Happy Thursday!

Ok…about 3:45 this afternoon I am tutoring a group of children and I get a phone call from Travis. He asks, “Mom, how do you feel about ribs for dinner?” He then told me they were “wild boar ribs.” So I told him to rub olive oil into the ribs, season them with garlic salt and Lowry’s Seasoned Salt, wrap them in foil and put them in the oven at 350 degrees. Talk about cooking by the seat of your pants! I had a couple of stops to make on the way home and by the time I finally got home the ribs were done. I then placed the ribs on the grill with some BBQ sauce, grilled some sweet potatoes and we ate dinner outside. The meat of the ribs practically fell off of the bone. For Travis, the meal was a religious experience. I must admit it was quite good and we all really enjoyed it.

Prayer: “I look forward to this day of walking arm in arm with You. Help me to grow in trusting You. Strip away my arrogant self-reliance which drains my faith. Help me to acknowledge You in all ways. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.”

Proverbs 35:6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

I am about eight weeks from retirement. My daddy has asked me a couple of times, “Gaylene, can you live on your retirement?” By the world’s standards and our current monthly indebtedness the answer would have to be no. There are times I really do not worry about this a lot and then there are times I become really concerned. I will take a pay cut to retire. I have enough years to retire with full benefits, but the annuity is still not as much as my current monthly salary. We are working to reduce our indebtedness by paying off credit cards, paying off my car and trying to get down to just monthly obligations. We are trying by our own means to make this transition a bit easier.

In a perfect world all will go as planned, no one will get sick, we will not need major home repairs, we will not need to replace cars because we cannot afford these items. I will get through school and become employed by some facility as a chaplain.

Knowing that we do not live in a perfect world reminds me that my reliance on God must come before my reliance on me. This passage of scripture says, “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart…and in ALL your ways acknowledge Him.” I think the psalmist really understood the word ALL. God did not ask for the things that we could do without his help. God asked to help in all the things we do. God’s perspective and knowledge of His plan for each of us is far greater than we can possibly imagine. Placing our trust in Him for all things shows that we acknowledge Him as God and not we ourselves.

Have you ever watched a football coach on the sidelines? The coach usually is wearing a headset. That headset is connected to someone high above with a different perspective on the game. The coach on the sideline sees the play on the field on the level playing field. The coach in the press box sees both teams from a different perspective and can relay to the coach on the field a broader view of the entire playing field. My friends let us put on our headsets of prayer and trust the God who lives in us, around us and above us.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. When you pray remember to lift one another up in prayer. Remember that each of us is fighting some sort of battle. Love you all my friends, 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 request: Lift Bruce up in prayer. He has not been feeling well since returning from the prison ministry weekend. Thanks and peace, gc