Church Attendance

[Edwin]

Well, because of the storming and the drifting of the snow we will not be able to get to church in the morning. We were so looking forward to church as this is our Sunday to attend. Our son-in-law had some idea of a way to get our cars out to the County Road, I was told yesterday, but since then we have heard nothing. I had some ideas about how to do that myself, but I went out this morning walking to the mailbox/gate, thinking about that, and I came to the conclusion that I shouldn't try to do anything about trying to get our car out to the road. The worst/largest snow drifts are right her close to our house, but then there are several other large drifts down the road as well. Right at the gate just before our mailbox is a huge, huge snow drift. I am still trying to heal up from my recent prostate biopsy, so I kind of think doing anything to try to get that car down to the gate would be way over the top for what I should be doing, which is must resting until I get healed up. I am doing better, with no bleeding today, but yesterday showed me that I am not healed up yet, but I will get there; I just need to be careful and take it kind of easy!

[Edwin]

With our son-in-law down there removing snow we may actually get to go to church tomorrow! I think what he is doing now, besides removing a huge drift down there by the gate/mailbox, is also clearing out a place where we can park 3 vehicles. We have our Van, and our son-in-law has a pickup that he is driving to work, and then our kids have a Ford Explorer that our daughter uses when she wants/needs to go somewhere, so to park 3 cars some room is required. I am thinking he might be about finished which means we can drive down there and park, and that will be nice to be able to go when we need to!

[bigmitch23]

Hi all. This is my first post. Just wanted to say that this will be my first ever Christmas without my family and church. I'm away at work and there are no Christian groups here. I pray that everyone who is away from their loved ones, those who are lonely with no family and others who have recently lost a someone that they will find peace and happiness in their soul with the love of God. May peace and love reign over this special day. Mitch.

[Edwin]

Mitch, I am glad that you wrote this first post, and I am glad that you are still posting. You should find this place to be a lot of fun, as most all of us find it that way! We love to attend church, but we have had obstacles get in our way for a few months now, and we have not been able to get to church as much and as often as we like. The old devil has had somewhat to do with us not being able to get to church, because he has caused people to work against us, but things will change I do believe! For those who can't be with loved ones, and can't be in church, the Lord knows all about it, and if we don't forsake Him, He will not forsake us either!

[Smiley]

Hi all. This is my first post. Just wanted to say that this will be my first ever Christmas without my family and church. I'm away at work and there are no Christian groups here. I pray that everyone who is away from their loved ones, those who are lonely with no family and others who have recently lost a someone that they will find peace and happiness in their soul with the love of God. May peace and love reign over this special day. Mitch.

Where abouts are you Mitch? The first Christmas away can be veeeeery lonely.I hope you got through it ok.

[Edwin]

Yes, the holidays tend to be a time of depression for many people. People then realize they are alone, or have the idea that they don't have many or any friends. It helps when other people add to our cheer, but we can do things that helps us to be incouraged. I hope and pray that between now and New Year's Eve, that all people will be safe, protected, and happy, and that Jesus helps us not to be lonely or discouraged.

[Smiley]

I have been attending church a lot more in the last few months than I have in a long time.I attend an Orthodox church but I am not a member.I honestly do not know what my future holds as far as church membership but I`m pretty sure that I will eventually align myself with a church.Probably some form of Christian born again congregation.That is where I feel that I`m heading in my journey.Time and circumstance will tell.

[Edwin]

Smiley, that sounds like a great direction for your life to me! Talking about church membership, I was a member of an Assembly of God church in Brewster, Washington USA when I was in high school. After that I moved on, attending Bible College, then I became what they call an exhorter licensed minister with the Pentecostal Church of God, which our family was attending because of a nasty church split from that church. I was the children's church guy, so the little kids wouldn't drive the preacher crazy, which irritated my Dad. He said he didn't think the little kids should have bothered that preacher as loud a voice as he had! It was okay though, because my Dad really liked him inspite of that. I went on back to Bible College, then got my Christian Worker's license with the Assemblies of God, then license to preach, then later ordination, which I still have that statis. We became members of the Omak Assembly of God church where our family attended when I was born, and I was Assistant and Associate Pastor of that church. Because of a disagreement we stopped attending there. Our good friend who Pastored the Assembly of God church in Brewster told me he was going through old membership cards and found mine from high school! This was years and years later! After the disagreement and there were other bad things that went on in that chruch; I won't go into deals, would serve no good purpose, we started attending a wonderful Free Methodist church. This was in the mid 1990s, and we became very active in that church. We worked with children in summer daily vacation bible school, and we worked with God's Army, which was a weekly kids, up through middle school age, which was somewhat like a Christian Boy Scouts, only it was for girls as well. The pastor, Carol, and I were very close there, and I worked with his daughter on her trombone skills at school. Well, he and I were talking about ministerial opportunities in that church, and I was ready to move in that direction. We were attending church membership classes, and someone from that class said that she had been with the Assemblies of God church, and it was not her style because the Assemblies were too demonstative to suit her, and she was too introverted to want to worship God like Assemblies of God people do, with raised hands, praising God, and she wanted something a little tamer, and less exuberant. I knew right then that I had no business getting involved with that church in membership or ministry, because that young lady was speaking against everything that I stood for, and was very happy that she found a church that was not like the Assemblies of God. I had no resentment because of that, but it opened my eyes, and made me realize that the Assemblies was my organization, and I loved the Assemblies, and aligned my self with them. We moved, were gone for 10 years, came back had our own Bible Studies at home for 3 years, and one day Carol said that she really missed attending church, and can we go! We went back to that same Free Methodist church, and we love it. The people love and worship God with all their hearts, and we love them all. The only thing is that I will take membership in that church nor will I get invovled with their ministry because I learned that they do not believe exactly as we do coming from the Assemblies of God church, nor do they have the freedom for worshipping God as people do from the Assemblies of God churches do, so we attend, and our hearts are with them, but we are still Assemblies of God church people, and I am still an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God church, with retired status now. The Assemblies of God church organization is one of the best church organizations in the world. The problem is that their churches and their ministers have enough freedom so that they can be other than what they stand for, and that is why we are not attending in an Assemblies of God church. Our church minister did things that were wrong by any one's standards, became a church dictator, caused a church split, and damaged his, and the churches Christian testimony in the community. That is why we are attending a Free Methodist church, and the people are wonderful and love God with all their hearts.

[Edwin]

Well, now it is just a little after 12 noon here on a Saturday. Where you are in the Philippines it is 4 a.m., on a Sunday morning, and some of you are in the process of getting out of bed, and getting ready to go attend church. I don't think the devil wants us to attend church, because everything imaginable gets in the way. But, as long as we are able to drive out of here in the morning I think we will be attending church. I think we will attend church, and then after church we will go hang out with our youngest daughter and her daughter. Our daughter might be helping a friend with constructing a new house, and in that case we will be hanging out with our granddaughter. We will probably run around together for a little while in town. Then before it gets dark we will head home, as it is too hard for Carol to walk after dark.

A little humor here: Our youngest daughter said, "Yes, Mom doesn't want to walk if it is dark. She doesn't want to walk if the wind is blowing. She doesn't want to walk if it is too cold. She doesn't want to walk if it is too hot. She doesn't want to walk if there is snow on the ground. I don't think Mom wants to walk!" She is right about Mom not wanting to walk, but if conditions are right, she will walk because she knows that she should walk even though she doesn't want to walk!

[abienoona]

i miss church...