Happy Thursday!

The time of this writing is quite late and so it will be brief. I received word tonight that my Uncle Rodney Smith has taken a turn for the worse. He is in the VA Hospital in Dallas suffering from extreme melanoma. I ask your prayers for him, the doctors and all medical professionals who are tending to him, Aunt Peggy, his wife, and their children and grandchildren. I also ask you to pray for his brother and sisters, which include my Mom, aunts and uncles.

Philippians 2: 14 “Do all things without murmurings and disrupting.”

Well, here is a task yet to be performed by most of us! But tonight I am going to reflect on this scripture to pray peace on the lives and souls of my Uncle Rodney, Aunt Peggy and their children. When Casey was diagnosed with a cancer that was incurable I realized that he might not survive the disease. I realized that whatever the outcome, Casey would be okay for no matter what he was being held in the arms of God on both sides of heaven because of the prayers of others like yourself and his amazing faith.

My uncle Rodney has a strong faith and is a mighty prayer warrior. He has fought this battle for a very long time, yet I have never heard him complain and he always has a smile on his face. He may not get well on this earth, but he will be healed for no matter the outcome he is being held in the arms of God.

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

PS Prayers for Geni as she begins her new job at Starbucks in the morning and for Travis as he prepares for competition on Saturday. Peace, gc

Happy Wednesday!

This is the sunrise Bruce saw this morning and got a picture of. God does good work!

Sad day for the Rangers as they lose game 1!! But as Scarlet O’Hara was so fond of saying, “Tomorrow is another day.” We will get ‘em next time.

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

One of the mantras in my classroom: “Some things are hard for others and not so hard for you and there are things that are easy for others and are hard for you.” This statement comes out when one of the children tells a classmate, “That’s easy!”

Each of us fights a different battle each day. I am directionally challenged. I do not read maps well or understand oral directions. I need to have directions written down with the words “right” and “left”, etc. Bruce, however can get anywhere from any point on the planet. He seems to know where he is at all times and can get to where he needs to be just by knowing his surroundings and having a really attuned sense of direction. But I get lost really easily. When I ask my school secretary how to get somewhere I always begin the conversation with, “Betty, talk to me like I am 4…”

And as much as I really dislike this “challenge” I continue to try. Bruce does not speak unkindly or lose patience when, once again, I am lost, in a panic and am calling him for the third time for him to lead me from lost to found. And he never says, “Gaylene, Geni is really great at this and so why aren’t you?” But when I actually get to where I am going in one attempt, Bruce is the first one I contact to tell that I did it! He also rejoices with me in this (for some) seemingly small victory to some, but a great conquest to me.

God loves seeing us strive to attain all kinds of victories. God treasures our battles and then rejoices when there is conquest of whatever battle we are fighting at the time. God does not compare us with others who are in the struggle because none of us are going through the same struggle. Nor does God compare us with the struggles of the saints of old. God, the angels and maybe even the citizens of heaven applaud our victories and we count ourselves as blessed. I think the point is to never fear the struggle, continue to pursue and ask God to continue to help and guide us and finally give thanks, when the victories come, to the One who leads us to victory.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other in prayer each day. 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.

PS I have a 12-15 page paper due on the sacraments on November 10. Please pray for me to be able to find the time to do a good job on this paper, the focus to remove distractions as I work on it, and the wisdom to share well what I know. Also, Travis has a power lifting on Saturday. Please pray for him to lift well and remain injury free. Thanks and peace, gc

Happy Tuesday!

It is late as I was making sure I had everything ready for my TCU class tomorrow afternoon only to discover I had an assignment due beyond the reading for the week. So after a rather late start I took over the dining room table and began to work on the Eucharistic prayer. It has been emailed off before the due date and time. We always get until 5:00 on the day of class to get our work turned in.

Psalm 41:9 “Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.”

