Happy Saturday! 

What an awesome day!  Bruce and I attended a lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was held at Brite. The lecturer is going to be my professor this fall for my class on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was amazing and we had a wonderful time. I learned so much. My Daddy often called people who go to school for years and years “professional students.” I made a discovery today…learning is addictive!  I do love studying the Bible and have considered getting another degree in Biblical Studies, but many of those degrees require language prerequisites of Hebrew and Greek, neither of which have I been able to work into my schedule. As much as I am looking forward to graduation in a few months, I know I will miss learning all of this. 

Prayer alert:  My friend Casey Carter experienced horrific pain in his abdomen last night, was relocated to ICU and then rushed back into surgery late this afternoon. To my knowledge he is still in surgery at this time 10:20 pm, Saturday night. The surgeons are trying to find out where the hole is in his abdomen that is causing this terrible infection and pain.  Please pray for Casey and all who attend him in the OR. May God in His tender mercy hear our prayers. Thank you, mighty prayer warriors.

Prayer: Great Physician, healer of every ill, I lift up this child of God, Your servant, Casey, to You for healing, strength, trust, comfort, healing and restored health.  Lord, in Your tender and healing mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning, I sing of your love for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my Strength, I sing praise to you; you, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”

Psalm 59: 16-17

Casey Carter is a practicing Jew. He sings like an angel, is the cantor at a temple in Dallas and also sings with a Sunday choir in a Protestant church as a paid soloist. He is a remarkable gentleman who cooks like a culinary chef, especially at times of Jewish Holidays, a master gardener, a wonderful friend and has a kind and compassionate heart.

Casey’s circumstances have rendered his body weak, but I know his faith is strong. Being sick saps your energy and it takes strength to heal.  We do not have to be physically sick to need this kind of help from God. When life happens to us harder than usual we must practice opening our eyes and finding God. Envision God standing near and offering us His help. Lean hard on God and let Him bear the weight and help us through.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray for Casey and lift up the sacrifice of praise for this fine man and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce, and Gaylene.

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!

We were so blessed today to spend some time with Travis and Sarah and celebrate them getting their Marriage License and picking up their wedding bands. The wedding is two weeks from today and the final details are coming together. I think I only need one more spool of navy blue satin ribbon to make the sashes for the chair covers and maybe just one more small table decoration. It is a very exciting time in our family.

Prayer: Holy Lord, when things get hectic we sometimes forget to invite you to the places of busyness in our lives. Forgive us when we overlook how to begin anything in our lives. We need to remember to pray first and allow you to work in our lives and in our busyness.  Thank you for wanting to be a part of our lives and being willing to direct our paths when we ask. In Jesus’ name, I pray.  Amen.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the times comes.

Matthew 6: 34

We have been caught up in wedding planning for the last five months. Each day a new piece of this wedding planning has been presented and met with ease or tension. We are down to two weeks before the wedding and the final details are left and there are always the unknown pieces that could happen that are completely out of our control. All of us want this wedding to come off perfectly, but the wedding is a one day event that has been thousands of hours in the planning stages. 

What God desires from each of us is to give Him our entire attention to what He is doing in our lives and not to get upset about what may or may not happen tomorrow. Our futures do not belong to us, but belong to God.

There is an old saying, “If you want to make God laugh, then make plans.”  I think God honors our plans, but I also believe that God loves doing new things in our lives.  If God does new things or things that are unexpected in our lives then we can also expect God to be with us to help us deal these unexpected events. Imagine what would happen if we trusted God and invited God in all of the events and situations in our lives each day? Maybe when the really difficult times come then they would not seem so tough, because God is already working on them and us.

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

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! And Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr! 

I made progress on my Religion and Immigration Paper today. I hope to complete the paper by Sunday before bedtime. 

My friend Casey Carter came through his surgery well. He is in some pain and has a lengthy scar, but is recovering. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Prayer:  Holy Lord, You are worthy of all our praise. You are holy, You are mighty and you live and move and have Your being in us. Thank You, loving Lord, that You desire a relationship with us, that You would choose to remain in us by the power of the Holy Spirit through the life of Your Son, Jesus. I give thanks in Jesus name, Amen.

“In Him we live and move and have our being as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.”

Acts 17: 28

Praise is the most powerful weapon we have to defeat the power of Satan. When we are having really bad days, the praise and worship of God transcends time and circumstance. God lives in our praises. God lives and moves and has being within us. Praising God draws us into a deeper connection to God and we can glimpse God’s power and glory. The evil one and his demonic followers cannot remain and frankly they run when God’s children inhabit His praises.  Satan and his followers cannot be where God’s perfect love is. No matter how dark the day may seem the Light of God shines through the darkness when we praise and worship God, especially in the dark times of our souls. Praising God in the tough times allows us to live above our circumstances and live in victory. (Satan really hates that!)

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, give thanks with a grateful heart, throw an extra blanket on the bed tonight and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene.

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!  Happy May!!

Prayer:  Lord of healing and comfort, Thank you for bringing my friend Casey through his surgery today. Ease the pain that happens during recovery and restore him to perfect health. Tonight, Lord, help us to remember all of those who are sick and in need of healing. Let us give thanks for our own good health and pray for those who need their good health restored. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

“We…do not cease to pray for you, and ask…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”

Colossians 1: 9-10

How do we invest our time?  We work, play, study, talk, work on the computer and a thousand other things. The most important way we can invest our time is investing our time in learning to please God. Pleasing God affords us heavenly rewards and earthly pleasures. When we keep God at the center of our lives we learn more about God and enjoy the company of the Holy One.  Our problem with this is that we have so many things to do which occupy our time that we forget to spend some time each day in the presence of the Savior. When we seek the Lord each day there cannot help but be a joyous way to spend each day. It is our faith and belief that God exists and desires a relationship with each of us and rewards us when we earnestly seek Him.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray for others with a grateful heart and get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene.

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! 

If you are friends with me on FB you read that I made a new recipe today. It was a pecan pie made in a crock pot. This is a recipe that I will make again. It is super easy and does not heat up your house. Tonight I made red beans with ham, rice, cornbread and, for dessert, crock pot pecan pie (served in bowls like cobbler), Bluebell Homemade Vanilla and cups of Starbucks coffee. It was definitely a meal worth repeating.

Prayer:  Holy and loving Lord, I give thanks that You remain with us in all of our times. The depth of the riches of Your store house of grace, strength, forgiveness, love and tender mercies are beyond our comprehension. It is only through Your Presence in our lives that we find joy when it seems as joy is out of our sight. Thank You for being at work in all of the situations in our lives out of Your love for us. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out.”

Romans 11: 33

Today I began to read and research for the other paper I have for this semester. I am writing a paper for Religion and Immigration about immigration through the Book of Ruth. As I was reading, the closing of one of the sections had a sentence prayer: “God, keep me on the course you have in mind for me.”  I am thinking of writing this on a piece of paper and placing it somewhere where I can see it when I am studying and writing.

Each of us has to face hardships and adversities in our lives. It is at these times hard to find Joy. When there is a time of confusion it is also sometimes hard to find God. For me, at that point, I remember that God is not the author of confusion. It is then that it is time to pray, “Jesus help me find You in the midst of this mess!”  God is bigger than all of our messes and melt downs. God invites us to unload our emotions during these times. When we unload our emotions on God then that creates space for God to speak, move in and work and things get better. Here is the key - we must remain in God’s Presence. We can find our joy once again when we stay connected to God. Remember, God is present during our adversity and His matchless wisdom is capable of bringing good out of evil and helping us clean up the messes that happen in our lives.  Seeking solutions to our problems is important, but if all we do is try to find solutions then we will sink under the weight of the problem or crisis. If we seek God first and ask Him to enter into the mess or crisis with us then the weight of the burden is lifted and we are able to listen and find peace. 

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

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! 

Religion and Violence has been put to bed for this semester. My final paper was submitted this morning. The books were moved from the active shelf to an inactive shelf and there is only one more paper to write.  But the best part of the day was when I was placed on the list for GRADUATION IN DECEMBER!!! YES!!!

