Saturday, January 12, 2013


Happy Saturday! 

I would encourage any of you who can to attend the 8: 30 or 11:00 worship services at Advent Lutheran Church.  Bruce and Geni are singing a duet at both services.  They sound really great together.  The occasion is the Baptism of Jesus Sunday. 

In case you do not know we have a new addition to our family.  His name is Luther Lamar Chrystie.  We bought him from a private owner in Oak Cliff.  He is a six month old completely precious, beautiful and totally sweet basset hound.  He came to us pretty underweight and ribs sticking out.  But as Travis says, “We can fix that!”  As I write he is lying by my desk chair peacefully sleeping with a fat tummy.  We stopped at Banfield Hospital at Pet Smart before we even brought him home to update his shots and get a thorough check up. They pronounced him in good health except for his weight.  He seems happy and behaves just like a basset with his ears in the water, eating like a horse and wagging his tail in a circle.  He also will roll over on his back and loves a good belly rub.  We love him and I think he loves us. 

Prayer:  Lord, sometimes life is hard and times are tough.  Sometimes pressures from work, school, family can really get us down.  And Lord, sometimes we get tired and feel as if we have failed.  And then, You say, “Take a step of faith.”  Sometimes that step of faith is really difficult. Help us Lord when we think we can’t to help us take that step of faith and draw us closer to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

“I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.”
Philippians 4: 13

When I read this verse I always think about Carme.  She has founded a lot of her faith on this verse.  She is an extraordinary woman of faith and knows well that it is the strength of God that is the foundation of her faith.  I have always looked at Carme as having a “servant’s heart.”  She knows that her servant’s heart is dependent on God and the infusion of His strength for every situation.  The focus of this statement is not “I can”, but on “Christ who…”

Here is what we need to glean from this simple phrase that most of us have memorized.  First, the truth is in the realization that we are nothing apart from Christ and that we have nothing apart from Him.  We are dependent on God for our very next breath and all provision comes from His sovereign kingship of our lives.  We can do nothing apart from God, but with Him and through His strength working within us we can face the challenges of each and every day and run the race of life with perseverance and hope.

Carme runs a lot for Komen Cancer Research.  She runs with passion, perseverance and commitment.  But she also carries the same passion, perseverance and commitment in her servanthood to Christ. She does not say, “I can’t!” And neither should we.  In and of ourselves maybe we can’t, but by God’s perfect grace and strength “We can!” 

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

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. 

Friday, January 11, 2013


Happy Friday! 

We arrived home late this afternoon after a wonderful, wonderful time in the Texas Hill country.  We stayed at the Walden Plantation outside Llano, Texas.  It is a beautiful plantation style bed and breakfast owned and operated by TCU Alums!  GO FROGS!!  It is right on the Llano River and about 45 minutes out of Fredericksburg. 

On one of our trips to Fredericksburg, we toured a winery.  It was a fascinating tour through the past, the vineyards and the processing area.  We sampled wine from the oaken barrels where the wines age and we learned so very much.  Totally cool! Of course we shopped in Fredericksburg, too!

Prayer:  “oh, the wonder and the joy that is mine when I hear Your voice, Oh God!  I hear You speak through the written words of Your Holy Scripture. I hear Your voice through Your Holy Spirit within me. I hear Your gentle whisper, Your still small voice. Speak Lord, Your servant is listening. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen

“But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Luke 11: 28

I love to hear Bruce’s voice.  I love to hear it when he calls my name, talks to me on the phone, sends me text messages, when he sings and when we talk each evening after dinner. When for some reason I do not hear from Bruce after a call or a message for what seems like a very long time, I am relieved when he returns the call or sends the message and I hear his voice in my ear or in his words. These are the blessings of the intimacy that we have shared for 32 years and pray we share it for 32 plus more.  It is the personal relationship with each other and with Christ that has allowed us to get through the toughest times of our lives and not to take the easier times of our lives for granted. 

