Happy Saturday! 

Prayer:  Lord, as I begin this day I ask You to help me fully believe in Jesus, to give me a growing understanding of Him, and to empower me through Your Holy Spirit to consciously submit to Him. This day give me opportunities to share my faith with others. Amen.”

“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

1 John 5: 10, 11

One of the pieces of music I have enjoyed singing since my days as a music student is an old spiritual titled, “Witness.”  A witness is one who testifies of what he or she has personally experienced.  If we believe in Jesus, God gives us the experience of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we share with others the experience we have had with Jesus, the Holy Spirit uses our faith to inspire them to believe that “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”

The other word in this passage needing examination is believe.  To believe in something is to have understanding with both our intellect and our hearts.  We believe in Jesus by our faith in God through the experience of the Holy Spirit.  So as we witness to others the Holy Spirit causes others to see our actions and our belief in Jesus.  Let us spend some time praying that God will continue to help us realize that our faith is a witness to what we believe as we live a life inspired by our knowledge and experience in Jesus.

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love you all and Happy Advent Eve, 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 only moved by what I believe and I believe God. 

  

Happy Friday! 

I have spent the day working on my final skills assessment for Pastoral Care.  I had to write a theology of prayer and how I would express the diversity of God.  I think my brain hurts just a bit!  It was actually really great to examine these two thoughts and in truth, thinking like this, I have begun to realize the importance of thinking theologically in so many areas of my life and ministry.

Update:  The memorial service for Pastor Susan Rodriguez will be held on Sunday, December 9, 2012 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Dallas, Texas at 3:00 in the afternoon. 

Prayer:  Divine One, You know what is ahead of me today. I ask You, Lord, to fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can be the witness You desire me to be. I ask You to give me opportunities to share Your love with others.  Amen.

“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing.”

1Timothy 6: 13, 14

One of the reasons I love scripture so much is because of the stories. Have you ever considered that each day God adds a chapter about each of us?  God’s story as written in the scripture begins with Adam and Eve and ends with the creation of the new heaven and the new earth.  Somewhere between these two bookends is our story of redemption and a life lived with God.  Our task is to keep on writing our stories. 

How do we keep ourselves in the “sight of God” and “before Christ Jesus?”  Jesus was able to confess before Pilate and kept His story faithful to His Father in heaven.  We are Christ’s storytellers here on earth.  Not only are we called to tell the stories of Christ as written in the Holy Scriptures, but we are to tell the story of Christ in our lives each day. 

We are called to a mighty responsibility to tell a good story, to give a good confession to all we meet so as not to discredit Christ.  We do not have to be perfect, but most importantly we must allow Christ to keep writing His story through us.  Each day a new chapter in our lives is written and our prayer should be that each chapter aligns more and more with the story of our Lord and Savior.  This story should be a real page turner!!

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  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 only moved by what I believe and I believe God. 

Happy Thursday! 

This morning just prior to my New Testament class I received word that Pastor Susan Rodriguez  had passed away.  Please pray for her family and her church and her friends as they remember her and mourn their loss.

Today was the last day of classes for this semester. But the work is not done. 

Prayer:  Lord, I come before You in the name of Jesus.  I come with a heart of thanksgiving and praise because of Your power, presence and purpose. I ask You now to fill me with the Holy Spirit that I might speak boldly about Your love and mercy today.  God, replace my fear with faith in what You will do today through me.  Please give me a window of opportunity to share Your story with someone today. Amen.

“Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.”

Exodus 4: 12

“God does not give you wisdom on credit—“  When the time comes to share the gospel with those who need to heart God will give us the words we need at the moments you need to say them.  Yesterday when we went to visit Pastor Susan I did not know what I was going to say or what words of comfort I could offer.  So instead of offering words of comfort, Bruce and I sang the old hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” I had not planned to sing when we walked in, but the Holy Spirit nudged me and said to sing to her and then offer prayer.  After the song we were quiet and then we offered prayer.  During my prayer I simply stated that I did not know what was going to happen in the next moments, days or hours, but I did know that God was there with us now and that was enough. After I finished praying, she began to pray. 

