Saturday, August 11, 2012


Happy Friday! 

Bruce and I had a date tonight!  It was so wonderful to look across the table and see his wonderful face.  I have missed my time with him a great deal.  So here is the countdown: one week and two “on calls” to go!  I hope to write my final exam tomorrow or at least get a good start on it between phone calls while at Huguley.  Please pray for an outbreak of wellness for tomorrow.

Prayer: “Lord, I come to You at times with confused emotions. I trust that You are too good to ever be wrong. I ask for Your grace in this moment to endure the hard things of this life. Amen.”

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3: 5.6

Today I remembered my Mom.  It was her birthday. She would have been 79 years old today.  I remembered her throughout the day as I wore one of her bracelets and one of her T-shirts to dinner.  I also thought about my Daddy a lot and how their marriage was just short of 60 years and how much they loved each other.  Daddy was telling me the other night how he still gets up so carefully and quietly fearing that he will disturb her sleep and then remember that she is no longer with him.  This is a new reality for Dad as it is for all of us. He says that sometimes he thinks he will never get over her loss.  But I know that even though there is a large part of his heart that has a hole the size of a short woman with a brilliant smile and a loving heart he will continue on. 

For each of us who loved her, this verse is particularly appropriate.  We continue to face each day without this precious woman who was such a huge part of all of our lives.  But just as she taught each of us in her actions we are called to acknowledge God in ALL of our ways.  To acknowledge means that we should come to know the character and nature of our Creator through every trial, difficulty and unfulfilled dream as the opportunity to discover Christ’s lordship over our lives and trust in His love and care.  We can live without those who have gone on before us because we know the goodness of God and claim His promises in this verse to direct our paths, dry our tears and be assured because of the resurrection that we will not only be united with Christ, but with those we have loved so dearly.   

Please keep Daddy and all of us in your prayers as we walk through this first of several “firsts” without Mom.  Thank you friends and mighty prayer warriors.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.


I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Prayer alerts:  Tatum Flaming, our young cousin, is in the hospital this weekend receiving chemo therapy.  Prayers for her and her family.

Prayers for Lenore.  She is the daughter of my supervising teacher who was very recently diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.

Prayers for Randy Travis.  I know he is sort of a hot mess.  He has always been one of my favorite singers and I especially love his Christian music.  He just seems to have lost his way.  

Thursday, August 9, 2012


Happy Thursday! 

Last night was my last “on call” at John Peter Smith.  In an odd sort of way I will miss the intensity and the diversity of people and situations that occur in this hospital.  I will not miss the sleepless nights.  The lessons I learned and experiences in pastoral care were invaluable. 

Prayer:  “In this certain place I meet You this morning with a grateful heart that You are faithful to meet me and hear my prayers. I want to be in close contact with You.  I adore You and worship You, my God. Amen.”

“Now it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:1

Jesus was the model of the godly life He desired for the disciples to lead.  The disciples also knew that Jesus would go away to a special place each day to pray.  The place to pray was not what was important, but the priority of prayer in Jesus’ life was!  Jesus led a life of consistent prayer. 

Why did Jesus pray?  He was God’s only son. Why did he need to pray?  Jesus prayed to stay in communion with His heavenly Father to receive direction and instruction.  Jesus’ prayer life pleased God and with all of the burdens Jesus carried around He needed to have peace and joy restored by lifting these burdens.

If we are to pray like Jesus then we must find a certain place—a place for only ourselves and God. It must be a place of praise.  When we pray we offer our praise, make our requests known to God and then with boldness we ask God to search our hearts and motivations to help us understand why we ask for the things we ask.  Then we make a time for confession honestly to God knowing that our sins - no matter what they have been - will be forgiven. Prayer is not trying to change the heart of God—but allowing God to change our heart. 

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. (I know I am!!) Count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis,


I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012


Happy Tuesday! 

I actually had dinner with Bruce tonight in our house!!! Those times have been few and far between over the last nine weeks.  I have the remainder of this week and next week and I will have completed my unit of CPE. 

Today was the last day I would be leading worship so Bruce and I presented a mini concert for our worship at the hospital this morning.  It was wonderful to sing together again.