The blessings of a relationship with Christ begin in the intimacy of a personal relationship with God and the communication shared within that relationship.  The passage today shares that God blesses us when we learn to listen first, (do we hear that correctly? ..listen first.) when God speaks to us.  This blessing is a divine blessing given by God because we made the choice to listen when God speaks to us.  We all have mountaintop experiences and they are awesome. But the day-to-day practices of living a faithful routine life of communication with God through listening, prayer, study, service and worship is how the intimate relationship grows with God.

Pastor Chris says that once you have an intimate relationship with Christ our lives are never routine again.  The blessing of intimacy with Christ is really determined by our response after hearing and reading God’s Word. God calls us to observe it, obey it, keep it and practice it.  The way we can accomplish it is not by our own power or will, but by recognizing that the One Who gave the Word is the One Who is sovereign and Who sacrificed all for us.  Our part is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and let Him bring us the rest of the way. 

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

 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. 

Tuesday, January 8, 2013


Happy Monday! 

Truthfully, parts of today have been a bit blue as we remember the loss of our sweet boy Lamar.  Travis took Bauer out for a while this evening and for the first time in his life, Jackson was alone and I think he was sort of a mess. We are beginning to look for another basset as Travis will be moving out in a few months and taking Bauer with him.  If you know of any young male or puppy basset hounds in need of a home where they would be loved dearly please let us know. Thanks.

Thank you all who have sent your sweet prayers of love and comfort at the loss of Lamar.  Your comforting words of kindness and many prayers have helped so much.  Love you all and thank you again friends.

Prayer:  Oh, the wonder and joy that is mine when I hear Your voice, Oh God! I hear You speak through the written words of Your Holy Scripture.  I hear You speak through Your Holy Spirit within me. I hear Your gentle whisper, Your still small voice. Speak Lord, Your servant is listening. Amen.

“But He said, ‘More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
Luke 11: 28

I had such a wonderful experience tonight. I attended a seminarian’s dinner that included the seminarians from Rush Creek. It was held at a Turkish restaurant.  YUM!!  I was the only current seminarian and the others were all graduates.  One of the elder members of the group and a former pastor of Rush Creek read a passage from a book titled, The Martin Luther Christmas  Book.  The book contained Christmas sermons by Martin Luther.  The sermon read tonight was remarkable.  It retold the story of Mary conceiving Jesus.

The sermon contained this message:  Having a virgin conceive a child is not a big deal for God. The miracle is that Mary believed that God could do this.  All of those things that happened 2000 years ago, as miraculous as they were, are nothing if we do not believe them.  Those events could happen forever, but if we do not believe in them for our own lives then they have no meaning and are just a great story with phenomenal music.  The miracle happens when we believe. If you cut to the chase and look at a life with Christ, all Christ really asks of us is to believe.  I have said it before, “The babe of Bethlehem could be born again a thousand times in Bethlehem, but unless He is born again just once in our hearts then it was all for naught.” What and who do you believe?

Take joy in this Epiphany journey and allow yourself to be led by a star.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.

 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. 

Sunday, January 6, 2013


Blessed Sunday to you all. 

We are sad to share tonight that we had to put our beloved basset Lamar down today.  We are so sad and our hearts are broken. I prayed during the afternoon that we would have the courage to be merciful to our suffering friend. He was 11 years old and we have had him since he was five weeks old.  He was one of those dogs that was born with an old soul. Lamar sat on the couch with me in the mornings as I had my first cup of coffee.  While Casey was battling cancer and was at home, Lamar slept under Casey’s hospital bed and kept his head just far enough out from under the bed so that they could check on each other throughout the day and night.  We will miss him so very much.  We hope that he has found Casey in heaven and they are once again enjoying each other’s company.  Please pray for us as we miss and grieve the loss of this family member and friend.  Thank you.

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, Travis and Sarah.

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.