Happy Wednesday! 

My dog, Luther, has planted himself under my desk as I write. As bassets are notorious for lying on their backs to sleep I am currently using him as a foot rest and giving the occasional belly rub.  I can’t even put my chair fully under the desk and he does not seem to be bothered at all. And neither am I.

Also, I think I may have downloaded all of my resources for my paper. 

Tomorrow after the daily home project I will begin reading my research and preparing to write this paper. Begin to pray now, I am a bit (no, a lot) out of my league writing this paper.

Prayer: Lord of the rough and smooth places. Lord of the challenge in the journey. Even though the journey sometimes seems long and hard I know You are there, always with me guiding me by Your hand and Your counsel. Help me to find joy in the steepest climb by knowing that You are there. Let me remember to count on Your Divine guidance to find the best way to scale the mountain ahead. Lord, in Your mercy, hear this prayer. Amen.

“The sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

Habakkuk 3: 19

“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

The journey beginning in 2007 at Brite has been at times challenging and other times grueling. The good news is that the journey has been not just a road of endurance, with places of joy even in the most difficult times, but an amazing time spent with God.  God has become a constant companion Who has infused His Presence in those steepest of climbs, those most difficult of classes and all of the writing of papers. There have been times I have thought that I could not do this and then in the same breath I knew I had come too far to turn back. The completion of my Brite career is not the end of the journey, but the preparation for the next journey to come. So I think for the remainder of the summer I will remember God’s unfailing presence in the journey and think of His glory that I feel all around me and see in those who have walked this journey with me. It is when I look into the eyes of Love I realize I am on a high place because it is in those who have journeyed with me that I see the glory of God. Thank you all family and dear friends.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude, cast your cares upon God and get some sleep. God is up all night anyway and so there is no need for both of you to be us. 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!

I have decided to do one small home project per day and spend the remainder of the daylight hours gathering sources for the paper I have to write for this last class. Cleaning out, throwing away and sorting for charity sort of helps me clean out the clutter from my head and my house. It is kind of nice to walk into a room and look at a space that has space!

Prayer:  Holy Lord, giver of hope and encouragement. I give You thanks that You remain with us giving the gifts of hope and encouragement every time we remember we are in the presence of You and Your unfailing love. Your Word says it is impossible for you to lie. We hold on to the hope offered to us so that we may be greatly encouraged. Thank you, Lord. We love You so much. In Your mercy, hear this prayer. Amen

“God [confirmed his promise to Abraham] so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.”

Hebrews 6: 18

I take so much joy in the truth that it is impossible for God to lie. I am grateful that the God who gave us the gift of hope is the same God who encourages us. The apostle Paul taught us that we need to press on toward the goal and live up to what we have already attained. Paul is telling us that we are to grasp onto heavenly hope from which all of our blessings flow. 

When we grasp onto heavenly hope we are encouraged to remember what God has already done for us (died for our sins) and for what God is doing now (living in us now). Here is something we need to remember. God not only gives good gifts, but the gifts are given generously.

I was rereading one of my favorite books this morning and came across a passage that reminded me of this scripture. The woman in the book is on a journey and has already come very far in her journey with the generous help of God. She comes to the most difficult place in her journey and completely craters and thinks she cannot possibly climb one more mountain and face this part of her journey. Then she remembers that God helped her through the most difficult places in the journey before. She begins to live in hope and encouragement that the God of hope who cannot lie will help her once again.

My friends…take hold of hope…find encouragement in the unfailing love of God in your life and climb the mountain.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled to overflowing with gratitude, cast your cares upon God and get some sleep. God is up all night anyway and there is no need for both of you to be awake. 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!

No studying or writing today; just household stuff, coffee, NCIS and dinner with Bruce at a reasonable hour. It was so very nice.

Travis and Sarah got home safely from their week in Key Largo. They had a wonderful time.

