Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Thursday!  All is well at 811. Bruce had a great day at rehab and I have things ready for the children in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon I will attend another Family conference at the Center. Bruce and I will meet with each of his therapists and they will give us his progress reports.  I always look forward to these conversations especially when they tell me how wonderful Bruce is, how hard he works and how he is the model patient!  I could tell them that for free!  I promise a report in the next post.  PS Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits is a bear! I think if you survive all of the paperwork and appointments, disability benefits should be awarded out of sheer endurance!!!  

Lord, whenever the pressures and stresses build up and it seems like the storm is breaking over me help me to remember the promises, your precious promises that you have so graciously given and that I will not be tempted or allowed to give up.  Help me to remember all of the times you came to me reminding me of the gift of joy and in your presence and power reminded me of your tender mercies, forgiveness, your promises and your Word guide and comfort me. In Jesus name, Amen

Ok yesterday I had a brief melt down. I am better today. I had a little talk with Jesus. I was feeling overwhelmed a bit and was having a bout with poor self-confidence. But today I remembered that God promised to never leave my side and is always at work on my behalf. God knows my struggles and I have asked for forgiveness for not remembering all I know about God and then I gave thanks for every blessing I have received. I have asked for the wisdom and strength of my Mom, the strongest woman I have ever known, the faith of our son Casey,  and the courage to stand firm in my faith and belief that the resurrection hope of the risen Christ that comes in our midst and says, “Peace be with you.” 

My friends if you find yourself in the struggle and seeing the storm please feel free to insert your name and accept the peace that God has given us as a gift out of the unfailing love of God in Christ Jesus. 

“Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given.”

Psalm 105: 5

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

 

 

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Wednesday!  All is well at 811. It was a great day. I enjoyed being back in the school atmosphere. I made individualized lesson plans for the younger students I will be tutoring and tomorrow I will make plans for older students. As it turns out because I have been out of the public school classroom for more than 12 consecutive months I can work as many hours as I want and it will not interfere with my retirement. If I so choose I can go back full time with a school district without it interfering with my retirement either. The children and staff seemed to be genuinely glad that I was there and I am looking forward to working with all of them. 

Lord, I choose the abundant life you offer and the eternal life you promise. I chose a long time ago to follow you. The path of seminary is one that is not traveled by so many. Lord, I am very close to finishing. Lord, do not let me fail you or return from following after you.  Please strengthen me by your word to complete what you have begun. I love you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen

Tonight after dinner we watched the movie “Cool Runnings.” It is one of our favorites. In the final scene the Jamaican bobsled team has crashed their bobsled prior to the finish line. The captain of the team takes off his helmet and he sees the finish line knowing that his team will not cross it for the desired medal. And I began to cry.  I see the finish line and I am determined to cross over and receive my degree. There just seem to be obstacles to the finish line. Satan seems to be working very hard right now to keep me from reaching the goals God has set before me.  The obstacles are my own confidence that something will keep me from reaching the goal of this degree and future ordination. And then I remember...this path was ordained by God and has molded me into the person God desires me to be—for better or worse I have believe I have followed the path that has led to God. So my friends and family, I ask for your prayers for strength over the next few weeks to complete the work set before me and to be faithful and rely on God that all is in control by God and I need not fear.  I ask for your prayers for Bruce’s continued healing and progress. Those four men from Jamaica battered and bruised got out of their broken bobsled and carried their boat on the ice and over the finish line. They finished their race with grace and honor.  By God’s grace and the prayers of those who have followed this journey I pray to kneel at UCC and be hooded by one of the faculty as a sign that this part of the journey is complete and I have been found fit to receive this degree and faithful in the sight of God. This path has never been easy for me, but it has been the most remarkable journey and has shaped me for service.   

“I will follow your rules forever, because they make me happy. I will try to do what you demand forever, until the end.”

Psalm 119: 111-112

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

 

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Tuesday!  All is well at 811. Bruce seems to be feeling better and he is much better pleased with his education therapy. I heard the most amazing sermon given in Brite Chapel today. It was preached by a very gifted Brite student. He absolutely rocked the house. The Brite choir sang a rousing spiritual that followed this powerful preaching. As this gifted young preacher ascended the stairs to the imposing pulpit in Kerr Chapel the congregations sang, “Spirit of the Living God Fall Afresh on Me”.  It was amazing!  I spoke with my professor about the paper that I did not do well on and he was most helpful. So I hope to do better on the next one. Count down…four class session and three papers to go.  WOW!  God is good and love wins!

