Happy Saturday!

What a day! Geni and I spent the day together. She is really excited about getting her classroom put together but must wait until she has signed her contract, which should happen on Thursday. She makes lists and then adds to them and then removes things. There are several unknowns as to what the school has for her, what is in my storage unit and what she will need to buy.

This morning we went to the Amazing Graces Fun Run at Camp Thurman to cheer on a close friend of Geni’s. Her team was called the “Party Animals” due to their party hats, black shirts and zebra striped shorts decorated with party hats. My favorite group was a group of dental hygienists who came dressed as (wait for it…) the tooth fairy. They were too cute. Then Geni and her friend signed waivers and went down the zip line. Totally cool! Personally I try to avoid plummeting sports!

The young woman Geni and I went to Camp Thurman in support of today is sort of an adopted daughter for us. She and Geni met at Stephen F. Austin University. She was Geni’s big sister in the Christian Sorority in which they were both involved. It was a joy to be there when she crossed the finish line today and run screaming to her as she finished her race. The race consisted of a mile and a half run through the neighborhood and back to camp, swimming laps in the pool, doing an army crawl in the mud and a trip down the zip line. Those were the rules of the race and obedience to those rules was required to finish the race. She is not a daughter by blood, but she is loved as if she were.

Travis’ third grade football team won their game today. Bruce stayed home today due to a sore throat. And the weather was amazing! As I said, “What a day!”

Prayer: “Father, I come to You today as Your adopted child, and You have made it clear that I am greatly loved by You. I realize that the way I treat others and live out my faith expresses my understanding of Your love. Search me today and show me any areas where I am falling short or missing out on the opportunity to see Your love perfected in me. I also realize that being obedient to You is directly tied to how I love others, especially my fellow believers. Help me to live in obedience to Your Word and to love others. Amen.”

1 John 2: 5 “Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.”

We do not affect God’s love for us, but our obedience does say to what extent we understand His love for us. When we apply God’s Word to our lives each day His love becomes more perfected in each of us. God’s love for us should affect all of our decisions and become a life changing force in our lives. Faith and love go hand in hand and experiencing God’s love is the active part of our life. When we make the decision to let God’s love affect our behavior and how we treat others then we have begin to look at others as God sees them. How we treat others is a direct expression of our relationship to God.

Let us not think of obedience as a list of rules we must follow but a wonderful expression of our relationship to God and in our relationship to others. Let God shine in us and through us in our conversations, in our prayers, in our service to others and in our worship.

Take joy in the journey. 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 only moved by what I believe and I believe God.

Prayer: I have my first ordination interview on Monday evening. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to go before me and be in the midst of the conversation that they would find me worthy of this calling by God. Thanks. Peace, gc