Prayer report:  My Aunt Linda came through surgery very well and is already in far less pain than she has been in for the last two or three years. Giving thanks for God and His tender mercies for her healing.

Prayer: God, You are God and that is enough. You are called Immanuel, God with us. You are with us always. Help us to remember to rejoice in Your Presence when the road is smooth and when the road is rough. Your Spirit lives within us and that is sufficient for all of our needs. You are with us moment by moment of our lives and we find joy in You because You are our Savior. Thank you ever present Lord. In Your mercy, hear this prayer. Amen.

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are not sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

Habakkuk 3: 17-18

It is so easy to be joyful when the things in our lives are going smoothly and trust in God’s sufficiency is easy. But when we encounter rough roads, difficult times, sadness, sorrow and times that tear at our very souls and when these times seem to happen one after another it is not easy to be joyful.  It is in those times when we try to smooth out the rough places or find solutions to the difficulties or try other methods to make things better on our own. There is nothing wrong with trying to figure out solutions to problems and situations, but after a while of doing this on our own we get tired.

God’s sufficiency is the work of the Holy Spirit within us. But also very important is that we make the choice to allow the Holy Spirit, God’s power within us, to help with the burdens, problems, and difficult situations. We choose the Holy Spirit day by day, moment by moment and even breath by God given breath. God is with us by His Word and by His creation. Rejoice my friends, rejoice!

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with gratitude, cast your cares upon God and get some sleep. God is up all night anyway and so there is no need for both of you to be awake. 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.

Blessed Sunday to you all. 

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, thank You for being the God that lives within each of us. Holy Spirit, take our prayers before the Father and speak our praises, our concerns, our joys and our sorrows at the mercy seat of God. God, speak through the Holy Spirit so that we may understand Your desires for our lives and direction for the path You want us to walk. Help us to trust even when the path seems to turn away from where we think we are supposed to be going and believe that You always know best. Lord, in Your mercy, hear this prayer. Amen.

“The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.”

Psalm 33: 5

God calls each of us to put down whatever baggage we are carrying around and experience His Presence so that we can receive His unfailing love. Choose God each day. Find God in each moment and practice until this becomes a habit. As we continually practice we will find ourselves getting closer to God and being able to understand the plans God has for us.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes and pray with a heart filled with gratitude. Cast your cares upon the Lord and get some sleep. God is up all night anyway so there is no need for both of us to be awake. 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!

Today, Bruce and I attended the ordination of my good friend, Matt Every. He pastors a small church in Mount Pleasant. We have been friends, colleagues and breakfast buddies at Brite for several years. His service was well attended by clergy, family and friends.  It was a wonderful service and I am so proud and excited for this man. The ministry of Jesus Christ and the Church will be continually blessed by Matt and the gifts and graces he brings to the pulpit and the community of faith. Way to go Matt!

And…Hot off the presses…our niece Kendall (Ken and Sheena’s oldest daughter) is engaged to a young man named Matt!  Just announced a few minutes ago. We are all so excited and proud for her and Matt.

Prayer: Lord of understanding, I know it has taken me a long time to understand what sacrifice means. Today I finally understand. Even though it is hard, the answer is always the same, “call upon the Lord.” Thank you for Your unfailing love when I am troubled and on the edge of anger or heartbreak. Thank You for Your love that is so great that Your Word tells us to be thankful for trials and offer them up as thanksgiving. Lord, I do not like my troubles, but if You are to reign sovereign over them then I must offer them as thanksgiving and call upon Your name. When I call upon Your name You speak softly to my hurting soul where You reside and I find hope. I love You Lord. In Your mercy, hear this prayer. Amen.

“I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.”