I find it quite profound that I, an aspiring pastor, prayed for a pastor who may have prayed her last spoken prayer with failing breath over Bruce and I. What a blessing that in our last encounter here on earth we prayed for each other. I think maybe we both received a nudge from the Holy Spirit. 

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.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com     

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. 

Happy Wednesday!

The other evening I asked for prayers for a friend of ours.  Her name is Pastor Susan Rodriguez.  She was our pastor when we were members at St. John Lutheran in Grand Prairie.  She confirmed all three of the kids, taught me to be a Eucharistic minister and was one of my teachers when I attended the Parish Lay Ministry Academy. She also wrote a referral for me to enter Brite Seminary.  She is a very special lady and is in need of our prayers.  Bruce and I went over this morning and paid a pastoral care call on her.  I wore a clergy collar to make this visit as it seemed appropriate for this very special time.  It was a very interesting experience to pay a pastoral care call on one who has given me pastoral care.  

Prayer:  Holy One, help me not to carry yesterday’s burdens. I come before Your throne to receive Your mercy and grace.  Help me to take Your mercy and grace with me and give it away to those I meet who are carrying the burdens of life. Amen.

“But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”

Philippians 1: 12

A number of years ago I was asked to sing a wedding in Indiana and had to go through O’Hare Airport in Chicago.  I had a carry-on bag, a purse and a laptop computer to carry.  All three of the bags were really heavy and I did not have any luggage with wheels.  O’Hare is a huge airport and I had to get from one end to the other to make my connecting flight.  By the time I got to my connecting flight my shoulders, arms and hands really hurt.

Our lives do not always go as planned. The apostle Paul had some pretty difficult things happen to him that I am sure he didn't plan on.   The tough things we go through in life can burden us down.  We tend to pack all kinds of things into our lives and believe we can carry them until our hands, shoulders, arms and backs cannot hold them any longer.  Some of us are so burdened down that we think we can no longer take another step in this journey we call life. Now if you will look around you will most likely find others carrying around burdens similar to ours.

God never promised us an easy life.  But God also never intended for us to go through this life without help.  So what do we do? We take our baggage, our overloaded baggage, our suitcases and carry-on’s and lay them at the feet of Jesus. 

I do not believe that God causes the difficult things to happen in our lives.  What I do believe is that God can use the difficult situations in which we find ourselves to open up the way for us to share the grace of Christ with others.  I think this is the really great part.  Our burdens weigh us down, but God’s “burden is easy and yoke is light,” because God carries our burdens when we lay them down at the foot of the throne of grace.

 

So friends, it is time to unpack.  It is time to give our burdens and cares to God and empty our suitcases of the stuff we have been carrying around and help someone else to lay down their suitcase and find freedom in Christ from all the pain.

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.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com     

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. 

  

Happy Tuesday! 

Two more classes and the end of the semester will be complete. Chapel at Brite was a set of nine lessons and carols.  It was a lesson of scripture and song.  I was honored to read the passage from Luke of the foretelling of the birth of Jesus to Mary by the angel.  I love that story and I loved getting to read it in our last chapel for the semester.

Prayer: Holy One, I praise You today for Your power, glory and creation. Most of all, I praise You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the Cross for me. Help me to do what You have called me to do this day, and I trust You to do the rest. Amen.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

I Corinthians 3: 6

God is at work.  My friend Lisa is an avid gardener.  She loves to plant, has the patience to water and discipline to pull the weeds.  But more importantly, my dear friend Lisa knows that neither she nor anyone else can accomplish anything without God.  Even though the planting, watering and weeding is hard work for someone like me, it is easy for her.  What is hard is the mystery of the seeds sprouting under the earth and breaking through to the top of the soil and so on for the seed to become the mature plant God intended it to be. And this miracle happens so often that we take it for granted.

Paul planted the seeds of the word of God.  Apollos followed along behind and watered the Word.  It does not take any special skill to do what Paul and Apollos did.  They shared the Word and watered it by encouraging others to pay attention and act on this Holy document.  Then the miracle happened as it was planted in the hearts and allowed to grow under the surface until it sprouted forth in action. Peter said believers have “been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1: 23).  Remember, God gives the increase, and we must stay focused on our work, trusting God to His. 

