Happy Thursday!

Prayer: “Thank you Father, for another day to live this life and serve You. I want to have courage today. Prepare me for whatever You may bring or whatever that Wicked One may throw my way. Someone I meet may need to hear Your words of truth, so make me aware of Your divine appointment and help me obey. When the opportunity is before me, remind me of my prayer of the morning. With this prayer, I am reporting for duty in the service of my King!”

Ephesians 6:14-16 “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod you feet with preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”

I have been teaching for thirty plus years and most of them in first grade. I love first graders. You can nearly always tell when a child is a first grader. One of the most telling marks is that they have no teeth. Those baby teeth have gone away and the spaces for the new grown-up teeth appear. By the end of the year most of them have at least the two upper grown-up teeth. Now these teeth look huge compared to the rest of their mouths, but at least now they no longer have to bite using the sides of their mouths and the sweet “lithpy” sounds of their language have gone with clear language and speaking skills in place.

Do we have tells that mark us as Christians? Is God’s Word planted in our hearts and minds? God’s Word is our sure footing on which to stand and give us our ability to walk the journey of faith in confidence. Do we live lives that speak the truth? Do we keep ourselves surrounded by the shield of faith? When we come into relationship with Jesus we are given these gifts. But just like first graders we need time in life to grow into these gifts and use them on a daily basis. These gifts are the attributes God values in Himself and placed firmly into His Son. Because we are God’s children and siblings to Christ we, too, carry these attributes. A pastor friend of mine called this “Christian DNA.” God loves us so much that He has passed on His most treasured qualities to us, His children. What an amazing God we serve. How wonderful that we can call Him our Father.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer each day remembering that each one of us is fighting some sort of battle. 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

Prayer requests: Geni as she is doing her Special Education student teaching. The students she is working with are emotionally disturbed. It is a really draining task both physically and emotionally.

I have a paper due on Tuesday.

Bruce leaves for the Kairos weekend at the Allred Unit in Iowa Park on Wednesday. Please pray for a smooth running weekend, safety for all and for the gospel to not be denied. Peace, gc