I am “on call” at JPS tomorrow night and that will be my last “on call” at JPS.  I have two more “on calls” at Huguley and “on call” will be finished.  Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I wind up this most extraordinary adventure in learning. 

Prayer: “Lord, help me to walk in a balance of grace and truth today. Strengthen my health so I may serve You.  Give me this day my daily needs and prosper my finances so that I may serve You with the first fruits of all You have given me. Amen.”

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”
3 John 2

I am based in a Seventh Day Adventist hospital for this unit of CPE.  There is a strong element of healthy eating and exercise in the Seventh Day Adventist doctrine.  Each day when I go to lunch there is always a wonderful healthy salad bar with delicious soups and loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables. There is a vegetarian selection of protein as well as a meat protein section in the hot lunch offerings.  The hospital campus has a large fully equipped fitness center and a walking track outside. So there are many opportunities to prosper good health.

But how do we prosper our souls?  Are we growing in the knowledge of the Lord? 

Here are some ways we can prosper our souls.  Let God speak to our lives each day by reading His Word.  Let us spend time each day in close communion with God through prayer and let us ask God to prosper our souls through giving thanks for the receiving of His blessings.  Then let us use His blessings for His glorious purpose. 

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. (Forgive me, but I never sleep at JPS) Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.


I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Prayer alert:  My supervising teacher in CPE has a daughter who is my age. She was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  The cancer began in her breast and has spread to her lymph nodes.  I do not know her name, but God knows her name. Please keep her in your prayers.  I will keep you updated as more details become available.  Thank you, mighty and faithful prayer warriors. Peace, gc

Monday, August 6, 2012


Blessed Sunday to you all! 

Saturday was a most eventful and joy filled day.  Bruce and I drove to Austin to watch and cheer Travis in a power lifting meet.  He beat his own record with a lift of 765 pounds!  WOW!  He was cheered on by his team mates, Bruce, me, Geni and a young lady Travis has been seeing.  The young lady traveled down with Geni and Travis.  Also, our oldest and dearest friends, Carme and David Russell aka Travis’ god parents drove up to support him in the competition. 

After the meet we all drove to San Antonio to celebrate Geni’s 25th birthday at our favorite restaurant on the River Walk - Mad Dogs.  It is a British Pub with great food and a fun atmosphere and the best ribeye I have ever eaten.  We told our server that we drove all the way from Arlington just to eat at this restaurant and the manager came over and comped our desserts.  Bruce and I drove back last night.  The kids drove in today.  We had a great time.

Prayer:  “Father, thank You that I can come into Your presence anytime.  There is no problem that will come my way today that will be too big or too small for You.  Thank You for allowing me the privilege of casting every care on You.  Would You please fill me with Your Holy Spirit? May Your Son be seen by my words and deeds.  May my disposition reflect the presence of Jesus in my heart. Thank You for this day. Amen.”

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
Philippians 4: 6

I had a melt down today.  I looked at my schedule for the week and found that I have three “on calls” this week; tomorrow (Monday), Wednesday and Saturday.  Then, in worship, we sang All to Jesus I Surrender and Breathe.  I am at a point in this extraordinary journey of CPE where I am tired of being tired!  So if you combine being tired, anticipating a potentially exhausting week and being in the presence of music directly relating to Casey…the emotional melt down was in the air. Please pray for me this week.

My meditation tonight says that people who are great worriers do not have a good prayer life.  If you do not have God in your life I guess there would be a lot for which to worry.  But because we are children of God and adopted into His family we are NEVER out of God’s presence, love and care.  We do not need to live in fear and we are encouraged by our Creator, God, to bring our circumstances before Him.  The scripture passage says, “let your requests be made known to God.”    

So this morning as I was having this melt down I began to pray that my spirits would be lifted by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Here was my answer:  “Gaylene, Thank you for making your request known to Me and I promised strength for the day.”  God welcomed me into His presence and listened to my plea for help.  I felt better, got a brief nap this afternoon and actually got a bit of studying done. 

The blood of Jesus provided the access into the heart of God and into His presence.  This is great reason for us to give thanks that God hears and answers our prayers.  “Why worry when you can pray?”

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.


I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

FYI:  12  days of  CPE left. And Geni’s actual birthday is Monday, August  6.  Please wish her a Happy Birthday.