Lord, when I consider my blessings, one by one I sing praises with great joy. When I remember how you have been so gracious to meet our needs my heart is filled with peace. I love you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

One of the things I have discovered is that the more expensive the school you attend, the greater the financial aid you are given. Needs met by aid.  I have thought about this as sometime next summer my schools bills are going to start having to be repaid. God’s gracious abundance sort of works this way except we can never repay. The greater the need for God we have, the greater intimacy we have with God. The greater intimacy we have with our Creator, Savior and Lord the more we come to know God. Philippians tells us that “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  Needs are not always met in tangible items, but sometimes the riches we are given come in the intangible. We are given strength when we are weak. We are given joy when sorrow is all we can understand. We are given hope when none of our plans are working out like we thought.  But most of all we are given love unfailing and unlimited in greater abundance than we can ever understand.  So let us  praise God and give thanks for each blessing and then share with others the great things God has done for us. 

“I am eager to learn all that you want me to do; help me to understand more and more.”

Psalm 119: 32

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

Prayer request: I begin work tomorrow at Burton Hill Elementary. Please pray for me to discipline myself to work study and write.  I am praying for God to stretch my time so that I may meet all of the needs before me including Bruce, home, study, writing and working with the children. I am excited about this new chapter in my life. I began my seminary journey as a teacher at Burton Hill and now that I am finishing my seminary studies I am beginning once again at Burton Hill. I think God has a plan in all of this.   May my eyes see and my ears hear and my heart be open to the leading of God.  Grace and pieces, gc

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Monday!  Bruce is still having problems with the sinus infection. Tonight when we sat down to dinner he sang the opening pitch of our table grace. It was several tones lower than usual. We sang anyway, but laughed. Geni also took him out to our storage unit tonight while I studied and wrote a short paper.  He has become a little cold natured. He went to find winter jackets. This cold natured thing is a new development. He also said that most of his therapies went well except his education therapy.  He did not think he did well today. I think he has set a high standard for himself and when he does not hit the mark he becomes upset with himself.  I reassured him that everyone has a bad class sometimes and tomorrow will be back to normal.  God is good and love wins!

Lord, I am ready and willing for you to shape me and use me. In Jesus name. Amen

One of my favorite songs is The Potter’s Hand. If I am granted God’s grace for ordination this song will be a congregational hymn that will be sung.  “…crafted into Your perfect plan.”  The story from Jeremiah shares that Jeremiah went to the potter’s shed and watched. After watching the potter make pot after perfect pot one of the pots did not turn out as he desired. So the potter did not discard the pot. He took the still soft clay and plied it into a shapeless lump. He returned it to the wheel and began again; shaping and molding the clay into the desired shape until it was beautiful, perfect and ready for the potter’s use.

God loves us so very much that we are remade daily into His image and being prepared for God’s highest use. We are not throw away clay. We are the creation God chose to be in relationship and shower us with extravagant love.  When we let God lead us we are the clay in His hands being recreated and crafted into His perfect plan to be used as a vessel in His heart.

“He used that clay to make another pot the way he wanted it to be.”

Jeremiah 18: 4

 Take joy in this amazing journey. Trust God daily. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

 

Greetings from Austin Street

Blessed Sunday to you all!  Two amazing things today. First, Bruce’s brother flew in and was able to have an afternoon visit. He is an executive with FedX who lives in Memphis and has meetings this week in the Metroplex. It was so wonderful to see him. He was able to come to our home, have lunch, visit with Bruce and I, look at pictures, met and played with Luther and Jackson and see the Cowboys beat the Eagles. The second amazing thing that happened was that I perfected a recipe I have been working on. It is a chocolate pecan cobbler. Oh My!!! It might be State Fair worthy next fall!  What a great afternoon!! God is good and today the love of family wins.

Prayer request:  Bruce is battling his October sinus infection. Please pray for him as these infections hit him really hard. Thanks. Grace and pieces, gc

Lord, I thank you for every good and perfect gift you have ever given. I think you for the blessings of love and family. Thank you for meeting the needs of this family and staying so close especially as things change. Help me to maintain a study time, a writing time, time for Bruce and most especially time for You.   I thank you for all of the times I hear you speak when I meditate on your word. Through faith and practice keep me within hearing distance. I love you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

I invited Dale into my study today. As he walked in I began to take in all of the books on the shelves and the three stacked on my desk. I remember when these books were in our dining room and it looked like the grad student study. Now they are all within arm’s reach. Each one of these books has been read, studied and probably found its name in a bibliography of a paper I have written. 

