Happy Monday!

When we get down to this time of year we teachers begin counting Mondays and Fridays. I think we are down to four Mondays and five Fridays. I also turned in (emailed) my final exam for the Book of Common Prayer. I so enjoyed this class and the fellow students who participated with me. Please pray for the paper, the writer and the one who reads it. May he be merciful.

Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Randy Travis sings a song with the phrase ,”Down with the old man, up with the new.” As I was working on my final test for the BCP one of the questions asked was “what was the Paschal mystery?” The “paschal mystery” refers to the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is really interesting how this word refers to “Passover.” God caused the Angel of Death to “pass over” the Hebrew people saving them from continued bondage by the Egyptians.

Jesus was crucified at Passover and with His crucifixion we were all freed from the bondage of our sins. Part of the Paschal mystery is represented in baptism. When Jesus was baptized he left His private life behind and became completely devoted and obedient to His Father as He journeyed to Calvary. When we become Christians, we, too, are called to leave our old lives behind and embrace a new life with Christ. That means a life of obedience and trying to live in the light of Christ and not to live in a life of sin.

There are times in our lives that our old habits die hard. Yesterday when I was working on my test I really wanted that popcorn. The habit I had formed was when I would write, I would have a big glass of Crystal Lite and a huge bowl of popcorn. Every ounce of my being told me to go ahead and have some popcorn, but I decided that Satan was not going to win this battle and I resisted the tremendous temptation to have some of my favorite snack.

I realize that having a popcorn snack sounds pretty trivial compared to the other habits I need to break, but I have to start somewhere. I can’t guarantee that I will always be able to resist temptation or that I will always be obedient and serve God instead of serving sin, but after reading this passage I know I will think about it when I hit a crossroads and a choice must be made.

So friends, as we walk this earth together and must make choices multiple times each day I will ask you to pray for me and I will pray for you. (Singing…) “Down with the old girl, up with the new. Raised to walk in the ways of light and truth…”

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all dear 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.

Blessed Sunday!

I pray that today you were in worship somewhere and the fire of the Holy Spirit allowed you to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in truth and with praise.
Today, Bruce and I led and worshiped with two small congregations in Rockett and Palmer, Texas. These two lovely congregations are a delight with which to serve, worship and have fellowship.

Ephesians 4: 32 “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.”

I am once again on the weight loss road. I am trying something new. It is a fairly restricted food plan, but it is really working as I have lost somewhere between 10 and 12 pounds. But today I continued to work on my final exam for the Book of Common Prayer. My usual practice when I write a major paper is to have a glass of my favorite Crystal Lite and a large bowl of popcorn. I really wanted popcorn all day long but I have resisted as popcorn is not on my approved list of things to eat. All throughout the afternoon I began to make little deals with myself that if I made and ate the popcorn tonight I would eat less tomorrow and walk more and other etc…and then I began to think along a different tack, if I ate popcorn I would be missing the mark.

When we choose to do what is wrong we miss the mark. But the good news is that God forgives us when we miss the mark and if we stay in prayer God will help us to not give in to temptation. Staying turned towards God when temptations are before us keeps us close to God and hopefully takes our minds off of the temptations and more on God. Fighting temptations is never easy, but we do have someone we can go to who will always help when we need it. It is now around 10:00 pm and I have still not had popcorn. Say a prayer for me and I will pray for all of you.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

Happy Saturday!

Today has been a day spent in prayer. This morning I received a phone call from Mom and Dad to tell me that Mom is having cataract surgery this coming week. I also found out that my cousin Tony’s wife, Cherri, who has ovarian cancer, has been placed on hospice care in their home. Tony recently lost his son to a freak accident. My heart has ached for Tony and I have prayed for Cheri’s comfort and God’s tender mercies on both of them. Tony and Cheri are both people with a very strong faith.

Doc Adams, Casey’s oncologist here in Arlington, would often tell us that the destination was never in question, but sometimes the journey sucks. Right now, from where I stand (or sit as is the case), the journey sucks pretty bad. I wish I did not understand how they feel, but I do understand. There are no words of comfort that will make the heartache go away. So I will continue to pray for them daily and call often. I ask for your prayers for both Mom as she faces surgery and for Tony and Cherri as they face this journey together.

Isaiah 55: 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than you thoughts.”

