Happy Wednesday! 

I am sorry for not having written in a day or two.  I am up to my armpits in a large pastoral care paper followed closely on the heels by a major NT test.  The plan is to complete the pastoral care paper on Friday and I am on the home stretch for this one. Then I plan to  study non-stop from Monday through Wednesday and take the test on Thursday morning at 8:00 AM.  Please begin your prayers now.

This weekend we are going to Wall’s Christmas Tree Farm outside of Terrell on Saturday.  Our family plus Sarah will be joined by Mike, Mandy, Olivia and Tatum.  We are so excited that Mike, Mandy and the girls are going with us. Tatum is our young cousin who is in remission from leukemia and is on a maintenance program.  She is able to get out now and be around others.  So hay wagon and hot chocolate, Christmas trees and family here we come!!!

Prayer:  This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. It is a day that You have prepared for me. While I don’t know everything I will face, You do. Give me grace to trust You for every event, every encounter I will make, and let my life be pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

Hebrews 11: 8

Today as I was writing my pastoral care paper I stopped to go to the kitchen to get a refill on my coffee.  I found myself praying, “Lord, help me to have the wisdom to write this paper and have it be found acceptable to my professor.  But more than that, help this writing reflect the work you have done in me through knowledge and experience as a witness to others of You.” 

Talk about stepping out on faith.  Five years ago I stepped out on faith and entered Brite Divinity School as an “older” student. At the same time, Brite Divinity School stepped out on their faith to accept me even though I had not been a student for thirty years.  I had not written a paper or read a scholarly work in forever and yet here we struck out on this journey together. 

I had fought God for a long time about entering seminary and the ministry and I was being disobedient.  God had been calling me for a long time and it took a major crisis to cause me to focus on God’s voice and hear His call. 

When God called Abraham, he obeyed.  His call by God caused him to leave home, family and business and yet he went.  Abraham went because he believed god and obeyed! 

Faith involves risk. If faith does not involve risk then it is not faith—not from the divine side, but from the human standpoint.  If we could see each step of our faith then it is not faith.  Sometimes it becomes necessary to do what God calls us to do without knowing the consequences. Abraham went into the unknown, trusting God. I entered seminary not knowing that I was being called into the pastoral care ministry. I just thought I would continue teaching in a different school.

And as I recall there were two young people  who chose the journey of a lifetime that began in a barn in Bethlehem and ended on a hill in Jerusalem. Let us ask God to teach us to trust and walk with Him and to obey so that our faith with grow.

Take joy in this Advent journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your many 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 Monday! 

Prayer:  Thank You Lord, for the gospel!  Thank You, Lord, for giving Your life on a Cross and paying my debt so that I could be forgiven, set free, and know the joy and peace of salvation.  Help me, Lord, this day to share the Good News with someone who needs to be set free, too!  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

“He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”

Isaiah 61: 1b

I realize this passage is not from one of the first four books of the New Testament but it is so similar to the passage in Luke when Jesus comes into the temple, sits down and reads the Holy Scripture from the scroll (4: 18), “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” 

In Isaiah we have a prophecy of the coming Messiah. In Luke we hear the fulfilling of this prophecy.  Both of these passages have as their authority being under the power of the Holy Spirit.  Each passage proclaims the coming of the servant of God who will proclaim liberty to captives and heal those who are broken. 

As we journey through this season of Advent let us “preach” as we are called in Luke 24.  We are called to preach repentance and the remission of sin to all.  We must not be ashamed of the gospel.  We must share the gospel.  Let us tell the good tidings of great joy that a Savior will come to us.  May our prayer be to see the world as God sees the world and help those with no hope to find hope in a forgiving God, filled with grace and love.

Take joy in this Advent journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  (after all, God slumbers not nor sleeps so only one of us needs to be awake!)  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love and blessings to 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 and first day of Advent to you all.

Prayer:  “Thank You, Lord, for helping me to understand that my witness is directly related to my life.  Help me to be mindful that what You want to do in me is more important than what I want to do in me.  Help me this day through the power of the Holy Spirit to abide in You as You abide in me.  Amen.”

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God abides in him, and he in God.”

1 John 4:14

Happy Advent!  The season of Advent is the beginning of the church year.  Most denominations follow a lectionary throughout the year. Lectionary is a group of scriptures containing an Old Testament Lesson, a portion of a Psalm, an Epistle and a New Testament Lesson.  If you read all of these lessons in one sitting there is usually some type of common thread that connects them. 

Here’s the thing, from Genesis to Revelation, the connected story is the love story of God with us.  It is the story of Emmanuel.  We know of God’s love because of the story of the cross.  But even more powerful than that story is the intimate story of goes deeper than the Cross.  It is the story of God’s desire for His love to be in those who believe.  God loves us so very much that all he wants to do is to abide in us.  The life of the believer who abides in God’s love is a powerful witness for God in the world.  None of us can see God, but others can see God moving and living in us when we help others.  God gives us the powerful blessing of Advent every day of our lives because we carry “God with us” every day. 

Take joy in this Advent journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love and blessings to 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 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.