Psalm 116: 17

How difficult is it to offer our troubles to God with thanksgiving? It is tough and seemingly contradictory to what we should do. Why would I thank God for something tough or really awful? But the psalmist says to offer up the “sacrifice of thanksgiving and then call upon the name of the Lord.” What we sacrifice is our anger, our complaining and the indulgent temptation of thinking that God is treating us unfairly or is ignoring our plight. When we offer these things up to sacrifice then we make all of this space for God to come in to heal, repair and comfort our broken hearts.  When we offer the sacrifice of whatever our problem or situation is to God as thanksgiving then in the depths of our souls we invite God to reign sovereign over us and our situation by calling upon His name.

Thanking God for our problems is kind of strange at first. But if we persistently pray in faith using thankful words then it will change our hearts and find that God’s unfailing love will overshadow our problems and difficulties.  I am at the same place as many of you and I need to practice, practice, practice…

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 casting our cares upon the Lord because God is up all night anyway. 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! 

Hello friends! I have spent the day in school and writing my last paper before class ends tomorrow. I put it to bed for the night and will do the conclusion tomorrow.  This has been a really tough class for me. I am glad tomorrow is the last day. The final paper is due on July 15.

Tonight our precious daughter came over and washed the dishes, cleaned the stove and prepared dinner for Bruce and I. She is the best. We love her so very much and I think we will keep her.

Prayer:  Lord, my life is in You, Lord, my hope is in You, Lord and I know you hear my prayers. Thank You for speaking softly in the depths of my spirit, where You have residence. I pray to find you in more and more of the moments of my day as I am warmed by Your unfailing love.  Lord, in You mercy, hear this prayer. Amen.

“As for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

Micah 7: 7

 OK, here is the deal. I have been really praying about God’s unfailing love and being centered in it. This is what I have discovered. I have to stop trying to control things and to think through problems and situations as a solo act. When problems, troubles and difficult situations arise we need to remember where we are and in Whose presence we stand. We need to lean on Jesus and enjoy being in the presence of the God of unfailing love. The love of God is independent of all of our circumstances because God’s unfailing love will never be taken away from us. We may not understand the mysteries of God’s love, but God’s love is perfect and is everlasting. Watch in hope for God, remember that God is our Savior.

Take joy in the journey remembering that hope does not disappoint. Wear comfortable shoes, pray with a heart filled with hope and gratitude and cast your cares upon God and get some sleep because God is up all night anyway and there is no reason for both of us to be awake! Love you, 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 and Happy Birthday Casey.

Casey would have been 29 years old today. We remember him each year with a family meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and red velvet cake.  We laugh and remember him in funny and happy ways. We miss him so much and work at remembering only the times that make us smile.

Prayer alert:  I ask you to lift my Aunt Linda in prayer. She is having some long needed surgery on her neck tomorrow. She has been in pain for about two years.  Thank you.

Prayer:  “When I walked through the door, I sensed Your presence and I knew it was a place where love abounds. For this is a temple, the God we love abides in, for we are standing in Your Presence on Holy Ground.” Lord, I seem to sing this to you a lot lately.  Thank you for Your unfailing love.  Your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. When I come before You, Lord, please lead me to just think about Your love and how it will guide forever. Lord, in Your mercy, hear this prayer. Amen.

“Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love. Like your name O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness…For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.”

Psalm 48: 9-10, 14

Lately my prayer life has been sort of disjointed. I will begin to pray and then my mind goes to another subject. It is sort of like trying to speak in incomplete sentences. My prayer life was leaving me feeling frustrated. Then I began to pray the first sentence of the scripture passage, “meditate on your unfailing love.”  I am beginning to think about God and the unfailing love given so freely, generously drawing God even closer by whispering God’s name and then offering thanksgiving, praise. I then offer up the names of those for whom I have been charged to pray. This may sound silly, but by doing this I am inviting God into my prayer life claiming that “Surely the Lord is in this place.” When God has been invited into this time of prayer then I am asking God to have conversation with me meaning that I have to sometimes be quiet and listen. I think it is at those times that I am going to practice thinking about God’s unfailing love and grace and how it has brought me through really tough times and everyday living.

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. Cast your cares upon God and go to sleep because God is up all night anyway. 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.