Happy Saturday! 

(Note: I didn't get the previous post on the blog until a few minutes ago. Bruce)

Morning began with coffee with Lamar and watching A League of their Own.  A great way to begin the day after being “on call” on Friday.  Thank you all for your continued prayers as I continue in this part of my education.  I counted today and I have 20 more days.

Prayer:  “Dear Lord, I bless You on this morning for being with me all the time.  I thank You that whether I am on the mountaintop or in the valley, You are there.  I pray this morning that I will live out my faith today.  I pray my life will be known as a living testimony for You. May I be able to comprehend the privileges afforded to me by You. Amen.”

“Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1 Thessalonians 5: 17, 18

I love to pray.  In the morning as I am driving to the hospital I pray for the day, listen to my devotion and then pray until I get to work.  I get to pray a lot throughout the day as I pray with patients and their families at their bedsides.  The most wonderful thing about prayer is that we can pray anytime about anything.  God gave us this gift of prayer so that we could stay in constant fellowship with Him without interruption.  Prayer is the tool that keeps us continuously aware of God’s presence.  When I am walking to a patient’s room or to the trauma unit I ask God to be there before me. When I step into the room I feel God’s presence within the room and my prayers have more power because the One to Whom I pray is already there. 

When we pray we need to pray with a thankful heart even when we have trouble finding a reason to be thankful.  A thankful heart turns to God because God desires our praise and thanks.  Praying about everything and praying with a thankful heart increases our daily communion and fellowship with God.  God created us to have relationship and fellowship with us.  Let us stay in contact with the One who desires and loves us so very much.

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Count your blessings and say your prayers.  Love you all so very much, 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.

Greetings from Huguley Hospital

Happy Friday!  This post comes from the Chaplain’s office at Huguley Hospital where I am the on call chaplain for the evening.  Currently it is quiet and I am caught up on my charting of patient visits.  Tonight’s reflection comes from a book titles: Moments of Peace for the Evening. Our supervising chaplain has made sure that each floor staff is well supplied with this and its companion book Moments of Peace and Wisdom. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Lord, in the quiet of this moment I give thanks for the peacefulness of this time.  As I come quietly to You in prayer I ask you to help me to further understand Your Word and apply it to my everyday life and stand firm on this Word when faced with difficult tasks.  Let me remember to come to You before trying to work it out myself.  And if I forget to call on you before I act, Lord, meet me and let us work it out together.  In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

“With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks and praise to Your name, O Lord, for it is good.  For He has delivered me out of every trouble.”

Psalm 54: 6-7

You know nothing hacks Satan off more than when we praise God in our troubles.  In Acts 16: 25 Paul and Silas were in prison and were just singing hymns of praise to God at the top of their voices.  The passage says, “singing a robust hymn to God.”  Friends, they were not lamenting their troubles.  They were singing a praise and worship hymn.  The passage in Acts further says, “The prisoners couldn’t believe their ears.”  Paul and Silas were beaten and chained and singing hymns of praise to God.  These two men were offering a “sacrifice of praise” unto God in the midst of their troubles.  They could have whined, cried, screamed and turned their backs on God, but they did not.  A sacrifice of praise is being completely assured of God’s presence with us no matter what the situation.

Geni and Travis both have a tattoo that says, “When your life is in discord, Praise the Lord.”  I don’t know if Paul and Silas had this tattooed on their bodies somewhere, but they sure had it tattooed on their souls and in their voices.  So the next time we are all facing some difficult situation let’s try to find a way to praise God remembering that God is in control of every situation especially the one we are currently experiencing.

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  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.

Happy Thursday! 

Prayer:  “Father, this week is Your week. Speak truth and hope into my life. Give me ears to hear You speak. Grant me discipline to open Your Word in order to listen to Your voice. Whatever is before me, give me what I need at that moment. Even now, I listen to You. May You alone be praised. Amen.”

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. O anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

James 5: 13-14

Effective prayer is a two way street. We talk to God and then we listen to what God is saying to us. Claiming God’s authority in the Word when the needs arise in our day is what we need to do first - not last. The scripture further states that if we are sick then we should call for the elders of the church to come a pray over us.  We don’t always have the opportunity to call church elders, but I think sharing our concerns with others (elders) over illness whether we are ill or someone we care for is ill, increases the prayers and the power of prayer for us.  

I have seen so many doctors and nurses this summer who are willing to join in prayer for and with the patients and who believe that prayer is just as important as medicines, surgeries and treatments.  When we offer prayer we take our illness to the highest place of all.  We take our concerns to the feet of the Father, the place where we receive mercy, comfort, peace and the assurance that God is present and will step in whatever the situation.

We are going to have needs today.  We may have needs right now.  Our pride will try to work our needs out ourselves and our stubbornness will try and wait things out hoping they will get better.  Consider inserting God into the picture.  Begin with God and the Word.  Speak to God about the problem or situation and then listen for an answer.  Trust that the Holy Spirit will intervene. Then watch God work in you to bring peace, comfort and resolution to the situation or problem. 

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  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.

Happy Tuesday! 

My intern supervisor looked at the calendar today and determined that I have four more weeks of CPE to go.  I am at JPS tomorrow evening until 8:00 AM Thursday morning.  Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  They mean so very much. 

Prayer: “Father, You are an awesome God! I give You praise and glory for the powerful moving of Your Holy Spirit within my heart.  You have blessed my life beyond measure. You have endowed me with an abundance of joy and peace.  My cup is running over!  If only I could convey the depths of my soul with others so they, too, might know Your grace and mercy. I praise You in the morning as I look forward to the beauty of this day. Hallelujah!”

“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

1 Corinthians 2: 10

Paul states in this verse that God reveals the deepest hidden truths to those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.  We can only come to know God and the meanings of His Word through the Holy Spirit living in us.  The disciples who lived daily with Jesus did not fully understand until the Holy Spirit anointed them on the day of Pentecost.

When we come into relationship with Christ in our salvation we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  I do not mean that we will begin to extraordinary acts of worship or speak in other languages. What I mean is that when we encounter Christ we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, the very essence of Jesus into our hearts. The more we read the scriptures, the more we spend time in prayer, the more we spend time in the company of believers and the more we  take time to serve others, the more we are able to understand the deep hidden truths of God.  It is through reading, study, worship, fellowship and prayer that the Holy Spirit teaches us about God’s will, the ways of God and God’s plan for our lives. 

Take joy in the journey.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers. 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.

Blessed Sunday to you all!

Prayer:  “As I awake this morning O Lord, I give You praise for another day of life.  Thank You, Father, that I can live for You because Your Son, Jesus, died for me! May my life be a living sacrifice for You, and may my actions glorify Your name. Amen.”

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.”

Romans 8: 9

The apostle Paul(Saul) had an up close and personal understanding of this verse.  Saul was well versed and trained in the Law.  He followed and lived his life to the letter of the law with no room for faith experience until he met God on the Damascus Road.  Saul was struck blind by the light of the Holy Spirit. God spoke to him causing him to experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  

This was one of those phenomenal experiences that God imposed on (now) Paul. Paul knew the Law better than anyone, but now he had become a new creation in Jesus Christ.  The impact of Christ on his life was so great that he claimed in Galatians “It is no longer I who live, but Christ that lives within me.”  Paul knew that he must empty himself of the flesh to allow the Spirit of Christ to enter in and be made ready for service unto God in Christ Jesus.  

I don’t know how long it took Paul to understand what God wanted him to do with this new knowledge of Christ in his heart and the Holy Spirit guiding his steps but I feel pretty sure when the scales fell from his eyes...he started on his journey of a lifetime.

Take joy in the journey filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep.  Count your blessings and say your prayers.  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.