And even though I have read these books I have only meditated on one book. I have meditated on the Holy Bible and written reflections on passages of scripture. I have prayed these words and when I pray the words of scripture my soul is encouraged, my spirit is uplifted and my mind finds new ways apply these ancient words to my daily living. Here is the good news. What started out as a discipline six years ago has turned into a time of delight in my day; a time to which I look forward every day. God has become very present to me and my promise and God’s power has become my strength. I am taking joy in this new journey because God has promised to be with me. I will wear comfortable shoes and tonight I will get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

“You made me willing to listen and obey. And so, I said, ‘I am here to do what is written about me in the book, where it says, ‘I enjoy pleasing you. Your Law is in my heart.”

Psalm 40: 6-8

 

Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Saturday!  We had such a lovely day!  We ran errands and then went out to lunch. I do not remember the last time we went to lunch. If you are a FB person and saw Bruce’s picture you might have noticed his hat. Bruce had not used his Target gift Card from his birthday (He was in patient during his birthday)  and purchased for himself a hat. It looks so good on him and he loved being out and making a purchase.  However I think our busy day took its toll and he is really tired. We still had grocery shopping to do, and he took his IPad mini and sat at the tables outside the floral department at Kroger while I shopped. He is really tired. So I have encouraged him to get some rest so he has lots of energy for tomorrow. We are so excited that Bruce’s brother Dale from Memphis is coming for the day.  We have not seen him since Bruce was in the hospital following the stroke. Nothing major has been planned just lunch and a great visit.  God is so good and love wins!

Lord, thank You for being with me when I need you the most. Thank You for the direction You give and the way you fill my heart with quiet assurance. “With my whole heart I have sought thee:  O let me not wander from Your commandments.” (Psalm 119: 10)

It seems to be the week to study about making decisions and asking God for help and direction when decisions need to be made.  Most of the time, when we make decisions, we are not the only one our decisions effect. Sometimes the decisions we make are to solve problems. We really wish God would just ride in on a white horse and remove the problem so that we do not have to deal. And maybe for some folks that is what happens. As for me I am usually meant to learn a lesson. But here is the good news about God and problems. God removing our problems is not always what is best. When we collaborate with God with decisions that need to be made, opportunities that we never considered would not present themselves.  We do not have to deal with difficult choices alone and without help. God will show us the way to go and will help as we deal with issues, problems and decisions as we wade through facts and emotions.  When whatever decision(s) is/are that need to be made get made we just need to do our best. I think the real lesson we are to learn here is that solving the problem is not near as important as trusting God is in the midst of them.  I believe that God will lead us to do what is right for our lives and in His loving will we will do what is right for our lives and those we love. Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and let us all get some sleep.  Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

Psalm 119: 11

 

 

Greetings from Austin Street

TGIF! Today God is First!  811 is doing okay. Bruce has had two headaches today. Headaches are something to watch for in someone who has had a stroke.  I am a little concerned, but Bruce assures me that he is okay.  I hope so. I created a stove top meat smoker today when I needed a break from studying the Gospel of Mark. It was kind of fun and my bacon wrapped chicken breasts were delicious.  Sometimes I have to do something creative when the words begin to run together on the page. 

Lord, Thank you for flooding my heart with the light of your love and for meeting the needs of my family.  I am in awe of Your Presence in our lives and sing songs of gladness for your grace.  Thank you for Your guidance, affirming the decisions made, blessing the opportunity for which You cleared the way, Your great faithfulness and unfailing love. I love you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen

I am about to return to the teaching field. I will begin next week with planning and maybe some meeting with small groups. One of the most important things I will do is help the children to begin to trust me to help them to become better readers. Not just to be able to read the words fluently, but understand and remember what they have read. I experience these same needs each time I open one of my textbooks from my classes at seminary. 

The children are going to need to read and understand what they read just like I need to understand what I am reading. It is my hope if the children will trust me and I teach my best that they will learn and become not just better readers, but better students. So it seems that the children and I will be walking similar paths.  We both need to trust someone that will guide us along our paths. I hope I will enable the children to trust me and I will trust God in God’s infinite wisdom to successfully complete this degree in 5 class periods, 3 papers and 1 exam. Take joy in this extraordinary journey of faith. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene

Prayer of joy!  Our dear friend David Russell went home from the hospital after 50 days inpatient. We are so very grateful to a loving and healing God.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Peace, gc