Take joy in the journey and get your hands dirty.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  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 only moved by what I believe and I believe God. 

Happy Monday! 

Ok, count down to the end of the semester and year end events. 

I have completed the entire packet of supervised Ministry Evaluation and collected the evaluations from Pastor Chris and the Lay Training committee.  One on the check off list complete and ready to turn in. 

Remaining on the list…one paper for Pastoral Care, completed pastoral care skills assessment, complete the study guide for New Testament Test, study for the New Testament test and take the New Testament test.  Many prayers please!! 

Prayer alert!  We received word tonight that a former pastor and very dear friend of ours is being placed in hospice care tomorrow.  She has COPD, congestive heart failure and her kidneys are shutting down.  This woman is one who helped me hear a call to ministry and who wrote a letter of recommendation for me to enter seminary.  Since I am not sure as to the confidentiality of this matter I am asking for you to pray for her and her family at this time without identifying her by name.  Thank you. 

Prayer:  Lord, yesterday, I asked You to open my eyes to see people as You see them.  Today I would like to also share with others how You see Your children. There are so many who need to see themselves as children of God created in Your image and how much you love them. There are those who are in need of hearing what it means to be Your child. There are so many around me who are living aimless lives without hope and without Christ.  Help me see the opportunities to boldly proclaim the message of salvation and loving forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Amen. 

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”

Matthew 9: 37-38

According to my meditation tonight a recent survey found that “96% of the people born since 1970 do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”  I don’t know about you, but that statistic is scary and sends a call to the Christian believers to take a position in the labor force of Christ and cultivate some new growth.

When we share our faith we need to remember a few things…1) The harvest belongs to God so it is God who receives the increase.  We are all called to this ministry, and we are the vessels used by God to “gossip the gospel.”  It is God who receives the increase in those who come to believe in Jesus and in His name.  2) It is by the power of the Holy Spirit working through us that raises us up to serve in this journey and endeavor of reaching the lost. 

Today’s passage calls us to pray for others to believe in Christ. When we pray for this God will honor this step of faith into the furthering of the kingdom here on earth and enable those who need to deliver a message of hope and love. 

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.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com     

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. 

Blessed Sunday to you all! 

It was a busy day at church.  Worship at 8:30, I led Children’s church during the 11:00 worship and then went back at 5:00 to help narrate the Hanging of the Greens service at Rush Creek.  The sanctuary looks beautiful.  My part in the service was being the “explainer.”  I read explanations of the different decoration’s places in the sanctuary throughout the service and their scriptural and traditional Christian meanings.  It was very cool!! After all that I came home and worked on my Final Fall Evaluation for this semester for Supervised Ministry.  WOW!

Prayer:  Lord, today may my eyes be so lifted up that I will see the world as You see it. Your eyes of compassion constantly seek to save the lost, and it is my heart’s desire to see with Your eyes. Deliver me from the mundane approach of this day, and grant me the honor of sharing my faith and Your Good News with people today. As You open my eyes to that opportunity; open their blinded eyes to see their need. I choose to live in that expectancy today. Amen.

“Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.”

John 4: 35b

One of the questions I have to answer before I am ordained is “Why should I be ordained?”  I need to be able to clearly articulate why Gaylene should be “set apart” into the service of God through the church.  I have not yet been able to find the words these committee folks want to hear.  I am looking to find some words that can get me started.

I want to see people as God sees them and share the ‘good news” of God through Jesus.  I believe God has called me to a ministry of reconciliation as an agent of hope to those who are hurting, in sorrow, despair and in need of the assurance of God’s faithfulness.  The mission of the gospel is to teach others about the saving grace of God.  Through this calling to serve God and the body of Christ I pray for the power and strength to humbly wear the priestly mantle and be bold for God. 

Thanks for listening.

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings, say your prayers and pray for others.  Pray for your pastors and those of us in training.  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 only moved by what I believe and I believe God.