How appropriate for this passage to be the focus of tonight’s thoughts. During the time when Casey was sick we asked many questions, but the one question we never asked was “why?” We asked God for guidance. We asked God for supply. We asked God for healing and wellness. We (Casey and I) asked God to help us not to be so homesick. And all of those requests were answered. When there was no more to be done and all earthly efforts had been made to arrest or reverse the cancer then we asked God for His tender mercies and not allow Casey to suffer long. God was kind and merciful, but not before he accomplished His purpose through Casey’s life and in His death.

God does not cause disease to come upon people. Neither Casey nor Cheri did anything to cause themselves to have this devastating disease. But what God has done through their lives is show the world that no matter what is going on in your life, whether you have perfect health or a life taking illness, God is still working and others come to know Him because God loves all of us so much. God took Casey home to be with Him for all eternity. I don’t know what God has in store for Cherri, but I do know that as long as she is still here, God will continue to work through her.

God is our Father and He sent Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. He also sent Jesus to be our servant. Servants are called to see to the comfort and well-being of others, especially those who are sick. Please keep these precious souls in your prayers.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all dear friends and mighty prayer warriors, 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.

PS Bruce went back to the prison to be a part of the instructional weekend. He saw the two men who were my prayer partners for the weekend. They were thankful for my letters and prayers. Then they told Bruce that they were praying for me too. It was sort of a holy moment. So tonight pray for those in prison; those behind razor wire and concrete and those who make prisons of their own choosing. May they find freedom in the love and forgiveness of Jesus. gc

PSS Tomorrow Bruce and I will be serving churches in Rocket and Palmer, Texas. Please pray for travel mercy, worship tomorrow and that God will bless us as we sing and share with these two congregations. gc

Happy Friday!

The TAKS Testing is over except for the retakes in a couple of weeks and the veil of tension over our building is gone. Today was a day with lightness in the air and the feel of pressure being lifted and for a few days things will be back to normal. (Whatever that is!)

Luke 11:9 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

Students all over the state of Texas were seeking only one thing this week: answers. All of the classrooms were prepared for the taking of these tests. Helps and aids the students have been used to seeing all year long were either covered up or removed even down to the calendars. The students had to rely on the strategies they had been taught to answer the questions correctly. The tension was high as they worked so very hard to remember all they had been taught in order to do well on these tests.

If we look at this same concept as a spiritual issue we are kind of the same. We are faced with problems all the time. What we rely on when we have a problem is God’s Word and prayer. When we trust ourselves to prayer, study and claim God’s Word, we can count on honesty, order and love in abundance. God’s love empowers us with perfect harmony, perfect supply, and a sense of peace when life hands us difficult situations.

Over the last weekend one of the team members reminded each of us to F.R.O.G. This acronym is simply Fully Rely on God. She even gave one of our younger team members a small plastic frog as a reminder. I am ready to find a small frog and keep it in my purse as a reminder that when I surrender and take it to the Lord in prayer that I can F.R.O.G and in faith count on God for everything.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

Happy Thursday!

It felt a bit strange not to go to class tonight. I usually look forward to my semester class being finished, but this time it was sort of bittersweet. I really enjoyed the class and all of the knowledge, but mostly I enjoyed the spiritual element it afforded. We started each class with evening prayer and a brief worship through the Book of Common Prayer. I still have my final to complete (I guess I should say start!) I have that slated for Saturday. It should be fairly quiet around the house for a few hours anyway.

Psalm 4:7 “You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.”

Today the weather was really beautiful. I thought today school is never called off due to good weather! Spring has so many analogies to a relationship with Jesus. Have you ever noticed plants growing? They grow and stretch and turn themselves trying to face the sun. If plants are planted away from the sun, before long you can see them having changed their direction to get all of the warmth possible from the sun. The sun is their source of nourishment. Even plants know that without the sun they will die and never reach their full potential which is to grow, blossom and create more plants..

Can we take a lesson from the plants? Plants are creatures of promise. Everything that a plant is to become is created in that seed. When you combine the seed with good soil, water from rain and the warmth of the sun then all of the promise that plant has is revealed as it grows and matures. When God plants the seed of His love in each of us, He gives Jesus to us as the Son on which to depend for light and direction. When we plant ourselves in God’s Word and continuously seek the Son of God for direction then all of the promise of which we were created will blossom and we will grow and bloom into the person God created us to be. We will be ready for service to continue to plant the seeds of love and keep God’s promises ever flourishing. So friends, like the song says, “Bloom where you are planted!”

