Saturday, March 16, 2013


Happy Saturday!

Prayer:  Holy Comforter, today I have shed some tears of grief over those who are so dear to me who are invested in heaven. I give thanks that You were here to receive my tears. Thank You for Your tender mercies, comfort and ever present hope. Your unfailing love is always present and for that I am so very grateful. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion, says my soul, ‘therefore I hope in Him!’”

Lamentations 3: 22-24

My life will forever be marked following the loss of our son, Casey. It is at times hard to remember life before that time. While Casey was sick, the gift we received during that last year was the opportunity to spend each day of his last year with him. Nearly every Saturday whether he was at home or in the hospital, he and I ate breakfast together. For some reason today I thought about those Saturdays and how I treasured them. So today for some reason I missed Casey and poured my heart and my tears out to God. 

God shows compassion in our grief. When times of grief and despair come we need not try to escape them. Grief is a season we must all experience and somehow or other by God’s good grace He uses our grief for our good.  Sometimes we might feel that grief and sorrow will be with us forever, but remember in the beautiful passage from Lamentations; the writer is going through a really rough time, but has such assurance in God and knows God so well that he realizes that God’s compassions fail not and there is no limit to the greatness of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness.

My friends, when sorrow begins to overwhelm, when you feel the darkness closing in around you, look for God’s tender mercies in His Presence. God’s unfailing love and tender mercies are the light in the darkness we see as it shines down on us providing the compassions that are new every morning.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint! Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.


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!*

Prayer:  Jesus, keep me aware of You!  Jesus,  keep me aware of You, Jesus, keep me aware of you!  For my hope is in You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence.”

Psalm 42: 5

Sometimes the shortest prayers are the ones we need to pray the most. I think that even if we pray the same prayers it is okay because we are remaining connected to God. Hoping in God is the most realistic way to live because God is God and the Creator of the universe. Nothing can stand in the way of God and the promises found in God’s Holy Words. Let us find praise in our prayers even in times when it is difficult to find something for which to praise God. The best way to battle Satan is to praise God when there is darkness in our souls.  When we praise God in times that are dark we stand on Holy Ground and the light of God’s love shines so bright, filling us with hope and making us aware of God’s Presence. 

Take joy in the journey of hope remembering that hope does not disappoint!  Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.


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. 

* note: this was sent last night but posted after a trip to the Allred Unit in  Iowa Park on Saturday. Thought you would want to know.

Friday, March 15, 2013


Happy Thursday! 

Geni and I met with a close friend today and began to work out the details for the rehearsal dinner.  I realize that planning a rehearsal dinner is not near as taxing as the details of planning a wedding, but there are many things to be worked out. We have a venue, caterers, and a plan for decorating. Now we will begin to gather the table items together a few at a time until all is collected.  There came a time when I had to stop all of the creative juices that were flowing and assess where we were. I could not make any more decisions.

Prayer alert:  Travis and Sarah found a house they would like to rent today. They believe it to be perfect for them. Tonight they are furiously filling out application forms and taking them over to drop them off with a deposit.  Please pray for these two young adults as they make plans and put the details for their lives together. Thanks.

Prayer:  Holy One, help us to be still when we really need to remain quiet and still in your presence.  Sometimes I think You do Your best work in us  when we are quiet, still and focused on You.  Sometimes when we become weary from the struggle and our strength is running low, may we put our pride aside and trust You to battle for us. You call us to rest in You and we trust You are working on our behalf. Lord, let us be still and know that You are God.  In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Exodus 14: 14

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exulted among the nations, I will be exulted in the earth!
Psalm 46: 10
Bonus Day!!

We lead such busy hectic lives that are full of talking, texting, thinking and action that we find it hard to quiet ourselves before God.  I have often been in the checkout line at the grocery store, swiped my card and I am already thinking about my next stop. I haven’t pushed the required buttons or scrawled my signature across the screen. The person who is working the register has to remind me to do all of those things.  Sometimes quieting ourselves before God may seem impossible. It is during these times when we believe we cannot spend quiet time before God that we let our own thinking take over and we have placed ourselves on the throne of our own lives and pushed God out.
 