Mark 14: 23—25 And He took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and His people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many. I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

I have heard the old saying, “You can only be hurt by someone you love.” Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt when the disciples fled as He hung on the cross? How it must have hurt Him when Judas betrayed Him and Peter denied Him? And then the remaining disciples ran away in fear for their own lives. There were those who spat at Him, scorned Him, scourged Him, showed hatred and despicable behavior. Those things caused physical pain, but did not break His heart. Having a broken heart is the worst pain of all. Even when the disciples fell asleep in the garden (the nap after the meal) Jesus was so hurt that His last night to spend with those he trusted with His message could not even stay awake to support Him in prayer knowing that He faced the cross in just a few short hours.

God requires complete belief in Him and the One he sent. God expects and accepts nothing less. We can’t just believe some of the time. God is God all the time and loves us completely each day. He chooses us each day in which to get his message of love, grace and forgiveness out to those who do not know Him. It is not the unbelief of the enemies of God that hurts Him, but the friends of God who know and have experienced His love who have fled because of the sin in their lives.

Where does that leave us, we modern day “duh-ciples” ? Do we flee from God when things are not going our way? Do we deny Him when we gossip, or yell in traffic, or speak unkindly to our families and friends? Are we His people of integrity? Could others read us as Bibles, God’s Word on foot, and get the message with which we just as those so long ago were charged. Just something to think about…

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers (especially for the Rangers!) 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.

Happy Monday!

But not if you are a Cowboy fan! They are getting smoked at this writing.

Revelation 12:11 “And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.”

John 16: 33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Sometimes the world seems to crowd in all around us. I often times have more to do in my day or in my schedule than can possibly be accomplished. There are also times when there are so many things to do, family to care for, a job to take care of, bills to pay, meetings to attend, school and all of the activities, church activities and pretty soon with all of these things to do the joy seems to be missing.

When these times occur it is time to stop and instead of taking care of the temporal things of the world we need to take care of the inner parts of ourselves. It is time to get alone and get quiet with God. All of these “busy” things can be conquered if we have conquered the stress we place on ourselves and “Have a little talk with Jesus.” When we stop and get quiet with God we can begin to sort out and prioritize all of these things. The first thing we need to remember is to invite God to our time of stress. Placing God first in ALL things helps ease stressful circumstances. The situation may not be able to be resolved, but whatever the circumstance, God has now been invited to be a part of the plan and the solution.

Scripture tells us that even though we will have sorrows and trials, we are to take heart, for God himself has conquered the world. God has overcome the world in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We must seek to accept the guidance given by our loving God. The more we practice seeking God first then perhaps the circumstances won’t seem quite so difficult and even if they remain difficult we have this awesome God who created us in love and wants nothing more than to be an intimate part of our lives and help us when we cry out.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift one another up in prayer. 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.

Blessed Sunday to each of you!

These are two of my favorite men at the Confirmation lunch for Nathan. Geni got the picture because they filled up the doorway!

What an amazing day! Worship today was a call to discipleship to the four young men who were confirmed in their faith walk and to each of us who pledged to help them to continue to grow in their faith and walk with God through Jesus Christ. We celebrated with one of these families today. It was a wonderful celebration filled with family, great food, warm and loving fellowship and the presence of a loving God in all who honored this young man and shared in this most special day.

Isaiah 27:3 “I, the Lord, will watch over it, watering it carefully. Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.”

John 10:28 “I give them My eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.”

I keep a small jar of salt on the top of my stove. I use salt in seasoning as I cook. I keep it close by for convenience because of its frequent use. But if I kept the jar in the back of the cabinet and did not open the box or use it very often it would lose its flavor and with it, it’s capacity to season or work with other ingredients for baking.

The same holds true for each of us in our walk of faith. We keep our walk of faith fresh by staying close to God. We stay close to God by reading His Word, staying in communication through prayer, fellowshipping with other believers and serving those whom God places in our path. When we stay close to God we are kept under his blanket of protection and His keeping power. As we are “kept by God” we are promised the assurance of His love, grace, forgiveness and tender mercies. That keeping power keeps us fresh and at our best and continually makes us fit for God’s use in the Kingdom. What an amazing work God has done in our lives!

