Blessed Sunday to you all!

Prayer: “God, thank You for Your peace. I am eternally grateful for the peace I have with You through the Cross of Christ, and for the peace I enjoy in this life because of Your presence in me! Continue Your work of grace in me. Do whatever it takes to fashion me into Your image. Be glorified in me! Amen.”

Hebrews 12: 11-14 “No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have be trained by it…Make straight the path for your feet so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.”

If you have raised a child and you were like us, disciplining your children was never something in which to take joy. When they were young, spanking was the last resort and as they grew other disciplines were more appropriate. Real discipline is rooted in love. One way we showed our love was to try to teach our children right from wrong and as they grew Bruce and I hoped that the lessons of right and wrong, consequences and rewards would become a part of their thinking and decision making. Yes, we made mistakes and so did they, but generally speaking all of those lessons have managed to turn out good citizens with virtues, values and the ability to make responsible decisions and get along with most people. There were times it was not very easy, but we stuck it out and did not give up. (Grounding was always harder on us that it ever was on the kids!)

God is our Father. His discipline is rooted in His love for us. When God, the Father, has to discipline us he does it out of His compassion for us and it is proof that we are His children. Sometimes, just as our own children, we tend to dwell on how much the discipline from God has hurt. God’s discipline is never easy and in fact it is sometimes downright difficult. But even in His discipline of us He hangs in there with us. But when we learn our lessons and walk in obedience then we have the peace of God within our hearts and in our lives. The sweetest feeling we can ever have is peace within our hearts given by our heavenly Father.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Please continue to pray for Bruce as he prepares for the heart cath and surgery to follow. I promise to keep you posted. Remember when you pray that God remains with us within the midst of the storm and never leaves us. 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.