Let all of us try to change this.  Let us call upon the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to intervene and ask God to take back control of our thoughts and out time cleansing us and soothing us from the inside out. We need to take time in our busy, hectic lives to rest in the shadow of the Almighty, and let God fight for us. 

Take joy in the journey of hope remembering that hope does not disappoint.  Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and get some rest.  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.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013


Happy Wednesday! 

What and exciting day with the new Pope being elected. I watched as he spoke his first words to the 100,000 plus people gathered in the Vatican awaiting the announcement of the new leader. When he spoke I heard a humble priest ask those before him and around the world to pray for him. I listened as all of those people became quiet and the city went silent to pray for this one tasked with a serious job. There are many things that are unique about this new leader, but he seems to have the humbleness of heart to begin his ministry in prayer and to ask the great cloud of witnesses present with him to pray for him too. He has inherited a boat load of trouble, but if he has begun this journey in prayer I believe that as each new issue arises he will continue the practice of prayer. It sounds to me like he is off to a good start. My prayers are with Pope Francis I.

Prayer: Lord, you have called us to follow You. When You call us to follow You we are assured that You will lead us forward. Lord, never let us look back to where we were when we think it looks better than where we are going. You are our leader and guide. You turn our darkness into light even through the valley of the shadow of death. Let us glorify You by following where You lead, obediently trusting You each step of our journey. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“This [Jesus] spoke, signifying by what death [Peter] would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, he said to Him, ‘Follow me.”

John 21: 19

God always leads us forward.  Our journey may seem to be on a level plane, but I think God leads us as we are able to ascend the slopes of our lives by His leading and our abilities and willingness to trustingly act in obedience to the call to “follow me.”  Sometimes we are like those Hebrew people who struck out for the Promised Land and when the going got tough, Egypt started looking pretty good. All they knew was the life of slavery. They did not know how to embrace the freedom they had been given through the obedience demanded by God in their journey.

If you think about it we are all given a finite time here on this earth. The only reasonable way for us to move is forward. Our lives are journeys and Jesus is our guide. It is our responsibility to follow Jesus wherever He leads. There are times we are led where we do not want to go, but God, being our Savior, gets to lead us in the best possible path for our lives. When we feel unsure in the journey then it is our responsibility to call God for help. God will tenderly be with us each step of our journey. When we stay close to God we will move forward. And when the journey is in the dark remember the words of the Psalm 18: 28 “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”

Take joy in the journey of hope remembering that home never disappoints. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.


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.

Please pray for Pastor Marc Hander. He was taken to the ER this morning with a serious viral infection. He is home now and in need of our prayers.  Pastor Marc was unable to lead mid-week services so Pastor Stan Meyer stepped in at the last minute. He did a wonderful job and we were all blessed with his sermon tonight.  Thanks, Pastor Stan.  Get well soon Pastor Marc.



Happy Tuesday! 

This spring break is going too fast!!!

Prayer:  Holy One, let us sit quietly with You and simply soak in Your Presence.  As friends, neither of us needs to speak to know the other is there. Thank you for taking the time to be with us and stay with us when we hurt, when we are in want, when we are happy and glad and when we just need to be quiet and do not want to be alone.  Thank You for breathing out Your Holy Spirit on each one of us and allowing us to breathe in Your peace. In Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4: 6-7

Tonight my daughter-in- love (Sarah) asked for prayer for a test she has been studying for. She made this request via Facebook. I prayed for her online.  I prayed for her to get some rest, to lay this test in the arms of the Savior and to take a breath, say a prayer if she gets stuck and what she needs will be given to her. 

Being close to God brings joy not only in our lives, but in the heart of God. When we focus our thoughts on God then we experience Peace, Joy and the Unfailing love of our Creator, our Savior and Sovereign Lord.

Living close to God is living a transcendent life.  Living a transcendent life is allowing God to so embrace our lives that we are willing to change to be more like Him. We live this life each time we bring our troubles, struggles, disappointments, fears and failures to the foot of the throne of grace saying, “I trust You, Jesus. You are my hope.”  Voicing these short prayers allows us to live a transcendent life because they keep us in constant contact with the Savior of the world.  Let us not let the circumstances of our lives confine or condemn us, but let Jesus become so close to us that we become overcomers.

Take joy in this Lenten journey of hope. Wear comfortable shoes, throw an extra blanket on the bed, pray with a heart filled with gratitude and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.


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.

Monday, March 11, 2013


Happy Monday! 

Prayer update: Our friend who had surgery this morning came through with flying colors.  No malignancies detected!  Thank you for your prayers.

Bruce is not feeling well. Please pray for him to heal quickly and feel better.

Prayer: Lord, tonight I give You thanks that we can pray to You with whatever is going on with ourselves, our friends, family and even those we do not know. I give thanks that You hear our prayers and answer them in ways we can understand and even in ways or time we do not always understand. The best part Lord is that You listen and take our prayers seriously as they are the cries of our hearts.  In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

“Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55: 22

“I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.”
Psalm 13: 5

Bonus Day!  I love it when Carme sends my scripture and I see the words Bonus Day!  So tonight/today we get bonus day.

CAST YOUR BURDEN ON ME, AND I WILL SUSTAIN YOU.  Those are such amazing words. I love the psalms. The psalms are one of the most different books in the scriptures.  While God has inspired the words in the other books and speaks to us, the Psalms are the prayers of God’s people back to God. What assurance these folks must have had to believe in God so much that the psalms are written in first person and speaking to God.  “I trust in your unfailing love.”  WOW!

The first passage about “casting your burden on the LORD.” This means that no matter what the circumstances are, God will carry us through them. We are not being asked to carry them on our own, but to bring them before the Lord, our God, into His Presence and cast it on Him. Here is the key…cast our burden on the LORD and LEAVE IT THERE.  Do not reel it back in. When we leave our burden with God we acknowledge that God is in charge and the outcome is in God’s hand. Let us trust in the unfailing love of God and let God carry our burdens.

Take joy in the journey of God’s unfailing love. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude for that unfailing love and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.


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, March 10, 2013


Blessed Sunday to you all! 

I pray your Daylight Savings Time did not affect you too adversely and you were able to make it to worship in time for at least one of the services.

I preached and sang at Rush Creek today and I think it went well. I preached on the passage from Luke 14: 1-14.  It is the story of Jesus being invited to the home of the head of the Pharisees for lunch on the Sabbath. The Pharisees try to catch Jesus in breaking Sabbath Law by placing a person who was in need of healing in His path. And then after the very unceremonious healing of this poor soul Jesus tells the host and the guests that the people you need to invite to lunch are the poor, lame, ill, hurting, oppressed and down trodden because they cannot repay your kindness. God wants us to help these folks and make sure they are invited to the table because God has invited all of us to the table as simmers poor and needy.

Prayer: Lord, tonight I pray for our friend who is having a surgical procedure done in the morning. I pray for your Divine Presence be with him and his wife and family. May Your perfect healing grace soak into the body of our friend and spill over into all who are involved in this procedure giving them perfect skills as they perform this procedure.  Give our friend the strength of body and spirit to withstand this surgery and be healed in Jesus’ name while we ask  the Lord of Hosts to do battle for him.  In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

“On that day your will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
John 14: 20

Here is one of the cool mysteries about God. First, God is God and is capable by His own choice and design to do all things. God is infinite. God is our Creator and Sustainer of the universe. (Are you beginning to sort of imagine the vastness of  this God we love?) . We are finite. And yet, God not only lives with us, but lives within us filling us with His Divine Presence. (Ok, take a breath and think in this one.)  This is the deepest  relationship we will ever have. If you are married you think you know everything about your partner including your partner’s thoughts and feelings, but God’s relationship with us goes deeper than this because God does know our thoughts and feelings.  It is in God that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17: 28) The more we get to know our Creator the deeper our knowledge of God becomes and the more complete we become. This deeper relationship happens over a lifetime and it gives the defining relationship that gives our life meaning.

Take joy in this amazing journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, throw an extra blanket on the bed, pray with a heart full of gratitude and get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni, Travis and Sarah.


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.