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

Happy Wednesday!

I pray this writing finds you well and enjoying these beautiful even though slightly untypical spring days. The cold mornings and warm and windy afternoons make for interesting clothing choices. We are slowly getting back on track after the long weekend.

Matthew 6: 14 (from the Amplified Bible) “For if you forgive people their trespasses [their “reckless and willful sins, “leaving them, letting them go, and “giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

One of the parts of the Kairos weekend is a time of forgiveness. The brothers in white make a list of people they have offended on a piece of flash paper and throw them in a fire proof bowl. At the end of the forgiveness ceremony, the flash paper is lit and is instantly incinerated. This is a visual image of how God through Jesus forgives our sins instantly. Later they make a list of those they need to forgive and finally they must come to forgive themselves.

While on the Kairos weekend I heard a wonderful story in a chapel service and wanted to share it with you.

It seems there was this farmer who was famous for raising prize winning roosters. He also had a son of whom he was very proud. One day the farmer gave his son a beautiful brand new red sports car. The young man was completely excited as you can imagine and asked his father if he could go into town to show his friends. The young man drives proudly into town to show off his new car. After several hours of merry making and partying the young man discovered he had passed his curfew and drove a bit too fast going home. He rounded the corner of the driveway of his home with gravel flying and hit his father’s prize rooster. Feathers flew and rooster remains were all over his car while on the porch sat his father quietly rocking in a front porch rocker. The son picked up the dead rooster and took it up to his father and apologized and asked forgiveness. His father granted forgiveness and told him to get a shovel from the shed and bury the rooster. The son buried the rooster.

The next day, the son still felt so badly about what he had done that he got the shovel and dug up the rooster, brought it back to his Father and once again asked for forgiveness. The father told his son that he had already forgiven him and all is well. The next day the son did the same thing; dug up the rooster and took it too his father and once again asked for forgiveness. This went on for several days and this rooster is getting really smelly and decomposing. Finally the father asked his son, “How many times are you going to dig up that rooster?”

Each of us has done things of which we are not proud. But God loves us so much that His forgiveness is there just for the asking. God has the power to forgive and forget. We have the ability to forgive, but we still remember. What we need to remember is that if God can forgive us our sins and short comings then we must forgive each other and we need to forgive ourselves. So, stop digging up that rooster and accept God’s forgiveness and bask in His love and grace.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

Greetings from Rm. 6

Good morning and happy Tuesday! This writing comes to you from Burton Hill Ele. In my tiredness from the long weekend, I went to bed uncharacteristically early and woke up this morning remembering I did not write.
Prayer Alerts! Geni substitutes at my school in a classroom that serves students who are challenged either mentally or physically. Some have Downes Syndrome or other conditions. One of the little boys whose name is Roberto is having surgery today. He is very young and has been having multiple seizures. It has been discovered that he has multiple brain tumors and then more were found behind the ones previously discovered. Geni asked me to ask all of you to pray for him this morning as he is having surgery today.

I also ask you to pray for all students this week who are taking the TAKS test. The students have worked very hard all year long as have their teachers and today is the day! Please pray for these students and teachers to be calm, have peace and rely on God to guide them through the days to come. The students will be testing for the next three days.

Ephesians 3:19 “(I pray) that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.]

It is quiet in my classroom for just a few more minutes. The students are eating breakfast, or waiting in the auditorium or still on their way to school. But in a few minutes all will change as the noise and busyness of the day will begin in a flurry of activity and tension with the testing that will go on throughout the day. All has been done in preparation for today and now it is up to the children to do their best.

In this passage of scripture (I used the Amplified Bible version for today’s verse) the Apostle Paul prayed for the church. What He prayed for is that the church in Ephesus would come to know the love of Christ in all they know and experience. God did His all through Jesus to prepare us to receive His love and grace and now it is up to us to accept His love in all of its fullness. We accept His love through faith. Our faith is not dependant on experience, but is totally dependant on our relationship with God Himself. There are times we are simply aware that God is with us as we walk through the day and then there are times we absolutely need a huge outpouring of His love just for reassurance that leaves no doubt as to His presence in our day. So today I pray for each of us to be aware of God’s Presence throughout the day and know that all we have to do is receive His love throughout the day and He will be there.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis