Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Saturday!  All is well here at 811.

Dear God, How wonderful it is to see you now and get to know you more each day. God I know you are the keeper of all of your promises.  Sometimes it is difficult to wait for my dreams and hopes to be realized. Yet, Lord, I have confidence, that you will keep your promises and will use me as you see fit. Lord, I surrender my will to you and ask for your clear strong voice to speak and that I would understand and follow. You are strong Lord and strong within me. Your faithfulness surrounds me and your love attends me. Thank you loving Lord. I love you Lord, in Jesus’ name, amen.

The closer we get to God the more we see different sides of our Creator and Lord. Sometimes we need to feel the love of God. Sometimes we need to be grounded in God’s faithfulness and sometimes we need to be assured of the hope and promises of God.  There are so many sides to God. My meditation tonight offers the comparison of God to a prism. What we see depends on how we turn the pieces of glass.

“Turn it in faith and see the greatness of God. Turn it to love and see the warmth of God. Turn it in hope and see the promises of God. Turn it in anticipation and see the guidance of God. Turn it in assurance and see the eternity of God.”

I have needed God in all of these ways; sometimes one at a time and sometimes all at once.  When we place our trust in God we count on His promises and can be assured that His promises are never broken. God has not forgotten His word to us. It is our faith and trust in God that allows us to wait on Him with confidence and hope.

“He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ So they came and saw where he was staying; and they stayed with Him that day.”

John 1: 39

“Lord God of Hosts, who is strong like You, Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds me.”

Psalm 89: 8

Take joy in the journey praying as you go. Look closely to God to meet all of your needs and trust in Him. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

Greetings from Austin Street

TGIF Today God is First!  All is well here at 811. I took off the finger splint and will attempt to do some writing.

The candle is lit…

Good and great God, you are everything to me. You set the stars in place. You live in my heart. Thank you that every exultant praise makes a beautiful song of praise to your faithfulness.  I love you Lord, in Jesus’ name, amen.

I love the psalms. They are the prayers of God’s people to God. They contain praises, laments, anger, joy, worship and thankfulness.  If we read the psalms we will find our own prayers written in the ancient scriptures. But no matter what, each of the Psalms has one thing in common. They all express belief in God. We will find our doubt as we cry out to God with our troubles and our songs of praise as God helps us and gives us the desires of our hearts.  When we believe in God we are living psalms with the theme of our lives being God’s faithfulness to us.  I think that some day when we meet God face to face through Jesus that we will find that God has never failed us. We might not always understand at the time, but we serve a God of truth, faithfulness, eternal presence and unfailing love.

So my friends let our lives be songs of praise to God being written through the circumstances of our lives.  God is our creator, sustainer and holds us in the palm of his hand whose faithfulness to us is far greater than we could ever imagine.  How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God and all will see how great, how great is our God.

“Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.”

Psalm 89: 15

“Because of you, they rejoice all day long, and they praise you for your goodness. You give us great victories; in your love you make us triumphant.”

Psalm 89: 16-17

Take joy in the journey singing and praying as you go. Let us become living psalms of faithfulness. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Wednesday!  All is well here at 811. I did go to the doc today about my finger. My right hand did not know what my left hand was doing and let us just say that the infusion blender won and I lost.  The pad of my left index finger looks pretty rough, but foes not feel too bad. Doc told me I did a great job of bandaging. He put steristrips on the wounds, rebandaged and put on the finger splint. He gave me antibiotics and told me to leave the splint on for 5 days.  If you only knew how many typos I have had to correct just in this writing.  Bruce and Geni took the day off from the room project, but will pick it up again tomorrow. Travis is coming to help for a while tomorrow.  Please pray for these wonderful people as they work together to rehab this bedroom.  The candle is lit…a prayer for all of us tonight.

Dear God, You are able, dear God, to do far more with us than we are able to do with ourselves. Lord, we trust your power, see your wisdom, claim your healing grace and offer our wills over to your leadership.  We love you Lord, in Jesus’ name, amen.

“With a strong hand and with a stretched out arm:  for his mercy endures forever. To him who divided the Red Sea into parts; for his mercy endures forever.”

Psalm 136: 12-13

Take joy in the journey relying on the enduring love of God. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Tuesday!  Most is well here at 811. The new stove is amazing. I cooked the most delicious chicken I have ever made. It was a roasted rosemary chicken with roasted root vegetables. In prepping one of the steps I seriously cut my index finger on my left hand.  I am bandaged and protected with a finger splint. I am sure all will be fine, but it is painful and has to have frequent bandage changes. Bruce and Geni have completed the difficult task of tile removal from the floor and they are down to wooden floor. They worked so very hard. Next step is to strip the floor of the ancient glue. (Rest assured that we did not create this mess. It was present when we moved in 20 years ago. ) As for the journal writing, typing is not an easy task. So for tonight I pray you all take joy in the journey and sleep well tonight. Let us keep our eyes on God and we will be comforted. We will be given strength and understanding we need. Give thanks for the unfailing love of God.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene 

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Monday!  All is busy here at 811. Bruce and Geni have cleared the middle bedroom and began the arduous task of the floor.  When we moved into this house each floor was covered in carpet. We have replaced all of the carpet with laminate flooring except this room. The middle bedroom had horrible carpet that had been glued over a hardwood floor that had also been partially tiled. Bruce and Geni spent most of the afternoon taking up tile. Bruce is working on this as we speak. And…tomorrow the new stove is being delivered. So 811 is abuzz with activity. Please pray for Bruce and Geni as they skillfully work to prepare this room. 

The candle is lit…

Dear God, I am so glad you are present with me tonight. Thank you for equipping me with everything I needed to deal with all I have encountered to day. You are truly wonderful. Lead me Lord, so I can help accomplish your will in the world.  Thank you Lord for family and the skills you have given them.  Thank you for the self-sacrifice they offer when one of us needs help.  And tonight Lord, I pray you received into heaven your child Robin Williams. I do not know if he was a person of faith,but I know he brought a great deal of joy and laughter to the world.  I know he was still you child as we all are. Lord, help each of us to share You with others so that they come to know you and know that they are never alone.  I love you Lord, in Jesus’ name, amen.

I was a mother of school age children for a long time. Each night before bed I tried to make sure backpacks were packed and by the door, clothing was picked out (I loved the junior high years when they wore uniforms!) and homework was complete.  I must admit I still practice some of those same preparations each night myself. I still lay out clothes the night before.  When the kids were in school and when I was teaching I knew generally what was going to go on the next day and had all supplies, plans lunches ready so that we were at least prepared for a successful day.

One of the ways we can prepare for the next day and whatever it holds; struggles, conflicts, surprises a other unexpected events is to end our day with God. When we end our day with God through prayer and meditation we are better prepared to deal with the unforeseen events and will be able to handle theme with strength, wisdom and creativity. This time with God at the end of the day can also help us sleep better.  It is a time to empty our troubles to Jesus and leave them there clearing our minds for a good night’s rest. My dear friends, we need to remember that all our battles belong to God. Each night just before Bruce and I put head to pillow we share a brief meditation. It is a simple scripture and a couple of paragraphs designed to end the day. It takes less than 5 minutes.  It is a moment we enjoy each night.  So prepare for the next day by spending time with God each night and see if the next day is a bit more peaceful in His presence.

“O, Lord, the God of my salvation…at night I am in Your presence.

Psalm 88: 1

“Lord, you are the God who saves me. I cry out to you day and night. Receive my prayer, and listen to my cry.”

Psalm 88: 1-2

Take joy in the journey praying as you go day and night. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all Bruce and Gaylene