death. Jesus gets to the family after Lazarus has been dead for four days. When Jesus prays before He calls Lazarus out of the tomb, He prays for this miracle to be performed not for the glory of Jesus or even for the consolation of the sisters and neighbors who are grieving for him. Jesus prays for the crowd to see God’s glory. Jesus was sad at the death of his friend Lazarus, but His love for God, obedience to His service and strong desire for others to understand God’s purpose on earth forced Him to put aside His own grief so that the work of the Father could be accomplished. Jesus allowed Himself to be used as the vessel through which God would do His work. Jesus became a little less so that God could become more.

In order for us to serve in the Kingdom we, too, must become less of ourselves so that God can become more. When we become less of ourselves and God becomes more then we are being made ready to serve in whatever capacity God needs us.

God will use each of us as vessels to filled with His wisdom and will for our lives to show others about Jesus so that we might show others how much we believe in the One who sent 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.