Happy Thursday!

This morning in my daily message from Carme came these words, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” These are the same words carved on the headstone for her baby daughter Catherine. Carme and Dave lost Catherine when she had just turned two. She and Geni were the same age. I texted (safely) back to her, “Now both of our babies see God every day.” We shared a moment of loss and tears we both gave a word of thanksgiving that our children were living in the eternal presence of God. This message came exactly two and one-half years to the day after losing Casey.

Patio construction update: due to tree roots the site for the patio had to be adjusted. And today the intrepid building duo of Bruce and Travis dug, flattened, leveled, edged and poured about a ton of sand into the 10 x 10 space. The “tamping” has been done and they are down to the paver’s sand and the bricks!. I am so excited. I am not sure if it will be complete before Bruce leaves for Amarillo tomorrow. But when it is finished it is going to be so pretty. I have purchased a hanging plant stand and a fuchsia colored bougainvillea plant to be the finishing touch. I am sure Bruce will put pictures on the journal page when it is finished.

Prayer: “Good morning Holy Spirit. What a beautiful day it is to be alive! It is beautiful because it was made by You and for You. Thank you for the privilege of life and of serving You. Thank You for allowing me to experience Your incredible story today. I pray this in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.”

Proverbs 28: 25, 26 “He who is of a proud heart stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be prospered. He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”

We have been talking about trust and learning to rely on God. Continuing on with the subject of trust…I think this is the hardest part of trust. Trust is submitting to God’s authority. None of us wish to be under anyone’s authority. But to be under God’s authority means to be obedient when God tells us what He wants us to do. If I choose to defy the authority of the Almighty then my heart is filled with pride. This kind of pride is not the pride that we find in the accomplishments of our children (I call them mother moments), but taking the credit for the good works God has done in our lives or believing that we must be the savior for our families and believing that we must fix everything. The last time I checked I realized two things - there is a God and I am not Him.

Jesus was the perfect model for submission to His Father’s authority while He was here on earth and He is our example to follow. When we submit to the authority then the times may not always be easy, but our hearts can be in peace knowing who is truly in charge and in Whose authority we place our trust.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes. Count your blessings and say your prayers. When you lift each other up in prayer remember that we are all fighting some type of battle (and for some of us it is pride!) 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 alert: Please lift Bruce in travel mercy as he travels to Amarillo for leadership training for the Kairos Prison Ministry. He is preparing to take on the daunting task of leading a Kairos weekend in a year. God is equipping him for this extraordinary service. Thanks. gc