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer each daily. 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 moved only by what I believe and I believe God.
PS Prayer alert! Please pray for my Uncle Rodney. He has had a portion of his lung removes as the melanoma invaded his lungs. His

Happy Saturday!

Well, two of our three of my teams have won this weekend. The Rangers won last night and earned themselves a place in the World Series. My beloved Frogs beat Air Force tonight and soundly I might add! Now if the Cowboys could just win on Monday…

Matthew 10:22 “And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.”

The great characters of the Old Testament all were made to walk some path of sacrifice and forgiveness. Abraham was made to walk the hill of sacrifice with his son, Isaac. Moses was sent into exile across the desert to be made ready to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt into the land promised to them by God through His Word.

Each one of these men walked a most difficult road in obedience to God. They trusted in God from the beginning of each of their journeys and God rewarded them with deliverance. Abraham, with his son tied to an altar, was delivered from the slaying of Isaac, with a ram sent to him by God to take the place of his son. Moses and the Hebrew nation were allowed to cross the Red Sea unharmed with Pharaoh’s army on their heels. That army was then destroyed before their very eyes. They trusted God with their very lives and were rewarded for their obedience. These men learned to rely on God for all of their needs. They learned to walk by faith.

Tomorrow at Advent we will celebrate with the families of those young people who are being confirmed. In the Lutheran Church, Confirmation takes two years of study to be completed. These young people thought that two years was a near eternity, with difficult assignments, long commitment and seemingly never ending study. I am sure these young people are glad to see this time in their lives come to an end and the time to celebrate is now! Tomorrow there will be a time of questioning what they have learned. Also, these young people will share faith statements as they have grown in their faith over the last two years and take their places in the Church. As they prepare to stand before the assembly tomorrow I pray they will continue trusting God to stand with them. In this final test of their time of Confirmation, these young people must walk by faith and rely on Christ alone to complete the task of obedience.

Our call to obedience is not unlike those young people. Even though most of us have completed a confirmation experience (long ago) of some sort, we too must remember to rely on God for everything. We must trust God to walk the path of sacrifice even if it seems very difficult and impossible to accomplish and the end never seems to be in sight. God promises deliverance to those who continue to walk in obedience, in faith and in reliance on God alone. God promises His very presence through the Holy Spirit to be with us continually as we rely on Him alone.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer daily. 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.

Hurray for Friday!

Rangers Win! Rangers Win! Was that amazing or what! I loved that the last out was on A-Rod. (sorry, that was sort of mean) I also loved how Josh Hamilton gave glory to God and Jesus Christ before he spoke about anything else. Praise God for witnesses who are not just willing to talk the talk, but are also willing to walk the walk.

Jude 1:20 “But you, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”

In my classroom during center time I have places for noisy centers and places for quiet centers. I keep the quiet centers near the area where I am teaching a small reading group and the louder centers further around the room. The ones I am teaching in the small group have a better opportunity for increased learning without a lot of nearby distractions. With fewer distractions these children are building up reading skills and fluency.

When we pray in the Holy Spirit we are furnishing the quiet places in our souls with the clear and quiet voice of God. We build up an unshakable faith because of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When we pray in the power of the Holy Spirit we fill the spaces with peace, all things that are good and beautiful and, if you will allow the comparison, an extraordinary sense of joy and a need to celebrate.

Friends, let none of us wait 39 years ( the time it took the Rangers to get to the World Series) to build a spiritual home and fill the quiet places with the power of the Holy Spirit. But begin now through prayer in Jesus name, by the intercession of the Holy Spirit, reading God’s Word and surround ourselves by God’s people.

Take joy in the journey. Wear comfortable shoes, count your blessings and say your prayers. Let us continue to lift each other up in prayer each day. 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.