Prayer:  Blessed Lord, giver of every good and perfect gift and traveling companion in this journey of faith. Thank you for wanting to spend time with Your children and have a relationship with them. I love you so much. Thank You for sending Jesus to be my Savior, for You being my Heavenly Father and for sending the Holy Spirit so that you remain as close to me as my very next breath. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with you in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

Psalm 16:11

Our lives are a walk in faith and God is absolutely faithful. There have been times I have wondered why I am at Brite and not at some other seminary, and then I remember I have come too far to turn back now.  The challenge that is before me at this time is to not focus on my limitations and begin to look to the possibilities God has in store. This is one of those times when I am very excited and as Geni would say, “mildly terrified!” I have to believe that the way before me is an open road even though I sometimes think “What if the Regional Commission on Ministry does not see me fit for ordination?” and “What if I cannot get a job as a chaplain?”

Then I return to scripture and remember what Jesus told His disciples. “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus had to endure suffering in order to open the path of life lived in forgiveness and grace for each of us and none of us will ever have to suffer for these things. So when I begin to be concerned about my future I remember to stop, take a breath and remember that God has not already made the way for me, but is with me now leading me down the road I am supposed to go.

Take joy in the journey and remember that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, give thanks with a grateful heart and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene.

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.

PS I have already begun to pray for the Holy Spirit to begin its work in this ordination committee  to prepare their hearts for this interview. This interview is most likely a year or more from now. So pray for me and this group of people who will be deciding my future as a pastor in the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. Thanks. Grace and pieces, gc

Blessed Sunday to you all!

Great worship this morning and the remainder of the day spent on the completion of my paper for Religion and Violence paper on Atonement Theology. Sometime tomorrow I will begin my Religion and Immigration paper. Would you please pray for the computers in our house. My big wonderful Dell is broken, I revived an old laptop that is super slow and does not always keep the Microsoft Word up and running and finally Travis is letting me use his and the power just died on it. Maybe I have written them to death. But I have still more miles to write before I sleep.

Prayer alert:  My friend Casey Carter is having surgery this week. He is a friend from Brite. His surgery is at Medical city in Dallas. Please keep him in your prayers. Thank you.

Prayer: Lord of my life, You are Holy, You are kind and compassionate and I love you. Thank You for letting me get to know You more and deepening my faith through study and writing. Thank You for the inspired knowledge that happens when I put You in the center of my study. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.”

Psalm 73: 23-24

Renewal is a process that takes a lifetime. Each day when we are so privileged to wake up and greet the morning we get to begin again.  When we begin each new day our first thoughts need to be to please the Lord, our God and walk in His ways.  This lifelong process is the journey of faith we sign on for when we decide to follow and love Jesus. Even when life hands us some tough roads that are filled with problems and pain they are also filled with Joy and Peace because Jesus is with us each step of the way.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, give thanks with a grateful heart and get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene.

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 Saturday! 

I have missed writing the last two evenings. Finals time gets a bit hectic. Tomorrow’s goal is to complete the atonement paper for Religion and Violence and get it to my editor.  It is due on Tuesday.

 Today we celebrated Sarah’s birthday. We had lunch at home and then we all wore our matching shirts to support Travis in the power lifting meet in Fort Worth. His heaviest lift was 735 pounds and he won the super heavyweight division.

Prayer:  Loving, guiding and gracious Lord, thank you for this wonderful day. Lord, we get really busy sometimes trying to balance our lives with so many things to do and schedule and plan. Help us relax and remember to remember that You are God and how much You love us.  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 46: 10

Welcome to life!  Final paper time, preparing for a wedding and as soon as the wedding is over I will begin classes once again.  Sometimes the planning and scheduling gets so out of control that we forget the One who loves us most.  In this verse, the psalmist commands us to “cease striving” and relax. Relax and remember with a peaceful heart that “I am God.”

Right now it seems that having all of the ducks in a row is more important than relaxing and remembering that God is with us.  Tonight I stop to give thanks for God who strengthens me and who will strengthen you.  I love giving thanks to God who loves me and all of us so much and doesn’t care whether I have all of my ducks in a row or not or whether the problems of the day are solved. God cares more for our relationship with Him and desires a relationship of ease and consistency with us. God wants us to come boldly into His Presence to hear us say, Jesus, I choose to enjoy You. 

Take joy in the journey with the assurance that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart of thanksgiving and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene.

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.